Vote Yes to Abolish the Senate – Cllr Kenny Sinn Féin is calling for a Yes vote in the referendum on the abolition of the Seanad. Cllr Martin Kenny claims “there is no defence of the Seanad, it needs to be abolished as it is totally undemocratic with a permanent inbuilt government majority, and it reflects everything that is rotten in our political system” Cllr Kenny said, “The Seanad represents a blatant inequality at the heart of our political system. The cronyism and the elitism that are synonymous with the Seanad, has fostered the type of politics that has made the Irish voter so cynical. The failure to reform the Seanad by consecutive governments including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour echo the failure to reform politics as a whole. There has been plenty of time but no action. The Seanad has promoted political cronies rather than ideas or visions. The system of Taoiseach’s nominees has been downright corrupt, when we look at how Bertie Ahern used it to reward his defenders like Eoghan Harris in Independent Newspapers, rather than doing anything to bring more diversity into the political system. In the main it has been a safety net for those who failed to get elected to the Dáil.” “The most damning feature of the Seanad is the elitism, inequality and discrimination that is at its core. There can be no place in a real republic, based on equality, for an elected office to which only a tiny percentage of the population have the right to vote. By restricting votes to those educated in a number of select colleges as well as city and county councillors, the Seanad is anomaly in a modern democracy. It runs in the face of the core principal that all citizens are equal. It is obviously unjust to most people that a house of parliament would discriminate against citizens based on their level of education.” “The accusation that the abolition of the Seanad will result in the government been less accountable is simply not true. This argument is being pushed by Fianna Fail who is seeking to exploit the public’s justifiable anger at a government which has failed to deliver on its promises. The truth is the Seanad has little power and has bothered to exercise even less. It has no role in holding the Government to account. The Seanad has been a used as the headquarters of stroke pulling and influence peddling by the both Fianna Fail and Fine Gale; it reflects everything that is rotten in our political system.” “Many people may see this referendum as an opportunity to vote against the government. This is understandable given the broken promises and failures, and the hardship caused by cuts to local services and increased taxes and charges. But I would ask people to look at the issue before them on its merits. Regardless of everything else this is an opportunity to get rid of a bit of our failed past." “Sinn Féin seeks to build a New Republic on this island based on equality for all citizens. We want to see an end to privilege and elitism, and to the cronyism and influence of vested interests that have so damaged politics in this country. Fairness, democracy and equality of citizenship demand that the Seanad be abolished and that the Dail be reformed.” Concluded Cllr Kenny.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 10:07:45 +0000
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