LIMERICK senator Paul Gavan, a champion of workers rights and social justice during his time in office, has said that he believes there wasn’t anything to be gained by actively contesting a seat in the Seanad election.
Polls in the postal ballot opened this Wednesday as ballot cards were sent out and will run until 11am on January 30.
The Sinn Féin senator revealed that he decided over the Christmas period to not actively contest the Seanad election for a seat on the Labour panel.
“I believe I have established a good track record of work and delivery over the past nine years both here at home and through my work at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),” Senator Gavan said.
“However, having taken time over Christmas to consider matters, I do not believe there is anything to be gained by actively contesting for a seat on the Labour panel. The party has nominated and endorsed two other candidates for this panel,” the Castleconnell-based politician explained.
Senator Gavan, who says he was the only opposition senator to have steered two bills successfully through all stages of the Seanad, went on to thank everyone who worked with him over his two terms.
“I have one last engagement to fulfil before I finish my term -attendance at the forthcoming PACE winter session where I will represent the United European Left in key debates on the Genocide in Palestine and Immigration,” he added.
Local candidates and local votes
Six Limerick candidates in all are running for Seanad Éireann, which is made up of 60 senators.
47 of the seats are elected — 43 of those from panels and six from universities. The remaining 11 nominees are appointed by the Taoiseach.
Among the six Limerick candidates is disability activist Joan Carthy on the Administrative panel.
With over 30 years experience as an activist and lobbyist, Joan promised to champion a rights-based approach to politics and advocate for underrepresented voices. She is determined to drive change from within and ensure those who feel unheard are given a strong voice.
If elected to the Seanad, Joan promises to represent the views of people on many key areas including disability, housing, employment, care, and LGBTQI+.
Limerick woman Linda O’Shea Farren is running for the Seanad in the NUI Constituency.
A student of Presentation Convent and Laurel Hill in Limerick, Linda studied law in UCC. After she was admitted as a solicitor in Ireland, she practiced in the New York and London offices of American law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.
Linda founded the Irish American Bar Association of New York in 1985 to give free legal advice to young Irish people living undocumented in America.
Other Limerick candidates vying for a Seanad seat include Michelle Hayes (IND) on the Cultural and Education panel, Maria Byrne (FG) and Joanne Collins (SF) on the Agricultural panel, and Dee Ryan (FF) on the Industrial and Commercial panel.
This year’s vote is the last Seanad Éireann election that will ever be held with just two university constituencies (NUI and TCD), following a Supreme Court battle taken on by University of Limerick student Tomás Heneghan in 2023 around the constitutionality and fairness of blocking graduates from other higher level institutions from the vote.
The new Higher Education Constituency, created following the Supreme Court ruling, includes graduates of a number of Limerick institutions for the first time, including University of Limerick (including NIHI Limerick), Mary Immaculate College, Technological University of the Shannon (including Limerick Institute of Technology; Limerick College of Art, Commerce, and Technology; and Limerick Regional Technical College), and Thomond College of Education.
Despite the franchise being extended to graduates of Limerick institutions and other higher level colleges and universities nationwide (with registration currently open until January 23), those newly eligible will still not be able to vote in this month’s election, on account of the new Higher Education Constituency not coming into effect in legislation for any election before June 1 this year.
