Government proposal could save the State €150 million over a parliamentary term.

The abolition of the Seanad was proposed during the 2011 Irish election campaign by Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin.

Last October, Fine Gael Seanad leader Maurice Cummins declared he expected a referendum to abolish the Seanad to be held within the next 18 months.

The programme of the Fine Gael and Labour coalition government formed in March 2011 promised that "We will significantly reduce the size of the Oireachtas by abolishing the Seanad, if the public approve in a constitutional referendum.”

The Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Irish Parliament. It is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by various methods. Its powers are weaker than other European senates and it can only delay laws with which it disagrees, rather than block them outright.