Counting continues in Seanad elections with three vocational panels filled

Counting is continuing in the Seanad elections, with the make-up of three of the vocational panels now confirmed.

The 11 seats available on both the agricultural panel and the labour panel have been filled, as have the five on the cultural and educational panel.

Counting at Leinster House moved to the nine seats on the industrial and commercial panel on Sunday.

Five candidates – independent Sharon Keogan, Fianna Fail’s Aidan Davitt and Mary Fitzpatrick, and Fine Gael’s Garrett Kelleher and Linda Nelson Murray – had been confirmed elected by late on Sunday.

Sinn Fein’s Economy minister in Northern Ireland, Conor Murphy, is well placed to take one of the remaining four places.

However, former Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell missed out on a seat on the panel.

The fifth and final vocational panel to be counted will be the administrative one.

A total of 111 candidates competed for 43 seats on the vocational panels.

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

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

He took the seat after 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 well-known candidates to miss out.

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

On the vocational panels, the five seats on the cultural and educational panel were taken by Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein), Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael), Shane Curley (Fianna Fail), Sean Kyne (Fine Gael) and Joe Conway (independent).

Outgoing Fianna Fail senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee missed out on re-election to the panel while former Fianna Fail TD Joe Flaherty also failed to get elected.

Malcolm Noonan (Greens), Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein), Victor Boyhan (independent), Paul Daly (Fianna Fail), Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail), Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail), Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael), Sarah O’Reilly (Aontu), Paraic Brady (Fine Gael), Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) and PJ Murphy (Fine Gael) have been elected to the agricultural panel.

On the labour panel, former Sinn Fein TD Chris Andrews won a seat, as did Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail), Gerard Craughwell (independent), Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats), Margaret Murphy O’Mahony (Fianna Fail), Mark Duffy (Fine Gael), Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael), Joe O’Reilly (Fine Gael), Pat Casey (Fianna Fail), Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein) and Nessa Cosgrove (Labour).

Former Fianna Fail junior government minister Anne Rabbitte, who lost her Dail seat in the general election, missed out on a seat on the labour panel.

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

The Dail’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.

Senators debate legislation put forward by the Government.

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