Counting continues in Seanad elections

By David Young, PA

Counting continued on Saturday to fill seats on the Seanad’s vocational panels.

By 2pm, six of the 11 available seats on the agricultural panel had been filled.

All five seats on the cultural and education panel have already been decided, with counting for the remaining three panels – labour; industrial and commercial; and administrative – yet to commence.

A total of 111 candidates are competing for the 43 seats on the vocational panels. The counting is taking place in Leinster House.

Counting for the six seats available on the Seanad’s two university panels has already been completed.

On Friday, entrepreneur Aubrey McCarthy secured the final seat in the Trinity College Dublin constituency.

Mr McCarthy took the seat following a full recount, which was requested by the Green Party’s Hazel Chu.

The other two seats in the Trinity constituency were taken by returning independent senators Lynn Ruane and Tom Clonan.

Former children’s minister Katherine Zappone was among the most well-known of the candidates to miss out.

On the National University of Ireland (NUI) panel, independents Michael McDowell, Ronan Mullen and Alice Mary Higgins have all been re-elected.

In regard to the vocational panels, the five seats on the cultural and dducation panel were taken by Sinn Fein’s Pauline Tully, as well as Cathal Byrne, Shane Curley, Sean Kyne and Joe Conway.

Outgoing Fianna Fáil senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee missed out on re-election to the panel.

Malcolm Noonan of the Green Party, Joanne Collins, Victor Boyhan, Paul Daly, Niall Blaney and Teresa Costello have been elected to the agricultural panel.

The vast majority of the public do not have a vote in the Seanad.

The Dáil’s TDs, outgoing senators and local authority councillors make up the electorate for the five vocational panels.

Graduates of NUI institutions and Trinity College Dublin vote for the six seats on the two university panels.

The final 11 Seanad seats are appointed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

Former Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell and current Sinn Féin economy minister in Northern Ireland Conor Murphy are vying for seats on the industrial and commercial panel.

Former Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty missed out on securing a seat on the cultural and education panel.

Senators debate legislation put forward by the Government.

They can amend Bills and propose their own Bills but cannot prevent one from becoming law.