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Zappone to seek seat in Seanad

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Former minister for children and LGBT rights campaigner Katherine Zappone is to contest a seat in the upcoming Seanad election.

She is one of 16 candidates seeking the three Trinity College Dublin seats in the upper house.

Ms Zappone, a former Fine Gael Seanad appointee as well as a TD, left Irish politics when she lost her Dáil seat in 2020 and moved to the United States.

She was mired in controversy the following year, when she was nominated for a special United Nations envoy position by Simon Coveney, who was the minister for foreign affairs at the time.

The position which had not been advertised came with a salary of €15,000 and led to allegations of cronyism.

She later declined the role following the political uproar, which included a motion of no-confidence in minister Coveney.

Subsequently, Ms Zappone also declined an invitation from the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss the matter.

Nominations for the Trinity panel closed today at midday and ballot papers will issue on 30 December.

The current TCD senators are the independents Lynn Ruane and Tom Clonan.

The third seat has been vacant since January when David Norris, also an independent, retired.

Among the other candidates seeking election by Trinity’s 76,000 registered voters are outgoing Green Minister of State Ossian Smyth, Green Party councillor Hazel Chu, Aubrey McCarthy, who founded the addiction charity Tiglin, along with the outgoing senators.

A total of 12 candidates are also competing for the three National University of Ireland Seanad seats.

They include outgoing independent Senators Michael McDowell, Ronán Mullen and Alice Mary Higgins.

Meanwhile, the Women for Election organisation has called on political parties to seize the opportunity of the Seanad elections to redress the poor gender balance in the Oireachtas following the Dáil elections.

Just 25% of new TDs are women.

“Women for Election are calling on all political parties to implement a voluntary gender quota of at least 40% women and 40% men in their selection of candidates to contest the Seanad elections, mirroring the General Election quota,” said Brian Sheehan, CEO of Women for Election.

“Women make up over half the population, yet they remain hugely underrepresented in the political decisions that shape all our lives.

“The Seanad election offers an opportunity to ensure the voices, skills and lived experiences of women are at the heart of national decision making. Politics works better when there is a balance of men and women involved.”

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