Representation, Vol. 37, No. 2, 2000, pp. 147-154

The Irish Senate: The Case forSeanad ÉireannJack McGowan-Smyth

One of the most interesting features of the many proposals to introduce some form ofHome Rule for Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is that all ofthose proposals provided for a bicameral legislature. This was maintained in theoriginal Government of Ireland Act of 1920 and in developments subsequent to 1922.A further feature of those proposals was corporatist representation, rather surprising inview of the almost instinctive hostility of many politicians to the very idea ofcorporatism. The provisions of the 1920 legislation were to an extent a compromisebetween the conservative protagonists of a chamber similar to that of the House ofLords and the rather more radical supporters of chambers similar to those which cameinto existence on the continent after the first world war. With a change of governmentin 1932 conflict arose between the two houses, particularly in relation to legislation toremove the oath of allegiance, which was bitterly opposed by the Senate. The patternof events over the post-1932 period ultimately led to the abolition of the Senate inMay 1936. However, the period of a single-chamber legislature was very short as thenew Constitution of 1937 provided for the institution of a Senate on a different basisand with modified powers.

The Senate in the Constitution of 1937 is commonly referred to as the 'vocational'Senate. Article 18 of the Constitution provides for a Senate composed of 60 members,of whom 11 are nominated by the Taoiseach (prime minister) and 49 are electedmembers. The Constitution sets out the conditions of eligibility for membership ofboth Houses. It is of some interest to note that there is specific provision that a judgemay not be a member of either House, thus affirming categorically the principle of theseparation of legislative and judicial powers.

As in most unitary states the powers of the Irish Senate are in general less thanthose of the Dail, the popularly elected house. The Dail has superior constitutionalpowers in regard to legislation, as the time for consideration by the Senate of suchbills is limited to 90 days; moreover, in the case of money bills the time is limited to21 days.

Under the Constitution every election to the Senate is conducted by the singletransferable vote (STV) on a secret postal ballot. A general election for the Senate musttake place not later than 90 days after the dissolution of the Dail. The period ofexistence of both houses is therefore approximately of the same duration, althoughthe outgoing Senate continues to exist during the period between the dissolution ofthe old Dail and the meeting of the new Dail and may indeed consider legislationpassed by each of them. This provides for continuity in the legislative process.

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Money bills and bills to amend the Constitution may be introduced only in the Dail.The latter, on being passed by both houses of Parliament, must be then submitted to areferendum for approval by the electorate. On one occasion the Senate rejected agovernment bill to abolish proportional representation. Although the Dail exercised itssuperior constitutional power to override that decision, the Senate's action seems tohave had a considerable effect on public opinion because the proposal was rejected bythe electorate at the subsequent referendum in 1959. This defeat for the governmentwas especially significant since voting took place at the same time as the election ofthe President when Mr de Valera secured a comfortable majority. However, theelectorate rejected his pet project - the abolition of STY

Under the Constitution all members of the government must be members of oneof the Houses. The Taoiseach, Tanaiste (deputy prime minister) and Minister forFinance must be members of the Dail, and of the remainder not more than two maybe members of the Senate. This provision has been used only once in recent yearswhen the Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, nominated a senator, James Dooge, as Ministerfor Foreign Affairs.

Every member of the government has the right to attend and be heard in bothhouses. This enables a member of the government who is not a member of the Senateto attend it in order to supervise the passage of legislation for which he is responsible.In addition, such members of the government attend the Senate to deal withsubstantive motions and matters raised on the adjournment.

Elected members of the SenateMembers are elected as follows:

1. Three by the National University of Ireland, consisting of the three constituentuniversity colleges of Dublin, Cork and Galway.

2. Three by the University of Dublin (Trinity College).3. 43 from five panels of candidates containing the names of persons having

knowledge and practical experience of certain interests and services.

The university members are elected by the graduates of the universities concerned andthe procedure for election corresponds to those used for an election underproportional representation for a three-member Dail constituency. In so far as thepanel members are concerned, the constitutional and legislative provisions are muchmore complicated. The five panels are divided as follows:

4. National Language and Culture, Literature, Art, Education, Law and Medicineincluding Surgery, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine and Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

5. Agriculture and allied interests and Fisheries.6. Labour, organised or unorganised.

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7. Industry and Commerce, including Banking, Finance, Accountancy, Engineeringand Architecture.

8. Public Administration and Social Services, including voluntary social services of acharitable nature.

Nomination may be made in two ways: any four members of the Houses maynominate a candidate, or an officially registered nominating body may nominate aperson or such number of persons as prescribed by law. For the purposes of theelection each panel is divided into two sub-panels, the parliamentary sub-panelcontaining the names of candidates nominated by members of the Houses, and thenominating bodies' sub-panel containing the names of candidates nominated by suchbodies.

The register of nominating bodies is compiled by the Senate Returning Officer andrevised annually. As of 19 March 1999 the register contained the names of 94 bodieswhich represented an extremely wide combination of professional, vocational andcultural interests (a full list of bodies is appended to this article). Each body on theCultural and Educational, Industrial and Commercial and Administrative Panels isentitled to nominate one candidate for election; each body on the Agricultural Panel isentitled to nominate two candidates, and the two bodies on the Labour Panel areentitled each to nominate seven candidates.

Five members are elected by the Cultural and Educational Panel, of whom at leasttwo are elected by each sub-panel; eleven members are elected from each of theAgricultural and Labour Panels, at least four of whom are elected by each sub-panel;nine members are elected from the Industrial and Commercial Panel, of whom at leastthree are elected by each sub-panel; and seven are elected from the AdministrativePanel, at least three of whom are elected by each sub-panel.

ElectorateThe electorate for panel elections consists of the members of the newly elected Dail,the outgoing Senate and every council of a county or county borough. The electoratefor the election in 1997 numbered 992 and an analysis of the register identified 877 ashaving party political affiliations and 115 who could be regarded as independents. Asthe electorate is predominantly party political it was considered necessary to offset thisbias by dividing the panels into sub-panels to guarantee a minimum representation forcandidates nominated by the nominating bodies as already indicated.

VotingEach voter receives five ballot papers by registered post - one in respect of each of thefive panels - and all papers must be returned by registered post to the ReturningOfficer. There are very detailed provisions for the authentication of the voting, and asthe Returning Officer is not allowed any discretion in relation to compliance with thestrict terms of the legislation there have unfortunately been a number of invalid votes

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at each election. Under the system of STV used the quota for election differs accordingto the number of the seats to be filled, varying from 160 votes for the Cultural andEducational Panel to just 80 votes for the Labour and Agricultural Panels. Of the 992voters registered to vote for panel candidates in 1997, 989 voted for each of thepanels. Some 34,078 valid votes were cast (out of an electorate of 93,000) in the pollfor National University seats, while for the Trinity College seats there were 13,374votes cast out of an electorate of 31,210. These proportions are usually regarded asreasonably high given that many Irish graduates are dispersed throughout the world.

An interesting feature of Irish political life is the ease with which members maychange from house to house. In June 1997, for example, no fewer than 16 senatorswere elected to the Dail and there were 32 new members of the Senate, of whom 18were members of either House for the very first time. There has been a tradition ofyounger candidates being introduced to the turmoil of parliamentary elections bybeing nominated first for the Senate and many outstanding politicians like GarretFitzGerald, Brian Lenihan and Mary Robinson commenced their parliamentary careersas senators.

The functions of the SenateOpinion is diverse on the question of membership of the second chamber in bicameralsystems. Some seem to think that a second chamber should be composed of eminentbut politically neutral people from various walks of life, though this would appear toconfuse an honours' list with membership of the second chamber, an issue which theWakeham Commission addressed in its recent report.

It is far more logical to consider the essential functions of the second house andhow to attract those best qualified to perform them. Irrespective of whether membersof a second house have formal party affiliations, they will constantly be confronted bygovernment legislation, and their political tendencies will inevitably become quite clearafter a reasonably short period of time. Indeed, the Annual Report of the House ofLords for 1998/99 reveals that some 60% of their Lordships' time was devoted topublic bills, the vast majority of which emanated from the government; the relevantpercentage in the case of the Irish Senate is in the order of 80%.

In any event a second chamber is of course part of the political system: its businessis politics, and while it need not be as partisan as a lower house it cannot avoidexpressing its views and taking decisions on political questions. In Ireland, reference isoften made to paragraph 24 of the Report of the Senate Electoral Law Commission of1959: this states that the duties which the Senate may be called upon to perform 'arepolitical and inevitably influence the composition of the Senate'. It continues: 'Wewould like to emphasise that even if the Senate were composed entirely of vocationalrepresentatives elected wholly by vocational organisations, it would still, because ofthe powers and duties vested in it by the Constitution, have to make decisions whichare in the fullest sense political. No alteration in the system of election or compositionof the Senate can alter this fact.'

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It is self-evident that vocational organisation has developed considerably in Irelandsince 1937. A casual examination of the registers of the nominating bodies over theyears confirms this. A minimum of 16 members of the House come from thenominating bodies' sub-panels and it is evident that when the House is consideringmatters that directly or indirectly impinge on the vocation or profession of thesesenators there is potential for conflict with government policy which differssubstantially from that of the nominating bodies which they represent. This is not anunusual occurrence but inevitably the interests of the vocation or profession win theday; if they did not, the senators concerned would risk losing the confidence of thebodies which nominated them.

Houses of parliament often proceed to acquire new powers by demonstratingclearly that they are well equipped to consider certain complicated technical matters.This has been recognised by the government in introducing bills into the Senate andthis is a development that has been widely welcomed by members of the House.Even in the case of bills coming up from the Dail there have been occasions whenamendments rejected by the government in the rather confrontational atmosphere .of the lower house have been accepted later on in the calmer atmosphere of thesecond chamber.

Another development which has been widely welcomed is the setting up ofcommittees, sometimes jointly with the Dail, to deal with various matters referred tothem by joint decision of the Houses. There are, for example, joint committees oneducation and science, agriculture and on European affairs and these afford senatorsthe opportunity to play an increasingly important role in the control of governmentpolicy and its administration.

So what constitutes the ideal senator? It would seem that the ideal senator,irrespective of vocational qualifications or background, should have a genuine interestin public affairs and be capable of coming to and expressing a well considered andinformed opinion on measures of public policy as they come before the House fordebate and decision. Vocational experience and knowledge may not in the very natureof things be adequate to enable a senator to express such opinions on many aspectsof public policy; on the other hand, specialised knowledge is invaluable when themeasure of public policy impinges directly on a senator's vocation. Finally, a member ofthe Senate must be prepared to play a full part in the proceedings of the House, eventhough much of it is unrecognised and unappreciated by the public and the media.

ConclusionThe role played by the Irish Senate is a classical example of what is to be expectedfrom a second chamber in a unitary system. The increasing use of committees is aparticularly encouraging development. Moreover, the indirect system of election ofpanel members is logical and justifiable since all those on the electoral roll havethemselves been elected either at national or local level, and together with theUniversity senators they provide a wealth of expertise and knowledge which over the

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years has had an increasing impact on political thinking generally and on legislativeproposals in particular.

Jack McGowan-Smyth is a barrister by profession who has been a Clerk in Irish Housesof Parliament 1944-58, Clerk (Secretary-General) and Returning Officer for the IrishSenate 1958-73, and a senior European Parliament official 1973-83. He is also authorof Houses of the Oireachtas, (now in its fourth edition) and Theory and Practice of theIrish Senate for the Institute of Public Administration, of which he is a founder memberand part-time lecturer.

Appendix: Register of Nominating Bodies (as of 18 March 1999)

Cultural and Educational PanelRoyal Irish AcademyThe Library Association of IrelandIrish National Teachers' Organisation

Association of Secondary Teachers, IrelandThe Irish Vocational Education AssociationThe Law Society of IrelandRoyal College of Surgeons in IrelandVeterinary CouncilThe Pharmaceutical Society of IrelandThe Council of the Bar of IrelandIrish Countrywomen's AssociationThe Royal Society of Antiquaries of IrelandThe Royal Irish Academy of MusicIrish Dental AssociationThe Irish Georgian SocietyThe Old Dublin SocietyIrish Federation of University TeachersNational Youth Council of IrelandComhaltas Ceolt6ir( FJreannConradh na GaeilgeTeachers' Union of IrelandDental CouncilThe Institute of Community Health NursingUdarSs na GaeltachtaGael-Linn TeorantaLocal Authority Medical Specialists LimitedThe Drama League of IrelandGaelscoileannaComhdhall Nalsiiinta na GaeilgeSociety of Irish Playwrights

Agricultural PanelRoyal Dublin SocietyIrish Co-operative Organisation Society LimitedNational Executive of the Irish Live Stock TradeThe Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' AssociationThe Dairy Executives' AssociationMunster Agricultural Society Company Ltd.Central Fisheries BoardIrish Greyhound Owners and Breeders FederationIrish Grain and Feed AssociationNational Association of Regional Game CouncilsAgricultural Science Association

Labour PanelIrish Congress of Trade UnionsThe Irish Conference of Professional and ServiceAssociations

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Industrial and Commercial PanelThe Chambers of Commerce of IrelandThe Construction Industry FederationThe Society of the Irish Motor IndustryRGDATA - Retail, Grocery, Dairy andAllied Trades AssociationThe Irish Auctioneers and Valuers InstituteIrish Banks' Standing CommitteeThe Insurance Institute of IrelandThe Institute of Chartered Accountants in IrelandThe Royal Institute of the Architects of IrelandIrish Business and Employers ConfederationIrish Hotels FederationThe Association of Advertisers in Ireland LimitedThe Institute of Advertising Practitioners in IrelandThe Institution of Engineers of IrelandThe Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland

The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and ValuersThe Wholesale Fruit, Potato and Produce Merchants'Association of Ireland Ltd.

Vintners' Federation of Ireland LimitedThe Restaurants Association of IrelandIrish Road Haulage AssociationIrish Tourist Industry ConfederationMarketing Institute of Ireland LimitedAssociation of Patent and Trade Mark AgentsThe Irish Architects' Society LimitedThe Irish Hotel and Catering InstituteThe Electrical Industries Federation of IrelandIrish Exporters Association LimitedInstitute of Industrial EngineersThe Marketing Society LimitedLicensed Vintners' AssociationInstitute of Bankers in IrelandThe Irish Computer SocietyIrish Planning InstituteIrish Country Houses and Restaurants AssociationThe Chartered Institute of Transport in IrelandNOFFLA LimitedThe Irish Hardware Association

Administrative PanelIrish County Councils General CouncilAssociation of Municipal Authorities of IrelandCentral Remedial ClinicThe National Association of Cerebral Palsy (Ireland)LimitedThe Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland Ltd.Irish Wheelchair AssociationThe National Association for the MentallyHandicapped of IrelandNational Association for Deaf PeopleIrish Kidney Association

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