Democracy Matters is an Irish campaign group set up to campaign for the retention of
Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
or parliament. It was set up to oppose the
2013 bill to abolish the Seanad introduced by the
Fine Gael–Labour government. After the defeat of the bill at referendum, Democracy Matters has remained in existence to argue for reform of the Seanad and the relationship between it and
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
, the more powerful lower house of the Oireachtas.
Anti-abolition campaign
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, former senator
Joe O'Toole, and
Fianna Fáil activist
Noel Whelan
Noel David Whelan (; born 30 December 1974) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and radio co-commentator.
As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Leeds United, Coventry City, and Mid ...
.
The Seanad Reform Group later renamed itself Democracy Matters. Zappone introduced a
private member's bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
to replace the restricted-franchise Seanad election with general-franchise elections. The group's campaign slogan was "Open it Don't Close it". It presented the abolition bill as a power-grab by a government which had already kept the Dáil on a tight leash.
Other supporting the campaign group included historian
Diarmaid Ferriter, independent TD
Finian McGrath, former minister and senator
Mary O'Rourke
Mary O'Rourke (; born 31 May 1937) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil, Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy leader of Fianna ...
, and former minister
Eamon Ryan. On 20 September 2013 the group launched a poster campaign for a No-vote in the referendum. Labour backbenchers were free to oppose the party in the referendum campaign, and senator
Ivana Bacik and TDs
Joanna Tuffy and
Michael McCarthy joined Democracy Matters canvassing.
Post-referendum
The referendum held on 4 October 2013 rejected the abolition bill by 51.73% to 48.27% on a turnout of 39.17%. Democracy Matters marked the 100th day after the referendum on 13 January 2014 with a press conference, at which it criticised the government's subsequent inaction on Seanad reform, and presented further plans of its own to that end.
The group still issues statements regularly on its Facebook page.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Democracy Matters
Organizations established in 2012
Political advocacy groups in the Republic of Ireland
Seanad Éireann
2012 establishments in Ireland