September 3rd, 2013
Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has today
launched his party's campaign for the abolition of the Seanad. Speaking at the launch in Dublin this morning Deputy Doherty said
fairness, democracy and equality of citizenship demand that the current Seanad
be abolished.
He said;
"The
cronyism and the elitism that are synonymous with the Seanad has fostered the
type of politics that has brought this state to its knees.
"In the last two-and-a-half
years, the Seanad has supported the government on every single occasion,
including the introduction of the property tax, cuts to disability payments and
the promissory note deal which is costing the tax payer €30 billion.
"The
Seanad has promoted political cronies and allies rather than ideas or visions. And Fianna Fáil, who now seek to preserve the Seanad, is the
party which has done the most to reinforce the perception of the Seanad as a
hot house of cronyism.
"The system of Taoiseach’s
nominees in particular during the Bertie Ahern era was used to promote close
political allies and cronies rather than doing anything to bring more diversity
into the political system.
"It
was not used to increase the number of women in the Oireachtas or to ensure
minorities were represented. In the main it has been a safety net for those who
failed to get elected to the Dáil.
"The most damning feature of the
Seanad is the elitism, inequality and discrimination that is at its core. There can be no place in a real republic, based on equality, for
an elected office to which only a tiny percentage of the population have the
right to vote.
"By restricting votes to an
elite of those educated in a number of select colleges and City and County
Councillors, the Seanad is anomaly in a modern democracy. It runs in the face
of the core principal that all citizens are equal. It is obviously wrong to
most people that a house of parliament would discriminate against citizens
based on where they were educated.
"Sinn Féin seeks to build a New Republic on this island based on equality
for all citizens. We want to see an end to privilege and elitism, and to the
cronyism and influence of vested interests that have so damaged politics in
this country.
"Fairness, democracy and
equality of citizenship demand that the current Seanad be abolished. Sinn Féin is appealing to voters to get out and vote in this
referendum on October 4th and to Vote Yes."
Sinn
Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community
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