Third level students and graduates of Limerick colleges to get vote for Seanad Eireann

THIRD level students in Limerick will now be able to vote in Seanad Elections following a landmark Supreme Court ruling.

Up to now, only students and graduates of National University of Ireland Galway and Trinity College Dublin were eligible among Ireland’s higher education sector to have their say in electing members to the educational panel of the Upper House.

This ruling means students and graduates of University of Limerick (UL), the Technological University of the Shannon, and Mary Immaculate College will all be able to vote in Seanad elections in future.

The case was taken to the Supreme Court by UL graduate Tomás Heneghan who felt he should enjoy the same voting rights as his counterparts at Trinity and in Galway.

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The Supreme Court will not make its final declaration until the end of July, meaning if there is a Seanad election between now and then, the existing franchise will remain as is.

A senior lecturer in law at UL has described the ruling as a “victory for democracy”.

Dr Laura Cahillane, who was an expert witness in the case, said: “Every year, teaching constitutional law in UL I explain this to my students, and they are perplexed as to why they do not get a vote simply due to happenstance in terms of which university they decided to attend and due to inaction on the part of the government to change this.”

She added: “The judgments are hugely significant with ramifications for the future interpretation of the constitution but on a practical level it will mean a lot of work now for government to put in place a fair voting system as soon as possible. It may even prove to be an impetus to proceed with Seanad reform more generally, also well past overdue.”

"The case can be regarded as a victory for democracy and a lesson about the importance of the voice of the people,” she concluded.

Limerick-based Senator Paul Gavan said the verdict should serve as a “wake-up call to government, saying the majority of the Upper House should be elected by the general public.