Seanad100 | Seanad Debates Through the Decades

The debates held in the Seanad since 1922 reflect some of the thorny questions that Ireland has grappled with during the past 100 years.

We have selected a notable debate from each decade to give a window into some of the issues that have come to the fore since the foundation of the State.

1925

Divorce legislation

“Once you attempt legislation upon religious grounds you open the way for every kind of intolerance and for every kind of religious persecution.”

— W.B. Yeats

Under British rule, an Irish person could obtain a divorce by promoting a private Bill in the Parliament at Westminster. On 11 June 1925, the Seanad debated the issue.

W.B. Yeats’s speech remains his most famous Seanad contribution. In it, he warned against legislating on religious grounds and said it would create an impassable barrier between the South and North of Ireland.

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1933

Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill

“I should remind the Seanad that this is not the only Upper House that has come into conflict with the popular Chamber. In England the House of Lords got into a controversy with the House of Commons, the result being that powers were taken away from the Lords.”

— Colonel Maurice Moore

The Free State Seanad was abolished in 1936 following serious clashes with the Dáil over the Seanad’s use of its power to delay legislation. Specifically, the Seanad frustrated Eamon de Valera’s government’s endeavour to remove the oath of allegiance from the Constitution.

On the 15 March 1933, the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Bill was brought before the Seanad for a second time. The Seanad had already passed the Bill, but with amendments that the Dáil did not accept.

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1944

Censorship

“Now, it has been suggested that I, on account of my rather bad reputation, am about to make another attack upon our moral stronghold. I can assure you that there is nothing of that kind in this motion.”

— Sir John Keane

On the 27 January 1944, Sir John Keane moved a motion "That the Seanad invites an explanation from the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures in regard to the attitude adopted towards the censorship of the book entitled The House of Gregory."

The author of the book, Vere R.T. Gregory, had retired from service in the Royal Irish Constabulary. The book dealt with his experiences and his family history. Given that the book had been passed by the Censor, Senator Keane questioned why no reviews or advertisements were to be allowed in respect of the book.

The Minister had powers to prevent the publication of anything provocative or dangerous to the public interest or the national security. He restricted reviews of The House of Gregory when it became apparent that claims within the book could lead to bitter controversy regarding the Croke Park massacre.

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1955

Punishment in Primary Schools

“It is my personal view that beating children never does any good. I believe that it frequently does harm.”

— Owen Sheehy Skeffington

The Department of Education was responsible for the regulation of corporal punishment in schools. The use of corporal punishment would not be abolished until the 1980s. Senator Owen Sheehy Skeffington's argument that corporal punishment should not be used by teachers was several decades ahead of its time. The debate followed a letter writing campaign to the Evening Mail which gave a voice to concerned parents on the misuse of punishments in primary schools.

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1966

Irish Membership of EEC

“If the Government fail to pursue this aim as thoroughly and as efficiently as we think is desirable, we will be pressing them from behind…It will do no harm to our position in Brussels and in this country if it is seen that this House is concerned about this matter.”

— Garrett FitzGerald

In July 1966 Senator Garrett Fitzgerald put forth a motion "That Seanad Éireann is of opinion that the Minister for External Affairs should initiate an active European policy designed to ensure the achievement of Irish membership of the European Communities, and should reorganise his Department and our diplomatic missions abroad so that they contribute effectively to the achievement of this objective."

Senator Fitzgerald questioned the lack of progress on the issue. He argued that there was a need for active engagement with Brussels so that membership could be sought.

In 1961, Ireland, in company with Britain, Denmark and Norway, had applied for membership of the Community. The following year, the Council of the EEC agreed to open negotiations with Ireland. In January 1963, however, before these negotiations could get under way, a breakdown occurred in Britain's negotiations. Consideration of all other applications, including Ireland's, was suspended.

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1973

Family Planning Bill

“I make this final appeal: let us as Senators confer on ourselves the jurisdiction to debate what every other forum in the country has debated. Let us not shirk the issue.”

— Mary Robinson

The first Family Planning Bill was introduced in the Seanad on 14 November 1973. It sought to legalise the availability of contraceptives in Ireland and confer on the Minister for Health the power to make regulations relating to contraceptives. The Bill was defeated on Second Stage.

Senator Robinson had previously, in 1971, attempted to introduce a Bill that would have allowed the availability of contraceptives in a limited form in certain venues. That Bill was refused a First Reading. The effect was that the text was not printed and distributed. Thus, Senators had no opportunity to read or discuss the Bill.

Over the following five years, Senator Robinson introduced two further family planning Bills. In 1978 the Government introduced its own family planning Bill, which became law in 1979.

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1988

Information and Education Programme on AIDS

“I am pleased this House has had this debate. I hope that some good will come of it and that the Minister will feel encouraged and emboldened and will decide to be more explicit, more up front and more dynamic about this matter.”

— Katharine Bulbulia

In 1988 Seanad Éireann endorsed the Government's public information and education programme on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and requested further programmes with particular reference to intravenous (IV) drug users and school leavers.

At the time there had been 36 confirmed cases of AIDS in Ireland and 694 confirmed cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 60% of which were attributed to IV drug users.

The public information programme was designed as a two-tiered strategy. At one level, it sought to reinforce public knowledge about AIDS through a mass media campaign. On a more individual basis, the personal worries and queries of individuals were addressed through a detailed booklet and a freefone service.

Contributors to the debate acknowledged that the serious matter of AIDS called for unity, agreement and concentrated action. Contributions recognised a number of areas where Government action could be improved and urged the Government to invest more in educating the public and in drug treatment services.

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1990

European Court of Human Rights Judgment

“The laws under which I have lived out my 46 years of life are the exact and direct parallel of the Penal Laws which discriminated against Roman Catholics in this country, to the shame of the then Government.”

— David Norris

Norris v. Ireland was a case decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 1988. David Norris successfully charged that Ireland's criminalisation of certain homosexual acts between consenting adult men was in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Article 8 of the Convention requires the contracting states to respect the private and family life of all persons, among other issues.

The judgment of the ECHR was delivered on 26 October 1988. It found that Ireland was in breach of the Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Homosexuality was finally decriminalised in Ireland in 1993.

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2004

Family Law

“The Constitution consigns the growing number of alternative family forms, such as non-marital partners and lone, unmarried parents and their children, to a legal no-man's land.”

— Mary Henry

In 2004 a Seanad motion called on the Government to furnish the House with a report of progress to date and future plans aimed at securing the full compatibility of Irish family law with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, with particular reference to the rights of non-marital and one-parent families.

Article 8 of the Convention requires the contracting states to respect the private and family life of all persons. In interpreting the scope of the rights protected by Article 8, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has consistently ruled that Article 8 concerns not only the traditional family, based on marriage, but extends its protective scope to families that do not fit this classic mould.

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2016

Irish Sign Language Bill

“This is a civil rights issue. It is about giving equal opportunity to members of the deaf community to be full citizens of the State.”

— Mark Daly

In 2016 Senator Mark Daly introduced legislation on the recognition of Irish Sign Language (ISL) for the Deaf community.

The lack of recognition of ISL had the effect of ingraining discrimination into the everyday lives of the Deaf community. The Bill sought to introduce a wide range of measures to ensure equality of access for the Deaf community.

The Irish Sign Language Act was passed in 2017. It recognises the right of ISL users to use ISL as their native language. Among other provisions, the Act places requirements on public bodies, provides for classes for parents of deaf children and permits the use of ISL in legal proceedings.

Learn more about the Irish Sign Language Act on our ISL page.

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2021

TRIPS Waiver

“We all know people who have caught Covid in the past month or week. It is spreading very rapidly across Europe, including in the UK and Ireland. Imagine the circumstances in a country in which only 5% of the population are vaccinated. In such a country, not only are more people catching the virus, but more are dying from it.”

— Alice-Mary Higgins

TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) is a World Trade Organisation agreement that protects intellectual property, including patents on medicines produced by pharmaceutical companies.

The TRIPS waiver was first proposed by India and South Africa in 2020 to temporarily remove intellectual property rights for health technologies needed to prevent, contain or treat Covid-19, until vaccine equity could be achieved. The waiver is now supported by approximately 100 nations but continues to be opposed by some states, including EU member states.

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