A proposal to extend voting rights to all third-level graduates in the elections to the Seanad's university panels has been welcomed by senators, including the Fianna Fáil leader in the Seanad, Mrs Mary O'Rourke.
Mrs O'Rourke, who is a a member of a sub-committee on reform, told The Irish Times last night that she would personally support such a move.
"I think it will form part of the agenda for comprehensive reform of the Seanad. This will be done in a consultative fashion with the aim of achieving consensus."
The matter is likely to be raised when the sub-committee meets the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, next Thursday.
The proposal was made at the weekend by the council of directors of the Institutes of Technology, which co-ordinates the work of the institutes nationally.
Six senators - three each - are elected to the University of Dublin and National University of Ireland (NUI) panels under the current system. The electorate is made up of graduates of Trinity College and the constituent colleges of the NUI.
In all, the Seanad has 60 members, 43 of whom are returned by county councillors to the various vocational panels. The Taoiseach nominates 11 senators, most of whom are party activists who have either lost Dáil seats or have an opportunity to win one at the next election.
The chairwoman of the council of directors, Dr Mary Meaney, a graduate of Dublin City University, said the current electoral system was based on grossly outmoded criteria and at variance with the Constitution.
"It is now 24 years since the passing of the Seventh Amendment, which specifically provides for extension of Seanad voting rights to all institutes of higher education, but the intent of the people's decision has not been implemented by successive governments."
The proposal was also welcomed by the president of the ICTU and NUI senator Mr Joe O'Toole. "I have been advocating this kind of reform for the past 10 years. It is also the stated position of the ICTU."
He added that the only justification for having a graduate constituency was that it would be open to every graduate in the State. "The current system flies in the face of the democratic process."
Mr O'Toole also called for reform of the voting system in the vocational panels.
Mr David Norris, a University of Dublin senator, said he would be in favour of extending the franchise to include the Dublin third-level institutions with Trinity and the others in the NUI panel.
"There are some anomalies, and I have no problem with the proposal. However, there would be a difficulty if the constituencies became too big, so there might have to be some restrictions.
"Traditionally, the university constituencies have been the most active and have made the greatest contribution."
If there was to be Seanad reform the system of election to the vocational panels should also be looked at, he added. "That is highly undemocratic. It has an electorate of fewer than 1,000 councillors. For instance, we had an absurd situation some years ago, where all the officers of the Seanad had been rejected by the electorate."
