Will Seanad ‘wallop’ damage Enda?

Will Seanad ‘wallop’ damage Enda?


Mayo says ‘Yes’ but Upper House remains

Áine Ryan

THE fact that Enda Kenny was given a resounding thumbs-up (57.5 percent) for the abolition of the Seanad on his home turf may be little comfort to the Mayo man as constituency colleague, Dara Calleary, tells The Mayo News the Taoiseach is now ‘damaged’ from his attempt to ‘ram’ through such radical changes to the Constitution.
However, as Mr Kenny fulfilled a series of engagements in Sligo yesterday (Monday) he was far from damaged looking in the aftermath of the humiliating defeat, just a week before his Government publishes yet another austerity Budget. But by all accounts, this mid-term ‘wallop’ may prove to be a cautionary tale about the importance of listening to the citizenry ahead of other major reforms, like the proposed abolition of town councils.  
Undoubtedly too, Mr Kenny is cognisant of the irony that another Mayo native, sacked junior minister Lucinda Creighton TD, a leading member of the recently established Reform Alliance, which was against the abolition of the upper house, managed to return the highest No vote (61.33 percent) in the country, in her constituency of Dublin South-East. Whether the Reform Alliance turns out to be a stalking horse for a much wider challenge is a matter for conjecture, and not something the Taoiseach had time to worry about yesterday.
 
‘Courage’
SPEAKING to The Mayo News, Kenny’s assistant Cllr Ger Deere categorically defended the proposed abolition by his boss, arguing that for the first time in the history of the State the people had ‘been given the opportunity’ to decide on the future of the Upper House.
“Enda was true to his word and has now kick-started a process of reform which no other political leader had the courage to do, despite the fact that there have been 12 reports about the future of the Seanad since the foundation of the State,” Cllr Deere said. “We’re sick of MicheΡl Martin going on, since Fianna FΡil never exercised such courage.”
While the county’s only Fianna FΡil TD, Dara Calleary said yesterday that the failure to win the referendum ‘has damaged the Taoiseach’, he said this was primarily a constitutional issue and should not be personalised.
“This issue is about Bunreacht na hÉireann and is above us all. The people have now decided they want to retain the Senate. The Taoiseach promoted the idea, it was his baby, so to speak, but he did not debate it or deliver it. The fact that he did not debate it was critical, in my view,” Dara Calleary said.
“This has damaged the Taoiseach, He tried to ram a coach and four horses into the constitution … It would have involved a minimum of 40 changes to it. Now he must respond and deliver political reform,” he continued.   
Despite the fact that 38 percent of the Mayo electorate turned out to give the highest support of any constituency to the proposed abolition of the Seanad, Sinn Féin’s Cllr Rose Conway-Walsh argues ‘this was still  not an endorsement by the people of Mayo of Fine Gael or government policies’.
“People wanted to see the end of privilege and elitism and the influence of vested interests that have damaged politics in this country. Unsurprisingly,  the main thing people wanted to talk about was the upcoming Budget while I was canvassing,” the Erris-based county councillor told The Mayo News yesterday.

‘Ill judged’
Cllr Conway-Walsh believes that it was ‘ill judged’ of Enda Kenny not to go on the national airwaves to debate the proposal, particularly since he was the first to fly the idea. She categorically defended Sinn Féin’s support of the proposal.
“From the outset we said there was huge reform needed across all political institutions and requested that such reforms of the Seanad be referred to the Convention on the Constitution. When this was refused, we had a very robust debate at Ard Comhairle level and, in all honesty, we knew we couldn’t vote for the retention of an institution that is so undemocratic and has such privileges,” she said.
When questioned about the proposed abolition of town councils, Cllr Conway-Walsh said she ‘disagreed fundamentally’ with such a move and its ramifications for democracy.
“During this whole campaign the advantages of unicameral [one parliamentary chamber] parliaments delivering more effective governments was highlighted. But in such countries where this works, for example in Sweden, they have strong participative democracy which proves the nearer you bring decision-making to the ground, the better the outcome will be for citizens,” Cllr Conway-Walsh continued.

Warning
WESTPORT’S Fine Gael Town Cllr Myles Staunton agrees, arguing that this latest referendum rejection ‘shows that the people hold serious views about how politics should be governed, and that their views cannot be taken for granted’. He says that this latest signal from the people must be heeded by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan as he prepares to enact legislation to abolish town councils.
“In contrast to the Seanad, it is important to remember that town councillors are democratically elected by the people, and experience shows that they will not be re-elected if they do not represent the people well. The fact that they are directly elected by the people surely means that the people should have a say in whether the town councils should be abolished,” Cllr Staunton said.
Rather than abolition, Cllr Staunton called for the reform of town councils or, alternatively, a referendum on their retention.  
His Labour Party colleague, Cllr Keith Martin, who is a member of Democracy Matters, a group that campaigned to save the Seanad, welcomed the failure of the referendum.
He said: “I am proud of all those who voted No and of being a member of Democracy Matters because it does matter. The Seanad now needs reform to make it proactive and relevant and to ensure it does its job of scrutinising the DΡil and the Government even more closely. I also think those senators who supported the abolition should consider their positions.”
He also said that town councils, like the Seanad, would benefit by reform rather than abolition.

Commentary
NATIONAL media coverage would suggest the knives are already out for Enda Kenny, but some commentators would argue this was a ‘self-inflicted wound’. In The Sunday Times, Matt Cooper writes: “As self-inflicted wounds go, Enda Kenny’s botched effort to abolish Seanad Éireann is a gaping one, and could have serious consequences for both him and Fine Gael.”
Cooper cites his ‘dictatorial’ handling of those party colleagues who voted against the abortion referendum on a matter of conscience as now looking ‘weak’.
“One reason for [Saturday’s] shock Seanad result is Kenny’s handling of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act. While the majority of voters were in favour of the measure, many were not impressed by the ruthlessness with which the Taoiseach dealt with TDs and senators who had conscientious objections.”
In yesterday’s Irish Independent, Fionnan Sheahan, suggests that Enda must be wondering ‘if it was worth the hassle’ since the fallout ‘has turned an unflattering spotlight on his leadership style’.
In yesterday’s Irish Times Harry McGee observes that Donegal Senator Jimmy Harte had the best line of the weekend when he said the referendum was ‘the costliest after-dinner speech in history’.

Court of Appeal
MAYO voters showed strong support for the proposal to establish a Court of Appeal, with 66.83 percent in favour. This was just above the national average of 65.1 percent.