The Progressive Democrats and the Greens have set up an internal consultative process to advise their respective party leaders on who should get the two Seanad seats available to each of them as part of their coalition deals with Fianna Fáil.
The Progressive Democrats announced yesterday that an advisory committee has been established to make recommendations to the party leader, Mary Harney, on who should get the two nominations.
The advisory committee is made up of former minister Bobby Molloy, outgoing senator John Dardis and party trustee Noirin Slattery. A party spokesman said the committee would interview the candidates and would make its recommendations on the basis of which candidates have the best chance of winning a Dáil seat for the party in the next election.
Among the leading contenders are Fiona O'Malley, who lost her Dún Laoghaire seat in the general election; John Minihan and Tom Morrissey, who served in the outgoing Seanad; Colm O'Gorman, who contested the Wexford constituency; and Ciarán Cannon, who ran for the party in Galway East.
Ms O'Malley is strongly tipped to take one of the available PD slots but the other is regarded as being wide open.
One of the Green seats is almost certain to go to Dan Boyle, who lost his Dáil seat and who was one of the party's key negotiators in the coalition talks.