23rd Seanad

23rd Seanad
23rd Seanad
Overview
Legislative body	Seanad Éireann
Jurisdiction	Ireland
Meeting place	Leinster House
Term	13 September 2007 – 20 April 2011
Government	27th government of Ireland (2007–2008); 28th government of Ireland (2008–2011);
Members	60
Cathaoirleach	Pat Moylan (FF)
Leas-Chathaoirleach	Paddy Burke (FG)
Leader of the; Seanad	Donie Cassidy (FF)
Sessions
1st
1st	13 September 2007 – 10 July 2008
2nd	30 September 2008 – 15 July 2009
3rd	23 September 2009 – 14 July 2010
4th	29 September 2010 – 20 April 2011

The 23rd Seanad was in office from 2007 to 2011. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) took place in July 2007, following the 2007 general election to the 30th Dáil on 24 May.^[1] There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels by serving politicians; 6 were elected in two university constituencies; and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach. Under the Constitution of Ireland, a general election for the Seanad was required within 90 days of the dissolution of the 29th Dáil on 30 April 2007. Polls closed on 24 July 2007, and the Taoiseach's nominees were announced by Bertie Ahern on 3 August 2007. The 23rd Seanad first met at Leinster House on 13 September 2007.^[2] The term of the 23rd Seanad was from 13 September 2007 to 20 April 2011, remaining in session until the close of poll for the 24th Seanad.

Cathaoirleach

On 13 September 2007, Pat Moylan (FF) was proposed as Cathaoirleach by Donie Cassidy (FF) and seconded by Dan Boyle (GP). He was elected without a division.^[3]^[4] On 26 September 2007, Paddy Burke (FG) was proposed as Leas-Chathaoirleach by Frances Fitzgerald (FG) and seconded by Maurice Cummins (FG).^[5]

Composition of the 23rd Seanad

There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad. There are 43 Senators elected by the vocational panels, 6 elected by the Universities and 11 are nominated by the Taoiseach.

The following table shows the composition by party when the 23rd Seanad first met on 13 September 2007.

Origin Party		Vocational panels					NUI	DU	Nominated	Total
Origin Party		Admin	Agri	Cult & Educ	Ind & Comm	Labour	NUI	DU	Nominated	Total
	Fianna Fáil	4	5	3	5	5	0	0	6	28
	Fine Gael	2	4	1	3	4	0	0	0	14
	Labour Party	1	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	6
	Green Party	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
	Progressive Democrats	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
	Sinn Féin	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	1	7
Total		7	11	5	9	11	3	3	11	60

Effect of changes

Party		2007¹	Nov. 2010²	Mar. 2011³
	Fianna Fáil	28	25	26
	Fine Gael	14	15	6
	Labour Party	6	6	2
	Green Party	2	3	3
	Sinn Féin	1	0	0
	Progressive Democrats	2	0	0
	Independent	7	9	8
	Vacant	0	2	15
Total		60

Notes

^ The 2007 column refers to the state of parties when 23rd Seanad first met in 2007.
^ The November 2010 column refers to the state of parties on the dissolution of the 30th Dáil.
^ The March 2011 column refers to the state of parties after the 2011 Dáil election.

Graphical representation

This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 23rd Seanad in January 2011.

Note: This was not the official seating plan.

List of senators

Note: The entries for Senators who were elected or appointed to fill vacancies are shown in italics

Name	Panel		Notes
Mark Daly	Administrative Panel	Fianna Fáil
Paschal Donohoe	Administrative Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Camillus Glynn	Administrative Panel	Fianna Fáil
Tony Kett	Administrative Panel	Fianna Fáil	Died on 19 April 2009^[7]
Nicky McFadden	Administrative Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Brendan Ryan	Administrative Panel	Labour	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Diarmuid Wilson	Administrative Panel	Fianna Fáil
James Carroll	Administrative Panel	Fianna Fáil	Elected to Seanad on 26 November 2009, replacing Tony Kett^[8]
Paul Bradford	Agricultural Panel	Fine Gael
Paddy Burke	Agricultural Panel	Fine Gael	Leas-Chathaoirleach
Peter Callanan	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil	Died on 11 October 2009^[9]
John Carty	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil
Pearse Doherty	Agricultural Panel	Sinn Féin	Elected to Dáil Éireann in a by-election on 26 November 2010^[10]
Alan Kelly	Agricultural Panel	Labour	Elected to the European Parliament on 7 June 2009^[11]
Pat Moylan	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil	Cathaoirleach
Francis O'Brien	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil
John Paul Phelan	Agricultural Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Eugene Regan	Agricultural Panel	Fine Gael
Jim Walsh	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil	Resigned the Fianna Fáil party whip on 7 July 2010^[12] Rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 23 November 2010^[13]
Niall Ó Brolcháin	Agricultural Panel	Green	Elected to Seanad in a by-election on 14 December 2009, replacing Alan Kelly^[14]
Paschal Mooney	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil	Elected to Seanad in a by-election on 19 January 2010, replacing Peter Callanan^[15]
Cecilia Keaveney	Cultural and Educational Panel	Fianna Fáil
Labhrás Ó Murchú	Cultural and Educational Panel	Fianna Fáil	Resigned the Fianna Fáil party whip on 7 July 2010^[12] Rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 23 November 2010^[13]
Ann Ormonde	Cultural and Educational Panel	Fianna Fáil
Liam Twomey	Cultural and Educational Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Alex White	Cultural and Educational Panel	Labour	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Larry Butler	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil	Resigned the Fianna Fáil party whip on 5 June 2010^[16]
Paudie Coffey	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Paul Coghlan	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fine Gael
Dominic Hannigan	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Labour	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Marc MacSharry	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil
Denis O'Donovan	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil	Lost the Fianna Fáil party whip on 25 June 2010^[12] Rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 19 October 2010^[17]
Joe O'Reilly	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Kieran Phelan	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil	Died on 26 May 2010^[18]
Mary White	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil
Jerry Buttimer	Labour Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Donie Cassidy	Labour Panel	Fianna Fáil	Leader of the Seanad
Maurice Cummins	Labour Panel	Fine Gael
Geraldine Feeney	Labour Panel	Fianna Fáil
Frances Fitzgerald	Labour Panel	Fine Gael	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
John Hanafin	Labour Panel	Fianna Fáil	Resigned the Fianna Fáil party whip on 7 July 2010^[12] Rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 23 November 2010^[13]
Fidelma Healy Eames	Labour Panel	Fine Gael
Terry Leyden	Labour Panel	Fianna Fáil
Michael McCarthy	Labour Panel	Labour	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Ned O'Sullivan	Labour Panel	Fianna Fáil
Phil Prendergast	Labour Panel	Labour
Rónán Mullen	National University of Ireland	Independent
Joe O'Toole	National University of Ireland	Independent
Feargal Quinn	National University of Ireland	Independent
Ivana Bacik	Dublin University	Independent	Joined the Labour Party on 23 September 2009^[19]
David Norris	Dublin University	Independent
Shane Ross	Dublin University	Independent	Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Dan Boyle	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Green
Martin Brady	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil
Ivor Callely	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil	Resigned the Fianna Fáil party whip on 5 June 2010^[16] Resigned from the Fianna Fáil party on 24 August 2010^[20]
Ciarán Cannon	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Progressive Democrats	Joined Fine Gael on 24 March 2009^[21] Elected to Dáil at the 2011 general election^[6]
Maria Corrigan	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil
Déirdre de Búrca	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Green	Resigned from the Seanad on 12 February 2010^[22]
John Ellis	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil
Eoghan Harris	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Independent
Lisa McDonald	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil
Brian Ó Domhnaill	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil
Fiona O'Malley	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Progressive Democrats	Sat as an independent on dissolution of the Progressive Democrats in December 2009^[23]
Mark Dearey	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Green	Appointed on 23 February 2010, replacing Déirdre de Búrca^[24]
Darragh O'Brien	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil	Nominated on 4 March 2011 to fill vacancy^[25]

Changes

Fourteen senators were elected to the 31st Dáil at the general election on 25 February 2011.^[6]

Date	Panel			Note
24 March 2009	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Progressive Democrats	Fine Gael	Ciarán Cannon joins Fine Gael^[21]
19 April 2009	Administrative Panel	Fianna Fáil		Death of Tony Kett^[7]
7 June 2009	Agricultural Panel	Labour		Alan Kelly elected to the European Parliament^[11]
23 September 2009	Dublin University	Independent	Labour	Ivana Bacik takes Labour Party whip^[19]
11 October 2009	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil		Death of Peter Callanan^[9]
26 November 2009	Administrative Panel		Fianna Fáil	James Carroll elected unopposed, succeeding Tony Kett^[26]^[8]
11 December 2009	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Progressive Democrats	Independent	Fiona O'Malley becomes an independent on dissolution of the Progressive Democrats^[23]
14 December 2009	Agricultural Panel		Green	Niall Ó Brolcháin elected in a by-election, replacing Alan Kelly^[26]^[14]
19 January 2010	Agricultural Panel		Fianna Fáil	Paschal Mooney elected in a by-election, replacing Peter Callanan^[27]^[15]^[28]
12 February 2010	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Green		Déirdre de Búrca resigns from the Seanad<ref^[22]^[29]
23 February 2010	Nominated by the Taoiseach		Green	Mark Dearey appointed, replacing Déirdre de Búrca^[24]^[30]
26 May 2010	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil		Death of Kieran Phelan^[18]^[31]
5 June 2010	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil	Independent	Larry Butler resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip^[16]
5 June 2010	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fianna Fáil	Independent	Ivor Callely resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip^[16]
25 June 2010	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fianna Fáil	Independent	Denis O'Donovan loses the Fianna Fáil party whip^[12]
7 July 2010	Labour Panel	Fianna Fáil	Independent	John Hanafin resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip in opposition to Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill^[12]
7 July 2010	Agricultural Panel	Fianna Fáil	Independent	Jim Walsh resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip in opposition to Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill^[12]
7 July 2010	Cultural and Educational Panel	Fianna Fáil	Independent	Labhrás Ó Murchú resigns the Fianna Fáil party whip in opposition to Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill^[12]
24 August 2010	Nominated by the Taoiseach			Ivor Callely resigns from the Fianna Fáil party after expenses controversy^[20]
19 October 2010	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Independent	Fianna Fáil	Denis O'Donovan rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party^[17]
23 November 2010	Agricultural Panel	Independent	Fianna Fáil	Jim Walsh rejoins the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party^[13]
23 November 2010	Labour Panel	Independent	Fianna Fáil	John Hanafin rejoins the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party^[13]
23 November 2010	Cultural and Educational Panel	Independent	Fianna Fáil	Labhrás Ó Murchú rejoins Fianna Fáil parliamentary party^[13]
26 November 2010	Agricultural Panel	Sinn Féin		Pearse Doherty elected to the 30th Dáil in a by-election^[10]^[32]
25 February 2011	Administrative Panel	Fine Gael		Paschal Donohoe elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Administrative Panel	Fine Gael		Nicky McFadden elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Administrative Panel	Labour		Brendan Ryan elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Agricultural Panel	Fine Gael		John Paul Phelan elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Cultural and Educational Panel	Fine Gael		Liam Twomey elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Cultural and Educational Panel	Labour		Alex White elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fine Gael		Paudie Coffey elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Labour		Dominic Hannigan elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Industrial and Commercial Panel	Fine Gael		Joe O'Reilly elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Labour Panel	Fine Gael		Jerry Buttimer elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Labour Panel	Fine Gael		Frances Fitzgerald elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Labour Panel	Labour		Michael McCarthy elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Dublin University	Independent		Shane Ross elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
25 February 2011	Nominated by the Taoiseach	Fine Gael		Ciarán Cannon elected to the 31st Dáil^[6]
4 March 2011	Nominated by the Taoiseach		Fianna Fáil	Darragh O'Brien nominated to fill vacancy^[25]

References

^ "Seanad General Election, July 2007" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. Government of Ireland. 2008.
^ "Iris Oifigiúil" (PDF). 4 September 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
^ "Election of Cathaoirleach". Seanad Debates. Vol. 187 No. 1. 13 September 2007.
^ "Moylan elected as new Cathaoirleach". Breakingnews.ie. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
^ "Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach". Seanad Debates. Vol. 187 No. 2. 26 September 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Election of Members to Dáil Éireann". Seanad Debates. Vol. 207 No. 10. 8 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy". Seanad Debates. Vol. 195 No. 1. 22 April 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 198 No. 7. 25 November 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy". Seanad Debates. Vol. 197 No. 6. 13 October 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Live updates: Donegal by-election count". RTÉ News. 26 November 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Resignation of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 195 No. 15. 9 June 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "FF senators in row over Civil Partnership Bill". RTÉ News. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Cowen remains as FF leader after meeting". RTÉ News. 23 November 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 199 No. 7. 15 December 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Mooney re-elected to Seanad". The Irish Times. 19 January 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Ivor Callely resigns FF party whip". RTÉ News. 5 June 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Fianna Fáil boycott of RTÉ's 'Frontline' proposed". The Irish Times. 20 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Senator Kieran Phelan dies suddenly". RTÉ News. 26 May 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Ms. Ivana Bacik". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Boyle urges Callely to resign from Seanád". RTÉ News. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Cannon formally joins Fine Gael". RTÉ News. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Déirdre de Búrca's statement of resignation". RTÉ News. 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Ms. Fiona O'Malley". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Green councillor nominated to Seanad". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 23 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Nomination of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 207 No. 10. 8 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Issue of Writ: Motions". Seanad Debates. Vol. 197 No. 6. 15 October 2009.
^ "Issue of Writ: Motion". Seanad Debates. Vol. 198 No. 3. 12 November 2009.
^ "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 200 No. 1. 20 January 2010.
^ "Resignation of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 200 No. 12. 16 February 2010.
^ "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 201 No. 1. 23 February 2010.
^ "Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy". Seanad Debates. Vol. 205 No. 13. 17 November 2010.
^ "Election of Member to Dáil Éireann". Seanad Debates. Vol. 206 No. 1. 30 November 2010.

External links

"23rd Seanad". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
Houses of the Oireachtas: Debates: 23rd Seanad

[1] "Seanad General Election, July 2007" (PDF). Houses of the Oireachtas. Government of Ireland. 2008.

[2] "Iris Oifigiúil" (PDF). 4 September 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

[3] "Election of Cathaoirleach". Seanad Debates. Vol. 187 No. 1. 13 September 2007.

[4] "Moylan elected as new Cathaoirleach". Breakingnews.ie. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2007.

[5] "Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach". Seanad Debates. Vol. 187 No. 2. 26 September 2007.

[Elected_ge-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Election of Members to Dáil Éireann". Seanad Debates. Vol. 207 No. 10. 8 March 2011.

[Kett-7] "Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy". Seanad Debates. Vol. 195 No. 1. 22 April 2009.

[carroll-8] "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 198 No. 7. 25 November 2009.

[Callanan-9] "Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy". Seanad Debates. Vol. 197 No. 6. 13 October 2009.

[RTE_26112010-10] "Live updates: Donegal by-election count". RTÉ News. 26 November 2010.

[Kelly-11] "Resignation of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 195 No. 15. 9 June 2009.

[RTE_07072010-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "FF senators in row over Civil Partnership Bill". RTÉ News. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2021.

[RTE_23112010-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Cowen remains as FF leader after meeting". RTÉ News. 23 November 2010.

[OBrolchain-14] "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 199 No. 7. 15 December 2009.

[Mooney-15] "Mooney re-elected to Seanad". The Irish Times. 19 January 2010.

[RTE_05062010-16] "Ivor Callely resigns FF party whip". RTÉ News. 5 June 2010.

[IT_20102010-17] "Fianna Fáil boycott of RTÉ's 'Frontline' proposed". The Irish Times. 20 October 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.

[KPhelan-18] "Senator Kieran Phelan dies suddenly". RTÉ News. 26 May 2010.

[Bacik-19] "Ms. Ivana Bacik". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2012.

[RTE_25082010-20] "Boyle urges Callely to resign from Seanád". RTÉ News. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.

[Cannon-21] "Cannon formally joins Fine Gael". RTÉ News. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.

[DeBurca-22] "Déirdre de Búrca's statement of resignation". RTÉ News. 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.

[OMalley-23] "Ms. Fiona O'Malley". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.

[Dearey-24] "Green councillor nominated to Seanad". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 23 February 2010.

[OBrien-25] "Nomination of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 207 No. 10. 8 March 2011.

[vac09-26] "Issue of Writ: Motions". Seanad Debates. Vol. 197 No. 6. 15 October 2009.

[27] "Issue of Writ: Motion". Seanad Debates. Vol. 198 No. 3. 12 November 2009.

[28] "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 200 No. 1. 20 January 2010.

[29] "Resignation of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 200 No. 12. 16 February 2010.

[30] "Election of Member". Seanad Debates. Vol. 201 No. 1. 23 February 2010.

[31] "Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy". Seanad Debates. Vol. 205 No. 13. 17 November 2010.

[32] "Election of Member to Dáil Éireann". Seanad Debates. Vol. 206 No. 1. 30 November 2010.

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