The Civil Engagement group () is a

technical group In politics, a technical group or mixed group is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own. ...

in Seanad Éireann (the upper house 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 ...

or parliament of Ireland) composed of senators with a background in

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

organisations.

History

The group was established in May 2016 after the election of the

25th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 25th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. 49 Senators were elected in April 2016 when postal voting closed. The Taoiseach nominated an additional eleven members to the ...

, initially by independent senators Alice-Mary Higgins,

Frances Black Frances Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish singer and politician. She came to prominence in the late 1980s when she began to play with her family's band, the Black Family, performing a mix of traditional and contemporary Irish music. Bla ...

, Lynn Ruane and John Dolan, along with

Grace O'Sullivan Grace O'Sullivan (born 8 March 1962) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2019. She is a member of the Green Party, part of the European Green Party. Sh ...

of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

Colette Kelleher Colette Kelleher (born 16 January 1962) is an Irish former Independent politician who served as a Senator from 2016 to 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. She previously served as the CEO of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland. She c ...

joined the group after being

nominated to the Seanad A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be election, elected to an official, office — in this case a Preselection, candida ...

by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. All six were first-time senators. O'Sullivan said the group members "share an activist background and will be pursuing

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

policy". The Civil Engagement group is separate from the "Independent group", a technical group long established within the Seanad. Seanad technical groups do not mirror those in the Dáil; while O'Sullivan joined the Civil Engagement group in the 25th Seanad, in the

32nd Dáil 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, for example, Green Party TDs sat with the Social Democrats to form a group for speaking time. Three of the six members of the technical group did not return to the

26th Seanad There are 60 members of the 26th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). Of these, 49 were elected on a restricted franchise, polls closing on 30–31 March 2020; subsequently the remaining 11 members were nominat ...

, beginning with the Green Party's O'Sullivan election to the European Parliament in the

2019 European Parliament elections Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

for the South constituency. Dolan was not re-elected, and Kelleher did not seek re-election. Taoiseach's nominee

Eileen Flynn Eileen Roche, née Flynn (1955 – 9 September 2008) was a schoolteacher in County Wexford, Ireland, who was dismissed in 1982 for cohabiting with a married man.985IEHC 1, sec.10 In 1985, the High Court ruled this did not constitute unfair d ...

joined the group on her appointment, bringing the group's parliamentary representation up to four.

Composition

25th Seanad

The following senators were members of the Civil Engagement group in the 25th Seanad: * Alice-Mary Higgins (leader) *

* Lynn Ruane * John Dolan *

26th Seanad

The following senators are members of the Civil Engagement group in the 26th Seanad: * Alice-Mary Higgins (leader) *

* Lynn Ruane

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Civil Engagement group Politics of the Republic of Ireland # 2016 establishments in Ireland Technical parliamentary groups