As the  Seanad Election 2016 approaches, the question has to be asked ‘does party politics serve the people or the party’.  The fallout from the General Election 2016 has resulted in many high profile TDs losing their seats and the challenge for   political parties now is how to enhance the profile of those who lost so that they are ready for the next general election whenever that comes. The people of Ireland decided by way of a referendum to retain the Seanad in 2013.  However, I doubt that anyone voting in that referendum wanted the Seanad to continue as the old boy’s staging post that it has become since 1937.