Seanad General Election 2025

It's not really a general election, and it's not very democratic!

The Oireachtas website has a very good explainer about the upcoming Seanad elections. They, unfortunately, describe it as a “general election” It is nothing, barely even resembling a general election or even democratic!

Seanad elections have to take place within 90 days of the dissolution of the Dáil. This means that the new Dáil will have assembled before the Seanad elections can take place. The Seanad, the so-called “upper house” of our Oireachtas legislative chambers, begins operations with a charmingly indirect election process that might seem bewildering to most but is essentially a deeply undemocratic institution, but still, it provides a fascinating glimpse into the intricacies of Irish political culture.

The Seanad is made up of 60 members. Unlike the Dáil, members of the Seanad are not directly elected by plumbers, cleaners, self-made owners of SMEs, farmers or the wife who stays at home to raise the kids while the hubby toils in his factory job to make ends meet.

How do you b…