Do I have a Seanad vote?

simu

Are NUI graduates put on the electors' list automatically or do they have to register? Is there anywhere I can check to see if my name is on the list?

Thanks!

jhegarty

http://www.nui.ie/elections/

Kojak

You will have to register. If you graduated in the last few years you would have gotten an application form when your graduated. This would then have to be filled up and sent off to an address in Dublin - it would have been on the form itself.

If you haven't gotten election material (i.e. leaflets on what each candidate is attempting to achieve in the Seanad) then you are probably not on the register. I have gotten tons of them in the last few weeks. I thought the general election was bad....

2 r bine

What gives a domocratic republic a right to elitist elections?

Why are tradsmen and non academics excluded, as in councillors elections ?
Just thinking out loud !!

nesf

2 r bine wrote:

What gives a domocratic republic a right to elitist elections?

Why are tradsmen and non academics excluded, as in councillors elections ?
Just thinking out loud !!

It's worse. Only some academics are included and the six university seats are divided into 3 elected by the Trinity graduates and 3 elected by NUI graduates which isn't very proportional.

The entire thing needs to be overhauled imho.

Collie D

nesf wrote:

The entire thing needs to be overhauled imho.

Or just abolished. What does the Seanad actually do that the Dáil couldn't. Just a cushy number for long-serving party members who are shafted by the electorate IMO

Jackie laughlin

It would be better if the reform went in the opposite direction so that voting in all Oireachtas elections would be confined to graduates -and I mean graduates from the two real universities. Anyone interested in citizenship could study for a degree. Democracy has been going downhill since the property qualification was abolished.

Collie D

Jackie laughlin wrote:

It would be better if the reform went in the opposite direction so that voting in all Oireachtas elections would be confined to graduates -and I mean graduates from the two real universities. Anyone interested in citizenship could study for a degree. Democracy has been going downhill since the property qualification was abolished.

The art of a true troll is in its subtlety............ better luck next time

brianthebard

Collie D wrote:

Or just abolished. What does the Seanad actually do that the Dáil couldn't. Just a cushy number for long-serving party members who are shafted by the electorate IMO

The Seanad suggests amendments to bills. Imo they should be given more power, after Dev abolished the seanad initially it came back with very limited powers. I think a useful second house can be very important.
Regards voting, do I have to wait until graduation in September or October or am I eligible to vote for the Seanad once I receive my final year results?

dermot_sheehan

You need your degree so after graduation.

It is ironic that its the university seats that actually provided the vocational non-partisan scrutiny of bills that the seanad was originally intended for and they are the seats that people are complaining about and seeking to abolish.

lostexpectation

simu for the seanad!

heyjude

brianthebard wrote:

The Seanad suggests amendments to bills. Imo they should be given more power, after Dev abolished the seanad initially it came back with very limited powers. I think a useful second house can be very important.

The Senate would make more sense if the Taoiseach of the day couldn't nominate/appoint 6 senators, as this essentially ensures that the government of the day usually enjoys a majority in the Senate, which avoids it giving the government too hard a time, no matter how bad the proposed legislation is.

Whose opinions do the Taoiseach and Ministers take most seriously when they are proposing new legislation, backbench TDs or Senators ? I would suggest that neither group are that influential in the ordinary scheme of things, but when push comes to shove, backbenchers can replace Bertie as party leader, while Senators can't

Jackie laughlin

Collie,
I'm not noted for subtlety but I'll try harder!

Oirthir

heyjude wrote:

The Senate would make more sense if the Taoiseach of the day couldn't nominate/appoint 6 senators, as this essentially ensures that the government of the day usually enjoys a majority in the Senate, which avoids it giving the government too hard a time, no matter how bad the proposed legislation is.

It's actually 11 nominees!

I reckon we could elect similar to the US Senate. Give every county two senators and give the Seanad real teeth. Make the Dáil sit up and pay attention. Stop this nonsense of the government passing whatever stupid legislation they feel like. What's the point in having an opposition if Bertie doesn't pay them a lick of notice.

InFront

Stop this nonsense of the government passing whatever stupid legislation they feel like.

Sounds like a lot of effort for a Government of the day to go to in order to diminish its authority.

I won't have a Senate vote when I graduate either (at least I don't think so), but since I don't think much happens there and the Senate is pretty benign, I'm not sure what I'll be losing out on.

seamus

I think the original purpose of the Seanad was to provide a check against the publically-elected Oireachtas. Filling it with "Learned" people means that items could be properly scrutinised by those in the know.

I agree it needs a complete overhaul. I never received any form to register after I graduated, nor did anyone tell me that these elections even existed, for the record.

Oirthir

InFront wrote:

Sounds like a lot of effort for a Government of the day to go to in order to diminish its authority.

I never said they'd do it, but i'm one of those innocent few who still believe that a government should act in the best interests of it's people rather than a few builders..

nesf

seamus wrote:

I think the original purpose of the Seanad was to provide a check against the publically-elected Oireachtas. Filling it with "Learned" people means that items could be properly scrutinised by those in the know.

Yeah, that works so well in principle but it falls apart quickly in practice. The university panel (as pointed out earlier) tends to provide the more interesting scrutiny simply because of who put them in there in the first place yet is (possibly) the most contentious panel.

A good upper house can be a vital part of a good democracy but it is a difficult balance to achieve.

Collie D

seamus wrote:

I think the original purpose of the Seanad was to provide a check against the publically-elected Oireachtas. Filling it with "Learned" people means that items could be properly scrutinised by those in the know.

So just because somebody graduated from a certain university gives them a right to more voting privileges than the rest of us? Not exactly the finest example of democracy at work. A case of "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others"?

stipey

On a side note, lately much has been made of the fact that a referrendum was passed about 18 years ago that should have allowed graduates from all universities to vote in the Seanad elections - but no legislation has been passed to accomodate this.

Given that it was a referrendum, I am assuming that the constitution was ammended accordingly.

Does this mean that disenfranchised graduates from other universities could sue the state as they are being denied their constitutional rights?

For what its worth, I believe that at a mimimum all citizens should have a vote in the Seanad elections. I'd prefer if it was abolished - while I'm sure it was set up with the best of intentions, it is little more than a navel gazing forum now.

Victor

Oirthir wrote:

I reckon we could elect similar to the US Senate. Give every county two senators and give the Seanad real teeth. Make the Dáil sit up and pay attention. Stop this nonsense of the government passing whatever stupid legislation they feel like. What's the point in having an opposition if Bertie doesn't pay them a lick of notice.

So two seats for Leitrim (population 28,950) and two seats for Dublin (1,173,340)?

Oirthir

Victor wrote:

So two seats for Leitrim (population 28,950) and two seats for Dublin (1,173,340)?

Well, maybe split dublin into the four boroughs, but you get the general gist of what i'm saying?