Counting has concluded for the Seanad’s five vocational panels, which make up 43 of the 60 seats.
Last evening, Independent Senator Eileen Flynn was the fourth candidate to reach the quota on the Administrative Panel. It’s her first time to be elected to the upper house ; in 2020, she narrowly failed to secure enough votes, but was subsequently nominated by Michael Martin when he became Taoiseach.
Over the weekend, Fianna Fail Senator Niall Blaney held his seat on the Agriculture Panel, while Fine Gael Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh fell short in his bid to secure a seat on the Labour Panel. That panel was topped by Monaghan based Senator Robbie Gallagher, a native of Termon.
The National University of Ireland and Trinity College have also elected another three senators each.
The final 11 will be announced by Taoiseach Micheál Martin later in the week.