Counting resumes in Seanad elections with two vocational panels filled

By David Young, PA

Counting has resumed in the Seanad elections, with the make-up of two of the vocational panels now confirmed.

The eleven seats available on the agricultural panel and the five on the cultural and education panel have all been filled.

Counting in the labour panel began on Saturday evening and resumed on Sunday morning. By 10am, five of the eleven seats had been decided.

Once the labour panel count is complete, the focus will turn to the two outstanding panels – industrial and commercial; and administrative.

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

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 were all re-elected.

In regard to the vocational panels, the five seats on the cultural and education panel were taken by Pauline Tully, 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, Joanne Collins, Victor Boyhan, Paul Daly, Niall Blaney, Teresa Costello, Eileen Lynch, Sarah O’Reilly, Paraic Brady, Maria Byrne and PJ Murphy have been elected to the agricultural panel.

On the labour panel, Robbie Gallagher, Gerard Craughwell, Chris Andrews, Patricia Stephenson, Margaret Murphy O’Mahony have all been elected.

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 Micheal 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.