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THE SCHEME OF a bill that will massively increase the number of eligible voters in Seanad elections has been published.
Environment Minister Phil Hogan today published for consultation the General Scheme of a Bill to reform how the six university senators are elected.
The bill plans to create one constituency of six senators and expand voting rights to other universities and higher education institutions.
It is estimated that up to 800,000 people would be entitled to register under the planned reforms.
When the Seanad constituencies were established in 1937, the National University of Ireland had 9,000 constituents and Trinity College had 3,400. At the 2011 Seanad elections there were some 151,000 voters on the combined registers for the two university constituencies.
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Hogan said that the expansion is overdue.
“Implementation of this constitutional provision could have been done at any point since 1979.
The Government is now taking action to implement the will of the people.
“The approach being adopted is for a broad definition of institutions of higher education to be applied in order to include universities, institutes of technology, other higher education institutions and private colleges.”
The scheme is now being circulated to members of the Seanad and forwarded to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht for consideration.
The deadline for receipt of written submissions is Friday, April 11. Submissions or queries on the draft legislation can be addressed to:
Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2014’,
Franchise Section,
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government,
Custom House,
Dublin 1.
Submissions can also be emailed to franchise@environ.ie.
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Still not good enough. It needs total reform and unless everyone can vote it’s an affront to democracy. It also will likely favour women as more women than men are graduating with degrees at the moment.
I don’t know what’s worse; that you just posted an image of your bank statement to make a statement (pun intended) or that you think getting paid 67k a year makes you a genius. You know Wayne Rooney gets three times as much a week? And he’s not the brightest spark.
And it’s amazing that you know that without knowing what I earn. I think the best and most intuitive system would be for the people most capable of running the country to have the biggest say no? You can move to the back of the queue…
Brenden just wondering yesterday you claimed to be working in Switzerland paying no income tax, and today you are paying tax.
Your memory is a bit slow to I see.
That’s not a pay cheque, it’s a bank statement. So you are boasting about 5k in your current account?! Let me the first to say whoop de doo! Your missus must be kicked if she’s so easily impressed.
Brendan I’ll type slowly for you…pay attention yesterday you claimed not to pay income tax, today you claim the opposite.
You do fit the profile of a Troll, sadly for you neither a very bright or believeable one.
Now I can only respond twice more to you as I ‘m approaching my “idiot response allowance”for today.
Another good one for you. Deputy state pathologist. You have to be a doctor and have decades of experience but the pay is pretty tidy. You’ll take home about €5500 a month, not quite the heights of my package.
There are people reading this who have a larger income than you. And there are people reading this who have a smaller income than you. They all think you’re a knob.
Paul I always engage for a period just to allow them make bigger bell*nds of themselves.
Brendan has an uncanny knack of coming across as an idiot with very little effort.
How little you must have in your life. I genuinely feel sorry for you. Anyone who has to attempt to belittle other people on the journal must be in a sombre state of affairs in their personal life. Enjoy your night Bren, with your fantastic salary, wife and girlfriends.
Without any doubt you are one of the biggest morons that ever posted a comment here….what is your point in anyway? To proof that one can occasionally be on decent wages without having any kind of qualification and lacking any intellectual capacity?
Are you by any chance a politician? That would explain a lot….
It is and should be different to the Dåil. It should keep the Dåil in check. Ideally it would be largely a-political, representing all of Ireland. I think there should rightly be a different electorate to the Dåil elections, what that electorate is is hard to define, as well as what voting system should be used. Political parties should be limited to the amount of senators they can have, thus making sure its not the tail of the dog.
Trinity senators are fecked so! This is just a distraction to delay real the change. The senate will still be loaded with political failures or government favourites.
About time and it needs total reform. Absolute disgrace that just because I went to a certain university that I’m more equal than others with an entitlement to vote.
He’s throwing his lot in with the big boys and girls to become an MEP. Us god hatin liberals finally get to have a say in Sen Mullen’s political aspirations.
So it began as a home for the elite to cosy up to the elite and not it remains a home for the elite to elect the elite (except for 6 seats which you still need a degree to have any say in). Reform my arse. People’s illusions in second houses being a progressive instead of regressive institutions have ensured cronyism for some time to come is fully protected.
I was one of those who voted to keep the Seanad but on the basis that it would see major reform. I can’t express enough how angry I am that this is still going to be a closed shop for elitists and a chosen few. It is an affront to democracy and I for one will oppose it at every level. “The Government is now taking action to implement the will of the people.” If they believe their own propaganda then they would include all citizens rather than a select few.
Left… I see clear and legible English wasn’t part of the curriculum you studied in Uni.
Let me guess the hardest part was filling in the postal order and stamped addressed envelope for your online diploma.
There really is a lower class of Troll on this site lately.
Did it take you that long to think of a post? I suppose when you have to run it through spellcheck that would explain.
Now I’ve reached my idiot interaction allowance for today bye Troll (just not a good one…sigh).
Pity we voted no then we would avoid all these comments. Ff reviewed multiple supplied through their civil servants and nothing changed. The same civil servants are running the show now so how do you think there will be a change with fg. If a few dept sec were fired and replaced with private sector then something might happen.
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