The 27th Seanad has been in office since February 2025. The

2025 Seanad election An indirect election to the 27th Seanad took place in January 2025, following the 2024 general election to the 34th Dáil in November 2024. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as its lower house. Polls clo ...

took place in January 2025, following the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

to the

34th Dáil The 34th Dáil was elected at the 2024 general election on 29 November 2024 and first met on 18 December 2024. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It is sitt ...

on 29 November 2024. It was fully composed on 7 February 2025 on the nomination of members by the taoiseach.

Background

The

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

requires a general election for

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

, the

senate 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 el ...

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 and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

, to take place no later than ninety days after the dissolution of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five

vocational panel A vocational panel () 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 grouping of "interests and ...

s by serving politicians; 6 were elected in two

university constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...

; and 11 are

nominated by the taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

who was appointed after the assembly of the 34th Dáil. It will remain in office until the close of poll for the 28th Seanad. The

33rd Dáil The 33rd Dáil was elected at the 2020 general election on 8 February 2020 and first met on 20 February 2020. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat wit ...

was dissolved on 8 November 2024. On 15 November 2024, the

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is James ...

Darragh O'Brien Darragh O'Brien (born 8 July 1974) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister for Transport (Ireland), Minister for Transport and Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment since January 2025. He has been a Teachta Dá ...

, signed orders for the Seanad election, providing 29 January as the deadline for ballots in the university constituencies and 30 January as the deadline for ballots for the vocational panels. Under the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024, this is to be the last Seanad in which the two university constituencies will exist. At the next Seanad general election, they will be replaced by a new

Higher Education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

constituency. On 7 February 2025, the taoiseach,

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

, nominated eleven members with their prior consent to be members of the Seanad.

Cathaoirleach

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish language, Irish for Chair (officer), chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or speaker (politics), presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Repub ...

** Senator Mark Daly (12 February 2025 – present) * Leas-Cathaoirleach ** Senator Maria Byrne (19 February 2025 – present) On 12 February 2025, Mark Daly ( FF) was proposed as Cathaoirleach by Fiona O'Loughlin (FF) and seconded by Shane Curley (FF). He was elected without a division. On 19 February 2025, Maria Byrne ( FG) was proposed as Leas-Chathaoirleach by

Seán Kyne Seán Kyne (born 16 May 1975) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel since March 2020, and previously from February 2020 to March 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. He served as ...

(FG) and seconded by Joe O'Reilly (FG). Eileen Flynn (

Ind Ind or IND may refer to: General * Independent (politician), a politician not affiliated to any political party * Independent station, used within television program listings and the television industry for a station that is not affiliated with ...

) was proposed by Frances Black (Ind) and seconded by Nessa Cosgrove ( Lab). Byrne was elected by a vote of 36 to 15.

Background

Cathaoirleach

Composition of the 27th Seanad

Effect of changes

List of senators

Changes

References

External links