If Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil stick by their commitments not to go into coalition, the incoming government will be in a minority in the Seanad.
Given the results of the local elections in 2014, neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fáil is capable of gaining control of the Seanad even with the Taoiseach having the power to appoint 11 members of the House.
In the unlikely event of the two big parties going into coalition they would not even have a Seanad majority between them, and would require the Taoiseach’s 11 nominees to give them the numbers to control the chamber.
If a minority government is the outcome of the election it would inevitably be in a minority position in the Seanad as well as the Dáil.
The Seanad has no power to block the budget, but can hold up ordinary legislation for 90 days and has the power to initiate its own legislation.
The Seanad is composed of 60 members, with 43 elected on vocational panels from an electorate composed of the country’s 949 county councillors, the 158 members of the incoming Dáil and members of the outgoing Seanad.
Graduates
Another six Senators are elected by the two university panels, three by graduates of Trinity College and three by graduates of the National University of Ireland. The other 11 members are directly appointed by the Taoiseach.
In the local elections of 2014, Fianna Fáil emerged as the biggest party with 267 councillors, followed by Fine Gael with 235, Sinn Féin with 159, Labour 51 and smaller parties and Independents 237.
Experience suggests that on the vocational panels Fianna Fáil will win about 14 or 15 seats in the incoming Seanad, Fine Gael 14, Sinn Féin nine, Labour two and Others three.
Labour will gain an extra Senator if Ivana Bacik holds her seat on the Trinity panel.
Nominations for the university panels closed on Thursday, with 30 candidates being nominated to contest the NUI panel and 16 for the Trinity panel.
Trinity panel
The three outgoing Trinity senators, Ms Bacik, David Norris and Sean Barrett, are all running again. Senator Averil Power, who was formerly of Fianna Fáil and left the party to contest the Dáil election as an Independent, is also contesting the Trinity panel.
On the NUI panel just one of the outgoing Senators, Ronan Mullen, is seeking re-election.
Former Progressive Democrat leader and minister Michael McDowell has thrown his hat into the ring and is being supported by outgoing Senator Fergal Quinn.
Among other candidates are Carol Hunt, who was the Independent Alliance candidate in the Dún Laoghaire constituency in the Dáil election, and social and economic equality advocate Alice Mary Higgins, the daughter of the President.
Nominations for the 43 seats on the five vocational panels do not close for another two weeks for outside nominating bodies and for three weeks as far as Oireachtas nominations are concerned.
Ballot papers for the vocational panels will be issued on April 11th, and the poll will close at 11am on April 25th.
For the university constituencies, ballot papers will be issued on March 21st, and the poll will close at 11am on April 26th.
NUI Panel
Beades, Jerry: director
Begg, David: former ceo of Concern and ex-general secretary of ICTU
Burke, Deirdre: solicitor
Céidigh, Pádraig Ó: entrepreneur
D’Alton, Paul: clinical psychologist
Daly, Martin Khare: medical doctor/general practitioner
Darker, Máire: voluntary worker
Devine, Karen: lecturer
Dinneen, Owen Joseph: member of governing body UCC, senate of NUI and Munster branch of IRFU
Field, Luke: university tutor
Flannery, Pearse: businessman
Golden-Bannon, Ross: journalist
Harmon, Laura: former USI president, women’s and equality advocate
Hayden, Aideen: Senator, chair of Threshold, solicitor
Hearne, Rory: policy analyst
Higgins, Alice-Mary: policy co-ordinator, National Women’s Council of Ireland, advocate for social and economic equality
Higgins, John: community affairs consultant
Hunt, Carol: journalist
Johnston, Barry: human rights campaigner
Kenneally, Christy: communications consultant, writer, broadcaster
McDowell, Michael: senior counsel
McGreal, Daragh: economist and law lecturer
Molloy, Michael Sean: hospital consultant
Monahan, Paddy: barrister
Mullen, Rónán Thomas: full-time public representative (Senator)
Murphy, Eddie: clinical psychologist, mental health advocate, author
O’Coineen, Enda Padraig: entrepreneur, sportsman, author
O’Malley Dunlop, Ellen: former chief executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, psychotherapist, teacher
Price, Brendan: director of Irish Seal Sanctuary, wildlife advocate and author
Rose, Kieran Alexander: planner, commissioner at Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
Trinity College Dubln Panel
Bacik, Ivana Catherine: Senator
Barrett, Sean Declan Conrad: associate professor of economics, senator
Brennan, Sabina: professor of psychology
Clonan, Thomas: journalist, academic, captain (retired)
Coghlan, Oisín Patrick: director of Friends of the Earth
Cunningham, Kevin: lecturer
Cox, Maeve: barrister
Davitt, Edward Robert: communications officer
Meehan Eoin Terence: IT consultant
Melly, Sean: businessman, professor (adjunct)
Norris, David: Senator
Power, Averil: Senator
Priestley, William: director of youth services
Ruane, Lynn: president, TCDSU
Staines, Anthony: professor of health systems
Tinney, Ethna: musician, formerly RTÉ producer
