The Seanad has this evening voted to scrap itself.
Senators approved plans to proceed with a referendum on Seanad abolition by 29 votes to 22.
The move means it's now virtually certain that Ireland will hold a referendum on scrapping the Seanad in October.
The last time the Seanad voted against a government bill, Eamon de Valera was Taoiseach, so it's not surprising that the Seanad didn't block plans to hold a referendum on scrapping itself.
However, a slew of Fine Gael Senators had spoken out against abolishing the Upper House of the Oireachtas.
They held fire this evening - deciding not to oppose the plans until the referendum campaign itself.
The Seanad's now likely to sign off on the plans next week, with a referendum in early October.
