The composition of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

, one of the two houses of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

(parliament) of Ireland, is set out in Article 18 of the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...

. This provides for 60 Senators, of whom 11 are nominated by the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

who is appointed next after the election to general election to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

(Ireland's house of representatives). These nominations allow the government to reach a majority in the Seanad, for smaller parties in coalition or supporting the government to achieve more significant Seanad representation, and for the appointment of

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

members to represent particular interests. A number of representatives from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

have been selected over the years as Independent senators, and in 2016, Enda Kenny nominated

Billy Lawless Billy Lawless (born 4 July 1951) is an Irish former Independent politician and businessman who served as a Senator from 2016 to 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. Lawless is a native of Rahoon, County Galway. In the 1980s, he was Ch ...

, a resident of Chicago, to represent the interest of the Irish diaspora. As the outgoing Seanad continues in session after the general election, it is common for the outgoing Taoiseach to appoint Senators to fill the places of those who were elected to Dáil Éireann for the short period until the conclusion of the Seanad election. Of the remaining 49 senators, six are elected by university graduates (3 for the

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

and 3 for

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

), and 43 are elected across 5

Vocational panel A vocational panel ( ga, rolla gairm bheatha) is any of five lists of candidates from which are elected a total of 43 of the 60 senators in Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of Ireland. Each panel corresponds to a g ...

Senators

Changes

References

See also