2025 Seanad election

2025 Seanad election
← outgoing members elected members →
60 members of the Seanad Éireann; 30 seats needed for a majority
Incumbent Leader of the Seanad; Lisa Chambers; Fianna Fáil	; ;

An indirect election to the 27th Seanad is scheduled to place in January 2025 after the 2024 general election to the 34th Dáil in November 2024. Seanad Éireann is the senate of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as its house of representatives. There are 60 seats in the Seanad. Polls will close for six senators elected in two university constituencies on 29 January and for 43 senators elected on five vocational panels on 30 January. The remaining 11 senators are to be nominated by the Taoiseach who is appointed next after the meeting of the 34th Dáil.

Background

The Constitution of Ireland provides that a Seanad election must take place within 90 days of the dissolution of the Dáil Éireann. The 33rd Dáil was dissolved on 8 November 2024.^[1] On 15 November 2024, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Darragh O'Brien, signed an order for the Seanad elections, providing 29 January as the deadline for ballots for the vocational panels and 30 January as the deadline for ballots in the university constituencies.^[2]

Electoral system

Six are elected from two university constituencies: three from the National University constituency and three from the Dublin University (Trinity College Dublin) constituency.^[3] This will be the last general election from these constituencies. Under the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024, at the next Seanad general election held after 21 March 2025, they will be substituted by a new six-seat Higher Education constituency.^[4]

Forty-three are elected by an electorate of elected politicians, consisting of members of the 34th Dáil, members of the 26th Seanad and city and county councillors, who have ballots for each of the five vocational panels.^[5]^[6] The Seanad Returning Officer maintains a list of qualified nominating bodies for each panel.^[7] Candidates may be nominated by nominating bodies (outside sub-panel) or by members of the Oireachtas (inside sub-panel). In each vocational panel, there is a minimum number who must be elected from either the inside or the outside sub-panel. If the number of candidates nominated for each sub-panel does not exceed by two the maximum number which may be elected from that sub-panel, the Taoiseach shall nominate candidates to fill the deficiency.^[8]

Electors for the panels elect:^[9]

Seven seats from the Administrative Panel, with a minimum of three from inside and outside sub-panels: Public administration and social services (including the voluntary sector).
Eleven seats from the Agricultural Panel, with a minimum of four: Agriculture and the fisheries.
Five seats from the Cultural and Educational Panel, with a minimum of two: Education, the arts, the Irish language and Irish culture and literature.
Nine seats from the Industrial and Commercial Panel, with a minimum of three: Industry and commerce (including engineering and architecture).
Eleven seats from the Labour Panel, with a minimum of four: Labour (organised or otherwise).

All votes are cast by postal ballot, and are counted using the single transferable vote. Under this system, voters can rank candidates in order of their preference, 1 as their first preference, 2 for second preference, and so on. In the Panel elections, ballots are initially given a value of 1,000 to allow calculation of quotas where all ballots are distributed in the case of a surplus, rather than taking a representative sample as is done in Dáil elections. The quota for election is given as $\left({\frac {\text{total valid poll}}{{\text{seats}}+1}}\right)+1$ .

The 11 nominated members can only be appointed by the Taoiseach who is appointed next after the reassembly of Dáil Éireann.

Election process

Timetable of 2025 Seanad election
Deadline	Universities	Vocational Panel
Nominations close	6 December 2024	18 December 2024 ("outside" panel: nominating bodies — civic society groups) 31 December 2024 ("inside" panel: Oireachtas members)
Completion of panels	n/a	8 January 2025
Ballot papers distributed	30 December 2024	15 January 2025
Polls close	29 January 2025, 11 a.m.	30 January 2025, 11 a.m.

References

^ "General Election on 29 November 2024". Government of Ireland (Press release). Department of the Taoiseach. 11 November 2024 [8 November 2024].
^ "Minister O'Brien makes Orders appointing dates and times for Seanad Éireann general election". Government of Ireland (Press release). Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 15 November 2024.
^ Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 (No. 30 of 1937). Enacted on 19 November 1937. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2020.
^ Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024, s. 6: Constituency and electors (No. 40 of 2024, s. 6). Enacted on 29 October 2024. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
^ Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1954 (No. 1 of 1954). Enacted on 22 February 1954. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2020.
^ Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947 (No. 42 of 1947). Enacted on 19 December 1947. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2020.
^ "Register of Nominating Bodies as revised at the annual revision and signed by the Seanad Returning Officer in pursuance of section 19 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, as amended" (PDF). Oireachtas. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, s. 37: Nominations by the Taoiseach to complete provisional sub-panels (No. 42 of 1947, s. 37). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 March 2020.
^ Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, s. 52: Allocation of members amongst the panels (No. 42 of 1947, s. 52). Enacted on 19 December 1947. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 7 March 2020.

[1] "General Election on 29 November 2024". Government of Ireland (Press release). Department of the Taoiseach. 11 November 2024 [8 November 2024].

[2] "Minister O'Brien makes Orders appointing dates and times for Seanad Éireann general election". Government of Ireland (Press release). Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 15 November 2024.

[3] Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937 (No. 30 of 1937). Enacted on 19 November 1937. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2020.

[4] Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024, s. 6: Constituency and electors (No. 40 of 2024, s. 6). Enacted on 29 October 2024. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.

[5] Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1954 (No. 1 of 1954). Enacted on 22 February 1954. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2020.

[6] Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947 (No. 42 of 1947). Enacted on 19 December 1947. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2020.

[7] "Register of Nominating Bodies as revised at the annual revision and signed by the Seanad Returning Officer in pursuance of section 19 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, as amended" (PDF). Oireachtas. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.

[8] Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, s. 37: Nominations by the Taoiseach to complete provisional sub-panels (No. 42 of 1947, s. 37). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 March 2020.

[9] Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, s. 52: Allocation of members amongst the panels (No. 42 of 1947, s. 52). Enacted on 19 December 1947. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 7 March 2020.

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