The looming Seanad election may have been overshadowed by the country’s recent general election, however the upper House of the Oireachtas plays an important role in sustaining Ireland’s democratic process.
Here is what we can expect from this upcoming election.
The role of the Seanad
Seanad Éireann is Ireland’s senate, or the Upper House of the national parliament, and is located on Kildare Street alongside the Dáil.
It is composed of 60 members (Senators), 11 of which are nominated by the Taoiseach. The remaining 49 are elected by exclusive elections.
The Seanad’s primary function is to debate legislation set forth by the Dáil.
While the Seanad cannot stop a Bill from becoming law, it has the ability to propose amendments, while Senators can also propose their own Bills.
In order to be eligible to become a member of the Seanad one must simply be a citizen of Ireland over the age of 21.
How is the Seanad elected?
As mentioned, the Seanad is comprised of 60 senators; however only 49 of the seats are elected. The remaining 11 are filled by a nomination from the relevant Taoiseach.
43 of the 60 Senators are elected from five vocational panels, which are as follows: the Labour panel and Agricultural panel, which both elect eleven seats, and the Industrial and Commercial panel which elects nine seats. There are seven seats on the Administrative panel and five on the Cultural and Educational panel.
It is expected that candidates will put themselves forward for panels which they are knowledgeable about, or have relevant experience for.
The remaining 6 seats are elected by two three-seat constituencies, which draw from the graduate pool of University of Dublin Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and National University of Ireland (NUI).
Three TDs who failed to get re-elected to the Dáil in November’s general election were nominated by outgoing Taoiseach Simon Harris in order to fill vacancies made in the Seanad following the recent election.
This trio are Fianna Fáil’s Anne Rabbitte and Joe Flaherty, along with Fine Gael’s Alan Farrell; filling the seats of former Senators Erin McGreehan, Timmy Dooley and Emer Currie, who were elected as TDs in November’s general election.
They will remain in situ until this month’s Seanad election.
Of the three newly appointed senators, only Alan Farrell has stated his intention to run for election, and is campaigning for a position on the the Industrial and Commercial Panel.
A new higher education constituency
Long overdue reforms regarding the election of the six university senators will come into effect on April 1 2025.
The Seanad Electoral (University Members) (amendment) Bill 2024 is set to create a new, more inclusive, higher education constituency.
This new six seat constituency will see Seanad voting rights extended to an additional 15 higher education institutions establishing a new register of electors, replacing the current TCD and NUI constituencies.
Voters who are on the existing registers of electors for the Seanad university candidates must apply in order to be included on the new register.
The deadline to apply for this new register is January 23, 2025.
Who is seeking election from the Trinity Seanad panel ?
A total of sixteen candidates nominated themselves for the TCD consistency including two incumbents, Senator Lynn Ruane and Senator Tom Clonan.
Lynn Ruane has been an independent senator for the University of Dublin constituency since 2016. She is a founding member of the Civil Engagement Group, an alliance of progressive and fellow independent Senators operating within the Seanad. Since her election in 2016 Lynn has introduced 7 bills to the Seanad along with co-sponsoring a further 29. She has also tabled more than 3,000 legislative amendments.
Also an independent senator, Tom Clonan was first elected to Seanad Éireann in March of 2022 through a by-election. This came following a vacancy made though the election of Labour’s Ivana Bacik as a TD to Dáil Éireann from the Seanad. Clonan, a retired Irish Army Captain, has focused a lot of his Seanad term on foreign affairs. He has also advocated strongly for both disability rights, and gender equality.
Those seeking election also include Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone, who lost her Dáil seat in the 2020 election. Green Party members Hazel Chu and Ossain Smyth are also on the ballot, following electoral defeat in November’s general election.
The full list of candidates running in the penultimate election to the University of Dublin constituency are: Derek Byrne, Kevin Byrne, Hazel Chu, Tom Clonan, Laoise de Brún, Hugo MacNeill, Marcus Matthews, Aubrey McCarthy, John (Jack) Mulcahy, Paul Mulville, Sadhbh O’Neill, Abbas Ali O’Shea, Ade Oluborode, Lynn Ruane, Ossian Smyth and Katherine Zappone.
Ballot papers were sent to voters registered in the current TCD and NUI constituencies on 30 December 2024. Those eligible to vote can do so via postal vote, and must return their votes before 11am on January 29.
The university panel polls close at 11am on January 29 with polls for the vocational panels closing the following day, January 30th, at 11am.
