MARIE O'HALLORAN

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended his decision not to participate in RTÉ's Prime Time debate on the abolition of the Seanad and said: "I'm not interested in debating societies."

He was challenged about his non-attendance by Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae who described it as “extraordinary” and “absolutely unbelievable”.

Instead, Richard Bruton, Fine Gael's director of elections for the abolition of the Seanad, debated the issue with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin.

Kerry South TD Mr Healy-Rae told Mr Kenny he was "handing over the job to a man that wanted your job a number of years ago. You wouldn't give him your job then but now you're putting him up in your place".

In the Dáil earlier Mr Healy-Rae said “the people of Ireland are looking up to their Taoiseach”. He said: “They want to genuinely hear what you have to say about the abolition of the Seanad.”

He asked Mr Kenny: “What are you doing tonight that is so important you can’t go on the television to debate a matter of national importance that you instigated?”

Mr Kenny said he was “not interested in being led around by those who might say we want to have a debate between myself and Deputy Martin and it turns into debate between two individuals instead of the issue that’s involved here.”

He said the people were being asked a straight question. “Do you want to abolish it or do you want to keep it?”

When the Fianna Fáil leader intervened to say “you still haven’t answered the question”, Mr Kenny said “I’m actually launching a book on The Gathering for the hospice movement and a second one in respect of Ireland’s participation in the European Union over the last 40 years which are about our country, about jobs, about opportunity, about civic society”.