Adrian Kavanagh, 22nd December 2015

Elsewhere on this site, I have compiled a list of the selected/declared candidates for the 2016 Dail elections, but this post lists the nominated candidates for the 2016 Seanad elections. (The earlier version of this post listed people who had declared an interest in contesting these elections; some of whom subsequently did not get nominations to contest the elections. The number of declared candidates for the different panels – especially the Administrative, Agriculture, Cultural and Educational, Industrial and Commercial, and Labour panels – remained at relatively low levels until the Dail elections had taken place. Ahead of the close of nominations, details on nominated candidates candidates were difficult to find, but this post did try to list as many of these as possible.) Voting for these elections will take place across late March and early April.

172 candidates are listed here. 46 (26.7%) of these are female and 126 (73.3%) of these are male. Of the candidates listed here at present, 31 (18.0%) are outgoing Senators, 57 (33.1%) are City/County Councillors and 21 (12.2%) are former TDs, including some who lost their seats at the February 2016 election but also former TDs who lost their seats at earlier general elections (or did not chose not to contest a general election, as in the case of Niall Blaney). A number of the former TDs grouping are currently City/County Councillors or Senators.

There are notable variations across the different Seanad panels/constituencies in terms of the level of female candidates contesting these, as evident in the statistics noted directly below.

• Administrative: 35.3% female, 64.7% male
• Agricultural: 20.8% female, 79.2% male
• Cultural and Educational: 36.0% female, 64.0% male
• Industrial and Commercial: 24.3% female, 75.7% male
• Labour: 17.4% female, 82.6% male
• National University of Ireland: 23.3% female, 76.7% male
• Trinity: 37.5% female, 62.5% male

In relation to the vocational panel contests, there tends to be a higher level of female candidates on the “Inside” sub-panels, as will be discussed later.

46 Fianna Fail, 43 Fine Gael, 7 Sinn Fein, 5 Labour Party and 71 Independents and Others candidates (including one Social Democrats, one Green Party and one Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit candidate) and  will be contesting these elections and these are listed below. (Sinn Fein has also nominated Ciaran Staunton as an independent candidate on the Industrial and Commercial panel.)

The list of candidates contesting the five vocational panel elections – Adminstrative, Agricultural, Cultural and Educational, Industrial and Commercial, Labour – are divided into two sub-panels – an Outside sub-panel and an Inside sub-panel. Candidates on the Outside sub-panels have been nominated by an official external nominating body – e.g. Conradh na Gaeilge and the National Youth Council of Ireland for the Cultural and Educational panel.  Candidates on the Inside sub-panels have been nominated by their own political parties and/or a number (minimum of four) of Oireachtas members. I estimate that there are:

• 81 Outside (Sub-)Panel candidates – of whom 17 (21.0%) are female. Fianna Fail candidates (36, or 44.4% of the total) form the largest grouping as regards the total number of Outside Sub-Panel candidates across the five vocational panels. 45.7% of Outside candidates are Councillors, 23.5% are Senators and only 7.4% are former TDs.
• 45 Inside (Sub-)Panel candidates – of whom 16 (35.6%) are female. Fine Gael candidates (16, or 35.6% of the total) form the largest grouping as regards the total number of Inside Sub-Panel candidates across the five vocational panels. 44.4% of Inside candidates are Councillors, 13.3% are Senators and 31.1% are former TDs.

The two largest parties in terms of overall candidate numbers are, of course, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. There are actually more Independent candidates contesting these elections, but a large proportion of these (44) are contesting the two university constituencies.

• There are 46 Fianna Fail candidates contesting the 2016 Seanad elections. A significant proportion of their candidates (36 or 78.3%) are on the Outside sub-panels. 9 (19.6%) of the Fianna Fail Seanad candidates are female and 37 (80.4%) are male, but there are an equal number of female and male (5) candidates amongst the Inside sub-panel candidates/Oireachtas nominees. 28 (60.9%) of the Fianna Fail Seanad candidates are County Councillors, 7 (15.2%) are outgoing Senators and 6 (13.0%) are former TDs. There are 4 Fianna Fail candidates on the Administrative Panel, 9 Fianna Fail candidates on the Agricultural Panel, 12 Fianna Fail candidates on the Cultural and Educational Panel, 13 Fianna Fail candidates on the Industrial and Commercial Panel and 8 Fianna Fail candidates on the Labour Panel.
• There are 43 Fine Gael candidates contesting the 2016 Seanad elections. The majority of their (vocational panel) candidates (26 or 61.9%) are on the Outside sub-panels, but not to the same extent as in the case of Fianna Fail. 10 (23.3%) of the Fine Gael Seanad candidates are female and 33 (76.7%) are male. 14 (32.6%) of the Fine Gael Seanad candidates are County Councillors, 15 (34.9%) are outgoing Senators and 10 (23.3%) are former TDs. There are 5 Fine Gael candidates on the Administrative Panel, 9 Fine Gael candidates on the Agricultural Panel, 8 Fine Gael candidates on the Cultural and Educational Panel, 13 Fine Gael candidates on the Industrial and Commercial Panel and 7 Fine Gael candidates on the Labour Panel. There is also 1 Fine Gael candidate contesting the National University of Ireland constituency.
• There are 7 Sinn Fein candidates contesting the 2016 Seanad elections. The majority of their candidates (5 or 71.4%) are on the Inside sub-panels. 2 (28.6%) of the Sinn Fein Seanad candidates are female and 5 (71.4%) are male. 4 (57.1%) of the Sinn Fein Seanad candidates are County Councillors, while there is one (14.3%) outgoing Senator/former TD. There are 2 Sinn Fein candidates on the Agricultural and Labour Panels and 1 Sinn Fein candidate on the Administrative, Cultural and Educational, and Industrial and Commercial Panels. (Sinn Fein have also nominated an independent candidate, Ciaran Staunton, to contest the Industrial and Commercial Panel.)
• There are 72 Independent and Others candidates contesting the 2016 Seanad elections. Most of this group are independent/non party candidates, but there are also candidates for a number of the smaller parties, including Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit (Cian Prendiville) and the Green Party (Grace O’Sullivan). Most of the candidates in this grouping are contesting the university constituencies, with 28 contesting the vocational panel contests. There is a fairly even breakdown in terms of Independent and Others candidates (for the vocational panel contests) as regards the number that are on the Outside sub-panels (15 or 55.6%) and the Inside sub-panels (12 or 44.4%). 24 (33.3%) of the Seanad candidates are female and 48 (66.7%) are male. 11 (15.3%) candidates are County Councillors, 8 (11.1%) are outgoing Senators and 2 (2.8%) are former TDs. As regards the vocational panels, there are 4 candidates on the Cultural and Educational and Administrative Panel, 5 candidates on the Agricultural and Labour Panels and 9 candidates on the Industrial and Commercial Panel.

Administrative Panel (7 seats) – 17 candidates (7 “Outside”, 10 “Inside”) Minimum of 3 to be elected from both the Outside and Inside Sub-Panels

• Martin Conway FG (Outside)
• Mark Daly FF (Outside)
• Lorraine Dempsey IND (Outside)
• John Dolan IND (Outside)
• Thomas Welby IND (Inside)
• Eamonn Coghlan FG (Outside)
• Rosaleen O’Grady FF (Outside)
• Sean Power FF (Outside)
• Kevin Humphreys LAB (Inside)
• Jonathan Irwin IND (Inside)
• Mary Fitzpatrick FF (Inside)
• Tom Sheahan FG  (Inside)
• Maura Hopkins FG  (Inside)
• Paudie Coffey FG  (Inside)
• Mary Roche IND (Inside)
• Diarmuid Wilson FF  (Inside)
• Niall Ó Donnghaile SF (Inside)

Agricultural Panel (11 seats) – 24 candidates (15 “Outside”, 9 “Inside”)  Minimum of 4 to be elected from both the Outside and Inside Sub-Panels

• Dennis Landy LAB (Outside)
• Frank O’Flynn FF (Outside)
• Maria Byrne FG (Outside)
• Pat O’Neill FG (Outside)
• Paschal Mooney FF (Outside)
• John Sheahan FG (Outside)
• Pat Hayes FF (Outside)
• Shane P. O’Reilly FF (Outside)
• Paddy Burke FG (Outside)
• Paul Daly FF (Outside)
• Tim Lombard FG (Outside)
• Brian O Domhnaill FF (Outside)
• Colm Markey FG (Outside)
• Denis O’Donovan FF (Outside)
• Michael Smith FF (Outside)
• Victor Boyhan IND (Inside)
• Noel Coonan FG  (Inside)
• Michael Comiskey FG (Inside)
• Anthony Lawlor FG (Inside)
• Connie Gerrety Quinn FF (Inside)
• Rose Conway-Walsh SF (Inside)
• Trevor Ó Clochartaigh SF (Inside)
• Jennifer Whitmore Soc Dem (Inside)
• Grace O’Sullivan GP (Inside)

Cultural and Educational Panel (5 seats) – 25 candidates (19 “Outside”, 6 “Inside”) Minimum of 2 to be elected from both the Outside and Inside Sub-Panels

• Tom Brabazon FF (Outside)
• Jim D’Arcy FG (Outside)
• Keith Swannick FF (Outside)
• Deidre Burke IND (Outside)
• Declan Carey IND (Outside)
• Michael Collins FF (Outside)
• John Connolly FF (Outside)
• Liam Crowley FF (Outside)
• Joe Conway IND (Outside)
• Jim Finucane FG (Outside)
• Mary Howard FG (Outside)
• Seosamh O Ceallaigh IND (Outside)
• Claire O’Connor FF (Outside)
• Adrian O’Higgins FF (Outside)
• Seosamh O Laoi FG (Outside)
• Linda O’Shea Farren FG (Outside)
• Seamus Walsh FF (Outside)
• Lorraine Clifford FF (Inside)
• Fintan Warfield SF (Outside)
• Sean McBride FF (Outside)
• Jennifer Cuffe FF (Inside)
• Malcolm Byrne FF (Inside)
• Kieran O’Donnell FG (Inside)
• Gabrielle McFadden FG (Inside)
• Anne Marie Dermody FG (Inside)

Industrial and Commercial Panel (9 seats) – 37 candidates (28 “Outside”, 9 “Inside”) Minimum of 3 to be elected from both the Outside and Inside Sub-Panels

• Aidan Davitt FF (Outside)
• Bob Ryan FF (Outside)
• Niall Kelleher FF (Outside)
• Arthur Griffin FF (Outside)
• Peter Casey IND (Outside)
• Jerry Beades IND  (Inside ???)
• Thomas McEllistrim FF  (Outside)
• Catherine Noone FG (Outside)
• Eoin Neylon FF (Outside)
• Danny Owens FF (Outside)
• Tom MacSharry FF (Outside)
• John Hanafin FF (Outside)
• Paul Coghlan FG (Outside)
• Aengus O’Rourke FF (Outside)
• Niall Blaney FF (Outside)
• Gerry Horkan FF (Outside)
• Cait Keane FG (Inside)
• Imelda Henry FG (Outside)
• Barry Ward FG (Outside)
• Mary Hughes IND (Outside)
• William Lavelle FG (Outside)
• Donnacha Curley IND (Outside)
• Frances Black IND (Outside)
• Colm Burke FG (Outside)
• John Crowe FG (Outside)
• Joe Kelly IND (Outside)
• Mike Kennelly FG (Outside)
• Linda O’Shea Farren FG (Outside)
• Mailo Power IND (Outside)
• Deirdre O’Donovan IND ALL (Inside)
• Sean McKiernan FG (Outside)
• Aodhain O Riordain LAB (Inside)
• Ray Butler FG (Inside)
• James Bannon FG (Inside)
• Catherine Ardagh FF (Inside)
• Nigel Dineen IND (Inside)
• Pádraig Mac Lochlainn SF (Inside)
• Ciaran Staunton IND (Inside)

Labour Panel (11 seats) – 22 candidates (11 “Outside”, 11 “Inside”) Minimum of 4 to be elected from both the Outside and Inside Sub-Panels

• Gerard Craughwell IND/IND ALL (Outside)
• Tony Mulcahy FG (Inside)
• Neale Richmond FG (Inside)
• Jerry Buttimer FG (Inside)
• Ned O’Sullivan FF (Outside)
• Maurice Cummins FG (Outside)
• Joe Neville FG (Outside)
• Robbie Gallagher FF (Outside)
• Kate Feeney FF (Outside)
• Terry Leyden FF (Outside)
• Noel Cribben IND (Outside)
• Terry Brennan FG (Outside)
• Paul Gavan SF (Outside)
• Ged Nash LAB (Outside)
• Madeline Spiers IND (Outside)
• Joe O’Reilly FG (Inside)
• Paul McAuliffe FF (Inside)
• Daithi de Roiste FF (Inside)
• Jennifer Murnane O’Connor FF (Inside)
• Colm Keaveney FF (Inside)
• Máire Devine SF (Inside)
• Cian Prendiville AAA-PBP (Inside)
• John Campbell IND (Inside)

University of Dublin – 16 candidates (3 seats)

• Lynn Ruane IND
• Eoin Meehan IND
• Sabina Brennan IND
• Anthony Staines IND
• Tom Clonan IND
• David Norris IND
• Ivana Bacik IND/LAB
• Ed Davitt IND
• William Priestley IND
• Sean Melly IND
• Sean Barrett IND
• Oisin Coughlan IND
• Maeve Cox IND
• Ethna Tinney IND
• Averil Power IND
• Kevin Cunningham IND

National University of Ireland – 30 candidates (3 seats)

• Barry Johnston IND
• Ellen O’Malley-Dunlop IND
• Ronan Mullen IND
• Daragh McGreal IND
• Ross Golden Bannon IND
• Rory Hearne IND
• Luke Field IND
• Alice Mary Higgins IND
• Paul D’Alton IND
• Owen J Dineen IND
• Laura Harmon IND
• Michael McDowell IND
• David Begg IND
• Eddie Murphy IND
• Deirdre Burke IND
• Paddy Monahan IND
• John Higgins IND
• Jerry Beades IND
• Padraig O Ceidigh IND
• Martin Khara Dhaly IND
• Maire Darker IND
• Karen Devine IND
• Pearce Flannery FG
• Aideen Hayden IND
• Carol Hunt IND
• Christy Kenneally IND
• Michael Sean Molloy IND
• Enda Padraig O’Coineen IND
• Brendan Price IND
• Kieran Alexander Rose IND

(Senator Fergal Quinn, who has represented this panel since 1993, will not be contesting these elections. Senator John Crown will also not be contesting this election.)

Thanks to everyone who provided Seanad candidate details/information, which has been factored into this post.