Sir, – Miriam Lord reports ("In his Seanad debut, Leo kept the flattery to a minimum", February 2nd) that the Taoiseach, despite proposing to make a further attempt to reform the Seanad, will continue to nominate 11 senators because "that is a constitutional requirement". Surely, five years after the referendum, and three years after the publication of the Manning report, it would be a better idea, rather than relying on yet another committee, to kick-start the long-awaited reform process by taking advantage of the May referendum on the Eighth Amendment by including an amendment to Article 18, which would abolish what is regarded by many as the most undemocratic feature of this institution. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN McDONALD,
Terenure,
Dublin 12.