FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny last night sensationally moved to capture the public mood for reform of the political system with a radical plan to scrap the Seanad and sharply cut the number of TDs.

In a ploy that will dramatically raise the stakes for the other political parties, Kenny promised to hold a referendum within one year of taking office with a view to undertaking the biggest overhaul of the Oireachtas in 70 years. He says the proposal will save an estimated €150m over a typical Dáil term.

Addressing Fine Gael's annual presidential dinner fundraising event at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, Kenny told some 1,300 guests that his party was committed to implementing its 'New Politics' agenda.

Kenny outlined the main thrust of the party's 'New Politics' plan stating: "I believe the Seanad should be abolished and the next Fine Gael government will put this to the people. I have come to the conclusion that a second house of the Oireachtas can no longer be justified.

"In abolishing Seanad Éireann, I have examined the outcome of similar decisions in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand. Our two-tier Oireachtas is an odd man out in Europe. Two-thirds of all European Parliaments are unicameral [have one legislative chamber].

"A Fine Gael government will also seek to reduce the number of deputies in the Dáil by at least 20. We will also review the electoral system with a view to allowing for the election of a limited number of people with particular expertise gained outside of politics."

Kenny's audacious plan to scrap the Seanad, which was one of the founding principles of the Progressive Democrats in the mid-1980s before being later dropped by the party, will require a detailed constitutional amendment if it is to come to fruition.

Dr Gerard Hogan, a constitutional law expert at Trinity College, told the Sunday Tribune a referendum would be quite complicated.

He said: "The Seanad is of systemic importance to the constitution as there are several references to the Seanad. There are a number of references to the Seanad that are all interlocked. So, to use a dental analogy, to abolish the Seanad would not be a constitutional filling and more a full root canal treatment with a few extractions."

A referendum would not be necessary for the reduction in the number of TDs as long as a certain ratio between the number of TDs and the electorate is maintained. Promising public-sector reform to create "a smarter, more nimble state" Kenny also outlined that Fine Gael will launch a series of policy initiatives over the next six weeks "to show how we would put Ireland back on the road to economic ­recovery".