Leitrim’s Paddy O’Rourke seeks Seanad seat on Agricultural panel

Paddy O’Rourke, Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council, is running for the Seanad after securing a nomination through the Agricultural panel.

This marks the Fianna Fáil councillor’s third election campaign this year, having contested in the local elections in June and the general election in November, where he reached the ninth count.

O’Rourke stated that the absence of Leitrim representation at an Oireachtas level motivated his decision to seek a seat in the Seanad, echoing the same motivation behind his general election campaign.

“We haven’t had a Government TD since 2007 and we haven’t had a senator since 2016. I feel the county has been left behind in many regards, but as well as that, I’m going forward to provide representation to the many councillors across the country who urged me to run so that I would be representing their interests as well,” O’Rourke explained.

This is the Carrigallen native’s first time running in a Seanad election.

“I’m three quarters of the way through the canvass and it’s my intention to visit every councillor in the country that I feel might be well disposed towards voting for me.

“The canvassing is very different, it makes a general election look easy,” he added.

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O’Rourke is contesting the Agricultural panel, one of the five vocational panels that collectively account for 43 out of 60 seats in the Seanad.

The electorate for the vocational panels are members of the incoming Dáil, members of the outgoing Seanad and members of county and city councils.

If elected, O’Rourke aims to advocate for changes to the timeline councillors are permitted to serve.

“There’s a situation at the moment where once councillors have served for 20 years, that’s more or less the cut off point of their gratuity.

“Many of them have a desire to continue further and have a great deal to offer and that’s one area I would like to see revisited,” O’Rourke said.

“Of course you have to have a turnover, but there shouldn’t be an impediment on people continuing for as long as is practically possible for them to do so given that they have the enthusiasm and commitment,” he continued.

Unlike the Dáil, members of the Seanad are not directly elected. Instead, 11 are appointed by the Taoiseach, 43 are elected from vocational panels and six are elected from University panels. The electorate for the University panels includes graduates from Trinity College Dublin and graduates of any National University of Ireland.

Polling for the vocational panels will close on January 30.

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