Seanad Éireann

Seanad elections are currently underway. For the two university (Trinity College and NUI) constituencies, the close of poll is: 11am on 29 January.

The Seanad is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with the lower house being the Dáil. Members of the Seanad are known as Senators.

The main function of the Seanad is to debate legislation proposed by the Government. The Seanad can amend a Bill that has been passed by the Dáil and delay, but not stop, it becoming law. Senators can also introduce their own Bills, which are debated in the Seanad and, if passed, are then debated in the Dáil. Ultimately, the role of the Seanad is to improve the law making process. Although the Government has no constitutional responsibility to Seanad Éireann, a Minister or Minister of State attends the Seanad when it is dealing with Bills or debating Government policy.

The Seanad is made up of 60 members. Unlike the Dáil, members of the Seanad are not directly elected.
Of these;
• 11 are nominated by the Taoiseach;
• 43 are elected from vocational panels;
• 6 are elected from University panels.

Seanad elections have to take place within 90 days of the dissolution of the Dáil. This means that the new Dáil will have assembled before the Seanad elections take place.

To become a Senator, you must be:
• A citizen of Ireland
• Over 21 years old

You must not be:
• Serving a prison sentence of more than 6 months;
• A person of unsound mind;
• A judge;
• A senior official of the European Union;
• A civil servant;
• A member of An Garda Síochána or a full-time member of the Defence Forces.

Vocational panels are responsible for the election of 43 out of 60 Senators. This is outlined in Article 18 of the Constitution. There are five different panels which are listed below:
• Cultural and educational panel (5);
• Agricultural panel (11);
• Labour panel (11);
• Industrial and commercial panel (9);
• Administrative panel (7).

Each panel corresponds to a different theme. Candidates are required to have a certain level of knowledge and experience related to their panel. Each panel will elect between 5 and 11 members and candidates are only permitted to run for election on one panel.

The following people make up the electorate for each of the vocational panels:
• Members of the incoming Dáil;
• Members of the outgoing Seanad;
• Members of county councils and city councils.

The Seanad returning officer maintains a list of nominating bodies for each of the five panels. A nominating body is an organisation whose work or members is relevant to a panel. Organisations can only be registered on one panel.

Candidates can be nominated by four members of the Oireachtas or a nominating body. Each panel elects a minimum amount of candidates from candidates who have been nominated by Oireachtas members and nominating bodies.

For example, the cultural and educational panel elect five candidates. At least two candidates must be elected from candidates nominated by Oireachtas members and two from nominating bodies.

University constituencies have six Senators elected by graduates of certain universities. There are two separate university constituencies:

• Graduates of University of Dublin (Trinity College);
• Graduates of the National University of Ireland (NUI).

Each panel elects 3 Senators.

The NUI panel consists of University College Dublin (UCD), University College Cork (UCC), University of Galway and Maynooth University (MU).

For the two university constituencies (Trinity College and NUI), the close of poll is: 11am on 29 January 2025

Seanad elections are conducted through postal voting and use Proportional Representation – Single Transferable Vote (PR-STV). Similar to all other elections in Ireland.

To be eligible to vote in a Seanad election you must be an Irish citizen, at least 18 years of age and have received a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or doctoral degree from one of the above designated Universities. Holders of an honorary degree are not eligible. You do not need to live in Ireland to be registered to vote on a Seanad university panel.

To contest an election in one of the two university constituencies you must be nominated by two registered electors for a university and eight other registered electors must assent to your nomination.

You do not have to be a graduate or connected to the university, but you do need to fulfil the normal eligibility criteria outlined above to be a Senator.