It’s rare I’d pull out a leader for the subject of a blog, but this morning’s editorial in the Irish Times is also a useful reader for those who’ve missed the intricacies of the debate on the future of Seanad Eireann. And not least its shifting loyalties on the benches of Dail Eireann.
When I was first taken round the Houses of the Oireachtas by a Irish Labour Party friend he introduced the Seanad as a place where resting politicians go between terms in the Dail or as a sort of a pension house for those on their last hurrah.
That’s a perception widely shared amongst the Irish public, since: one, they have no say in who gets elected; and two, the Seanad itself cannot inflict any corrective pain on the executive if it wanted to.
I’m just about to start a conversation with Kealan Flynn of the Seanad Reform Group, on the private members bill that’s making its way through Seanad this week:
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
