Ireland is holding a Seanad election campaign with a limited electorate. Only certain groups, such as TDs, local councillors, and graduates of specific universities, are eligible to vote. Reforms are planned to expand the electorate in future elections.
The country is in the midst of an election campaign to fill most of the seats in The Seanad, debates legislation proposed by the Government. It can amend Bills and delay them, but not stop them from becoming law. Senators can also propose their own Bills. While there are several multi-term career senators, the Seanad is often viewed as a launch pad for politicians to be elected as a TD or to regain lost Dáil seats.The vast majority of people have no vote in the Seanad election. Almost 3.
7 million people were eligible to vote in the last Dáil election. The electorate for the Seanad is much more limited. The 174 TDs in the Dáil, 60 outgoing senators and 941 local authority councillors are the electorate for filling 43 of the seats on five Seanad vocational panels. Graduates of National University of Ireland (NUI) institutions and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) vote for the six seats (three in each) on the NUI and University of Dublin panels respectively. Less than 200,000 graduates made up the electorate for these seats in 2020. Long-overdue reforms will see around one million graduates across all third level institutions eligible to vote in future Seanad elections but not this one. The final 11 Seanad seats are appointed by the Taoiseach.The five-seat Cultural and Educational panel is for Senators with knowledge and experience in these areas. There are Agricultural and Labour panels – which both have 11 seats. There are nine seats on the Industry and Commercial panel and seven on the Administrative panel. Candidates must be suitably qualified in these areas with the Seanad returning officer due to complete the panel of candidates on Wednesda
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