Mayo Seanad candidates make their case

UP FOR GRABS Seven Mayo candidates are among those bidding to win one of the 60 seats in Seanad Éireann.

Four Mayo Seanad candidates answer our questions

Paddy Burke
Party: Fine Gael
From: Ballyglass/Castlebar

Political background: A county councillor since 1979 and a senator since 1993, Burke is bidding for be elected to the Seanad for the seventh election in a row.
Panel: Agricultural

Why did you decide to run?
“I’m a public representative all my adult life. I was first elected to the county council in 1979 and to the Seanad in 1993. This will be my eighth Seanad election – I was unsuccessful in 1989 – and I am bidding to be elected once more.”
 
What would be your aims if elected?
“I was a member of the Joint Oireachtas Finanace Committee for the last four years and I feel we make considerable progress on the issues with insurance industry and huge progress on the tracker mortgage issue. Work like that is very important and I would like to be able to continue it.
“I like the cut and thrust of teasing out legislation. We can propose, debate and amend legislation in the Seanad. One of the things myself and fellow Mayo Fine Gael senators Michelle Mulherin and John O’Mahony did was successfully amend legislation regarding plans for separate off license areas in supermarkets and shops which would have been a huge burden for small shopkeepers.”
 
Do you see the Seanad as a stepping stone to a DΡil run?
“I’m one of the few senators who has never run for the DΡil nor never even stood for convention. I see the Seanad as a separate chamber altogether and it shouldn’t be a stepping stone.”
 
How well do you feel the Seanad works in terms of elections and day to day business?
“We’re elected by the people’s representatives – TDs and councillors. The public elect them to do a job and also to elect senators. I don’t think both chambers should be elected by the popular vote. I would agree that some senators, though not all, could be elected by a list system but there would need to be constitutional changes to allow this. I think the Seanad affords opportunities for marginal groups to be represented. The current Seanad is as diverse a Seanad as you could ask for. There is no majority and there is a huge range of different professions and voices in there.”
 What do you feel you will bring to the panel you are running for?
“My nominating group is ICOS (the Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society). They’ve nominated me nearly all of my time in the Seanad and I would liaise with them regularly and speak a lot on agricultural issues.”

Gerry Murray
Party: Sinn Féin
From: Charlestown

Political background: A county councillor since 1999 and a former General Election candidate, Murray is on his first Seanad run.
Panel: Agricultural

Why did you decide to run?
“I feel it is an opportunity to get into the Seanad and from there push some pieces of legislation which I would like to get into the DΡil. One thing I would like to do is to draft a piece of legislation for state owned land consolidation to veto the sale of forestry until local farmers are consulted. This is something they do in Spain, that if it makes a young farmers’ career more viable, the State buy it for him instead of allowing various hedge funds buying good property.”
 
What would be your aims if elected?
“There is an ongoing reluctance of various governments to meet Europe halfway with matching funding for critical infrastructure in the west. If elected I would be pushing the incoming government on this. I would also look at the current crisis facing farmers and one of the many things which needs to be addressed is below cost selling of meat and ensuring price stability for farmers.”
 
Do you see the Seanad as a stepping stone to a DΡil run?
“Once you are in the Oireachtas, you would be in pole position to contest a by-election, for instance. Plus, you are able to scrutinise legislation coming through and ‘rural-proof’ it, see if there are negative consequences for the west and highlight that.”
 
How well do you feel the Seanad works in terms of elections and day to day business?
“Everyone is of the opinion that the Seanad needs some form of reform and I suspect some of the various proposals will be looked at.”
 
What do you feel you will bring to the panel you are running for?
“Having interacted with the farming community for years I know what they are seeking and the areas they find most difficult. Critical infrastructure west of the Shannon is key for agriculture too. Climate change is a huge challenge and one we must face but farmers cannot become the whipping boys. Every sector needs to carry its fair burden.”

Patsy O’Brien
Party: Fine Gael
From: Robeen, Hollymount

Political background: First elected in 2004, O’Brien contested the Fine Gael nomination for the General Election, losing out to Alan Dillon. It’s his first Seanad run.  
Panel: Industrial and Commercial

Why did you decide to run?
“I’m running because there is no Oireachtas representation at all in the south and east of this county, from Ballina down to Ballinrobe and beyond and everywhere in between and I feel the area badly needs that representation.”
 
What would be your aims if elected?
“I would seek to work with councillors on working for the area and I would seek to make the Moorhead Report a part of the Programme for Government, which calls for an overdue improvement in pay and conditions for councillors. From a point of view of the south of the county I will work to ensure Mayo is a united county again for DΡil elections, as a five seater. Galway West is currently a five seater with an electorate of 102,000. Mayo is a four seater with 98,000. What is the logic in splitting the county?”

Do you see the Seanad as a stepping stone to a DΡil run?
“You’d have to consider it a stepping stone. What I would be looking to do is work with councillors who, if the Moorhead Report was implemented, could open offices and, working with a senator, could work all together for the betterment of the area. Right now we do not have enough representation in the east and south of the county.”
 
How well do you feel the Seanad works in terms of elections and day to day business?
“You have better accessibility to decisions in the DΡil, to legislation and the ability to create bills in the Oireachtas. Councillors are the most important link in the chain and having a full-time senator working with councillors in an area can give that area much better representation, access to government ministers and departments and areas of funding.”
 
What do you feel you will bring to the panel you are running for?
“I’ve experience in working with South West Mayo Leader, I have experience in the trade union movement and I have a good knowledge of the workings of industry and the provision of jobs in my county. I’ve been nominated by EIFI (Electrical Industries Federation of Ireland) and am very grateful for their nomination.”

Saoirse McHugh
Party: Green Party
From: Dooagh, Achill  

Political background: Ran for the Green Party in the 2019 European Elections and in last month’s General Election. It’s her first Seanad run.   
Panel: Cultural and Educational  

Why did you decide to run?
“I’m running for the Seanad because I believe I can be effective in shaping legislation that helps us move toward a more equitable society which values the wellbeing of people and the environment over the profits of a few people.”
 
What would be your aims if elected?
“If elected I would like to ensure that any and all policies passed have climate action integral to them. We have seen with the devastating flooding this year, how short term thinking has led us down a dangerous path and from fishing to farming to town planning it is possible to tackle climate breakdown and biodiversity loss while improving people’s lives, it will just have to be insisted upon. I would like to work on improving the lives of those seeking international protection in Ireland by getting rid of many of the restrictions that they face in education, work, healthcare access etc.”
 
Do you see the Seanad as a stepping stone to a DΡil run?
“Our environment is collapsing quite quickly and we are headed for a dark few decades, so whether I’m in office or not I’ll probably be fighting for social justice and environmental protection for the rest of my days. I had never planned on politics as a career but at the moment it feels like the best way to campaign for what I believe in so I’ll stick at it as long as I feel effective.”
 
How well do you feel the Seanad works in terms of elections and day to day business?
“It’s definitely in need of reform and it wouldn’t take much to make it far more inclusive, for example, instead of the Taoiseach nominating eleven seats why don’t the public choose them and give everybody in the country a vote? Maybe reserve seats for groups underrepresented at national level. It serves an important function in proposing and amending legislation but I feel the Seanad would be far more effective if it represented our society more accurately.”
 
What do you feel you will bring to the panel you are running for?
“I have so far tried to communicate a longer term vision about where we are headed and the type of society we can strive for and I believe this will be essential on the culture and education panel. If we keep thinking in election cycles we will only ever get band aids for gaping wounds. I have shown an ability to work well across party lines and to challenge norms that have been accepted for too long.”