Politics

Failed general election Independents Cathal Barry and Matt Shanahan to run for Seanad

Seanad office receives 70 nominations in advance of Wednesday deadline for candidates backed by professional bodies

Independent TD for Kildare South Cathal Berry is now eyeing a seat in the Seanad after failing to be re-elected to the Dáil. Photograph: Alan Betson
Independent TD for Kildare South Cathal Berry is now eyeing a seat in the Seanad after failing to be re-elected to the Dáil. Photograph: Alan Betson
Marie O'Halloran
Wed Dec 18 2024 - 03:00

Former Independent TD Cathal Berry who lost his South Kildare Seat in the general election is to run in the Seanad election as is former Waterford Independent TD Matt Shanahan, both of them from the Regional Independent group in the last Dáil.

Mr Berry, a former Army Ranger and medical doctor who received nominations from Oireachtas members, said “national security is a priority around Europe at the moment ... So you need people with a particular expertise to have a mature conversation about it. And that’s what the Seanad is all about.”

The Upper House is seen as a way for former TDs to remain in the Oireachtas to win back their Dáil seat in the following general election.

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Three Fianna Fáil TDs lost their seats but only two will seek election to the Seanad. Anne Rabbitte (Galway East) and Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath) were appointed to the Seanad after the general election, which ensures two additional Fianna Fáil votes in the forthcoming elections. They are set to be confirmed as candidates for the Vocational panels which elect 43 of the 60 Senators.

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Former Wicklow TD and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has not sought a nomination. Former Fine Gael TD and party chairman Alan Farrell who lost his seat and was also appointed to the Seanad is also expected to be nominated as a candidate. Fianna Fáil Seanad leader Lisa Chambers, who ran unsuccessfully in Mayo in the general election is not seeking re-election to the Upper House.

Political parties are expected to make final decisions on candidates as deadlines loom. There are two ways to get nominated for the 43 seats on the vocational panels. A candidate can receive an “inside” nomination from four Oireachtas members. The deadline for inside nominations is New Year’s Eve at noon.

Nominations can also be made by “outside” professional nominating bodies representing various sectors of society and the deadline for these nominations is noon on Wednesday.

Some 70 nominations were made to the Seanad office by close of business, but as some candidates were nominated by more than one professional body it is expected there will be approximately 60 candidates for outside panels.

The Social Democrats’ national executive were expected to finalise their candidate list at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Twelve people put themselves forward for the Green Party which was decimated in the general election with the loss of 10 seats. The party is still working through their “internal process” and hopes to have an outcome by the end of this week or early next week.

The electorate for the Seanad is just under 2,000 and consists of incoming TDs (174), outgoing Senators (60) and local authority councillors (941). Based on their representation including at local government level the Greens could potentially win just one seat.

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Intending outside candidates also include Fianna Fáil former Cork South-West TD Margaret Murphy O’Mahony who lost her Dáil seat in the 2020 election. Other Fianna Fáil candidates include outgoing Senators Fiona O’Loughlin, Mark Daly, Aidan Davitt and Niall Blaney.

Former Fine Gael senator Tony Mulcahy, a member of the Senate from 2011 to 2016, has also been nominated. Outgoing Fine Gael Senator Joe O’Reilly, previously an “inside” nominee has been supported by the Irish Conference of Professional and Service Association (ICPSA) which represents Garda and Defence Force organisations and by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Labour is running four candidates for the Seanad: Cllr Nessa Cosgrove, Cllr Angela Feeney, Cllr Laura Harmon and Cllr Darragh Moriarty.

Unusually, Fine Gael does not have a director of elections. Last year then taoiseach Leo Varadkar appointed Simon Harris to that role for the general election, but on his appointment as Taoiseach former TD Olwyn Enright acted as director, but there is no appointee for the Seanad polls.

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran is Parliamentary Correspondent of The Irish Times