Seanad Éireann

Jim O’Callaghan talks up Independents option while Bacik expected to speak separately with Martin and Harris this week

Former Independent minister is seeking to be elected to the Seanad for the University of Dublin constituency

Party requests return to coveted fifth-floor meeting rooms, which it lost in 2011, now its Dáil numbers have risen

Nominations close for ‘inside panels’ on New Year’s Eve and December 18th for ‘outside’ panels with with the count taking place on January 30th

Plus: no sign of the next laureate for fiction; the less-than-diverse membership of Aosdána; and Niall Blaney’s poor attendance record

McGahon, found not guilty of assault causing harm to another man, has been endorsed by Taoiseach Simon Harris ‘on the basis of what happened in a court’

Officials at Leinster House asked in July for more bike spaces for the complex, saying demand for existing stands was very high

Galway native was nominated to the Seanad in 2016 by then taoiseach Enda Kenny

It was only after decades of procrastination that the political establishment was forced into action following a legal challenge

Coalition party leaders agreed on Monday night that polling day will be this year but not on an exact date

SF leader confirms she will correct Dáil record after ex-party member confirms he was 16, not 17 when messages were sent

The party faces strategic problems over where it positions itself and who its core voters are. And as it’s trying to figure all this out, it gets hit with one controversy after another

New laws stalled in Upper House after criticism by backbenchers, Senators, free speech groups and tech billionaire Elon Musk

A former Lord Mayor of Belfast, he resigned his Seanad seat last year citing health reasons

Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan

Minister says legislation is ‘genuine attempt’ to start reform as university Senators claim Bill is ‘disgrace’, and will keep Upper House as ‘rubber stamp’

Government plans to push through remaining stages of legislation without hate speech elements against backdrop of dispute over meaning of terms used

Peadar Tóibín says Senators ‘sniggered like giddy children’ as they denied being reported infiltrator during Seanad sitting

Controversial Planning and Development Bill a key part of plans to address housing crisis, but Opposition says it will add to delays and costs

Tongue-in-cheek denials follow recent reports that an Oireachtas member had allegedly been recruited by Russian intelligence

Politicians need to ‘clock in’ with fobs 120 days a year to claim travel and accommodation expenses but no requirement to clock out

Ms O’Rourke was deputy leader of party between 1994 and 2002 and became Seanad leader afterwards

Former taoiseach says people could first vote on the idea in principle before getting a subsequent confirmatory vote on a proposed new constitution

Six senators to be elected in future by all graduates of higher education institutions - but not until 2030

The Seanad member survived gun shots, a kidnapping and the burning down of his ancestral home at Marlfield

Social media posts including death threats were made in the hours before attacks and are being investigated

British and American systems do not quake at the thought of governments losing votes via their supporters who disagree with the majority

One of the biggest pieces of legislation in the history of the State is intended to speed up housing supply and will allow for restructuring of An Bord Pleanála

Minister for Justice says new procedure ‘just and fair’ in process used less than 10 times since 1956

Two Fianna Fáil, one Fine Gael and two Independent representatives spending five days in country

Byelection for the vacant TCD seat would likely cost more than €500,000

With reform repeatedly promised and not delivered, the only way to fix the lack of Seanad reform it is at the next Dáil election

Senator describes 747-page Bill as ‘telephone directory’ and a ‘massive supertanker coming to dock in a very small port’

Labour Senator warns of ‘fundamental flaw’ as Upper House debates third largest Bill in history of State

Rebel backbencher Neasa Hourigan loses out on position in narrow vote

Opposition sees sign of autumn election as Coalition moves to have legislation passed on planning, and designating the UK as a safe third country

Taoiseach spoke as he marked the appointment of Nikki Bradley to the Seanad in place of Regina Doherty

Nikki Bradley, a cancer survivor, is a motivational speaker who works with disability organisations

McEntee says there is right to peaceful protest but protests outside homes ‘has moved into a more sinister and worrying route’

Funds not used in intended manner and waiting lists remain ‘unacceptably long’, says Minister for Health