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Tuesday 28 March 2023 Dublin: 12°C

# 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?
# new home
Senators are back today, and they have some new digs
The old Seanad chamber is closed for essential renovation works.
# 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.”
# 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.
# 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.
# Seanad
Former Fianna Fáil senator Des Hanafin has died
He was aged 86.
# 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.
# 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’.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# Your Say
Poll: Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
The proposal will be debated in the Seanad today.
# 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.
# 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.
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.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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’.
# 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.
# 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”.
# 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”.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.”
# 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.
# Your Say
Poll: Should the Seanad have been scrapped?
The Taoiseach’s nominees to the upper house will be announced today.
# 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”.
# 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.
# 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’.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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.
# Deadlock
Is today's Seanad election a pointless exercise in futility?
If we don’t get a government deal, then yes, probably.
# 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.
# 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.
# 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?