| 23rd Seanad | |
| Body: | Seanad Éireann |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Meeting Place: | Leinster House |
| Term Start: | 13 September 2007 |
| Term End: | 20 April 2011 |
| Before: | 22nd Seanad |
| After: | 24th Seanad |
| Membership1: | 60 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Cathaoirleach |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | Pat Moylan |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | Leas-Chathaoirleach |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Paddy Burke |
| Chamber1 Leader3 Type: | Leader of the Seanad |
| Chamber1 Leader3: | Donie Cassidy |
| Session1 Start: | 13 September 2007 |
| Session1 End: | 10 July 2008 |
| Session2 Start: | 30 September 2008 |
| Session2 End: | 15 July 2009 |
| Session3 Start: | 23 September 2009 |
| Session3 End: | 14 July 2010 |
| Session4 Start: | 29 September 2010 |
| Session4 End: | 20 April 2011 |
The 23rd Seanad was in office from 2007 to 2011. An election to Seanad Éireann, the Senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 2007 general election to the 30th Dáil on 24 May. There are 60 seats in the Seanad: 43 were elected on five vocational panels by serving politicians; 6 were elected in two university constituencies; and 11 were nominated by the Taoiseach. Under the Constitution of Ireland, a general election for the Seanad was required within 90 days of the dissolution of the 29th Dáil on 30 April 2007. Polls closed on 24 July 2007, and the Taoiseach's nominees were announced by Bertie Ahern on 3 August 2007. The 23rd Seanad first met at Leinster House on 13 September 2007.[1] The term of the 23rd Seanad was from 13 September 2007 to 20 April 2011, remaining in session until the close of poll for the 24th Seanad.
Pat Moylan was elected as the new Cathaoirleach of the Seanad.[2]
There are a total of 60 seats in the Seanad. There are 43 Senators elected by the Vocational panels, 6 elected by the Universities and 11 are nominated by the Taoiseach.
The following table shows the composition by party when the 23rd Seanad first met on 13 September 2007.
| Vocational panels | NUI | DU | Nominated | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin | Agri | Cult & Educ | Ind & Comm | Labour | ||||||||
| Fianna Fáil | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 28 | |||
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||||
| Labour Party | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||
| Green Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Progressive Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Sinn Féin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 7 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 60 | |||
| Party | 20071 | Nov. 20102 | Mar. 20113 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | 28 | 25 | 26 | |||
| Fine Gael | 14 | 15 | 6 | |||
| Labour Party | 6 | 6 | 2 | |||
| Green Party | 2 | 3 | 3 | |||
| Sinn Féin | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Progressive Democrats | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Independent | 7 | 9 | 8 | |||
| Vacant | 0 | 2 | 15 | |||
| Total | 60 | |||||
This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 23rd Seanad in January 2011.
Fourteen senators were elected to the 31st Dáil at the general election on 25 February 2011.