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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.
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.
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.
Jobs for the boys/girls, if they failed in the general election they should be disqualified from the safety net of the Seanad.
Isn’t it the same Seanad they fought to lose? Only seats they could get is in a Canoe…like Joan Burton!
I agree if you lost the election why are you suitable for the Seanad ,you weren’t good enough for government why ooh why do you think you’re suitable ???? For the Seanad
I’m glad to see Lorraine Higgins won’t be in contention for a Seanad seat but Aodhán O Riordan was quite vocal in abolishing the Seanad only a few years ago
@Frank:
That’s a reductive argument. To be fair to Aodhán O’Riordan for example, he narrowly lost out on a Dáil seat and had a sizeable vote in his Constituency, which if elected to the Seanad would give him more of a mandate than most of the other Senators in the House. Plus, he did a pretty good job overseeing the Marriage Equality Referendum so it’s clear to everybody that as an individual (leaving aside his Party) he is committed to changing Ireland for the better.
Which is more than can ever be said of Lorraine Higgins, who as a Taoiseach’s nominee to the Seanad failed to ever win any of the 4 local, national and European elections she contested. She should have given up long before now. Good luck to her in life beyond politics. Hopefully she won’t be back!
Frank is right they shouldn’t be allowed back in government positions if they were knocked out by the voter.They were put out for a reason
Missed the main gravy train No 1, – waiting on the platform for gravy train No 2.
Then what would be the point of the Seanad? It is a rest home for failed politicians and a plum to be awarded to cronies.
Rejected by the voters; embraced by the establishment.
Fux sake! Democracy my arse!
It’s somewhat ironic consider they tried to remove it.
Oink oink the trough is full again !!!
Yes Sean especially on Riordan who gave a 20 minute Dail speech on how redundant the place was when FG and Labour tried their power grab.
Nobody wants them in the Seanad or anywhere else. All desperate to keep hoovering up the taxpayers hard earned dough for their overpaid lazy political lives.
3 obnoxious politicians who have enriched themselves at the expense of the people they represented for 5 years. They had their chance and proved how unworthy they were of high office. Gravy train chasers one and all.
They are REJECTS
How on earth can Aodhan O’Riordain, a teacher and one term TD be nominated for an industrial and commercial panel? Rejected by the electorate and utterly under-qualified. The Labour Party truly stinks.
@orla Kearney. .I thought the exact same when mairia cahill was elected to Sean ad. . What qualifications did she have to be there !
Being a liar
She had equally annoying accent as Joan Burton that’s about all they had in common !!!!
We did vote to keep the Seanad . Now I wish we didn’t . Jobs for the boys in the inter circles. Ffs
Speak for yourself! I voted to get rid of it because I resent paying for failures, especially when I’m denied an actual vote on the ground that I didn’t go to the right college.
I voted to reform it. We all got screwed on that one.
You voted foolishly then Charlie, reform was nowhere on the ballot no matter how much you or others wanted it to be.
Rochelle, should I have not voted at all? I still believe the Seanad can be reformed. The idea of removing the upper house because it cost too much is as ridiculous then as it is now. Do you genuinely believe it was worth the money to strip away what can be an important part of the oireachtas?
Proper reform doesn’t need a referendum, it just needs political will to change how “we” elect the members. Of course, it has many failings. I think most of the failings come from easy reforms that TRULY make it independent. A place of real public discourse……….He had a point about the seagulls though….JK.
100% correct.
So did I. If I live to be a hundred I’ll never understand why people voted for its retention. Its sole power is to DELAY a bill for ninety days.
Gerard Nash always had an extreme superiority complex, arrogant, dismissive of ordinary people and strongly pro Noonan and FG. I’m unconvinced that his views and attitude are democratically representative. He is elitist by instinct.
You mean the guy who finally introduced collective bargaining legislation for workers after the employers and successive governments resisting for over 100 years ?
Kicked out the front door, & sneaking their way in the backdoor!
Sucking on the taxpayers’ teat must be a hard habit to break.
Couldn’t get elected so having another ride on the gravy train
3 failures!
Each of the 3 were highly vocal in supporting water charges.,
To think the people had the chance to dump this political dumping ground and decided not to.
It could have a use. Reform was promised. Unfortunately giving jobs to failed Politicians is not reform. No party should be allowed any nominations.
Reform was never on the ballot so it was never going to be an option. People who think that wasted a vote
It seems that there is a need to pack the Seanad with strong water charges supporters.
Rejects trying to scutt a lift on the next train,shouldn’t have to be told again their not wanted.
Averil Power also.
Twice rejected by the electorate she’s now hoping to get a seat.
Some people just don;t know when they’re not wanted.
Three leeches who do not give two hoots about how people once they can hitch a lift on the gravy train of corruption they were voted out and should have no hand act or part in political decisions made for the people no matter how many pathways their cronies find for them
If they cannot continue the wages, more pensions and perks one way – they wll get them by another.
Lets try the Seanad as a consolation prize?
Some should be ashamed of themselves – but the money etc they might gain will make up for that shame felt?
What happened Mairia? Useful fool no more use?
I must be dyslexic as I read that last Labour blokes name as Ned Gash?
Ned Gash – Super Junior Senator to the rescue!!!
I won’t be at all surprised if the next nominee proposed is Elizabeth Arnett or John Tierney. It’s obvious that the pro Irish Water apologists are being cultivated…
Can’t take NO for an answer .Keep them out .Useless apes
Professional leeches need not apply for the Seanad.
Reform. …. my a#se
I thought he was a fool, particularly his views on letting thousands of economic migrants in to the country while our own kids live in hotels. Complete thicko
I agree if the people didn’t vote for them to have a dàil seat they don’t want them in the seanad
93% dont want Labour (7% in Election). These guys have some cheek putting themselves forward for election!
Financial predators maxing voters taxes, expecting others to create wealth for them to distribute with largesse for their Party’s electoral advantage.
Regressive taxes:-
- LPT ( abolished in Italy)
- Water tax .. essential for life …
- Car Tax … low tax for those well off enough to be able to afford NEW CARS. (abolished in France)
- IT (abolished in Sweden)
Progressive, fair and moderate taxes to fund public services.
(Labour must have been advised by Economists .. not the sharpest knives in the drawer!)
Can’t take NO for an answer .Keep them out .Useless failed TDs
Three also-rans rejected emphatically by the people being imposed on us by the cynical back door. This retirement home for rejects should be scrapped at the earliest …
That’s why I voted ‘Yes’ to abolishing the place.
Either a retirement home/holding room or politician nursery.
Thoes who voted to keep the senate made a mistake.
It was never going to be reformed Just a €65,000 a year pension scheme for failed politicians.
A mini version of the house of Lord’s.
I remember o riordan in an interview with newstalk before the election saying that the last thing she wanted to do was ‘kick around the seanad for 5 years” Tune sure changed
Go Ahead and Put Aodhan ORiordan back in front of a mike. and I Sue The Irish State For phsycological abuse.
The Man Is A Fool.
His Ego Supercedes his IQ! I Swear Ill Sue!
Simon Will Ged Bash becone a super Labour Senator if Elected or did he loose that title when he lost his seat???????????
As Labour lost a large number of councillors in the Local elections, these people may struggle to be elected to the Seanad.
We can only hope do Donal…..
Slimy leeches.
Rejected by the electorate they still manage to find a way to the gravy train….
Just can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet gravy…
The pensions minister in the UK quit today over disability benefit cuts in their budget. You’d never get that with our politicians. Iife is just too good for our politicians over here. They lose out in the election, they just hang out in the Seanad until the next election.
I think a lot of the English politicians are successful businessmen in their own right outside of politics whereas most of the irish politicians have no such proven ability and they just hang on as long as they possibly can on the irish political gravy train. England coped better with the financial crisis, their country is better managed than Ireland, their politicians are managing larger sums of money and larger projects, and then Ireland have the better paid politicians. Its ridiculuous. How can that be justified?
And this fiscal space thing was widely mentioned in their budget, everybody over there knew what they were talking about, while here, FG tried this fiscal space thing in the irish election, didn’t know in gods name what they were talking about, made a total hash of it, then told everybody, including everybody in RTE and TV3 not to mention it again and forget about it, and they duly obliged for some stupid reason. Why do we accept such clueless incapable amadans to run our country, we’re just asking for serious trouble with this current lot we’ve got.
No shame
I like O’ Riordain too .Probably one of the most enlightened Senate Candidates on his drugs treatment programme.
He was very vocal in the abolition of said Seanad… Is it not wrong that he should now be seeking a seat there?
He Talks a Great Game My Friend, Thats All. he’d say Mass for a vote. A real Live Smoked Salmon Socialist.
Just got to keep the gravy train going.
I thought that Clint Eastwood film was the best.
HANG ‘EM HIGH.
Aodhán O’Riordan is the worst of them totally politically correct in everything. He said residents who oppose a halting site are same as white supremacists in the US
Even Lorraine Higgins is much better.
We had a chance to get rid of it.. So no point in complaining now.. Retirement home for losers
There was comments removed from this thread?…Anyone know why?…
He lost because of his and his parties policies enough said the electorate can only hope that it will be rid of the likes of AOR forever. Let’s hope they get what they voted for not another failed minister
Surprised surfukcing surprise
Waste of time, space and money. Reform HA, it will never happen cause they have it far too easy at our expense.
Spot on…
Stay classy lads, keep those snouts in the trough!
Jesus wept
The lure of the trough…
Of course they’re going for the seanad
Three wasters who couldn’t find real jobs
Jobbridge might be good for them lol.
Another good reason to get rid of this undemocratic seanad
as three more unwanted TDs get in the back door
Looking through there comments drive me mad. The basic insinuation is that any politician is just put to try and ride the heavy tr ain. His only interest is to do as little as possible and to stuff his pockets with free money that the taxpayer just gives them. Yes there are well documented individuals who kept money under mattresses. Claimed mobile phone expenses . Drank too many pints whilst the country went down the tunes.But … I can imagine it would be a lot easier to keep your opinions to yourself or comments sections than to try try an influence government policy or change the laws and be castigated for it . The Seanad.,.Dail and county and city councils have a purpose and is there as agreed by the majority of the people so surely it should have a mix of society’s beliefs in it.
Simon these 3 specimens were rejected by the voting public but their party has decided to ignore that verdict and give them a leg up onto the gravy train…..
They have to look after their own you know, makes me sick and that is politics here all over…
reading the comments and most of the commenters no doubt voted to keep this ridiculous talking shop to give the government a kicking suck it up now fools and stop whinging.
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