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69-578: The convention was mandated to consider eight specified issues, and also selected two others to discuss. The government was not obliged to proceed with any amendment proposal, but committed to respond formally to each recommendation and debate it in the Oireachtas. As of December 2018, the government had formally responded to all nine of the convention's reports, and put three of its proposals to referendum . Two of those referendums took place on 22 May 2015: to mandate legal same-sex marriage and to reduce

138-533: A polling company to reflect the age, regional, and gender balance of the electorate. For each of the 66, a similar-profile alternate was also selected. In the case of citizen members, only their names and county or Dublin postal district were published, rather than their full postal address. This was agreed after the polling company, Behaviour and Attitudes, reported that some of those selected were worried about being "bombarded" by lobbyists and pressure groups . Thirty-three places were reserved for members of

207-563: A position paper listing seven options for eligibility criteria and associated implementation measures, and promised a constitutional referendum on whichever option it would select. In February 2019, the referendum was scheduled for that October, and the proposal would be "an extension of the franchise to all citizens resident outside the State, including citizens resident in Northern Ireland ". The first plenary session took place over

276-513: A Constitutional Convention to consider comprehensive constitutional reform, with a brief to consider, as a whole or in sub-groups, and report within 12 months on the following: Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin commented "The Constitutional Convention appears to be Fine Gael's Citizen's Assembly but with Labour's preferred title". Noel Whelan wrote in The Irish Times in 2012, "The programme for government did not define what it meant by

345-664: A broader programme of constitutional reform, but lost a referendum on the matter in October 2013 by 51.7% to 48.3%. Taoisigh have often included people from Northern Ireland among their eleven nominees , such as John Robb (served 1982–1989), Seamus Mallon (1982–1983) of the SDLP , Bríd Rodgers (1983–1987) also of the SDLP, peace campaigner Gordon Wilson (1993–1997), businessman Edward Haughey (1994–2002), Maurice Hayes (1997–2002), and Emer Currie (2020–present). Sam McAughtry

414-513: A citizen's assembly. The Labour Party , Sinn Féin , and the Green Party each proposed the drafting of new constitution, respectively by a 90-member "constitutional convention", an "all-Ireland Constitutional Forum", and a "Citizens Assembly". Fine Gael and Labour produced a Programme for Government in March and formed a coalition government . The coalition's Programme said: We will establish

483-588: A constitutional convention, did not detail its likely composition and was silent on what would happen to any recommendations." Also in 2011, a group of academics set up a participatory democracy initiative called "We the Citizens", which in June 2011 ran a trial citizens' assembly of 100 randomly selected citizens at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham . In February 2012, the government proposed that

552-540: A greater say in the nomination of presidential candidates. The second plenary session took place over the weekend of 16 and 17 February 2013. The topics of deliberation of this second session included, among other things, amending the Constitution to place a duty on the Irish State to enhance women's participation in politics and public life, and altering Article 41.2.1 of the Constitution related to women in

621-642: A number of independent TDs, with Sinn Féin TD Desise Mitchell telling the Dáil "the Government has missed a huge opportunity with this Bill. It has taken what the Supreme Court found and interpreted it in the narrowest of ways...It is the Government's call, and the record will show that it was on the wrong side and acting in the interests of the elites and not in the interests of democracy" and

690-519: A referendum would not be within the convention's remit. Fianna Fáil , Sinn Féin and the Dáil technical group discussed the proposals in March. They reported back to the government in April, and the government responded in June. In regard to acting on the convention's recommendations, the response stated: On 19 June 2012, the Seanad passed a Fianna Fáil motion that the government's proposal to abolish

759-425: A report from the convention, this deadline was missed for the fourth and subsequent reports, for which no formal response was made by the time the Dáil adjourned for its summer recess on 17 July 2014. The Taoiseach apologised and blamed the delay on the time taken by civil servants to analyse the reports prior to their being considered by the cabinet. He stated that "Obviously, the Government will not be able to hold all

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828-479: Is chief executive of the charity Concern and chair of the trust which runs The Irish Times newspaper. Arnold is being paid for his work, and was to step down from his role at Concern in 2013 as the convention's workload increases. In January 2014, Arnold addressed the Seanad on the convention's work to date. He listed the principles under which it operated as openness, fairness, equality of voice, efficiency, and collegiality. The 66 random citizens were chosen by

897-724: Is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives ). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members senators ( seanadóirí in Irish , singular: seanadóir ). Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by various methods. Its powers are much weaker than those of

966-603: The Irish Independent described it as "unelected and powerless". Stephen Collins wrote that the November 2012 referendum on children's rights , with low turnout and unexpectedly high No-vote, suggested "putting such relatively minor issues [as those of the Convention] to the people in a referendum could easily rebound". Some civil society groups complained that they ought to have been directly represented at

1035-517: The Citizens' Assembly as models that other European countries could usefully imitate. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said in June 2015 that "While there was unanimous support for a second convention in the [Convention's final] report, it was acknowledged that this is an exercise that can only be achieved once in the lifetime of any Dáil". In the buildup to 2016 general election , various politicians proposed changes to Irish abortion law , including repeal of

1104-414: The Constitution should be amended to include “gender-inclusive” language. 62% of delegates supported and 37% were against the Constitution being amended to include an “explicit provision on gender equality”. 88% of delegates disagreed that Article 41.2.1 should be left unchanged. 98% of delegates voted that were Article 41.2.1 to be changed, it should be made “gender-neutral” to include other careers in

1173-626: The Eighth Amendment . In November 2015, Kenny promised "a Citizen's Convention on the constitution, or whatever title would be appropriate" to address the issue. The Fine Gael–independent minority government formed after the 2016 election committed to establishing " a Citizens' Assembly , within six months, and without participation by politicians, and with a mandate to look at a limited number of key issues over an extended time period." The Assembly will not be restricted to constitutional issues, but three such issues specifically mentioned are

1242-503: The President of the Executive Council and members indirectly elected by the Dáil, and W. T. Cosgrave agreed to use his appointments to grant extra representation to the state's Protestant minority. The procedures for election of senators were amended before the first Seanad election by the Constitution (Amendment No. 1) Act 1925 . It was intended that eventually the entire membership of the Seanad would be directly elected by

1311-679: The legislatures of the Republic of Ireland (Oireachtas) and Northern Ireland ( Northern Ireland Assembly ). Six parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly were each invited to send one representative. Four accepted, while the Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Unionist Party declined, regarding the convention as internal to the Republic. The remaining places, 29 in the event, were divided between

1380-613: The Department of the Taoiseach worked for the convention. The total cost for three years was €1.367m. Tom Arnold summarised the convention's working methods thus: Referendums were held on 8 March 2024 on the proposed Thirty-ninth and Fortieth (Family and Care) Amendments of the Constitution which were rejected. In 2017 the government formed after the 2016 election accepted the convention's 2013 recommendation, published

1449-495: The Dáil and it can only delay laws with which it disagrees, rather than veto them outright. It can introduce new legislation. Since its establishment, it has been located in Leinster House . Under Article 18 of the Constitution , Seanad Éireann consists of 60 senators, composed as follows: The general election for the Seanad must occur not later than 90 days after the dissolution of Dáil Éireann. The election occurs under

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1518-828: The Dáil) in joint committees of the Oireachtas. A maximum of two senators may be ministers in the Government . The first parliamentary upper house in Ireland was the House of Lords of the Parliament of Ireland , beginning in 1297. Like its British counterpart, this house consisted of hereditary nobles and bishops. After the abolition of the Irish Parliament under the Act of Union of 1800 no parliament existed in Ireland until

1587-1063: The Eighth Amendment, fixed term parliaments , and "the manner in which referenda are held (e.g. should ‘super referendum days’, whereby a significant number of referenda take place on the same day, be held)." Government of the 31st D%C3%A1il Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 909137062 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:47:36 GMT Seanad %C3%89ireann Opposition (17) Vacant 53°20′26″N 6°15′14″W  /  53.34055°N 6.254021°W  / 53.34055; -6.254021 Seanad Éireann ( / ˈ ʃ æ n ə d ˈ ɛər ən , ˈ ʃ æ n ə ð / SHAN -əd(h) AIR -ən , Irish: [ˈʃan̪ˠəd̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ; " Senate of Ireland")

1656-618: The February 2012 proposal as "something that is one part Oireachtas committee and two parts focus group , with an advisory role only and which will, at least initially, deal with what are essentially insignificant constitutional provisions". Fintan O'Toole in June 2012 compared the convention to the Citizens Union , a reformist political organisation which Tammany Hall did not bother suppressing so long as did not threaten its hegemony. Twenty NGOs produced an open letter calling for

1725-467: The Oireachtas groups so as to be "impartially representative of the Houses". Each Oireachtas group is represented, roughly proportional to their total numbers in both houses ( Dáil and Seanad ), including the Dáil technical group and the Seanad independent group. Sinn Féin has a joint delegation from both legislatures. In the 2007–2011 Oireachtas ( 30th Dáil and 23rd Seanad ) the joint committee on

1794-472: The Oireachtas, who was on secondment to the Department of the Taoiseach. The research was led by the Academic and Legal Research Group, made up of David Farrell , Jane Suiter , Eoin O'Malley, Clodagh Harris and Lia O'Hegarty. The establishing resolution set the following agenda items: The first two items were to be considered first, with recommendations due for report to the Oireachtas within two months of

1863-542: The Seanad should be referred to the convention. Three Labour senators ( John Kelly , James Heffernan , and Denis Landy ) defied the party whip to support the motion. A resolution establishing the Convention in the names of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste was passed in the Dáil on 10 July 2012: A similar resolution was passed by the Seanad on 12 July. Originally one hour was allocated for its debate; senators spent 90 minutes debating procedural motions about whether to extend

1932-514: The Seanad on 12 July, and signed by the President on 18 July. Although in June the Taoiseach envisaged the Convention beginning work in September, he said in October there was a delay because of the difficulty of finding a chairperson. The initial resolution specified that the convention would complete its business within 12 months of its first meeting, hence by 1 December 2013. In August 2013,

2001-652: The Seanad should be directly elected by all adult citizens. Calls have also been made for the Seanad to be used to represent Irish emigrants or the people of Northern Ireland . In 1999 the Reform Movement called for some of the Taoiseach's nominations to be reserved for members of the Irish-British minority, and other minorities such as members of the Travelling Community and recently arrived immigrants. The Seventh Amendment in 1979 altered

2070-510: The Seanad was inspired by the corporatist Roman Catholic social teaching of the 1930s, and in particular the 1931 papal encyclical Quadragesimo anno . In this document Pope Pius XI argued that the Marxist concept of class conflict should be replaced with a vision of social order based on the co-operation and interdependence of society's various vocational groups. Since 1928, twelve separate official reports have been published on reform of

2139-501: The Seanad. In the 1980s, the Progressive Democrats called for its abolition; however, in government, members of the party were nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach. The post-1937 body has been criticised on a number of grounds, including claims that it is weak and dominated by the Government of the day. There are also allegations of patronage in the selection of its members, with senators often being close allies of

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2208-474: The Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan saying "I urge the Government at this late stage to withdraw these tweaks and as quickly as possible in the next Oireachtas to bring forward meaningful change and stop excluding such a large part of our population from their democratic say simply on the basis of who holds a degree. It is completely and utterly indefensible." 72 TDs voted in favour of

2277-531: The Supreme Court gave a second ruling, allowing the Oireachtas up to 31 May 2025 to legislate for the expansion of the electorate. In September 2024, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage published the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2024, which was passed by the Seanad on 16 October without a vote, and the Dáil on 23 October without amendment. The legislation

2346-460: The Taoiseach or candidates who have failed to be elected to the Dáil. Many senators have subsequently been elected as TDs. Irish universities have a long tradition of electing independent candidates. Some, like the pressure group Graduate Equality, argue that the franchise for electing university senators should be extended to the graduates of all third level institutions. Others believe that this does not go far enough and that at least some portion of

2415-415: The age of eligibility for the presidency from 35 to 21 . The former was accepted, and the latter rejected. A third referendum was passed on 26 October 2018 to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution . The convention was established pursuant to resolutions in each house of the Oireachtas in June 2012. It was to meet on at least eight Saturdays over the course of a year. The inaugural meeting

2484-526: The case of vacancies in the vocational panels, the electorate in the by-election consists of Oireachtas members only. Vacancies to the university seats are filled by the full electorate in that constituency until March 2025, after which vacancies will be filled through a list system. The powers of Seanad Éireann are modelled loosely on those of the British House of Lords . It is intended to play an advisory and revising role rather than to be an equal of

2553-561: The chairman asked for an extension, which was granted by the government and then retrospectively approved by a resolution on 29 January 2014, extending its term until 31 March 2014. The convention's budget was included under the Department of the Taoiseach ; as such the annual budget made provision for it and the following year's report of the Comptroller and Auditor General gave the amount actually spent. Four civil servants from

2622-516: The constitution produced a report on the electoral system which recommended that the issue be discussed by a "Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform" and sketched out the structure of such an assembly. Proposals for constitutional reform were in the main parties' manifestos for the February 2011 general election . Fine Gael proposed a "Constitution Day" series of referendums and a citizens' assembly on electoral reform. Fianna Fáil also proposed

2691-477: The convention recommended for inclusion in the Constitution the following ESC rights: right to housing ; social security ; essential health care ; disability rights ; linguistic and cultural rights ; and rights covered in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . Although the resolution required the government to respond officially within four months of receiving

2760-657: The convention to examine human rights . In the debate on the July Dáil resolution, opposition politicians criticised the composition, agenda, and limited power of the proposed Convention. Later in July, the Patrick MacGill summer school in Glenties had a seminar with academics and politicians discussing the convention. An Irish Times editorial called the Convention "all form and little substance". An editorial in

2829-433: The convention would have 100 members, as follows: The plan did not envisage direct participation by social partners or other interest groups , but they would be able to make written submissions. The government also proposed that the first two items for consideration would be lowering the voting age from 18 to 17, and reducing the President's term of office. Issues upon which the government had already committed to holding

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2898-405: The convention's first meeting. The other specified issues were considered in turn until November 2013, and two other issues were then chosen, Dáil reform and Economic, social and cultural rights . The chairman was appointed by the Government. Finding a suitable willing candidate took longer than expected. On 24 October 2012, it was announced that the chairman would be Tom Arnold , an economist who

2967-433: The convention, instead of being expected to make written submissions and hope for an invitation to address one of its meetings. Fears expressed by commentators included that legislator members would control the process to the detriment of the citizen members, and that the demographic averaging of the membership would reduce input from marginalised minority groups. Matthew Wall of Swansea University wrote in July 2013 that he

3036-584: The general public was invited to suggest topics for the convention to consider. The meetings took place between 23 October and 25 November, in Cork, Galway, Waterford, Dublin, Sligo, Athlone, and Monaghan. These meetings supplement the pre-existing facility to submit online proposals, of which "a couple of thousand" had been received by the time of the announcement. In December 2013, two topics were chosen: Dáil reform and Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) rights. These were discussed in February 2014. In February 2014,

3105-405: The home. The terms of reference allowed the convention to consider "other issues, time permitting". These were originally scheduled for discussion on 30 November–1 December 2013, just before the anniversary of its inaugural ceremonial meeting. A May 2013 motion to consider the proposed abolition of the Seanad was defeated. The convention announced on 14 October 2013 a series of meetings at which

3174-420: The home. 50% of delegates voted against and 49% in favour of placing a positive duty on the State to take action to increase women's participation in politics and public life. 97% of delegates voted in favour of the following statement: “Leaving aside the Constitution, would you like to see more government action to encourage greater participation of women in politics and public life?” 89% of delegates agreed that

3243-419: The legislation, including Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael , the Green Party , and a number of Independent TDs, including former Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick , former Progressive Democrats TD Noel Grealish , former Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry , and Cathal Berry . In October 2009, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny stated his intention that a Fine Gael government would abolish the Seanad, and along with reducing

3312-576: The legislature, in conjunction with the President, Dáil Éireann for the lower house, and Seanad Éireann for the upper house, the latter having been used during the Irish Free State. This new Seanad was considered to be the direct successor of the Free State Seanad and so the first Seanad convened under the new constitution was referred to as the "Second Seanad". The new system of vocational panels used to nominate candidates for

3381-502: The level of public engagement with the convention and its efficient use of its small budget, but said its credibility was undermined by the government's dismissive responses. Fintan O'Toole similarly praised the convention's work, and suggested the government's tepid response would increase public cynicism with politics. In November 2016, David Van Reybrouck commended the Constitutional Convention and its successor

3450-521: The number of TDs by 20, it would "save an estimated €150m over the term of a Dáil." During the 2011 election campaign , Labour , Sinn Féin and the Socialist Party also supported abolition of the Seanad, while Fianna Fáil supported a referendum on the issue. The programme of the Fine Gael–Labour coalition , which came to power at the election, sought to abolish the Seanad as part of

3519-429: The popularly elected Dáil. While notionally every Act of the Oireachtas must receive assent of both chambers, in practice the Seanad can only delay rather than veto decisions of the Dáil. The fact that 11 senators are appointed by the Taoiseach usually ensures that the Government, which must have the support of the Dáil, enjoys at least a plurality in the Seanad. The constitution imposes the following specific limitations on

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3588-706: The powers of the Seanad: The Constitution does, however, grant to the Seanad certain means by which it may defend its prerogatives against an overly zealous Dáil: Seanad Éireann adopts its own standing orders and appoints its president, known as the Cathaoirleach ("Chair"). The Taoiseach appoints a senator to be Leader of the House and direct government business there. The Seanad establishes its own standing committees and select committee ; senators also participate, along with TDs (members of

3657-501: The provisions of Article 18.4 to allow for a redistribution of the university seats to any other institutes of higher education in the state, although it took until October 2024 for legislation to be put in place to provide for expansion of the franchise. In 2019, Tomás Heneghan, a graduate of University of Limerick , challenged the limitation of voting rights to graduates of National University of Ireland , Trinity College Dublin , and to Oireachtas and local authority members. The case

3726-421: The public. However, after only one election, in 1925 , where 19 Seanad members were elected in one district using STV, this system was abandoned in favour of a form of indirect election. Initially casual vacancies in the Seanad were filled by vote of the remaining members. However this system was replaced under the Constitution (Amendment No. 11) Act 1929 by filling of vacancies by vote of both Dáil and Seanad,

3795-418: The referendums and must make a decision on what ones it should hold in conjunction with the marriage equality referendum next spring." In November 2015, Kenny responded to Seán Ó Fearghaíl : In December 2015, Kenny accepted responsibility for the delay again. Responses to the four remaining reports were delivered on 14 January 2016 by junior ministers Paul Kehoe and Ann Phelan . Noel Whelan described

3864-617: The six seats with a list system mirroring the process used in European Parliament elections and increases the number of nominations a prospective candidate needs from 10 to 60 registered electors or the payment of a deposit of €1,800. 53 members of the Dáil voted against the legislation, including Sinn Féin , the Labour Party , the Social Democrats , People Before Profit-Solidarity , Independent Ireland and

3933-550: The state to determine how it would institute the necessary changes to the law. In a statement, through his legal representatives at the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), Heneghan said he hoped the Oireachtas would act speedily to extend the vote to everyone, regardless of educational or socio-economic background. This would be in line with the 2018 report of the cross-party Seanad Reform Implementation Group, chaired by Senator Michael McDowell . On 26 July 2023,

4002-470: The system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (in the panel constituencies each vote counts as 1000, allowing fractions of votes to be more easily transferred). Membership is open to all Irish citizens over 21, but a senator cannot also be a member of Dáil Éireann. However, as stated above, nomination to vocational panel seats is restricted; nomination in the university constituencies requires signatures of 10 graduates. In

4071-401: The system that continues today for panel members. The Free State Seanad was abolished entirely in 1936 after it delayed some Government proposals for constitutional changes. The modern Seanad Éireann was established by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, and first sat on 25 January 1939. When this document was adopted it was decided to preserve the titles of Oireachtas , for the two houses of

4140-419: The time to two hours, after which the resolution was passed without debate. The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2012 was introduced to allow the electoral register to be used to provide the names of the citizen members of the convention. While existing law allows the register to be used for any "statutory purpose", the convention was not established by statute . The bill passed all stages in the Dáil on 11 July and in

4209-455: The twentieth century. In 1919 Irish nationalists established a legislature called Dáil Éireann but this body was unicameral and so had no upper house. In 1920 the Parliament of Southern Ireland was established by British law with an upper house called the Senate. The Senate of Southern Ireland consisted of a mixture of Irish peers and government appointees. The Senate convened in 1921 but

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4278-513: The voting age, while 47% voted against any such reduction. 38% of delegates voted that, if the voting age were to be reduced, it should be reduced to 17; 48% voted in favour of it being reduced to 16. As for the issue of making changes related to the office of the president , 57% voted against and 43% voted in favour of a reduction in the presidential term. 80% of delegates cast their vote against aligning presidential with local and European elections. 94% of delegates voted in favour of giving citizens

4347-531: The weekend of 26 and 27 January 2013. The topics of deliberation of this first session included, among other things, lowering the voting age, reducing the length of the presidential term of office, and aligning presidential elections with those for local authorities and the European Parliament. The following are some of the more important results from the first plenary session. Of the delegates who were present and voted, 52% voted in favour of reducing

4416-483: Was boycotted by Irish nationalists and so never became fully operational. It was formally abolished with the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 but a number of its members were soon appointed to the new Free State senate. The name Seanad Éireann was first used as the title of the upper house of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State. The first Seanad consisted of a mixture of members appointed by

4485-636: Was elected to the Industrial and Commercial Panel in a by-election in February 1996. Niall Ó Donnghaile was elected in April 2016 as a Sinn Féin senator for the Administrative Panel while serving on Belfast City Council . Ian Marshall , a farmer and activist from a Unionist background, was elected to the Agricultural Panel in a by-election in April 2018. Mal O'Hara of Belfast, leader of Green Party Northern Ireland ,

4554-545: Was heard by a three-judge division of the High Court in 2021. The challenge was rejected by the court later that year. On 31 March 2023, following a direct appeal on the point of university graduates voting, the seven-judge Supreme Court ruled in Heneghan's favour and struck down the 1937 law limiting the right to vote to NUI and Trinity College graduates. However, the court suspended its ruling to 31 July 2023 to allow

4623-407: Was impressed by the convention's operation and the substance of its reports, and hopeful that the government would not simply reject any recommendations it found inconvenient. In January 2015, Harry McGee of The Irish Times wrote, "Only two of 18 recommendations for constitutional change made by the Convention on the Constitution are to be put to referendum." In March 2015, David Farrell commended

4692-691: Was on 1 December 2012 at Dublin Castle , and working sessions begin in late January 2013, with later sessions being held elsewhere in the state and in Northern Ireland. The plenary sessions were open to the public, and streamed live . The convention's secretariat was called the Constitutional Convention Office, led by civil servants from the Department of the Taoiseach . The Secretary was Art O’Leary, previously Director of Committees, Information and Communications of

4761-457: Was signed by President Michael D Higgins on 29 October 2024. The new law abolishes the two three-seat National University of Ireland and University of Dublin constituencies, and creates a new six-seat Higher Education constituency in which all degree-holders from third level state institutions of higher education will be entitled to vote at the next Seanad general election after 21 March 2025. The legislation also replaces Seanad by-elections for

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