Government Cabinet ministers are expected today to approve plans to extend Seanad voting rights to all higher education graduates, abolishing Trinity’s Seanad panel.
Under the new legislation, a six seat “higher education” panel will replace the existing University of Dublin and National University of Ireland (NUI) constituencies.
All Irish citizenship holding graduates of designated higher education institutions will be eligible to vote for the new panel.
Currently, Trinity graduates holding Irish citizenship are eligible to vote in the Dublin University Seanad constituency, electing three Senators. Graduates of University College Dublin, University College Cork, University of Galway and Maynooth University, likewise vote to elect three NUI Senators.
The legislation is expected to be brought to the Dáil by October, however proposed reforms will not come into effect in time for the upcoming general election.
The plans for reform follow a decision from the Supreme Court in May 2023 which ruled that the current mechanism for electing Senators is unconstitutional.
Sitting Senators on the Trinity panel are Lynn Ruane, former President of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union, and disability rights advocate Tom Clonan.
Former Senator David Norris stepped down from his seat earlier this year, after 37 years representing Trinity graduates in the Seanad. The Government is yet to table a motion to trigger a bye-election to refill Norris’ seat.
This inaction has proved to be controversial and has prompted one man to threaten the Government with legal action on the basis of two High Court rulings.
These mandate that a Seanad by-election must be motioned in “a reasonable timeframe” upon a seat becoming vacant, and that the Seanad consists of 60 members.
