Democracy Matters (Ireland)
| ← Previous revision | Revision as of 20:31, 21 April 2026 | ||
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
==Anti-abolition campaign== |
==Anti-abolition campaign== |
||
{{main|Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2013}} |
{{main|Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2013}} |
||
Fine Gael and Labour both included Seanad abolition in their manifestos for the 2011 general election, and it was in their ensuing program for government. In 2012, a group of political figures launched the ''Seanad Reform Group'' to oppose this, which drafted a document proposing Seanad reform. The group's founders were serving senators [[Katherine Zappone]] and [[Feargal Quinn]], former minister and senator [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]], former senator [[Joe O'Toole]], and [[Fianna Fáil]] activist [[Noel Whelan (politician)|Noel Whelan]].[http://www.thejournal.ie/campaign-to-save-the-seanad-launched-926226-May2013/ Campaign to Save the Seanad Launched] www.journal.ie, May 2013. |
Fine Gael and Labour both included Seanad abolition in their manifestos for the 2011 general election, and it was in their ensuing program for government. In 2012, a group of political figures launched the ''Seanad Reform Group'' to oppose this, which drafted a document proposing Seanad reform. The group's founders were serving senators [[Katherine Zappone]] and [[Feargal Quinn]], former minister and senator [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]], former senator [[Joe O'Toole]], and [[Fianna Fáil]] activist [[Noel Whelan (politician)|Noel Whelan]].[http://www.thejournal.ie/campaign-to-save-the-seanad-launched-926226-May2013/ Campaign to Save the Seanad Launched] www.journal.ie, May 2013. Other members included DCU academic Professor [https://www.dcu.ie/lawandgovernment/people/gary-murphy Gary Murphy] and Dr. [https://people.ucd.ie/suzanne.egan Suzanne Egan], UCD School of Law. |
||
The Seanad Reform Group later renamed itself Democracy Matters. Zappone introduced a [[private member's bill]] to replace the restricted-franchise Seanad election with general-franchise elections.[http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/poplife/2013/05/27/democracy-matters-seanad-reform/ Democracy Matters: Seanad Reform] Irish Times, May 27, 2013. The group's campaign slogan was "Open it Don't Close it".[http://irishelectionliterature.wordpress.com/tag/democracy-matters/ Democracy Matters Flyer - Open it Don't Close it] Irish Election Literature Blog It presented the abolition bill as a power-grab by a government which had already kept the Dáil on a tight leash. |
The Seanad Reform Group later renamed itself Democracy Matters. Zappone introduced a [[private member's bill]] to replace the restricted-franchise Seanad election with general-franchise elections.[http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/poplife/2013/05/27/democracy-matters-seanad-reform/ Democracy Matters: Seanad Reform] Irish Times, May 27, 2013. The group's campaign slogan was "Open it Don't Close it".[http://irishelectionliterature.wordpress.com/tag/democracy-matters/ Democracy Matters Flyer - Open it Don't Close it] Irish Election Literature Blog It presented the abolition bill as a power-grab by a government which had already kept the Dáil on a tight leash. |
||
