A ‘New Politics’ Without the Seanad: Concerns from a Human Rights Perspective

21 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2010

See all articles by Fiona de Londras

Fiona de Londras

Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK; ANU College of Law

Date Written: June 4, 2010

Abstract

Ireland currently finds herself in a time of economic and constitutional crisis. Part of the response to this has been the proposal from the main opposition party - Fine Gael - for abolition of the upper house of parliament (the Seanad) and a move towards a unicameral parliamentary system. This proposal is contained within a broader programme of political reform entitled New Politics. In this short essay I identify the main claims for abolition of the Seanad within the New Politics agenda and argue that, in fact, a convincing argument for so fundamental a shift in constitutional structures has not been made out.

The perspectives presented in this paper are clearly rooted in a concern with the effective protection of human rights in Ireland and with ways in which parliamentary reform (both structural and attitudinal) can contribute to the cultivation of a rights-based ethic in Irish politics. In this respect there are three main areas of concern: the extent to which parliamentary structures themselves reflect and vindicate basic democratic principles, the extent to which the parliamentary process takes human rights into appropriate account in designing and debating legislation, and the extent to which legislation in fact introduced protects and vindicates human rights as enshrined in the Constitution and the various international instruments to which Ireland is a party.

The essay starts by putting the New Politics agenda into its broader political context and by outlining the five basic claims for the abolition proposal contained in New Politics. The paper then proceeds to reject the abolitionist case around two arguments. They are, first, that Seanad abolition has the potential to pose a serious threat to individual rights whereas a reformed upper house together with appropriate reform of both the Dáil and political practice holds potential for more effective rights protection; and, second, that a re-imagined and reformed Seanad constructed around principles of democracy, representativeness and expertise has the potential to meaningfully enhance Irish democracy.

Suggested Citation

de Londras, Fiona, A ‘New Politics’ Without the Seanad: Concerns from a Human Rights Perspective (June 4, 2010). UCD Working Papers in Law, Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies Research Paper No. 28/2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1620505 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1620505

Fiona De Londras (Contact Author)

Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK ( email )

Edgbaston
Birmingham, AL B15 2TT
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/law/staff/profile.aspx?ReferenceId=99740

ANU College of Law ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia

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