The Seanad has signed off on a referendum which could see it abolished.
Members voted by 33 votes to 25 to pass legislation which will see a referendum on abolishing the Seanad held in the autumn.
The intervention of independent senators was needed to get the bill passed: the two Fine Gael senators who left the party last week voted to support the referendum, even though both of them oppose the bill.
Independent senators Jillian van Turnhout and Marie Louise O'Donnell also voted with the government, turning its 29 votes into 33 and giving it a clear majority.
The referendum bill has now cleared both Houses of the Oireachtas - and now goes to the public to be approved before the bill is signed into law.
It's expected that the vote will be held on October 4th.
Those campaigning to save the Seanad will argue that it still has a role to play in introducing new laws.
After the final vote was held, the next item on its agenda was a four-year-old bill tabled by independent Feargal Quinn, giving rights to subcontractor builders to ensure they cannot have payments withheld for work already done.
The bill has now been passed by both the Dail and Seanad and is on its way to the Aras to be passed into law.
