2020 Seanad election

2020 Seanad election
← outgoing members elected members →
60 members of the Seanad Éireann; 30 seats needed for a majority
Leader of the Seanad before election; Jerry Buttimer; Fine Gael	Elected Leader of the Seanad ; Regina Doherty; Fine Gael

An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representatives. The election was held for 49 of the 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 are elected for five vocational panels, and six are elected in two university constituencies. The remaining 11 senators are nominated by the newly elected Taoiseach when the Dáil reconvenes after the general election.

Background

The Constitution of Ireland provides that a Seanad election must take place within 90 days of the dissolution of the Dáil Éireann. As the Dáil was dissolved on 14 January, the latest day the election could take place is 13 April 2020.^[2] On 21 January 2020, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government signed an order for the Seanad elections, providing 30 March as the deadline for ballots for the vocational panels and 31 March as the deadline for ballots in the university constituencies.^[1]

On 8 February 2020, the 33rd Dáil was elected in the general election. The Fine Gael-led government, led by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was defeated, with Sinn Féin taking the most first preference votes, and Fianna Fáil taking the most seats. The Sinn Féin victory came as a surprise and an upset, as it ended the two-party rule of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil that had existed for many decades,^[3]^[4] and polls did not show Sinn Féin winning until the election was called. Sinn Féin won 37 seats, Fianna Fáil won 38, and Fine Gael won 35.^[5]

Electoral system

Of the forty-nine elected seats, three are elected from the university constituency of the National University and three are elected from the university constituency of Dublin University (Trinity College Dublin).^[6]

Forty-three are elected by an electorate of elected politicians, consisting of members of the 33rd Dáil, members of the 25th Seanad and city and county councillors, who each have five ballots for vocational panels.^[7]^[8] The Seanad Returning Officer maintains a list of qualified nominating bodies for each panel.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Electors for the Panels elect:^[12]

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. 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 $\left({\frac {\text{total valid poll}}{{\text{seats}}+1}}\right)+1$ .^[a]

The 11 nominated members can only be appointed by the Taoiseach who is appointed next after the reassembly of Dáil Éireann. They are usually appointed after the Seanad election, but if a Taoiseach has not been appointed at stage, they will not be appointed until then.

Members of the outgoing Seanad not seeking election

Date confirmed	Constituency	Departing senator		Reason
21 January 2020^[13]	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Collette Kelleher	Independent	Retirement
8 February 2020	Agricultural Panel	Rose Conway-Walsh	Sinn Féin	Elected to 33rd Dáil
	Cultural and Educational Panel	Kieran O'Donnell	Fine Gael
	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Colm Burke	Fine Gael
	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Pádraig Mac Lochlainn	Sinn Féin
	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Aodhán Ó Ríordáin	Labour
	Labour Panel	Jennifer Murnane O'Connor	Fianna Fáil
	Labour Panel	Ged Nash	Labour
	Labour Panel	Neale Richmond	Fine Gael
	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Frank Feighan	Fine Gael
27 March 2020	Cultural and Educational Panel	Keith Swanick	Fianna Fáil	Expenses controversy
16 December 2019	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Paudie Coffey	Fine Gael	Retirement

Election process

Timetable of 2020 Seanad election^[14]
Deadline	Universities^[15]	Vocational Panel^[16]
Nominations close	14 February	24 February ("outside" panel: nominating bodies — civic society groups) 2 March ("inside" panel: Oireachtas members)
Completion of panels^[b]	n/a	9 March^[18]
Ballot papers distributed	28 February	16 March
Polls close	31 March, 11 a.m.	30 March, 11 a.m.

Impact of coronavirus

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, changes to the usual arrangements for the Vocational Panel elections were made to reduce the risk of transmission. The clerk and deputy clerk of the Dáil and Seanad refused to witness Oireachtas members' ballots, advising them to use the local government chief executive or Garda (police) superintendent for this purpose.^[19] The Seanad clerk, as returning officer, also requested that counting agents not be present at the count centre in Dublin Castle.^[20] Similar appeals were made regarding the NUI count in the RDS and the Dublin University count in the university's Examination Hall.^[21]

Results

National University of Ireland

2020 Seanad election: National University^[22]^[23]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Human Dignity Alliance	Rónán Mullen	9,642	25.2	1	1
	Independent	Michael McDowell	8,951	23.4	2	10
	Independent	Alice-Mary Higgins	4,944	12.9	3	16
	Solidarity	Ruth Coppinger	3,615	9.5
	Labour	Laura Harmon	2,187	5.7
	Independent	Michelle Healy	1,540	4.0
	Independent	Rory Hearne	1,321	3.5
	Green	Eva Elizabeth Dowling	1,229	3.2
	Independent	Brendan Price	1,090	2.9
	Independent	Mick Finn	908	2.4
	Independent	Ann Staunton Barrett	446	1.2
	Independent	Jennifer Butler	366	1.0
	Independent	Karen Devine	359	0.9
	Independent	Peter Finnegan	346	0.9
	Independent	Keith Scanlon	309	0.8
	Independent	Garbhan Downey	305	0.8
	Independent	Abbas Ali O'Shea	254	0.7
	Independent	Marcus Matthews	176	0.5
	Independent	Eoin Delahunty	130	0.3
Electorate: 112,206 Valid: 38,209 Spoilt: 91 Quota: 9,553 Turnout: 34.1%

Dublin University

2020 Seanad election: Dublin University^[24]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Independent	David Norris	24.2	3,646	3,671	3,728	3,768
	Labour	Ivana Bacik	23.2	3,489	3,521	3,542	3,571	3,574	3,963
	Independent	Lynn Ruane	18.4	2,780	2,805	2,825	2,870	2,871	3,229	3,348	4,072
	Independent	Hugo MacNeill	13.5	2,038	2,050	2,081	2,133	2,133	2,299	2,342	2,961
	Independent	Tom Clonan	9.3	1,394	1,417	1,440	1,492	1,493	1,682	1,722
	Green	William Priestley	7.2	1,090	1,104	1,119	1,175	1,177
	Independent	Keith Scanlon	1.8	276	285	297
	Independent	Joseph O'Gorman	1.2	180	183
	Independent	Abbas Ali O'Shea	0.5	81
	Independent	Derek Byrne	0.4	67
Electorate: Approx. 65,000^[25] Valid: 15,041 Spoilt: 12 Quota: 3,761 Turnout: Approx. 23.1%

Administrative Panel

2020 Seanad election: Administrative Panel
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
	Fianna Fáil	Mark Daly	14.7	167,000	141,751
	Sinn Féin	Niall Ó Donnghaile	10.6	120,000	120,153	120,153	120,153	120,153	120,153	120,153	121,153	121,153	121,153	121,153	121,153	132,306	133,080	133,080	133,080	133,080	141,845
	Labour	Rebecca Moynihan	9.2	104,000	104,153	105,153	105,153	105,153	106,153	115,153	120,306	120,459	120,459	125,459	125,459	129,612	129,612	132,612	134,612	140,735	164,735
	Fianna Fáil	Diarmuid Wilson	8.8	100,000	104,131	105,131	106,131	106,131	111,896	112,896	116,049	125,732	125,732	144,027	141,751
	Fine Gael	Garret Ahearn	7.9	90,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	91,000	92,000	109,000	110,000	110,000	111,000	111,000	152,000	141,751
	Fine Gael	Martin Conway	7.9	90,000	90,153	90,153	90,153	90,153	90,153	91,153	94,306	94,612	109,765	112,765	112,765	116,765	116,765	149,765	149,765	141,751
	Fianna Fáil	Fiona O'Loughlin	7.1	81,000	86,508	86,508	86,508	87,508	94,661	94,661	95,661	108,803	108,803	130,251	132,525	142,525	141,751
	Independent	Thomas Welby	7.0	79,000	80,683	80,683	80,683	82,142	83,295	84,295	87,754	92,907	95,060	96,366	96,366	108,519	108,519	113,519	115,519	117,403
	Fine Gael	Emer Currie	5.6	64,000	64,000	64,000	64,000	66,000	66,000	68,000	68,000	69,000	81,000	83,000	83,000	85,000	85,000
	Fine Gael	Noel Rock	3.8	44,000	44,306	44,306	44,306	44,306	45,306	46,306	47,306	47,306
	Fianna Fáil	Mick Cahill	3.6	41,000	44,978	44,978	44,978	44,978	51,437	52,437	52,590	57,202	57,202
	Independent	John Bosco Conama	2.9	33,000	33,306	36,306	41,306	42,306	42,306	46,306	55,612	57,765	57,765	60,765	60,765
	Fianna Fáil	Lorraine Clifford-Lee	2.6	30,000	34,743	34,743	34,743	35,743	38,202	38,202	38,355
	Fianna Fáil	Joe Malone	2.0	23,000	24,836	24,989	24,989	25,142
	Independent	John Dolan	1.9	22,000	23,377	23,377	25,377	26,377	26,377	31,530
	Independent	Anne Marie Flanagan	1.9	22,000	22,153	22,153	22,153	25,153	25,306
	Independent	Tony Geoghegan	0.9	10,000	10,612	10,612	11,612
	Independent	Timothy Hogan	0.8	9,000	9,000	9,000
	Independent	Salome Mbugua Henry	0.4	5,000	5,153
Electorate: 1,169 Valid: 1,134,000^[a] Quota: 141,751 Turnout: 97.0%

Agricultural Panel

2020 Seanad election: Agricultural Panel
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
	Independent	Victor Boyhan	7.9	89,000	89,000	91,000	91,000	94,000	96,000	94,167
	Fianna Fáil	Denis O'Donovan	7.3	83,000	84,000	84,000	84,000	84,000	85,000	85,000	90,000	92,000	105,000	94,167
	Sinn Féin	Lynn Boylan	7.1	80,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	81,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	83,000	83,000	83,000	83,000	83,000	83,000	83,000	83,000
	Green	Pippa Hackett	6.7	76,000	76,000	76,000	76,000	77,000	77,000	77,000	77,000	79,000	81,000	81,000	81,000	81,000	82,000	82,916	82,916	82,916	84,916	91,916	95,832
	Fianna Fáil	Paul Daly	6.3	71,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	73,000	76,000	76,833	77,833	85,833	86,833	96,833	94,167
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Murray	5.9	67,000	68,000	68,000	68,000	69,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	71,000	72,000	73,000	73,000	73,000	74,000	75,000	75,979
	Fine Gael	Paddy Burke	5.6	63,000	63,000	64,000	64,000	64,000	65,000	65,000	66,000	69,000	71,000	71,000	77,000	80,000	89,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	102,000	102,000	94,167
	Labour	Annie Hoey	5.6	63,000	63,000	63,000	70,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	71,000	73,000	73,000	73,000	73,000	75,916	77,916	82,916	83,249	83,249	86,249	91,249	94,186
	Fianna Fáil	Niall Blaney	5.2	58,000	58,000	58,000	58,000	59,000	61,000	61,000	63,000	63,000	66,000	68,499	68,499	79,499	79,499	94,332	94,332	94,167
	Fine Gael	Tim Lombard	4.9	56,000	57,000	57,000	57,000	58,000	59,000	59,000	59,000	59,000	60,000	61,666	69,666	70,666	82,666	85,666	85,666	85,666	108,666	94,167
	Fine Gael	Maria Byrne	4.2	48,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	50,000	50,000	50,000	56,000	57,000	68,000	68,000	68,000	68,000
	Fine Gael	Michael W. D'Arcy	4.2	48,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	50,000	50,000	50,000	50,000	51,000	51,000	51,000	62,000	62,000	76,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	96,000	96,000	96,000
	Fianna Fáil	Eugene Murphy	3.9	44,000	44,000	44,000	45,000	45,000	46,000	46,000	48,000	48,000	57,000	58,666	58,666	70,499	71,499	91,165	93,496	93,661	94,661	94,661	94,661
	Fine Gael	Aisling Dolan	3.7	42,000	42,000	43,000	43,000	44,000	44,000	44,000	45,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	54,000	54,000
	Independent	Brian Ó Domhnaill	3.6	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,916	44,916	50,916	50,916	51,749	51,749
	Fianna Fáil	Shane P. O'Reilly	3.5	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	44,000	44,916	45,916	46,916	50,916	54,248	54,248	60,248	60,248
	Fine Gael	Pat Deering	3.4	39,000	39,000	39,000	39,000	39,000	39,000	39,000	39,000	40,000	40,000	40,000
	Fianna Fáil	Kevin O'Keeffe	2.9	33,000	33,000	33,000	33,000	33,000	33,000	33,000	35,000	37,000
	Independent	Dermot Cantillon	2.4	27,000	27,000	27,000	27,000	27,000	27,000	27,000	30,000
	Fianna Fáil	Tom McEllistrim	1.9	22,000	22,000	22,000	22,000	22,000	22,000	22,000
	Fianna Fáil	Seamus Coyle	1.1	13,000	13,000	13,000	13,000	13,000
	Independent	Ian Marshall	0.9	10,000	10,000	10,000	11,000
	Labour	Dominic Hannigan	0.8	9,000	9,000	9,000
	Independent	Richard Mulcahy	0.4	4,000	4,000
	Independent	Patrick Kent	0.4	4,000
Electorate: 1,169 Valid: 1,133,000^[a] Quota: 94,167 Turnout: 96.9%

Cultural and Educational Panel

2020 Seanad election: Cultural and Educational Panel
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
	Sinn Féin	Fintan Warfield	13.3	151,000	151,000	151,000	152,000	152,000	152,000	154,000	154,000	154,000	156,000	156,000	156,000	157,000	176,000	176,000	180,000	180,000	180,000
	Green	Saoirse McHugh	10.1	114,000	115,000	115,000	118,000	119,000	120,000	122,000	122,000	122,000	123,000	126,000	131,000	132,000	152,000	152,000	158,000	159,000	159,776
	Fine Gael	John McGahon	9.0	102,000	102,000	102,000	102,000	103,000	106,000	106,000	112,000	112,000	113,000	134,000	134,000	175,000	177,000	177,000	183,000	183,000	183,388
	Fianna Fáil	Lisa Chambers	8.7	99,000	99,000	101,000	101,000	102,000	104,000	105,000	105,000	112,000	120,000	121,000	141,000	144,000	155,000	156,000	190,000	190,000	188,834
	Fine Gael	Seán Kyne	7.2	82,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	91,000	96,000	101,000	101,000	101,000	124,000	127,000	180,000	192,000	188,834
	Independent	Joe Conway	6.9	78,000	79,000	80,000	81,000	81,000	82,000	89,000	91,000	92,000	98,000	98,000	105,000	108,000
	Fianna Fáil	Malcolm Byrne	6.3	71,000	72,000	73,000	74,000	77,000	77,000	78,000	79,000	89,000	103,000	103,000	122,000	122,000	146,000	146,000	190,000	188,834
	Fine Gael	Tom Neville	6.2	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	76,000	76,000	88,000	89,000	90,000	103,000	105,000
	Fianna Fáil	Margaret Murphy O'Mahony	5.5	62,000	63,000	63,000	65,000	66,000	66,000	68,000	68,000	76,000	94,000	95,000	108,000	110,000	118,000	118,000
	Fianna Fáil	Kate Feeney	5.1	58,000	58,000	58,000	58,000	59,000	59,000	59,000	59,000	65,000	69,000	69,000
	Fine Gael	Gabrielle McFadden	4.8	54,000	54,000	54,000	54,000	54,000	55,000	56,000	62,000	62,000	62,000
	Fianna Fáil	Declan Breathnach	3.4	39,000	40,000	42,000	42,000	43,000	43,000	49,000	49,000	58,000
	Fianna Fáil	Shane Curley	3.4	38,000	38,000	38,000	38,000	39,000	41,000	43,000	43,000
	Fine Gael	Mary Newman Julian	2.7	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	32,000	32,000
	Aontú	Paul Lawless	2.6	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000
	Fine Gael	Michael Maher	2.3	26,000	26,000	26,000	26,000	26,000
	Fianna Fáil	Deirdre Conroy	0.9	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
	Social Democrats	Angela Flynn	0.7	8,000	8,000	8,000
	Independent	Éamonn Walsh	0.5	6,000	6,000
	Independent	Jack Mulcahy	0.4	5,000
Electorate: 1,169 Valid: 1,133,000^[a] Quota: 188,834 Turnout: 96.9%

Industrial and Commercial Panel

2020 Seanad election: Industrial and Commercial Panel
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
	Sinn Féin	Elisha McCallion	8.4	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	96,000	99,000
	Social Democrats	Niall Ó Tuathail	7.8	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	89,000	89,000	89,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	90,000	93,000	93,000	93,000	93,000	93,000
	Labour	Mark Wall	7.4	84,000	84,000	84,000	84,000	85,000	85,000	85,000	85,000	85,000	85,000	85,000	87,000	87,000	87,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	88,000	89,000	90,000	92,000	92,000	92,099	94,099	94,099	94,099	94,099	112,812	129,812
	Fianna Fáil	Aidan Davitt	6.9	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	79,000	79,000	79,000	79,000	81,000	81,000	81,000	81,000	81,000	82,000	83,000	83,000	90,000	96,000	97,000	107,000	108,000	108,000	108,000	114,000	113,501
	Independent	Frances Black	6.7	76,000	76,000	76,000	76,000	77,000	77,000	77,000	77,000	77,000	78,000	78,000	80,000	80,000	81,000	81,000	83,000	83,000	87,000	89,000	94,000	94,000	97,000	97,000	97,000	97,000	101,000	101,099	101,099	101,348	111,348	168,348
	Fianna Fáil	Ollie Crowe	5.6	64,000	64,000	64,000	64,000	64,000	65,000	65,000	65,000	65,000	66,000	66,000	66,000	66,000	67,000	67,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	86,000	91,000	93,000	101,000	101,000	101,000	101,000	114,000	114,000	113,501
	Fianna Fáil	Catherine Ardagh	5.5	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	62,000	63,000	63,000	64,000	68,000	68,000	68,000	72,000	73,000	73,000	85,000	86,000	86,000	86,000	114,000	114,000	114,000	113,501
	Independent	Sharon Keogan	4.3	49,000	49,000	49,000	49,000	49,000	49,000	49,000	49,000	49,000	53,000	53,000	53,000	53,000	53,000	53,000	54,000	55,000	55,000	55,000	76,000	78,000	81,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	85,000	85,396	85,895	86,144	94,144	101,144
	Fine Gael	Micheál Carrigy	4.1	47,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	49,000	50,000	51,000	51,000	54,000	55,000	57,000	63,000	73,000	73,000	83,000	89,000	90,000	91,000	108,000	108,000	116,000	113,501
	Fianna Fáil	Gerry Horkan	3.7	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	43,000	44,000	44,000	44,000	44,000	50,000	50,000	50,000	54,000	55,000	56,000	66,000	66,000	66,000	66,000
	Fine Gael	Tom Sheahan	3.6	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,000	41,000	43,000	46,000	46,000	46,000	47,000	48,000	48,000	48,000	51,000	51,000	53,000	57,000	59,000	61,000	66,000	67,000	81,000	83,496	83,892	84,892	84,892	84,892	84,892
	Independent	Nigel Dineen	3.1	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	40,000	40,000	40,000	41,000	43,000	43,000	43,000	43,000	44,000	45,000
	Fianna Fáil	Timmy Dooley	3.1	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	35,000	37,000	39,000	39,000	39,000	41,000	41,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	45,000	47,000	47,000	50,000	52,000	52,000
	Fine Gael	John Paul O'Shea	2.8	32,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	34,000	34,000	35,000	37,000	37,000	37,000	38,000	38,000	41,000	48,000	49,000	49,000	56,000	57,000
	Fianna Fáil	Tom MacSharry	2.7	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	31,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	32,000	33,000	33,000	34,000	34,000	34,000
	Fine Gael	Barry Ward	2.6	30,000	30,000	30,000	30,000	30,000	30,000	30,000	33,000	38,000	38,000	42,000	48,000	53,000	56,000	62,000	62,000	69,000	75,000	75,000	75,000	85,000	85,000	114,000	114,000	113,501
	Fianna Fáil	Arthur Griffin	2.6	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000	29,000
	Fine Gael	Sharon Tolan	2.2	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	26,000	26,000	26,000	27,000	27,000	30,000	30,000	30,000	30,000
	Fine Gael	Garret Kelleher	2.1	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	25,000	25,000	26,000	29,000	29,000	31,000	34,000	34,000	34,000
	Fine Gael	Patrick Connor-Scarteen	2.0	23,000	23,000	23,000	23,000	23,000	23,000	23,000	24,000	24,000	24,000	26,000	26,000	32,000	33,000	37,000	37,000	41,000	46,000	46,000	47,000
	Fine Gael	Patsy O'Brien	1.8	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	21,000	22,000	22,000	22,000
	Fine Gael	Danny Byrne	1.6	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	19,000	19,000	19,000	19,000	19,000	19,000
	Fine Gael	Catherine Noone	1.6	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	19,000	21,000	22,000	24,000	24,000	25,000	29,000
	Fine Gael	Edward Timmins	1.6	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	19,000	19,000	19,000
	Fine Gael	James Geoghegan	1.5	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	18,000	19,000
	Independent	Pat Hynes	1.5	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000
	Fine Gael	Emma Blain	1.2	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000	14,000
	Fine Gael	Linda O'Shea Farren	0.9	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
	Fine Gael	Áine Collins	0.7	8,000	8,000	8,000	8,000	8,000	8,000
	Independent	Michael Vaughan	0.3	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000
	Independent	Joe Corr	0.2	2,000	2,000	2,000	2,000
	Independent	Patrick Hunt	0.0	0	0	0
	Independent	Patrick Kinsella	0.0	0	0
	Independent	Declan Allen	0.0	0
Electorate: 1,169 Valid: 1,135,000^[a] Quota: 113,501 Turnout: 97.1%

Labour Panel

2020 Seanad election: Labour Panel
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
	Fine Gael	Jerry Buttimer	9.3	105,000	94,417
	Fine Gael	John Cummins	8.1	92,000	97,353	94,417
	Fianna Fáil	Robbie Gallagher	7.3	83,000	83,000	83,000	83,000	84,000	85,000	89,000	97,000	94,417
	Green	Pauline O'Reilly	7.1	80,000	80,000	80,056	80,056	81,056	81,056	81,056	81,056	81,056	81,056	82,112	83,750	88,569	92,569	93,363	94,194	94,194
	Independent	Gerard Craughwell	7.0	79,000	79,505	79,505	80,505	82,505	83,505	84,505	84,505	84,505	87,505	88,718	91,175	95,632	95,632	95,632	95,632	94,417
	Labour	Marie Sherlock	7.0	79,000	79,303	79,303	79,303	79,303	79,303	80,303	80,303	80,303	81,303	82,112	84,949	86,949	87,949	87,949	87,949	89,164
	Independent	Eileen Flynn	6.7	76,000	76,000	76,000	76,000	79,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	82,000	85,000	86,056	86,056	86,157	86,157	86,157	86,988	86,988
	Fine Gael	Joe O'Reilly	6.4	73,000	75,525	77,429	77,429	77,429	77,429	79,530	79,530	79,530	80,530	107,530	94,417
	Sinn Féin	Paul Gavan	6.3	72,000	72,000	72,000	72,000	72,000	87,000	87,000	87,000	87,000	87,000	88,000	88,819	88,819	88,819	90,407	90,407	90,407
	Fianna Fáil	Shane Cassells	6.2	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,000	70,101	74,101	76,101	76,745	82,745	83,902	84,721	103,721	94,417
	Fianna Fáil	Ned O'Sullivan	5.9	67,000	67,303	67,359	67,359	67,359	67,359	69,359	71,359	71,681	75,003	77,261	78,080	96,080	96,080	96,080	94,417
	Fianna Fáil	Pat Casey	4.9	56,000	56,101	56,157	56,157	56,157	56,157	56,157	61,157	61,801	72,801	77,801	77,801	96,801	96,801	94,417
	Fianna Fáil	Aengus O'Rourke	4.0	47,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	47,000	58,000	63,000	63,000	68,101	68,202	71,478
	Fine Gael	Mary Seery-Kearney	3.6	41,000	42,111	42,895	42,895	42,895	42,895	42,895	42,895	42,895	43,895
	Independent	Michael Smyth	2.7	31,000	31,101	31,101	31,101	31,101	31,101	31,101	38,101	39,067
	Fianna Fáil	John Hanafin	2.5	28,000	28,000	28,000	28,000	28,000	28,000	29,000
	Fianna Fáil	Orla Leyden	2.3	26,000	26,101	26,157	26,157	26,157	26,157
	Sinn Féin	Máire Devine	1.8	20,000	20,101	20,101	20,101	20,101
	Independent	Sarah Walshe	0.5	6,000	6,000	6,000	7,000
	Independent	Martina Harkin-Kelly	0.2	2,000	2,000	2,000
Electorate: 1,169 Valid: 1,133,000^[a] Quota: 94,417 Turnout: 96.7%

References

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f To facilitate transfer of fractional surpluses, each valid ballot paper is given a value of 1,000.^[26]
^ One nominated candidate was excluded and one extra candidate was added by the Taoiseach at this stage.^[17]

Citations

^ ^a ^b "Seanad Éireann General Election". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
^ "President signs warrant for the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil". President of Ireland. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
^ "'Seismic break for two-party system': UK and US media react to Election 2020". The Irish Times. 10 February 2020.
^ "Ireland's two-party system shaken by Sinn Fein surge". Associated Press. 7 February 2020.
^ "General Election 2020 Results". RTÉ News. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 31 August 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 (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.
^ "Elections to 26th Seanad (2020): Lists of Officially Nominated Candidates". Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 2 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.
^ "Business of Seanad: Motion – Seanad Éireann (25th Seanad)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
^ Gelston Tims, Aisling. "Seanad Éireann General Election". merrionstreet.ie. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; O'Halloran, Marie. "New FG Senator expected to be appointed for few weeks before Seanad election". The Irish Times.
^ "Seanad (University Members) General Election Order 2020" (PDF). 21 January 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; "Seanad Elections 2020". TCD. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; "Seanad Éireann Election 2020 Key Dates". NUI. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ "Seanad general election 2020". Houses of the Oireachtas. 6 February 2020.
^ O'Halloran, Marie (10 March 2020). "FG's Mary Seery Kearney added to ticket to contest Seanad election". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ "Panels of candidates prepared by the Seanad Returning Officer pursuant to Section 43 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, as amended by the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1954" (PDF). Oireachtas. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ Ryan, Philip (18 March 2020). "TDs told they can't vote in Leinster House for Seanad election over COVID-19 fears". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; O'Halloran, Marie (19 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Seanad election procedures changed over concerns". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ Finn, Christina (30 March 2020). "Counting in Seanad election to begin today — but access to count venue will be restricted". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ O'Halloran, Marie (31 March 2020). "Seanad elections: Fate of Green's Saoirse McHugh rests on transfers". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
^ "Seanad Éireann Election 2020 Key Dates". nui.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
^ "19 Candidates Nominated to Contest Seanad Éireann Election in the NUI Constituency". nui.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
^ "10 nominations for the University of Dublin Seanad elections 2020". Trinity News and Events. 14 February 2020.
^ "Seanad Éireann Electoral Process" (PDF). Oireachtas. February 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
^ Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Rule 4, 2nd Sch. (No. 42 of 1947, 2nd Sch.). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 March 2020.

[thousand-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f To facilitate transfer of fractional surpluses, each valid ballot paper is given a value of 1,000.^[26]

[19] One nominated candidate was excluded and one extra candidate was added by the Taoiseach at this stage.^[17]

[housing22Jan-1] "Seanad Éireann General Election". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.

[2] "President signs warrant for the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil". President of Ireland. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.

[3] "'Seismic break for two-party system': UK and US media react to Election 2020". The Irish Times. 10 February 2020.

[4] "Ireland's two-party system shaken by Sinn Fein surge". Associated Press. 7 February 2020.

[5] "General Election 2020 Results". RTÉ News. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2024.

[6] 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.

[7] 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.

[8] 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.

[9] "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.

[10] "Elections to 26th Seanad (2020): Lists of Officially Nominated Candidates". Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

[11] 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.

[12] 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.

[14] "Business of Seanad: Motion – Seanad Éireann (25th Seanad)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2023.

[15] Gelston Tims, Aisling. "Seanad Éireann General Election". merrionstreet.ie. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; O'Halloran, Marie. "New FG Senator expected to be appointed for few weeks before Seanad election". The Irish Times.

[16] "Seanad (University Members) General Election Order 2020" (PDF). 21 January 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; "Seanad Elections 2020". TCD. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; "Seanad Éireann Election 2020 Key Dates". NUI. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

[17] "Seanad general election 2020". Houses of the Oireachtas. 6 February 2020.

[18] O'Halloran, Marie (10 March 2020). "FG's Mary Seery Kearney added to ticket to contest Seanad election". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.

[20] "Panels of candidates prepared by the Seanad Returning Officer pursuant to Section 43 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, as amended by the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1954" (PDF). Oireachtas. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.

[21] Ryan, Philip (18 March 2020). "TDs told they can't vote in Leinster House for Seanad election over COVID-19 fears". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2020.; O'Halloran, Marie (19 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Seanad election procedures changed over concerns". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

[22] Finn, Christina (30 March 2020). "Counting in Seanad election to begin today — but access to count venue will be restricted". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 30 March 2020.

[23] O'Halloran, Marie (31 March 2020). "Seanad elections: Fate of Green's Saoirse McHugh rests on transfers". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.

[24] "Seanad Éireann Election 2020 Key Dates". nui.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

[25] "19 Candidates Nominated to Contest Seanad Éireann Election in the NUI Constituency". nui.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

[tcd-2020-26] "10 nominations for the University of Dublin Seanad elections 2020". Trinity News and Events. 14 February 2020.

[27] "Seanad Éireann Electoral Process" (PDF). Oireachtas. February 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2021.

[28] Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Rule 4, 2nd Sch. (No. 42 of 1947, 2nd Sch.). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 31 March 2020.

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