Enda Kenny launches college recruitment campaign.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny will need mettle to resist the vested interests or more specifically the personal self-interest of those who oppose his dramatic announcement on Saturday, on the abolition of the Seanad - - the Upper House of the Irish Parliament. In a conservative country, disillusioned with an unreformed political system, it's the type of move that's needed to set an agenda for significant Irish political reform.

New Zealand, a comparable developed country, has operated a unicameral system of 121 members of parliament since the early 1950s, where both the pay and expense perks are austere compared with the lavish system arranged by Irish politicians.

In the pre-television age, an argument for a debating chamber where some members would have an intellectual capacity above the standard of the typical TD in Dáil Éireann, may have had some validity. However, the standard in both Houses is very poor. Besides, with Dáil committees and research facilities, the only people who would seriously make a case for the retention of the Seanad, are the members.

“I don’t want Fine Gael to simply talk about change. I want to demonstrate that we mean what we say," Kenny said. "To persuade the electorate that we are serious about change, we ourselves have to embody that change.”

Kenny said: "I have come to the conclusion that a second house of the Oireachtas can no longer be justified. In abolishing Seanad Éireann, I have examined the outcome of similar decisions in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand. Our two-house Oireachtas is an odd man out in Europe. Two-thirds of all European Parliaments are unicameral. Those that are not tend to be large or federal.

A Fine Gael Government will also seek to reduce the number of Deputies in the Dáil by at least 20. We will also review the electoral system with a view to allowing for the election of a limited number of people with particular expertise gained outside of politics.

The adoption of a partial-List system is also a significant proposal and was recommended by a committee on the Constitution in 1996, which was chaired by the former eminent public servant, Dr. TK Whitaker.

The Irish Times reports that a number of Senators expressed shock and upset at the manner in which it was announced without prior consultation with the parliamentary party - - which would surely have been a recipe for failure. And several, notably Senators John Paul Phelan, Paudie Coffey, Nicky McFadden and Maurice Cummins, said they were opposed to the decision.