Sinn Féin’s Seanad (Senate) referendum campaign director Pearse Doherty TD has made a final call on voters to come out in support of the abolition of the Seanad scheduled for today.

Speaking from Leinster House today Deputy Doherty said: “Yesterday’s vote in the Seanad was a last ditch attempt by some senators to show that the Seanad can be relevant, while also putting it up to their own party leadership over its position on the referendum".

Sinn Féin has campaigned for a "yes" vote, wanting to abolish the chamber which it considers a waste of money. “When it was important to stand up, - said Doherty - when for instance the property tax was going through the Seanad, the Seanad did what it always does and rubber stamped the government’s bill. We simply cannot retain an institution in this state in which 97% of the citizens have no say.”

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has called on voters to come out in huge numbers today to support the abolition of the Seanad and the establishment of a new Court of Appeal.

Deputy Adams delivered a message to voters today from Leinster House where he said Sinn Féin voters could make a real difference in this referendum.

He said; “Sinn Féin is calling for two yes votes in this campaign, one for the establishment of a new Court of Appeal and another for the abolition of the Seanad. Sinn Féin voters can make a real difference in this campaign and so I am calling on our voters to come out in huge numbers. The Seanad has been shown to be undemocratic and elitist, a plaything for past governments and a rubberstamp for government legislation. The vast majority of ordinary people are not allowed to vote in Seanad elections. We cannot stand over this institution. It must be abolished.”