This is a list of the members of the 23rd

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 ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): **Dáil Éireann ...

(legislature) of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. These

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

s were elected from 24 July 2007 onwards after postal voting closed. The Taoiseach's nominees were announced on 3 August 2007. The Seanad election took place after the 2007 general election for the Dáil. The term of the 23rd Seanad was from 13 September 2007 to 20 April 2011. The 23rd Seanad first met at

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...

on 13 September 2007. Pat Moylan was elected as the new

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the ...

of the Seanad.

Composition of the 23rd Seanad

There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad. There are 43 Senators elected by the

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 gr ...

s, 6 elected by the Universities and 11 are

nominated by the Taoiseach 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 elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

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

Effect of changes

;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 after the election of Pearse Doherty to the 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. Seanad Éireann composition January 2011

*Note: This was not the official seating plan.

List of senators

Changes

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

References

External links

* {{Lists of members of Seanad Éireann 23