Seanad Éireann (;
Senate of Ireland) is the
upper house of the
Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the
President of Ireland and
Dáil Éireann (the
lower house). It is commonly called the
Seanad or
Senate and its members senators (
seanadóirí in
Irish, singular:
seanadóir). Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by various methods. Its powers are much weaker than those of the Dáil and it can only delay laws with which it disagrees, rather than veto them outright. It has been located, since its establishment, in
Leinster House. The programme of the
government formed in March 2011 sought to abolish the Seanad as part of a broader programme of constitutional reform.