The Fine Gael strategy of securing Seanad places for future TDs succeeded in the first of the vocational panel counts in Leinster House yesterday.
The party retained its two seats in the five-seater cultural and educational panel, but with new faces. They are Mr Brian Hayes, who lost his Dáil seat in Dublin South West in the general election, and Mr Noel Coonan, who had contested Tipperary North, which was once a party stronghold. Fine Gael now has no seat in those constituencies.
The three outgoing Fianna Fáil senators, Mr Paschal Mooney, Mr Labhrás Ó Murchú and Ms Ann Ormonde, retained their seats. Mr Mooney, who was first to be elected, on the 12th count, turned in a particularly impressive performance, securing 114,000 first-preference votes.
Mr John Brassil, a Fianna Fáil councillor from Ballyheigue in Kerry North, was a strong performer and at one stage seemed set to challenge Ms Ormonde.
The new Fine Gael senators replace outgoing senator Ms Madeleine Taylor-Quinn and Mr Maurice Manning, one of the party's best-known personalities who, surprisingly, failed to secure a Seanad nomination.
Ms Taylor-Quinn and Mr Manning were two senior figures in the party, both holding Dáil seats at one time. Ms Taylor-Quinn had served on the party's front bench, while Mr Manning had been a strong contender for senior ministerial office while a TD.
Party sources were last night hoping that the strategy, devised in the wake of Fine Gael's general election meltdown, would work in other panels. If it does, it could have implications for long-serving Fine Gael senators whose political careers are now firmly set in the Seanad.
Mr Coonan now has an Oireachtas base from to challenge for a seat in the three-seater Tipperary North, where the Independent, Mr Michael Lowry, a former Fine Gael minister, now effectively holds the party's seat. The other two seats are held by Fianna Fáil's Mr Michael Smith, the Minister for Defence, and Ms Máire Hoctor.
Mr Hayes will start to rebuild his Dublin South West base, where Fianna Fáil holds two seats, with Labour and Sinn Féin one each.
Late last night counting continued for the agricultural panel, where there are 28 candidates for 11 seats. They include the Taoiseach's adviser, Dr Martin Mansergh, an unsuccessful general election candidate in Tipperary South. He received 52,000 votes in the first count. Outgoing Fianna Fáil senator Mr Francis O'Brien topped the poll on the first count with 91,000 votes. Labour senator Ms Kathleen O'Meara was also elected with 87,000 votes.
Fianna Fáil's Mr Jim Walsh, at 65,000 votes, was expected to be elected in a later count along with Mr Paddy Burke of Fine Gael, who received 69,000 first preferences. Mr Rory Kiely, Fianna Fáil, was on his way to being elected with 63,000 votes, while the battle for two remaining seats was between two Fine Gael candidates, Mr Ulick Burke, Mr John Bailey and Fianna Fáil's Mr Eamon Scanlon.
The Green Party has just one candidate, its deputy leader, Ms Mary White, a local councillor, who contested the general election in Carlow-Kilkenny.
Sinn Féin is not running a candidate, but has supported the Independent, Ms Kathy Sinnott, who almost won a Dáil seat in Cork South Central.
Forty-three senators will be elected to the five vocational panels. They each have the same electorate of 971, made up of the 166 TDs from the new Dáil, the 51 outgoing senators and the State's 754 local councillors. The remaining nine senators were elected to the Dáil in the general election. Just 15 of the electorate did not vote.
When the Seanad election is complete, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, will nominate 11 more senators, who will include four members of the Progressive Democrats.