LABOUR TD KENNY ADVOCATES 'NO' VOTE IN SEANAD REFERENDUM, SAYS GOVERNMENT MUST LOOK AT REFORM IF REFERENDUM FAILS

Posted on September 20, 2013 1:23 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour TD Sean Kenny has advocated a No vote in the forthcoming referendum on the Seanad.

"I feel it is very important to point out that the decision regarding the abolition of the Seanad will be a decision of the People, and not the members of the Oireachtas or the Government. If the People decide that they want to retain it, it is their right to make that decision."

"If the People make the decision to retain the Seanad, which is my own preference, then the Government must respect that decision and I feel it must develop proposals to deal with that situation. I feel quite strongly that if the referendum were to fail, it should not be seen as an indication that the People want nothing to be done in terms of how the Seanad functions. I detect quite a lot of unhappiness out there in terms of how it functions. I also detect quite a lot of concern in terms of how the Dáil functions, and I think that TDs, as well as the Government, need to bear that in mind, and to respond to that concern in a serious, meaningful and constructive way."

"The day of the referendum vote is October 4th. Whatever views people might have of the Seanad, or whatever views they may have formed during this referendum debate I feel they should study the options before them very carefully - this vote is about amending our Constitution - and like all referenda, the ability to do that should never be taken lightly."