New Seanad leader relishing chance to reform Upper House

The new leader of the Seanad, Ratoath's Regina Doherty, says her main priority in the upper house is Seanad reform.

The former Minister for Social Protection, who was one of the leaders in the campaign to abolish the Seanad in the 2013 referendum, said when the county decided to keep the Seanad, everyone agreed it had to be reformed, but nothing has changed since that time.

“Yes it's absolutely true that I campaigned to abolish the Seanad - as it is - but always envisaged we’d have an improved replacement down the road. I’m still a big believer in Seanad reform and will now take the opportunity to work on that from within.

“It has to happen now. I will use my influence to bring about change.

“It is a new challenge. I had butterflies in my tummy on my first day – unusual when you think of where I was coming from - but I am looking forward to it.”

When Senator Doherty lost her Dail seat in February's election, she said she was bowing out of politics.

“My initial feeling after unsuccessfully contesting the general election in February was to move on to do something else - a change and new challenge. However, the major challenge of the pandemic - and leading my Department through that - reminded me of the real value and my love of public service and my desire to get back into frontline politics.”

She hasn't ruled out running for the Dail again, but acknowledges she needs to rebuild trust.

“I lost my vote, and it wasn't the Fine Gael vote that fell. A lot of trust has to be rebuilt. I've a lot of work to do, but if there is one thing I'm not afraid of, it's hard work,” she said.

She said very important issues in Meath that she will be working on are childcare and public transport and said it was very important that Navan gets the rail line.

There had been a lot of speculation about Senator Doherty taking over from the current Fine Gael general secretary, Tom Curran, and many colleagues encouraged her to throw her hat into the ring. “Ultimately, I decided against. I’m not a back room operator and I like to get out front and stuck in.

That’s why the Senate is a better fit and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to serve the Irish people in that capacity,” she said.