Ireland's European Commissioner and former Government Minister, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn says she will take "great pleasure" in coming home from Brussels to vote 'No' to the abolition of the Seanad.

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn was speaking after addressing the upper house of the Oireachtas on her role and future plans.

But when questioned by a number of Senators about whether she had a view on the abolition of the Seanad, she said there was a "need for checks and balances in the political system".

And she went on to say "you have to decide do you want a diminishing democracy or a democracy that is enhanced?"

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn says for 22 years she often came into the Seanad as a Minister of State or a Minister "and I learned more in the discussion in this chamber about the law and how it works than I could ever have learned in the Dáil".

And she said the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993 was "a debate that we could have in a real calm atmosphere".

The Government is intent on publishing legislation within weeks to go ahead with plans to ask the people to abolish the Seanad.

The coalition plans to hold a referendum by the autumn - and possibly as soon as September - however the Seanad would not be abolished until the next general election, scheduled for 2016.

Here you can see Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn talk about the Seanad.