Burke has ‘no problem’ with abolition of Seanad

Burke has ‘no problem’ with abolition of Seanad


Anton McNulty

Mayo’s only Senator in the new Seanad has said he will have no problem with the abolition of the Upper House of the Oireachtas if it is replaced with something which delivers accountability.
Fine Gael senator Paddy Burke was re-elected onto the Agricultural Panel of the Seanad having served as a senator since he was first elected in 1993. He was elected following the eighth count.
The 24th Seanad is widely tipped to be the final Seanad after Fine Gael and Labour agreed to hold a referendum on its abolition. Senator Burke is one of the longest serving members of the current Seanad and while he believes that it does a lot of good work scrutinising legislation to be passed, he has no problems if the public decide to get rid of it.
“The people will ultimately decide,” he told The Mayo News. “It does a good job in scrutinising legislation and goes into great detail into bills that might start in the Seanad or come from the DΡil. If the committees Enda Kenny proposes to put in place have the power to send a file to the DPP or bring people before them, I see no problem with them.
“Where all of this has come from is that the fact that the buck never stopped at any person. Whether it be the HSE or the NRA, the TD’s and Senators couldn’t get any answers and people were frustrated. The buck stopped with no person and nobody was accountable. If TD’s have more power and there is more accountability and answers, the people will be happy.”
Senator Burke added that if the Seanad is abolished, there will have to be greater scrutiny and care taken with legislation in the DΡil and TD’s will have to given greater power to raise issues.
For the past two Seanad’s, Senator Burke has served as leas-Cathaoirleach and there is speculation that he is a front-runner for the role as Cathaoirleach. When asked about this speculation, he remained tight-lipped saying the the Seanad will decide who gets the post.
Meanwhile, the only other Mayo candidate to run for elections in the Seanad failed in his bid to get a seat. Swinford native and NUIG lecturer, Donnacha O’Connell was contesting the three-seat NUI panel. Despite getting an impressive first preference vote, the Independent candidate was unable to get enough transfers to claim a seat.
Politics is in Donncha’s blood as he is a nehew of the late Cllr Cormac Hughes of Westport and grandson of the late Cllr Owen Hughes.