Sinn Fein has defended a decision to leave two party candidates out of a list of its Seanad hopefuls by saying it wants to elect the strongest team possible.
The Sinn Fein representatives, Dublin Councillor Daithi Doolan and current Senator Paul Gavan, were both nominated for the Seanad Labour panel through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).
However, in a social media post announcing Sinn Fein’s candidates for the upcoming Seanad elections, former TD Chris Andrews and Laois-based representative Maria McCormack were listed and pictured as the party’s only hopefuls for the Labour Panel.
The Labour Panel elects 11 senators, at least four of whom must come from nominations through the Oireachtas and at least four through nominating bodies like ICTU.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
Asked about the complete omission of Mr Doolan and Mr Gavan from the social media announcement, the Sinn Fein press office drew a distinction between candidates put forward by the party and those nominated through external bodies.
It confirmed Mr Doolan and Mr Gavan had independently received nominations from ICTU, while Mr Andrews and Ms McCormack were nominated by the party.
However, Mr Gavan had previously been included in the party’s candidate announcement for the 2020 Seanad elections, despite being put forward under the same external nomination process on that occasion.
Sinn Fein representative Paul Gavan (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Pressed on this discrepancy, a party spokesman told the PA news agency: “Our aim is to elect the strongest Sinn Fein team possible.”
Mr Doolan said he had successfully sought a nomination from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, having been an active member of Unite for more than 20 years.
He said: “I have a long track record of working with other union members and in the spirit of cross party co-operation on key issues, including Right to Water, support for Dublin Fire Brigade workers, and resolving the pension claims of local authority staff.
“I am confident this will attract support beyond Sinn Fein colleagues.”
Mr Gavan did not respond to a request for comment.