Counting under way in Irish Republic on the fate of the Senate

[Blackleaf]

Counting is under way in the Irish Republic in referendums to decide the fate of the Seanad Éireann (Irish for Irish Senate), the upper house of the Irish parliament.

The current government of the Irish Republic, led by Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, says that the Seanad costs too much and is no longer necessary in the democratic process.

Opponents want it retained and reformed, saying it plays an essential role in holding governments to account.

More than 3 million of the country's 4.5 million people were eligible to vote in the referendums and results are expected to be announced later this afternoon.

The Seanad Éireann has existed for 90 years, the same length of time that the Republic of Ireland has existed since it seceded from the UK and became a new nation in 1922.

Seanad vote: Count begins in Republic of Ireland referendums

The Seanad Éireann (Irish senate) is the upper house of the Irish Parliament

Leinster House in Dublin is the seat of the Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas. Parliament is elected by all Irish and British citizens who are resident in the Irish Republic and are at least 18 years of age

Counting is under way in the Republic of Ireland on referendums to decide the fate of the Irish Senate, Seanad Éireann.

The Seanad is the upper house of the Irish Parliament and has existed for more than 90 years.

The current Irish government said it costs too much to run and is no longer necessary in the democratic process.

Opponents want it retained and reformed, saying it plays an essential role in holding governments to account.

More than three million people were eligible to vote on whether or not to abolish the Seanad.

Voters were also able to decide on whether or not to establish a Court of Appeal and implement other changes to the courts system.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, leader of the Fine Gael party, the largest party in the Irish Republic's coalition government, wants to get rid of the Seanad

Voting closed at 22:00 BST on Friday, results are expected to be announced by mid to late afternoon on Saturday.

The first constituency to return a vote, Galway East, supported the government's campaign to abolish the Seanad, by a narrow margin of 51.4% to 48.6%.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny has claimed the abolition of the Seanad would create a leaner, more effective and more accountable system of government.

Opponents, led by the largest opposition party Fianna Fáil, have said the Seanad is necessary to serve as a government watchdog and to hold cabinet ministers to account.

BBC Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison said a "very close" result was expected.

"With a turn-out of less than 40%, the early indications are that the provinces of Dublin and Leinster seem set to reject the government and Sinn Féin, who wanted to abolish the Seanad, while Munster and Connacht Ulster appear to have narrowly supported the Fine Gael-Labour coalition proposal," he said.

"The result will be close but when turnouts and population sizes are taken into account the No side appear at the moment to be marginally ahead.

"If that turns out to be the result then Enda Kenny, whose idea this very much was, and the Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams, will be disappointed."

BBC News - Seanad vote: Count begins in Republic of Ireland referendums

 

[Blackleaf]

Seanad vote: Public vote to keep Irish senate

The Seanad Éireann (Irish senate) is the upper house of the Irish Parliament

Voters in the Republic of Ireland have rejected a government proposal to abolish Seanad Éireann (upper house of the Irish parliament).

The Fine Gael-Labour coalition government proposal was supported by Sinn Féin and was lost by a narrow margin, with 48.3% voting in favour of abolition, with 51.7% against.

Total turnout in the election was higher than expected at nearly 40%.

The Seanad has existed for more than 90 years, since what is now the Irish Republic seceded from the UK.

The current Irish government had argued it cost too much to run and that its abolition could have saved Irish taxpayers as much as 20m euros (£16.92m) a year.

Opponents wanted it retained and reformed, saying it played an essential role in holding governments to account.

More than three million people were eligible to vote on whether or not to abolish the Seanad.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny had claimed the abolition of the Seanad would create a leaner, more effective and more accountable system of government.

After the result, he said: "Sometimes in politics you get a wallop in the electoral process.

"I accept the verdict of the people. But I also say in humility in accepting that verdict, that there is a virtue in actually being able to stand before the people and say: 'I did say four years ago I would ask you this question. We've honoured that commitment in full and so have you'.

"You've given your verdict and decision and I accept it fully."

Opponents, led by the largest opposition party Fianna Fáil, said the Seanad was necessary to serve as a government watchdog and to hold cabinet ministers to account.

BBC Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison said the result would be a disappointment for Enda Kenny.

"Abolition was very much the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's idea and he has been criticised by Sinn Féin - his temporary ally during the campaign - for his failure to debate the issue with opponents on radio and television," he said.

"Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and his colleagues will not be happy that voters in party strongholds in Dublin, rejected their recommendation.

"The vote was much better news for Fianna Fáil, the only major party to oppose abolition and suggest the Seanad should be reformed."

Independent senator Katherine Zappone said it was important that senators now held a meeting with the prime minister to come up with a way of ensuring that the upper house was reformed.

Meanwhile, the referendum to establish a Court of Appeal has been passed by a majority of almost two to one.

The official result shows just over 65% of voters were in favour of establishing the court.

The new court is expected to be operating by this time next year.

Analysis

Diarmaid Fleming, BBC News, Dublin

Rejection by Irish voters of their government's plans to scrap the senate is a big embarrassment for Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his Fine Gael/Labour coalition.

Posters promising "fewer politicians" and hotly-disputed claims of annual €20M savings drove a nakedly populist campaign which fell flat.

Mr Kenny's refusal to take part in a television debate appears to have been a huge miscalculation.

Deeply unpopular government austerity policies may also have fuelled the No vote, which is a further blow, too, to the Labour Party - Mr Kenny's junior coalition partners - enduring its worst opinion polls ratings in 26 years.

Though the senate is widely seen as toothless, a spirited, shoestring campaign by some of its more popular members, like Joycean scholar David Norris, appealed to voters worried at the loss of diverse, contrarian parliamentary opinions if the senate was ditched.

BBC News - Seanad vote: Public vote to keep Irish senate

 

[Liberalman]

And this is why the Senate should be kept in Canada

 

[damngrumpy]

We don't need the Senate period in Canada. The reason it failed in Ireland is no
reason to hold off such a vote here. People are mad at government because they
didn't look after the business of the people very well. Politicians fell under the
spell of those free trade monkeys. Those who said give big breaks to business to
create jobs and so on. In the end business did what it alwasy does. Looked after
its bottom line and shafted the people. No I am not anti business but just like the
government or the unions, give business everything it wants they behave badly.
They need to be regulated and safe guards built in that didn't happen. The result,
an unpopular government pushing a reform and it failed.

 

[Sal]

I wish the countdown was days left to go until the Canadian Senate is extinguished. It would seem Harper is considering it. He had better think really hard and make the right decision and then the money saved had better be used correctly.