# Seanad

All time

# Amhrán na bhFiann

How should we protect our national anthem? The Seanad wants your input

What would be classed as misuse of the anthem, and how should potential misuses be punished?

22.7k

Oct 6th 2017, 6:11 PM

# new home

Senators are back today, and they have some new digs

The old Seanad chamber is closed for essential renovation works.

9.5k

Sep 26th 2017, 6:05 AM

# Church and State

Last call for Good Friday drinking ban as bill passes in the Seanad

The Senator who proposed the bill said its passing marks “another progressive step in Ireland’s long journey of separation between Church and State.”

25.5k

122

Jul 19th 2017, 9:16 PM

# protection

Law change will make it easier for refugee families to reunite in Ireland

A new Bill will amend the International Protection Act 2015, which covers the reunification of refugee families.

12.8k

Jul 19th 2017, 7:00 AM

# Evictions

Norris lets rip on vulture funds: 'Why were they allowed into this country?'

Speaking about his new Housing Co-op Bill, Norris said people appear to have forgotten that “eviction” is a dirty word in Ireland.

41.1k

Jun 28th 2017, 7:11 PM

# Seanad

Former Fianna Fáil senator Des Hanafin has died

He was aged 86.

12.7k

Jun 22nd 2017, 1:48 PM

# Mental Health

'I'm surprised that the leader of our country had the neck to walk in Darkness Into Light'

Senator Joan Freeman originally praised the Taoiseach for his involvement, but took a different view today in the Seanad.

38.7k

May 9th 2017, 10:04 PM

# Pieta House

'Darkness Into Light allows us to talk about the wound left by suicide'

Senator Joan Freeman talks to us about mental health services and being ‘a pain in the government’s neck’.

11.0k

Apr 30th 2017, 8:05 AM

# Safeguarding

'I couldn't believe they over-medicated my father to shut him up because he was singing'

During a debate on proposed new laws to protect the vulnerable, Senator Lynn Ruane opened up about her own experience.

37.2k

Apr 9th 2017, 10:00 PM

# they've earned it

'People are getting exploited': New law aims to ensure waiting staff get their tips

Put forward by Sinn Féin senators, the law aims to ensure “transparency” over where your tip is going.

37.3k

Apr 2nd 2017, 10:00 AM

# talkin' 'bout my generation

Fianna Fáil accused of u-turn ahead of debate on lowering voting age to 16

Proposed legislation would reduce the voting age for local and European Parliament elections.

11.4k

Mar 29th 2017, 12:35 PM

# Your Say

Poll: Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

The proposal will be debated in the Seanad today.

23.3k

Mar 29th 2017, 9:13 AM

# Galway

Galway City Council investigating allegations staff were gifted social housing

Sinn Féin senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh says he has received documentation showing abuse of the council housing system by officials.

32.7k

Feb 20th 2017, 3:40 PM

# pay back

A Fine Gael politician has not fully repaid the large allowance he was given after losing his Dáil seat

Senator Ray Butler received the payment after he lost his Dáil seat in Meath.

26.5k

Jan 30th 2017, 6:20 AM

Voices

Trivialities of the 'reformed' Seanad: 'Senators talking about All-Ireland tickets and seagulls'

Voters chose by a narrow margin in a referendum in 2013 to retain the Seanad. It’s unlikely they are happy with that decision, writes Senator Gerard P Craughwell.

315

Jan 15th 2017, 12:00 PM

# Compulsory

New laws could curb disputes over wills in Ireland

The Registration of Wills Bill 2016 will introduce compulsory registration of wills in the country.

18.1k

Dec 14th 2016, 10:45 AM

# senator's life

'My thinking on social issues is really beginning to evolve': Lynn Ruane on her first full term in the Seanad

Independent Lynn Ruane has been an active campaigner on social issues since her election to the Seanad.

10.2k

Dec 5th 2016, 6:10 AM

# seanad address

Nicola Sturgeon urges Ireland and Scotland to 'send a powerful signal' around the world

Scotland’s First Minister is on a two-day visit to Dublin, but is not meeting Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

21.3k

Nov 29th 2016, 12:15 PM

# Heritage Bill

Environmentalists cut "deep wounds" in government's bill on hedge-cutting extension

The Irish Wildlife Trust has said that Minister Heather Humphreys ‘isn’t taking the protection of our natural heritage seriously’.

17.9k

Nov 13th 2016, 7:30 AM

# renovations

Seanad to temporarily relocate to National Museum despite objections

The move, which is expected to cost around €1.5 million, is to accommodate renovations at Leinster House.

7.4k

Nov 11th 2016, 9:29 AM

# vagrant senators

The National Museum has 'no spare space for vagrant Senators' (according to An Taisce)

A statement from the national trust said the museum “has no spare space for the convenience of vagrant senators”.

10.8k

Nov 2nd 2016, 11:34 AM

# Full-blown crisis

Phil Hogan says the UK is 'going to learn a hard lesson' over Brexit

The Agriculture Commissioner said the UK can’t “have its cake and eat it” and dismissed Brexiteers’ “posturing and fancy talk”.

24.2k

118

Oct 20th 2016, 12:48 PM

# relocation relocation

Staff 'weeping' over plans to temporarily rehouse Seanad in wing of National Museum

Refurbishment of the Seanad is expected to take two years.

19.0k

Oct 18th 2016, 10:07 AM

# let it go

Not happy - Fine Gael senators have been giving out about All Ireland tickets... again

The Seanad was today discussing a bill concerning its own reform, and ended up covering some well-trodden ground.

18.2k

Oct 12th 2016, 11:08 PM

# ready to swoop

So they've been talking about seagulls in the Seanad again

They’re tearing refuse bags to pieces and don’t seem to understand bedtime, a FG senator complained.

10.3k

Jun 22nd 2016, 6:13 PM

# Suicide Prevention

Pieta House founder will donate €65k senator salary to the charity

Joan Freeman was named as one of the Taoiseach’s nominees to the Seanad last week.

21.2k

Jun 1st 2016, 12:14 PM

# spruce up

Leinster House is crumbling, here's why they want to close it for the summer

Leinster House is to undergo its most significant restoration work to date.

28.4k

May 28th 2016, 10:00 PM

# Change of heart

James Reilly "honoured" to join Seanad he once called "very undemocratic" and with "no power"

In a 2013 statement calling for the Seanad to be abolished, Reilly labelled it “very undemocratic” and said it had “no power.”

38.5k

145

May 28th 2016, 2:34 PM

# the chosen ones

Here's who the Taoiseach has chosen to fill the remaining Seanad seats

The Taoiseach picked some Fine Gael TDs who lost their seats in February’s general election.

32.9k

143

May 27th 2016, 5:17 PM

# Your Say

Poll: Should the Seanad have been scrapped?

The Taoiseach’s nominees to the upper house will be announced today.

24.2k

May 27th 2016, 9:24 AM

# slow and steady

"The Taoiseach is moving far too slowly" - Labour senator hits out at Enda for delay in Seanad nominations

Kevin Humphreys said that the Seanad appointments and ministerial appointments would amount to “jobs for the boys”.

12.1k

May 20th 2016, 11:02 PM

# Donegal County Council

Fianna Fáil senator says he filed expense claims "as honestly as he could"

Brian Ó Domhnaill claimed expenses for attending events in different locations on the same days.

24.8k

May 9th 2016, 11:35 AM

# 1916 pride

What does it mean to be a republican in 2016? We asked this Sinn Féin senator

Fintan Warfield thinks ‘you don’t have to be a Shinner to be a republican’.

11.7k

112

May 1st 2016, 7:30 AM

# seanad newcomer

Lynn Ruane: 'I never had a desire to move into politics'

Ruane says she hopes to champion the causes that are close to her heart.

26.9k

Apr 29th 2016, 7:39 PM

# gender recognition

'Young trans people don't turn trans when they're 18, they deserve so much better'

Newly-elected Sinn Féin senator Fintan Warfield thinks a lot still needs to be done to help young trans people living in Ireland.

16.6k

142

Apr 28th 2016, 8:00 PM

# Upper House

Averil Power loses out to Lynn Ruane in battle for Seanad seat

There’ll be plenty of familiar faces in the upper house.

72.0k

112

Apr 27th 2016, 8:55 PM

# Deadlock

Is today's Seanad election a pointless exercise in futility?

If we don’t get a government deal, then yes, probably.

15.2k

Apr 26th 2016, 4:56 PM

# Counting Votes

This musician and LGBT activist is the first senator elected to the new Seanad

Sinn Féin’s Warfield became the mayor of South Dublin after being elected to the council in 2014.

27.0k

Apr 25th 2016, 7:27 PM

# factcheck

Seanad Debate FactCheck: Did David Norris really once get 1,000,000 retweets?

TheJournal.ie’s FactCheck was paying close attention to TV3′s Seanad debate last night. Here’s who told the truth, and who lied.

21.7k

Apr 21st 2016, 7:38 PM

# The other house

Everything you need to know about one of the most exclusive elections in Ireland

The Seanad election is underway. But how does it all work and how many people actually get a vote?

39.3k

Mar 28th 2016, 9:30 PM