Michael Duffy
SITTING Fine Gael senator Paddy Burke has this week stated that Michelle Mulherin (pictured), who has been selected by the party’s Constituency Executive to seek a nomination for the Senate election, will not be in competition with him for a seat.
Senator Burke, who has been a member of the Upper House since 1993 and is again seeking re-election on the Agricultural Panel, said that the public should be aware that all those eligible to vote have a vote on each of the five panels.
“All TDs, senators and county and city councillors have a vote on each of the five panels and Cllr Mulherin will, if selected, qualify for either the Cultural and Educational panel or the Labour Panel.
“All of the 16 Fine Gael councillors on Mayo County Council will have a vote on each of the five panels so they will be able to vote for both myself and Cllr Mulherin and any other candidate from the party who appears on the other panels,” explained Senator Burke (above), who was Leas Cathaoirleach of the Seanad during the last term.
The Castlebar man added that he was hopeful of retaining his seat for another term and said he felt Cllr Mulherin should have ‘a good chance’ if selected by Fine Gael headquarters.
“Michelle received a great first preference vote in the General Election and Ernie Caffrey managed to get a seat on the Industrial and Commercial Panel in 1997, after we had got three seats in Mayo, so she has to have a good chance if selected. It would be good for Fine Gael in Ballina to have a senator in the town.”
Cllr Burke admitted that knowledge among the general public with regard to how the Seanad elections are run is limited.
“There can be some confusion among the public but once the panels are decided it works the same as a normal general election with eliminations and transfers.”
Cllr Burke also said that it was the new Dáil and the outgoing senate who get to vote in this election along with all sitting city and county councillors. Town councillors do not have a vote.
“Because six of our sitting senators were elected to Dáil Éireann in the General Election, we now have fewer votes but we are hopeful that we can at least increase our representation in the Seanad by one.”
The period for nominations by nominating bodies expires at 12 noon this Friday, while time for nominations by members of the Oireachtas expires on Friday week, June 22. The Seanad Returning Officer will finalise the panels on Tuesday, June 26.
