Seanad Elections

A Seanad election must take place not later than 90 days after the dissolution of the Dáil. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage makes an order setting the dates for the various stages of the election. The stages include:

• receipt of nominations
• issuance of ballot papers
• closing of poll
• counting of the votes

The elections are held under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and by secret postal ballot.

At a Seanad General Election, 60 seats are filled. Forty-three Panel Members are elected from panels of candidates representing specified vocational interests. They will be elected by Members of the incoming Dáil, the outgoing Seanad and members of elected councils.

Six University seats are elected by graduates of Designated Institutions of Higher Education who are aged 18 years or over and are citizens of Ireland in a new six-seat ‘Higher Education’ constituency. Until 2025, these seats were elected by graduates of the National University of Ireland (NUI) (3 seats) and graduates and Foundation and non-Foundation Scholars of the University of Dublin (Trinity College Dublin) (3 seats). The NUI is the Central Registration Authority, responsible for maintaining the Register of Electors.

Expenditure

There are no expenditure limits prescribed for Seanad elections.

Donations

The following rules apply for donations:

• the maximum amount that can be accepted in the same calendar year by a senator or by a candidate standing in a Seanad election from the same source is 1,000 euro
• details of donations which exceed 600 euro must be disclosed in a statement made to the Standards in Public Office Commission
• a candidate or senator who receives a monetary donation that exceeds 100 euro must open and maintain a political donations account in a financial institution

Certain donations are restricted:

• it is prohibited to accept a donation from an anonymous source which exceeds 100 euro
• donations in cash which exceed 200 euro are also prohibited

There are specific rules covering corporate donations which exceed 200 euro:

• the donor must be registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission and
• the donor must provide evidence that the donation was approved by the corporate body

Guidelines on the donation rules that apply at Seanad elections are available from the Standards in Public Office Commission.

Further information can be found in the relevant legislation, including the Electoral Act,1997.

• How the Seanad is Elected
• National University of Ireland website
• Trinity College Dublin website
• Citizens Information website
• Oireachtas website