Seanad Éireann (Free State)
Seanad Éireann ( Irish: Senate of Ireland , pronunciation / ˈʃænˠǝdˠ ˈeːrʲǝnˠ /) refers to the upper house of the Irish Parliament ( Oireachtas ) at the time of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. It is also known as the Senate or First Seanad ( 1st Senate ) and formed the third pillar of government alongside the Dáil Éireann (House of Commons) and the British King. The Senate was established under the Irish Free State Constitution in 1922 and dissolved in 1936 because of its conflicting stance on government reform projects. The Senate, like today's House of Lords, met in the Leinster House in Dublin .
Powers
As it was established in 1922, the Senate was subordinate to the Dáil and could only temporarily block its decisions and bills, but not reject them. Nevertheless, the Senate of that time had greater power than the current House of Lords of the Irish Republic, which can only block laws for 3 months. In particular, the Senate had the power to
- Draft budget for 21 days, and
- all other bills by up to 270 days (approximately 9 months)
to delay.
Composition and choice
The Free State Constitution of 1922 provided for a Senate with a total of 60 members who were directly elected for a period of 12 years. Every 3 years, a quarter (15 seats) of the Senate should be elected in a national election using a proportional representation system and single transferable vote .
But to start with a functioning Senate, the initial members were appointed by the Dáil and the President of the Executive Board. After the first direct election (1925), the constitution was amended so that the third election took place according to a new (third) system. Every election to the Senate before its dissolution was made under a different system.
Originally, a minimum age of 35 years was required for members of the Senate. A constitutional amendment in 1928 (the 8th) brought this age down to 30 years.
Today every Senate receives a consecutive number after every Senate election. The (current) Senate, which was elected in 2007, is the 23rd Senate. This numbering was not common during the Free State period, as the Senate was elected in sections and the previous members continued to retain their seats. In order to take this fact into account, the first Senate, which was elected after 1937, was called the 2nd Senate. The Free State Senate, which was elected by three separate elections, is therefore considered to be "a" Senate.
The 1922 Senate election
Half of the initial members of the Senate were elected by the Dáil by means of a single transferable vote ; the other half was determined by the President of the Executive Council. Those who were elected by the Dáil were again divided by lot into two groups of equal size, which were assigned three-year and nine-year service periods. The same thing happened with the group of presidential appointed members who received mandates for 6 and 12 years respectively. At that time, the president agreed to include the Protestant minority in his nominations .
The 1925 Senate election
In 1925, a quarter of the Senate members' term of office expired. In the meantime, 4 resignations had taken place, the seats of which were occupied by transitional members. Therefore 19 seats had to be filled by the election. The constitution provided for the following possibilities to run for membership in the Senate:
- Departing Senate members can nominate themselves
- 19 candidates are from the existing Senate by single transferable vote chosen
- 38 candidates are nominated by the Dáil (also by single transferable vote )
In the election on September 17, 1925, the entire Free State (excluding constituencies) directly elected the 19 senators from a total of 70 candidates. The count took about 2 weeks. The final result shows that in contrast to a list election , candidates without party affiliation were preferred.
The 1928 Senate election / dissolution of the Senate
After constitutional amendment No. 6 in 1928, the resigning Senate members were determined by the existing Senate and the Dáil in the same year. Under this system there was only one election before the Senate was dissolved by the 24th constitutional amendment in 1936.