MINISTER RICHARD BRUTON has said that he has no problem debating with anyone on the Seanad Abolition Referendum but called for politicians to “behave in a proper fashion”.
Responding to a question about the recent conduct of Senator David Norris, who accused Regina Doherty of ‘speaking out of her f***y’, Bruton, who is Director of Elections for the government’s campaign, said “we can’t reduce to name-calling”:
(Video: © TheJournal.ie)
He said that he has “no problem debating about it with anyone who’s passionate”.
“Occasionally people will let their passions get the better of them and I’ve no problem with that either but I think we need to endeavor to manage this,” he said.
Despite the recent bickering between TDs and Senators, Bruton said that he did not think this beahaviour would distract from the debate.
“People are mature and they’re used to voting in referenda,” he said. “We have a very strong proposition in my view and the proposition is that it’s time that politics shows that it can change in the same way as every family and every business indeed is having to change.”
The abolition of the Seanad would reduce the number of national politicians by 30 per cent and save about €100 million over a five-year Dáil term. The date for the referendum has been set for Friday, 4 October.
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