Members of the 26th Seanad
The 26th Seanad has been in office since 2020. The 2020 Seanad election followed the 2020 general election to the 33rd Dáil on 8 February. The Constitution of Ireland required a general election for Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), to take place not later than ninety days after a dissolution of 32nd Dáil on 14 January 2020. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels by serving politicians, for which polling closed on 30 March 2020; 6 were elected in two university constituencies, for which polling closed on 31 March 2020; and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach (Micheál Martin) on 27 June 2020. The government has a clear majority (40 to 20) in the Seanad. Of the 60 members, twenty-four (40%) are women, and thirty (50%) are first-time Senators. Five Senators (8%) are members of the LGBT+ community. 33 members (55%) of the 26th Seanad were unsuccessful candidates at the 2020 general election, 10 of those (17%) being outgoing TDs who failed to get re-elected. In total 41 members (68%) of the 26th Seanad had contested general elections in the past, while 15 (25%) were former TDs. Eileen Flynn