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Meath East TD Regina Doherty and Minister Richard Bruton at the launch of the campaign today. Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
Seanad
Richard Bruton: The Seanad is a luxury we can no longer afford
Minister Bruton and TD Regina Doherty will lead the campaign to abolish the Seanad, it was announced today.
FINE GAEL TODAY launched its campaign to abolish the Seanad with Minister Richard Bruton leading the team as Director of Elections.
Meath East TD Regina Doherty will work alongside him as Deputy Director on what Bruton described as an”energetic campaign with a strong focus on public meetings and digital media to communicate the message that the Seanad is not working”
Speaking today, Bruton said that the choice for the public in this referendum will be a simple one. He said that the abolition of the second chamber of parliament would reduce the number of national politicians by 30 per cent, and save about €100 million over a five year Dáil term.
The minister also said that this will bring Ireland in line with nearly every other small progressive democracy like Sweden and Denmark.
Bruton said he was “not persuaded” by those calling for reform instead of abolition and that he believed the public will recognise calls for reform as seeking ‘more of the same’.
Regina Doherty said that she believed, at a time “when families are making considerable sacrifices”, it is only right that the political system does the same.
“The Seanad is shockingly undemocratic; in fact just 1 per cent of the population voted to elect the current Seanad, and it doesn’t do anything that isn’t already done in the Dáil,” she added.
The following regional directors of the campaign were also announced today:
Dublin Director: Paschal Donohoe TD
Deputy Dublin Director: Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD
Leinster Director: Liam Twomey TD
Deputy Leinster Director: Marcella Corcoran Kennedy TD
Southern Region Director: Aine Collins TD
Deputy Southern Region Director: Patrick O’Donovan TD
North/West Director: Joe McHugh TD
Deputy North/West Director: Sean Kyne TD
Social Media Co-ordinator: Eoghan Murphy TD
It is expected that the referendum will take place in October and the government has indicated that the Seanad would be reformed in the event of a ‘No’vote.
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