The Seanad thing is just absurd, given that the Constitution was changed by referendum in 1979! It's also worth noting that four universities get three seats, while another has three to itself.
The whole bloody upper house is insane in Ireland, but it's convenient for the legislators so it doesn't get reformed.
I hadn't heard about any of this and chased some details on Wikipedia; here's some more context for others:
In 1979, there was a referendum in which 92% of the voters were in favor of extending Seanad representation to graduates of other higher education institutions. This changed the constitution in a way that allowed laws to be passed to implement that, but no such laws have yet been passed. There was a ruling by the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2023 requiring a law to actually be passed, but the ruling is currently suspended until 26 May 2025.
I remember while studying at an IT they had a debate there about the potential dissolution or reform of the Seanad, with some senators taking part.
It was deeply funny listening to the sitting senators tell us how important the Seanad is, because for all of us - the Seanad was some useless shit we couldn’t vote for or influence in any real way.
> some useless shit we couldn’t vote for or influence in any real way.
I have no idea if it's useless shit and I admit to learning about the Seanad 15 minutes ago from Wikipedia but it seems to me that it's supposed to be a weak technocratic advisory chamber insulated from popular will. At least it seems to make more sense than the House of Lords.
The whole bloody upper house is insane in Ireland, but it's convenient for the legislators so it doesn't get reformed.