Seanad Eireann: A Reform Vision The current Seanad is completely useless. This is an undisputed fact. The question of what to do with it is what divides the nation. Various groups, lobbies and bands of independents have put forward proposals to change it. The Government is trying to go full retention or full abolition. I have decided that, in this article, I will try to get across my vision of a reformed Seanad and how it will affect the Irish political landscape. Firstly it must have independent power. The current Seanad is like a child. Its mammy, the Dáil, tells it what is right and what to do and the Seanad has just played along like a good obedient mammy’s boy. Even when it has decided to use its powers, it only delayed a bill by 90 days. If the Seanad is to be an effective house it must have true, independent power. In order to fulfil the independent part of the brief, I would ban all political party affiliations within the Seanad. In this Oireachtas, The Dáil is for politics, the Seanad would be where the real work gets done. For the power part, I would grant the Seanad to permanently amend bills and to reject ad infinitum. However, they would not be able to propose bills. This would be that way because, as a independent chamber, they would not have the cohesion to propose bills. The only civil servants would be the chair of the Seanad and the Attorney General. Secondly, there would multiple Seanads, corresponding to each ministry. There would be 100 members to each Seanad and they would be paid an allowance only for days on which they sit. Tenure would be for 8 years, of which the senators could...