geared Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24365201 The Republic of Ireland may vote this week to abolish its upper house of parliament, the Seanad. It is a move favoured by most political parties and opinion polls suggest the public mainly support abolition too, but are the Irish people fed up with their senators - or with the political class as a whole? what is striking is the unvarying nature of the opinions punters offer about the Seanad. Time and again - whatever their age or gender or party allegiance - they say they have no idea what the Seanad exists to do. At times the tone is bitterly hostile. In Listowel, a quartet of female race-goers sip coffee and watch keenly as the first horses of the day parade around the paddock. It is obvious a very Irish love of horses and the turf is part of their lives. Without exception they query what role the Seanad has in modern Irish society, especially after several years of painful economic struggle. The four share much the same list of complaints: the Seanad is a rest home for people who could not get into the Dail (the main chamber of parliament) or who have been kicked out of it it is stuffed with the useless cronies of the powerful it is undemocratic and a scandalous waste of money The best anyone has to say is that the Seanad might be worth keeping - if everything about it were reformed from top to bottom. Is the same true for the House of Lords, do we still want them having a say in our life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricgem2002 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 no and take away any(free) money they acquired for doing nowt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertramp Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 no and take away any(free) money they acquired for doing nowt You don't get paid for being in the House of Lords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricgem2002 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 You don't get paid for being in the House of Lords. so they do it for nowt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 You get incredibly generous allowances. Look it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricgem2002 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 You get incredibly generous allowances. Look it up. i thought he would be wrong somehow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 One area were we don't seem to have seen much in the way of cuts is politics, and there's a lot to weed out. Let's see some of the Lord's daily allowances reduced. What about reducing MPs expenses (and no, they haven't done it already.) A crack down on the number of advisers and advisers pay. (Weren't they supposed to be getting rid of the Quangos - they've gone up.) Reduce the number of MPs. Cut the number of civil servants in Whitehall especially those on £100,000 + That's just for starters, the list goes on, and don't get me started on the European Parliament. These people are so enthusiastic about spending our money. After we've made politics affordable, we could have a crack at the BBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geared Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 All very good points. Everyone else is being made to tighten their belts, but you don't see MP's pointing the finger of Austerity at themselves. Whitehall waste was one of the main election points wasn't it? A few departments got the axe, but I'm pretty sure they just continued under another name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricgem2002 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 One area were we don't seem to have seen much in the way of cuts is politics, and there's a lot to weed out. Let's see some of the Lord's daily allowances reduced. What about reducing MPs expenses (and no, they haven't done it already.) A crack down on the number of advisers and advisers pay. (Weren't they supposed to be getting rid of the Quangos - they've gone up.) Reduce the number of MPs. Cut the number of civil servants in Whitehall especially those on £100,000 + That's just for starters, the list goes on, and don't get me started on the European Parliament. These people are so enthusiastic about spending our money. After we've made politics affordable, we could have a crack at the BBC. well said anna but i guess djash will be along soon to tell you how wrong you are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Why are MPs being so trade unionist? there should be competition between the Lords and Commons to compete for the publics vote...the best performing and cheapest gets the gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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