O Brolchain gets Seanad seat in deal with FF

Date Published: 17-Nov-2009

IN a remarkable transformation of his political fortunes, Niall Ó Brolcháin of the Green Party, a former Mayor of Galway who lost his City Council seat in the Local Elections last June, is set to become a Senator in the coming weeks.

Ó Brolcháin, who was a member of the City Council for ten years, lost his seat in the Local Elections wipeout of Green Party councillors in June, but at the weekend he secured the Green Party nomination to contest a Senate vacancy.

Only TDs and Senators will vote in the election to fill two vacancies in the Senate, and the Government parties have a clear majority – I understand, with an agreement that Fianna Fáil’s James Carroll (Louth) will fill one seat, and the Green Party will fill the other.

The concession of the seat on the Agricultural Panel to the Green Party, was, I understand, part of the renegotiated Programme for Government and was a concession wrung from Fianna Fáil.

At the weekend, former Mayor Ó Brolcháin was informed that he would be the Green Party candidate so, barring some extraordinary electoral accident, Ó Brolcháin seems certain to become a Senator when the mid-December election is held.

Said Ó Brolcháin, who has been working full-time with the party as a parliamentary secretary for a number of months: “I am the Green Party nominee to contest the Senate election. I am honoured and pleased to be nominated to contest the election.”

The Senate seat which Ó Brolcháin will be seeking to fill is that which was held by Alan Kelly (Labour), but which became vacant in June when Alan Kelly brought off a surprise victory for Labour in the Southern constituency and was elected an MEP, which meant he had to resign his Senate seat.

Continued on page 8 of the Sentinel