Trinity Senator claims extending votes to all universities would ruin Seanad
A Trinity College senator has said he would rather abolish the Seanad than extend votes to graduates from all universities.
Sean Barrett said having an electorate of 800,000 people will mean only major political parties have the resources to elect candidates.
He also said creating a single constituency for all six university seats will make it harder for independents to get elected.
He is instead calling on the Government to introduce further reforms and allow every member of the Seanad to be elected by the public.
"Now you're really going to invent a Senate which I will vote to abolish the next time," he told party members in the Seanad.
"It'll be crowded out [with]… Fianna Fáil reserves against Fine Gael reserves. And when we're not here to move vital amendments… they will not be moved."
