25th Seanad explained
| 25th Seanad |
| Body: | Seanad Éireann |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Meeting Place: | Leinster House |
| Term Start: | 8 June 2016 |
| Term End: | 27 March 2020 |
| Before: | 24th Seanad |
| After: | 26th Seanad |
| Membership1: | 60 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Cathaoirleach |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | Denis O'Donovan |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | Leas-Chathaoirleach |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Paul Coghlan |
| Chamber1 Leader3 Type: | Leader of the
Seanad |
| Chamber1 Leader3: | Jerry Buttimer |
| Chamber1 Leader4 Type: | Deputy leader of the Seanad |
| Chamber1 Leader4: | Catherine Noone |
| Chamber1 Leader5 Type: | Leader of the
Opposition |
| Session1 Start: | 8 June 2016 |
| Session1 End: | 21 July 2016 |
| Session2 Start: | 28 September 2016 |
| Session2 End: | 20 July 2017 |
| Session3 Start: | 26 September 2017 |
| Session3 End: | 17 July 2018 |
| Session4 Start: | 19 September 2018 |
| Session4 End: | 12 July 2019 |
| Session5 Start: | 24 September 2019 |
| Session5 End: | 27 March 2020 |
The 25th Seanad was in office from 2016 to 2020. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 2016 general election to the 32nd Dáil on 26 February. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels by serving politicians, for which polling closed on 25 April; 6 were elected in two university constituencies, for which polling closed on 26 April; and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach (Enda Kenny) on 27 May 2016. It remained in office until the close of poll for the 26th Seanad in March 2020.
Electoral system
There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 Senators are elected by the Vocational panels, 6 elected by the two University constituencies, and 11 are nominated by the Taoiseach. Three seats are elected by graduates of the National University of Ireland and three seats are elected by graduates and scholars of the Dublin University.
Article 18.8 of the Constitution requires that an election for Seanad Éireann must take place not later than 90 days after a dissolution of the Dáil. On 9 February, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly signed the orders for the Seanad election.
Nominations for the 43 vocational panel seats closed at noon on 21 March 2016 and the full list of panel nominees was published in Iris Oifigiúil on 1 April 2016.[1] Polls for these two university constituencies closed at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday 26 April 2016.
Forty-three vocational panel seats are filled by an electorate of public representatives, comprising the incoming 32nd Dáil, the outgoing 24th Seanad, and members of city and county councils, each of whom has one vote in each of the five panels. The total electorate was 1,155.[2] [3] Polling closed at 11 a.m. on Monday 25 April 2016, with the count beginning immediately afterwards. A total of 1,124 of the electorate voted.[3] Each panel is subdivided into an Oireachtas ("inside") subpanel and Nominating Bodies ("outside") subpanel, and a portion of seats must be filled from each subpanel; John Dolan was elected despite having fewer votes than Tom Sheahan and Thomas Welby when they were eliminated, because they were on the inside panel and all remaining seats were reserved for the outside panel.[4]
Taoiseach Enda Kenny nominated 11 senators on 27 May 2016.[5]
The 25th Seanad first met at Leinster House on 8 June 2016 when Denis O'Donovan was elected as the new Cathaoirleach of the Seanad.[6]
The Government of the 32nd Dáil was a minority government of Fine Gael and several independent TDs, supported by Fianna Fáil. Similarly, Fine Gael did not hold a majority in the Seanad: and even if all 20 Fine Gael Senators voted in favour of a motion, and all 14 Fianna Fáil Senators abstained, four more votes from independent or opposition Senators were required to pass a motion. There were several very close votes and defeats.[7] This was unusual, as the Senators nominated by the Taoiseach usually give the Government a majority.[8] [9] [10]
Composition of the 25th Seanad
Government party denoted with bullet .
Party giving
confidence and supply denoted by
C.
Technical groups
The minimum parliamentary group size is five Senators, a threshold met by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, and the following three technical groups.[17] Apart from the Cathaoirleach, independent Marie-Louise O'Donnell was the only senator not a member of any group.[18]
- Independent group (9)
All were independents, although not all independent senators were members of the group.
- Civil Engagement group (5)
All members of the
Civil Engagement group were first-time Oireachtas members and independents. This group included Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) until her election to the European Parliament in May 2019.
- Technical group (5)
All were in Labour except for independent Norris. Labour formed a party group until the retirement of
Denis Landy left it below the five-senator threshold. It first formed a technical group with
Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, who had resigned from Sinn Féin.
[19] When Ó Clochartaigh resigned from the Seanad, Labour recruited Norris,
[20] who had left the Independent group shortly after the 2016 election.
[21] External links
Notes and References
- Panels of candidates prepared by the Seanad Returning Officer pursuant to Section 43 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, as amended by the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1954.. PDF. 27B. 1 April 2016. Iris Oifigiúil. 21 April 2016. 10 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170510151040/http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/IR010416.pdf#page=33. live.
- Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Acts 1947 and 1954: Electoral roll. PDF. 1 April 2016. 27A. Iris Oifigiúil. 1 May 2016. 10 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170510151040/http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/IR010416.pdf#page=9. live.
- News: Sinn Féin candidates top Seanad poll on Agriculture panel. O'Halloran. Marie. 26 April 2016. The Irish Times. the small electorate of 1,155. A total of 1,124 of the electorate voted ... Those entitled to vote on the vocational panels are the 158 new TDs, 53 of the 60 outgoing Senators (as seven were elected to the Dáil in the recent election) and 941 city and county councillors.. 1 May 2016. 27 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160427115943/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/sinn-f%C3%A9in-candidates-top-seanad-poll-on-agriculture-panel-1.2625034. live.
- News: Fine Gael transfers help Labour win four Seanad seats. O'Halloran. Marie. 28 April 2016. The Irish Times. 1 May 2016. 29 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160429120529/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fine-gael-transfers-help-labour-win-four-seanad-seats-1.2628453. live.
- Web site: 27 May 2016 . 20 June 2016 . Taoiseach's nominees to Seanad Éireann . 28 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160628014240/http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/News/Taoiseach_s_nominees_to_Seanad_Eireann.html . live .
- Web site: Jury is out on delivery of a new and improved Seanad. independent. 2020-06-30. 2020-06-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20200630234105/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/jury-is-out-on-delivery-of-a-new-and-improved-seanad-34784930.html. live.
- Web site: Government Seanad defeat as FF abstain in Higgins trade motion. Michael. O'Regan. The Irish Times. 2018-02-15. 2018-02-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180216025051/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/government-seanad-defeat-as-ff-abstain-in-higgins-trade-motion-1.2818340. live.
- News: Abortion forum scrapes through Seanad. 2016-07-18. 2016-08-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20160807192108/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abortion-forum-scrapes-through-seanad-jq65l2gh3. live. Coyne . Ellen .
- Web site: Lively new Seanad not part of government deal. 2020-02-20. 2021-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20210301031312/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/lively-new-seanad-not-part-of-government-deal-1.2631627. live.
- Web site: Seanad can hold balance of power in a minority Government, claims Norris - Independent.ie. 2016-07-18. 2016-08-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816141032/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2016/seanad-can-hold-balance-of-power-in-a-minority-government-claims-norris-34609089.html. live.
- Web site: National University of Ireland Elections Page. NUI. 26 April 2016. 11 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160411193723/http://www.nui.ie/elections/seanad_Election_2016/default_Seanad_Election2016.asp. live.
- Web site: Administrative Panel Full Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20160428203916/http://www.seanadcount.ie/sc/seanadcount.nsf/0bddb7722ed754f88025730d003dac51/dbc4b72cd790c519802578550042b1af/%24FILE/Administrative%20Count%2015%202016.xls. 28 April 2016. April 2016. Microsoft Excel. seanadcount.ie. Oireachtas. 1 May 2016. dead.
- Web site: Agricultural Panel Full Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20160428203916/http://www.seanadcount.ie/sc/seanadcount.nsf/0bddb7722ed754f88025730d003dac51/37edb411fc7f24e78025730e005b9e07/%24FILE/Agricultural%20Count%2022%202016.xls. 28 April 2016. April 2016. Microsoft Excel. seanadcount.ie. Oireachtas. 1 May 2016. dead.
- Web site: Cultural and Educational Panel Full Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20160428203916/http://www.seanadcount.ie/sc/seanadcount.nsf/0bddb7722ed754f88025730d003dac51/4e73ac12e84ea3078025730e005baf47/%24FILE/Cultural%20and%20Educational%20Count%2023%202016.xls. 28 April 2016. April 2016. Microsoft Excel. seanadcount.ie. Oireachtas. 1 May 2016. dead.
- Web site: Industrial and Commercial Panel Full Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20160428203916/http://www.seanadcount.ie/sc/seanadcount.nsf/0bddb7722ed754f88025730d003dac51/990060ab5eaebf5b8025730e005bb720/%24FILE/Industrial%20and%20Commercial%20Count%2036%202016.xls. 28 April 2016. April 2016. Microsoft Excel. seanadcount.ie. Oireachtas. 1 May 2016. dead.
- Web site: Labour Panel Full Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20160428203916/http://www.seanadcount.ie/sc/seanadcount.nsf/0bddb7722ed754f88025730d003dac51/b82d3447725859038025730e005bb3d1/%24FILE/Labour%20Count%2020%202016.xls. 28 April 2016. April 2016. Microsoft Excel. seanadcount.ie. Oireachtas. 1 May 2016. dead.
- Web site: Seanad Éireann - Standing Orders relative to Public Business. Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 June 2017. 7 May 2018. 8 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180508232135/https://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/about/standingorders/Seanad-Standing-Orders-2017.pdf. live.
- Web site: Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016: Committee Stage. O'Donnell. Marie Louise. 21 March 2018. Seanad debates. kildarestreet.com. 28 March 2018. 27 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210927234424/https://www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?gid=2018-03-21a.230. live.
- News: Labour Senators and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh form technical group. O'Halloran. Marie. 13 December 2017. The Irish Times. 28 March 2018. 5 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180705175702/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/labour-senators-and-trevor-%C3%B3-clochartaigh-form-technical-group-1.3326551. live.
- Web site: Order of Business. Bacik. Ivana. 7 March 2018. Seanad debates. KildareStreet.com. 28 March 2018. Those of us in the Seanad Technical Group are really delighted that Senator David Norris will be joining us.. 28 September 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210928011221/https://www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?gid=2018-03-07a.47. live.
- Web site: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2016: Second Stage. David. Norris. I also thank the Independent group of Senators, which I left with some delight yesterday. 29 June 2016. Seanad debates. KildareStreet.com. 28 March 2018. 29 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191843/https://www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?gid=2016-06-29a.305. live.
