FF picks Louth councillor to fill Seanad seat

FIANNA FÁIL has nominated a newly-elected Louth councillor to fill one of the three seats that is vacant in the Seanad.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen nominated Cllr James Carroll from Monasterboice in Co Louth for the administrative panel of the Seanad.

Mr Carroll (25), a qualified lawyer who works as parliamentary assistant to Monaghan TD Margaret Conlon, was elected to Louth County Council in June.

By dint of the Government majority in both houses of the Oireachtas, his election to the Seanad will be a formality, as only TDs and Senators are allowed to vote.

The election date has been provisionally set for December 14th. Mr Carroll succeeds Tony Kett, the Dublin-based Fianna Fáil senator who died earlier this year.

It also emerged last night that the Green Party will fill a vacancy in the Upper House caused by the election of Labour’s Alan Kelly to the European Parliament in June. This seat is on the agricultural panel. However, the Greens last night would not comment on the development.

Party whips from Fianna Fáil and the Greens in the Seanad had agreed on alternating replacements for vacancies on non-Government seats.

The names of four possible candidates have emerged in recent weeks: Louth councillor Mark Dearey; Clare councillor Brian Meaney; the former mayor of Galway Niall Ó Brolcháin; and the former county councillor in Fingal, Joe Corr.

The byelection will result in the Greens having three seats in the Seanad. Party chairman Dan Boyle and its European spokeswoman Deirdre de Búrca were both nominated to the Upper House by then taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

The elections to fill the seats left vacant by Mr Kelly and the late Mr Kett were announced in the Seanad last month.

However, immediately prior to that date, veteran Fianna Fáil senator Peter Callanan from Innishannon, Co Cork, died. While no byelection has been called for his seat, there was some speculation last night that that vacancy will also be filled on December 14th.

Sources in Fianna Fáil said that they expect the Taoiseach to make the nomination for this seat, which is also on the agricultural panel, later this month.

Following Séamus Kirk’s appointment as Ceann Comhairle, Louth will revert to being a four-seater constituency in the next general election.

Mr Carroll, who is based in the south of the constituency, is now considered a certainty to be a candidate for the party. He received some 1,500 first preferences in this year’s local elections.