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Aodhán Ó Ríordáin eating a cake during last month's election campaign Sam Boal/RollingNews,ie

Three Labour ministers who lost their Dáil seats are going for the Seanad

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Kevin Humphreys and Ged Nash are all seeking a Leinster House comeback.

THREE OUTGOING LABOUR junior ministers will contest the forthcoming Seanad election having all lost their Dáil seats in last month’s general election.

Labour confirmed this evening that junior social protection minister Kevin Humphreys and equality minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin will be its nominees for two separate panels in the upper house.

Humphreys, who lost his seat in Dublin Bay South, beat his former Dáil colleague Joanna Tuffy, who lost her seat in Dublin Mid-West, and councillor Martin Wall, who missed out on a seat in Kildare South, to the party’s single nomination for the administrative panel.

Ó Ríordáin, who lost his seat in Dublin Bay North, beat outgoing senators Lorraine Higgins and John Kelly for the single nomination to the industrial and commercial panel.

14/10/2014 Budget Day 2015 Kevin Humphreys Sam Boal / Photocall Ireland Sam Boal / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

The two ministers of state were selected following a ballot of the party’s central council and parliamentary party.

The party has also endorsed the nominations of super junior minister Ged Nash, who has been nominated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to run for the industrial panel, and outgoing senator Denis Landy to the agriculture panel.

Ó Ríordáin, Humphreys and Nash all retain their ministerial responsibilities until a new government is formed.

17/11/2015 Employment Statistics Ged Nash Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

An electorate of around 1,200, which includes members of the incoming Dáil, the outgoing Seanad and councillors, will decide on 43 of the 60 Seanad seats for the six sectoral different panels.

Labour’s outgoing Seanad leader Ivana Bacik is also seeking to win a seat on the University of Dublin panel whose electorate is graduates of Trinity.

Read: One of Ireland’s most colourful senators is retiring from politics

The Fianna Fáil surge: How this new TD upset the odds in Enda’s backyard

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    May 30th 2016, 8:37 PM

    Looks like an ordinary night in the dail bar

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    Mute D'unredactable
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    May 30th 2016, 9:41 PM

    With the bushwacking Danny Really-Hay and the Messiahs of Meteorology!

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    May 30th 2016, 7:06 PM

    The party party.

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    May 30th 2016, 7:02 PM

    The similarities between him and Kenny with his air guitar antics are pretty much nauseous.

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    May 30th 2016, 7:31 PM

    You beat me to it

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    May 30th 2016, 7:46 PM

    Anti computer virus ? Or computer Anti Virus ?

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    May 30th 2016, 8:23 PM

    There are things in this world that you just can’t unsee, and this is one of them.

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    May 30th 2016, 6:50 PM

    Riveting stuff.

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    May 31st 2016, 7:21 AM

    I will be voting for the Libertarian party in the upcoming election. Could not vote for either Clinton or Trump. As a ‘liberal’ Republican, it’s not a bad choice

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    Mute Sean Baker
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    May 31st 2016, 5:57 PM

    I listened to Gary Johnson on Joe Rogans podcast last week. Very interesting guy, I can’t get behind all of his ideas but by far the best candidate and seems genuine. I’m giving him my vote.

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    May 30th 2016, 10:37 PM

    American voters now have an alternative to Trump the idiot and Clinton the two-face.

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    Mute David
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    May 30th 2016, 9:59 PM

    Well that escalated quickly!

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    Mute Cal McLaughlin
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    May 30th 2016, 7:45 PM

    Liberal politics in a nutshell.

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    Mute Malachi
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    May 30th 2016, 8:01 PM

    Liberal =/= Libertarian

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    Mute D'unredactable
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    May 30th 2016, 9:35 PM

    Could hardly be anymore diametrically opposed on most issues!

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    May 31st 2016, 9:09 AM

    Jeez Cal, that was a bit embarrassing. Not knowing the difference between liberal and libertarian. Scarlet!

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    Mute Eoin O'Connor
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    May 31st 2016, 2:58 PM

    So-called “libertarians” themselves don’t know.

    Libertarian is actually another word for a social anarchist – the anti-authoritarian wing of democratic socialism – and has been used to mean that, in a political sense, since the late 19th century.

    Right-wing capitalists merely appropriated the term in the 1970s (many unaware of its socialist history) and now, showing how pig-ignorant they are of politics, scoff “libertarian socialism!? LOL! That’s an oxymoron!”

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    May 31st 2016, 12:19 AM

    The world is a safer place now

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    May 30th 2016, 10:10 PM

    That’s what happens when you hire Dr Azazi as campaign advisor I suppose!

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    May 31st 2016, 5:27 AM

    Less government less clothes.

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    May 30th 2016, 7:44 PM

    Hay guys, it’s 11.30 !!!

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