Government faces trickier time in Seanad than Dail
An upper house with plenty of Independents poses a challenge to the minority Government, writes Eoin O’Malley
THE new Seanad met for the first time this week. It was over four months since it last sat, so they must have had a lot of catching up to do. It was a colourful occasion.
The senators were treated to a long speech from the Father of the House, David Norris, who took the chair and, it seems, was reluctant to let it go. He spoke at length on the Seanad’s achievements and exhorted the new senators to push for Seanad reform (except, of course, in his own beloved university’s constituency). The occasion was self-congratulatory and introspective.
The only real business was to choose a new cathaoirleach, Denis O’Donovan, and once that was done — following some more congratulations — it adjourned. After two and a half hours of work, it took a week off. To be fair, some wanted to do more business, but because of some dubious constitutional interpretation, it was ruled out of order.
I wonder did Enda Kenny breathe a sigh of relief — a week’s reprieve.
A reprieve because the 25th Seanad is one in which the Government is in a minority. The Government’s situation in the Seanad is a bit trickier than in the Dáil because Fianna Fail’s abstention isn’t enough to give it a majority. There are 42 new senators, and for the first time we have a large number of Independent senators.
The novelty and diversity of the new Seanad makes it unpredictable, but it’s reasonable to expect the Government will find itself in trouble as its legislation gets there.
The new senators are obviously excited about this, but they aren’t sitting on their hands waiting for Government legislation. The unlikely coalition of Michael McDowell, Ronan Mullen and David Norris (among others) are already planning a new Bill. That the Bill is on Seanad reform is in keeping with the House’s introspection.
They are right not to wait. The Government’s legislative programme was published this week. It’s very thin compared to past programmes. In the next parliamentary session, the Government expects to publish 11 Bills. This compares to 20 at the same time in 2011 and 30 in 2013.
The Government is planning just four new Bills for pre-legislative scrutiny (Bills now go to the committees for consideration before they are published). This is compared to 21 Bills at a similar stage in 2011. This year is likely to see the fewest number of Acts of the Oireachtas ever passed.
This is in part because 70 days were lost in government formation. However, the number of Acts passed is not a good measure of a government’s effectiveness.
Another contributing factor is — as was predicted — the fact that the minority Fine Gael-led Government is reluctant to commit itself to legislation that could be defeated. This might be a mistake.
Legislation is not just important for what it does, it’s politically important for what it signals. If the Government is defeated on what it considers important legislation, it at least signals to voters what it stands for.
Defeats are not an expression of the Government’s impotence, inaction is.
In the vacuum left by the Government, all sorts of Private Members’ Bills will be introduced, signalling what the Opposition parties care about, and the Seanad might be the source of many of these. The Seanad won’t be any special source of trouble for the Government, however. It simply doesn’t have the power to do much more than postpone Government legislation. And (as in the Dail) the Seanad’s diversity is its enemy. Except on a few issues, there is no cohesive alternative majority.
There are few issues Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein and Labour will agree on. Anything opposed by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will be defeated. The situation in the Seanad confirms (if it were needed) the primacy of the relationship between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
This is something Sinn Fein will shout about. They are already labelling it the ‘Fianna Gael’ coalition. That’s why Fine Gael and Fianna Fail should welcome defeats. They help emphasise differences between the parties.
It is one thing suffering a few defeats on its own legislation, or on Opposition mo- tions, but could the Oireachtas start to pass Bills that the Government opposes?
Here’s where the Seanad comes back in. Because of the diversity of the Opposition, anything that garners support right across its benches will be pretty esoteric.
The Seanad Reform Bill will be one that could do that. The opposition to the abolition of the Seanad was something that Fianna Fail was deeply involved in.
It’s an inoffensive measure if you don’t think about it too deeply. Though there are good reasons to oppose the version of Seanad reform that’s being peddled, it is something that the Government could find itself defeated on.
Constitutionally, the Government has a veto on money Bills, but Article 17.2 of the Constitution also gives it a veto on laws that appropriate public money. It’s not clear whether a Seanad Reform Bill would require the assent of the Government.
Article 17.2 has never really been relevant in the relationship between the Government and the Dail, because the Government always had a majority. But now it might become relevant.
The way the Standing Orders of the both the Seanad and the Dáil are interpreted (usually in the Government’s favour) could be challenged. It could even come down to how the word ‘incidental’ is interpreted.
The Government will have to decide whether it wants to fight the reform of the Seanad — something it wanted to abolish — or to embrace defeat.
The Seanad is not something that’s going to shift a lot of votes in the next election, so fighting too hard would be a waste of time.
But to roll over and embrace defeat on an issue it was willing to go to a referendum on a few years ago might just signal the Government’s powerlessness.
‘Even if the Government loses on what it considers important legislation, it at least signals what it stands for’