Mr Justice Gerard Hogan ruled in April 2023 that there was a constitutional obligation on the Oireachtas to extend the franchise as a result of the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Election of Members of Seanad Éireann by Institutions of Higher Education) Act 1979.

The appellant in that case, Tomás Heneghan, initially took the case as a lay litigant and was later represented by legal rights group FLAC.

The Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2024 will introduce a new six-seat ‘Higher Education’ constituency to replace the existing three-seat ‘University of Ireland’ and ‘University of Dublin’ constituencies.

The franchise for electing the ‘Higher Education’ Senators will be extended to all graduates of designated institutions of higher education in Ireland who are Irish citizens who hold a degree and who are aged 18 or over.

The National University of Ireland will be the central registration authority (CRA) responsible for maintaining the register of electors. The CRA will appoint a chief registration officer (CRO).

There will be provision in the bill for a registration officer in each designated institution of higher education, who will be required to assist the CRO in the provision of information they hold so that an applicant’s claim can be verified.

Darragh O’Brien, the minister for housing, local government and heritage, said: “This legislation will broaden the electorate for electing the Seanad’s six university seats to graduates from a range of higher education institutions through a significant expansion in the number of graduates eligible to register to vote.

“Amending existing legislation so that the franchise for electing these six Senators to one vote per graduate will enshrine the principle of equality of representation in the ‘Higher Education’ constituency.”

Malcolm Noonan, minister of state with responsibility for nature, heritage and electoral reform, added: “Creating a new six-seat constituency for electing Senators to represent graduates of designated institutions of higher education should lead to more representativeness of our country’s graduates in the Seanad.

“The expanded franchise should help ensure different voices and ideas among our graduates are represented, keeping with the diversity of views the Seanad has long espoused. I look forward to seeing this legislation progressed in the Oireachtas.”