Enda Kenny plans to cut the presidential term of office from seven years to five, and empower Dail committees to hold sworn public inquiries instead of tribunals, in a package of political reforms within a year of his election as taoiseach.

The Fine Gael leader is preparing to go beyond the abolition of the Seanad with a series of changes to government structures, including a row-back of the restrictions to the Freedom of Information legislation imposed in 2003.

The Dail would be required to sit for up to 150 days a year — a 50% increase — to ensure it processes a sufficient volume of legislation in the absence of a Seanad to initiate bills.

Kenny said he would reduce the president’s term of office by two years, thereby reducing the maximum length of service to 10 in place of the current 14. “The term of a president should be five years, not seven, given where we are these days,” he said. “If a presidential candidate wishes to devote a decade of their lives to the presidency, well then fair enough, [but] 14 years is a very long time.

“You could have Constitution Day in a number of areas where the practicality of the constitution in terms of the governance of Ireland could be improved radically, I think.”

He wants to give powers of subpoena to Dail committees to force witnesses to give sworn evidence at inquiries which could replace tribunals. Kenny says he has asked legal advisers to examine whether a referendum is required to overturn the Abbeylara judgment of 2001 when the Supreme Court ruled that Dail committees do not have the power to make negative findings about citizens.

“I want to empower the Dail committees to do the job that I believe they can do,” said Kenny. “You recall the way that the Dirt inquiry did its business [a 1990s parliamentary inquiry that uncovered significant under-declaration of bank depositors’ tax liabilities]. The comptroller & auditor general has estimated that the Moriarty tribunal may cost €100m. While people can be cynical of their politicians, they like to see politics working in the interests of the country.”

Kenny rejected claims that multiple references to the Seanad in the constitution make it impractical to abolish the upper chamber. Ireland is one of the few European countries with a bicameral parliament, and the others are larger and sometimes federal.

In a reference to the Dail, he said: “If that chamber over there operated properly, people would be far less cynical about politics. They would see governments being held to account, ministers being required to answer questions and Dail committees with the authority to ensure people respond to their questions.”

Kenny will not include the option of voting for a reformed Seanad in the referendum he has promised to hold within a year of being elected taoiseach. It will simply propose to abolish the chamber.

“The Seanad is not an upper house, it is a second house,” he said. “Since I made my proposal it has taken on a massive zeal for reform. I recognise we have had quality people in the senate. In my own party’s case, I want to get at least 10 of them out and elected to the Dail.”

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