THE abolition of the Seanad is a "grubby power grab" by a Government that already keeps major economic decision-making within a powerful inner circle, historian Diarmaid Ferriter has claimed.

In strident criticisms of the Coalition, Prof Ferriter also said the Economic Management Council (EMC) – the powerful four-member committee that decides all major economic decisions – showed "centralisation and unaccountable elites still dominate" even more than ever.

His comments come after Emily O'Reilly, who will soon leave her Ombudsman post to become EU Ombudsman, criticised the Dail for not taking itself seriously, saying it spends its time "ducking and diving"....