Four candidates to contest Seanad bye-election seat

Four candidates are to contest the forthcoming Seanad bye-election for the remaining vacancy in the Oireachtas.

The vote to fill a seat on the Seanad's Cultural and Educational panel was triggered by the success of Fine Gael's Sean Kyne in the Galway West Dáil bye-election in May.

The Seanad returning officer ruled on nominations yesterday with ballot papers to be issued to those voting on Friday 23 October. The poll closes on Friday 6 November.

There are 233 members of the Dáil and Seanad who are eligible to vote, of which 51.5% are representatives of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Former Dublin city lord mayor Ray McAdam has been selected as the Fine Gael candidate, having ran unsuccessfully in the Dublin Central bye-election in May to fill the seat of his party colleague Pascal Donohoe, receiving 10.67% of the vote.

Success for the Dublin City Councillor would be regarded as strategically important for Fine Gael, with the party currently without Oireachtas representation in Mr McAdam's Dáil constituency of Dublin Central and the neighbouring constituency of Dublin North West.

However, the Cavan native will need to rely upon votes from Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators to get over the line and not all those can be guaranteed following a spat between the Coalition partners last month over sports grants.

Since Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael entered into coalition in 2020, there has been precedent for the parties not to stand against each other in Seanad bye-elections and vote for the other.

At one stage, former Fianna Fáil senator Gerry Horkan was speculated as an 'Independent' Fianna Fáil candidate to be put forward by those not willing to vote for Mr McAdam - although Mr Horkan subsequently distanced himself from the prospect, noting how he benefitted from Fine Gael votes in his Seanad bye-election success in 2021.

A well-placed Fianna Fáil TD suggested not all of its parliamentary party will vote for Cllr McAdam but felt sufficient numbers would still do so for the Fine Gael candidate to achieve success.

Efforts had been under way to agree a joint left-wing candidate and the Labour Party and the Social Democrats yesterday gave their backing to Independent candidate Dr Maeve O'Rourke.

Dr O'Rourke is a human rights lawyer and lecturer at the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway.

She is a co-founder of the Clann Project and a member of Justice for Magdalenes Research, having worked for almost two decades with people affected by institutional and family separation matters.

She is married to the Labour Party TD for Dublin South West Ciaran Ahern and is the daughter of RTÉ broadcaster Sean O'Rourke.

Dr O'Rourke might garner some support from Fianna Fáil in what is a secret vote but her prospects will not be enhanced by the presence of two other Independent candidates on the ballot paper.

Caitlín Ní Bhroin is a Language Planning Officer in Cloch Ceann Fhaola, County Donegal. She was born and raised in Machaire Rabhartaigh and has spent 27 years working with the Irish language throughout Ireland.

She is a regular contributor to RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and is highly active in the Gaeltacht community and housing rights campaigns. In 2023, she was appointed to the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta.

Patrick Paul Walsh is a professor of global affairs and sustainable futures at University College Dublin.

He is the vice-president of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, a forum for evidence based discussions on public policy between government departments, social partners and academia.

Prof Walsh has also served as a senior adviser to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

He lists his current research and policy outreach to be on many aspects of the UN 2030 sustainable development agenda.