Meet the Candidates

Ivana Bacik

A 1989 Trinity Law graduate, she has an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and practised for years as a Barrister in Dublin. As President of TCD Students’ Union (1989-90), she was taken to court by SPUC for providing information on abortion - in a case that paved the way for legal change in favour of women’s rights. Ivana contested Seanad elections in 1997 and 2002, and narrowly missed taking a seat in 2002. She was elected for the first time in 2007, and was re-elected in 2011. She has been Deputy Leader of the Seanad and leader of the Labour group there since 2011, is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality; and has had numerous private members’ bills and amendments to legislation accepted during her time as a Senator. Her priorities include: Education, Equality, Women’s Rights, Criminal Justice and the Environment – for more information on the work she has done on these issues and others, and her achievements to date, please see www.ivanabacik.com

Sean Barrett

Before coming to the Seanad I was a Senior Lecturer in Trinity’s Economics Department. In the past five years I’ve become a leading voice on the opposition benches of the Seanad, tabling 8 Private Members’ Bills and over 300 amendments to Government Bills relating to child protection, education and housing.

I was the only independent member of the Banking Inquiry and it has shown me how imperative it is that the government works to avoid the mistakes of the past when shaping future policy.

My priorities for this election include tackling Ireland’s present housing crisis, encouraging a fairer system of banking which works for the Irish people and defending third-level autonomy and funding.

Now, with Ireland’s economic recovery at stake, the contribution of economists in the Seanad is as essential as ever to ensure a fairer Ireland.
For more information on the work I’ve done and intend to do, please see www.seanbarrett.ie.

Proposed by Professor Barbara Wright, Professor Vincent McBrierty, George Humphrey, Rosemary Collier, Tommy Drumm, Margaret O.Mahony, David McConnell, John Dillon, Stephen Kinsella, Zuleika Rodgers

Website

Sabina Brennan

Please support me to address health, education and other inequalities in Irish society. If you honour me with your Number 1 Vote, I will champion the rights of older people and other vulnerable groups.

I will campaign for: 

• A senior minister for older people to combat ageism and implement the National Positive Ageing Strategy; 
• Resources for public health education, for lifelong learning and for access to education particularly for underrepresented groups; 
• Adoption of a National Human Rights and Equality Action Plan; 
• Full implementation of the National Dementia Strategy and resources for a renewed Carer's Strategy; 
• Implementation of the Neurorehabilitation Strategy and community readiness for people living with intellectual disability;
• Constitutional reform to extend the definition of carer to include men, to include dependents other than children and to include care outside the home.

I currently direct a dementia research programme in Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and as a research psychologist, film maker and educator, I am committed to making a difference to the lives of older people, people with neurological conditions and carers. I believe that we need investment in research and evidenced based educational, health and constitutional reform.

I left school at 16 (with my leaving cert) and worked in Irish Life Assurance Company for 15 years. I then qualified as a drama teacher with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and left my day job to teach drama and to pursue a career in television as a film maker and actor. After playing Tess Halpin in 160 episodes of Fair City I attended university as a mature student graduating from NUIM in 2007 with 1st class honours in psychology. I was awarded a Government of Ireland Scholarship from the Irish Research Council of Science, Engineering and Technology in 2007. My PhD, awarded by Trinity College in 2011, examined age-related decline in cognitive function. Since then, together with my colleagues I have secured millions of euro in research funding and believe that we need evidence based policy and practice. Invest in our future. I want to make Ireland the best place to grow up and grow old in.

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Tom Clonan

I live in Booterstown, Co Dublin, with my family of four children. I grew up in Finglas and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1987.

In 1989, I joined the Irish Army serving at home in Ireland and in the Middle East. In 1996, I served in Lebanon during the punitive Israeli Operation, ‘Grapes of Wrath’ which culminated in the massacre of Lebanese civilians at Qana. As a consequence, I am committed to Ireland’s unique perspective and contribution to international peace and reconciliation.

As an officer, I completed ground-breaking doctoral research on bullying, sexual harassment and the sexual assault of soldiers within the Irish Defence Forces (2000). My PhD led to an independent government enquiry, in 2003, which fully vindicated my findings and recommendations and in turn transformed the equality culture of the Irish Defence Forces. As a consequence, I am a committed feminist with an abiding interest in equality, diversity and social justice.

In 2000, I retired from the Army to pursue an academic career. I now lecture at Ireland’s oldest Journalism School, the School of Media DIT. I lecture on postgraduate courses in Journalism, Political Communication, Public Affairs and Research Methodology. I am also a Security Analyst, writing for publications such as The Irish Times and TheJournal.ie. I have written two best-selling books, Blood, Sweat and Tears (2012) and Whistleblower, Soldier, Spy (2013).

My 14-year-old son Eoghan suffers from a rare neuromuscular disease. He is a bright, happy boy, an inquisitive teenager and a great big brother – who happens to use a wheelchair and be legally blind. Basic services such as physio, speech and occupational therapy make a huge difference in Eoghan’s life. As his father and carer, I see every day the damaging effects on my son of the erosion of these vital services thanks to austerity. Ireland’s so-called recovery has yet to reach children like Eoghan and the 600,000 people in Ireland who live with disabilities. If elected to the Seanad, I will fight to transform the equality agenda for children, adults and the elderly with physical and intellectual disabilities.

For Full Manifesto - Please See My Website at www.tomclonan.ie

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Oisin Coghlan

I led the campaign for a climate law and worked with TDs and Senators of all parties and none for 8 years to get the Climate Change Act passed last December. I sit on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and served a four term on the Royal Irish Academy Climate Change Sciences Committee. Find out more at www.oisincoghlan.com.

I think at least one of the 60 Senators should represent Ireland’s rich tradition of global solidarity and the new imperative of climate action. Trinity has a proud tradition of electing independent Senators who pioneer progress in areas too long neglected by our political leaders. I want to continue that tradition for the 21st century.

Climate change is the biggest challenge humanity faces. But our political leaders downplay the need for action. And they are failing to grasp the opportunities for Ireland in the transition to a fossil free future. I’m honoured to give the Trinity constituency the opportunity to elect a Senator who will put climate change at the top of their agenda. And I want Trinity to lead the way. The college should divest its €6 million holdings in fossil fuel companies.

The Seanad is not supposed to be a creature of political parties. It is supposed to represent the different strands of Irish society. I’m asking for your No.1 to be an independent voice in the Seanad for a healthy environment, a stronger democracy and a more equal society.

A healthy environment and a resilient economy:
Climate Action – Ireland can rise to the challenges and opportunities of the move to a zero carbon future. Our political leaders have delayed and dodged for too long.
Trinity should lead by divesting its €6 million investments in fossil fuels.
Create sustainable jobs – The shift to sustainable production and production will create 500,000 future proof jobs across the EU, including many in IT and smart technology. The Government’s Action Plans for Jobs have so far failed to grasp this potential.
Protect and restore Ireland’s unique natural heritage.

A stronger democracy:
Voting rights for Irish citizens abroad – support the Emigrant Manifesto proposals.
Reform the Seanad – universal suffrage along the lines of Katherine Zappone’s Seanad Reform Bill.
Strengthen the Oireachtas – Ireland has one of the weakest parliaments in the democratic world. The result of the general election has given us a once in a generation opportunity to give TDs and Senators a real role in legislation and policy making.
Promote civil society participation – restore the disproportionate funding cuts to the community and voluntary sector.

A more equal society:
Housing and homelessness – ensure the next Government uses every lever at its disposal to address this crisis.
Equal access to education – diversify patronage to ensure parents can choose denominational or non-denominational schools.
Repeal the 8th Amendment – the Oireachtas should take responsibility for legislating on abortion.
Valuing caring – from childcare to eldercare we need support structures for quality care within and outside the family.

Global solidarity and human rights
Support for effective overseas aid, trade justice, Palestinian statehood and an approach to the migration crisis informed by our experience as an emigrant nation.

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Ed Davitt

I’m happy to be joining Barry Johnston, running on the NUI panel, on our Emigrant Manifesto in highlighting the issues facing the 1 in 6 Irish citizens living abroad, in particular their disenfranchisement. Ireland is one of the few modern democracies not to allow for postal or other forms of voting, with emigrants effectively losing their vote the day they leave the country. The university panel elections are the one exception to this exclusion, which is why Barry and I have decided to focus our campaigns there. I also want to tackle the issues facing those hoping to return, such as the housing crisis.

I’ve been working in the environmental sector for Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and with the Irish and European Green Parties, and would be a passionate and committed voice for its protection. I also think that we need to pay greater attention to European policy, rather than just at referendum time, if we’re to make the most of the possibilities of our membership, and to make the EU a more democratic and progressive voice in the world.

You can read my full platform here, and follow my campaign on facebook or twitter.

Eoin Meehan

We live in a world where we depend more and more on technology. We shop online, bank online, talk online. We work online, and socialise online. We plan our holidays online. We read online, keep our photographs online, and listen to music online. We use debit cards, Leap cards, and loyalty cards.

We get to places by using Google maps, and sat-nav. We don’t even look up books any more. We just “Google it”. This technology is a double-edged sword, in that it brings great benefits and convenience to our lives, but with an increasing violation of our individual personal privacy, and threats to our personal liberty. We leave a trail of data behind us detailing all our movements, purchases, transactions, conversations, and preferences.

The data is not the problem. It’s who has access to the data, what they use it for, and whether it is appropriate.

There is no-one in our Oireachtas with the extensive technology or internet expertise necessary to properly defend our privacy and rights in this increasingly technology-connected world.

I have worked in the IT industry for 35 years, with international companies like Intel and Dell, and national companies including Bank of Ireland. My broad range of IT technical knowledge and managerial experience has prepared me to be your representative in the Seanad. I have an MSc from TCD, I am a Chartered IT Professional, and a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society.

By electing me to the Seanad, you will ensure there is the appropriate technology expertise in our Oireachtas to counter the growing threat to our citizens' privacy and data protection. I will work to ensure a proper legislative environment to counter cyberbullying and cybercrime. I will work towards a safe internet environment for children, teens and vulnerable adults while protecting the rights of free-speech and expression.

I will work for a more equitable, caring society, ensuring the quality of life for all is the best it can be.

As a son, husband and father, I will work to ensure our public health service is properly funded, efficiently managed, free to use, and accessible to all. I believe that access to education should not be based on whether you adopt a particular religion. We are a modern, progressive society and the State must now ensure equality of access for all children to State funded schools. l will work to make accessible, affordable, child-care available. Apart from improving the quality of life for working parents, this is the single most important gender equality measure the State can provide.

From a national perspective, I will work to make sure Ireland continues to be the Digital Hub of Europe and the first-choice location for Internet businesses. This means we must ensure proper state investment in third-level education and research, and invest in digital technology infrastructure. Many of the major internet companies have established their headquarters in Ireland, so we must understand that laws we pass locally will affect millions of European internet users.

These are the issues I will work for - technical, social and national.

I would be honoured to represent the University of Dublin in the Seanad as a true independent. Please consider giving me your 1st preference vote. If you have another preferred candidate, please consider giving me your 2nd or further preference. For more information, please see my website at www.eoinmeehan.ie

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Sean Melly

After 10 years working in Finance in London & New York with leading institutions, he established and developed a number of successful telecommunications companies in the US, Ireland and Central Europe.  For almost 20 years, he has been working with and investing in Irish entrepreneurs, helping to launch many successful businesses, employing hundreds of people.

For the past decade, Sean Melly has been working with Trinity’s leadership to help strengthen the university’s future in the following key roles:

• Chairman Trinity Business School  (€70M raised for new School)
• Member Provost’s Council (Strategic advice to the Provost)
• Board Trinity Foundation (€400M raised for key College developments)
• Professor (adj.) MBA program (highly rated Corporate Finance course)

Sean believes there should be more experienced business people involved in government.  He wants to be a voice for business and his priorities include:

Business:

Creating a positive investment environment; Restructuring tax policy for entrepreneurs; Improving infrastructure to attract international investment

Universities:

Improving university quality and international ranking; Restructuring university funding; Increasing the autonomy of university management

Seanad Reform:

Increasing representation of experienced leaders; Enabling all Irish citizens to elect senators; increasing the powers of the Seanad

For more information visit: www.seanmelly.com

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David Norris

In order to ensure the independence of the Inquiry I cast my vote in favour of Senator Marc MacSharry of Fianna Fáil. This led to a great deal of consternation in the Government because it put the Inquiry outside the direct control of the Taoiseach. Stories were spun to the media that this was a Fianna Fail plot. It was nothing of the kind. Fianna Fail were caught on the hop like everyone else by my decision. In the event the Government nominated two extra members but my action did raise the issue of independence. We need answers to the various questions raised by the financial collapse. Despite economic progress the country is still reeling from being forced to pick up the gambling debts of the German and French banks.

Averil Power

Having studied Business at Trinity, she has a strong understanding of business and economics and often contributes to media debates on these issues. She is also well known for her advocacy work on social justice issues and was named 'Woman of the Year' in 2015 for her role in the marriage equality referendum. 

The Irish Times has praised her “strong ideals” and “excellent work ethic”, while Image Magazine has noted that she is “respected across the political divide for her empathy and skill at tackling some of the trickiest political issues”. 

Her work in the Senate has earned her respect and support across the entire spectrum of Irish life. Her supporters include Booker prize winning novelist John Banville, businesswoman Norah Casey, former President of Trinity Business Alumni Mark Ryan, Chairperson of Marriage Equality Gráinne Healy, CEO of the Headstrong mental health charity Dr. Tony Bates, former Vice Provost and Dean of Humanities Prof. Michael Marsh, former General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation John Carr and Chairperson of the board of Dublin Institute of Technology Prof. Tom Collins. 

With your number one vote, Averil will prioritise issues such as increasing investment in education, protecting Trinity’s reputation, promoting entrepreneurship, improving our mental health services, fighting for equality and protecting the environment. For more information about her campaign see www.facebook.com/SenatorAverilPower

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William Priestley

While completing my Masters in Education, I spent two years teaching at an underprivileged school in the U.S. before returning to Ireland where I worked at a DEIS school in Tallaght and, later, with the Irish Probation Services. I now direct youth services in one of Limerick City's most marginalised communities. I have dedicated my career to tackling disadvantage and inequality in the Irish education system and wider society. The breadth and depth of my experience make me uniquely qualified to be the Seanad's leading voice for change and reform.

Access:
A quarter of all Irish adults scored in the lowest level of literacy in the last International Adult Literacy Survey. We must prioritise ‘Life Long Learning' and invest in learning outside of the classroom. Creating a fairer third level grant scheme is essential if we are to truly make third level education accessible. I will prioritise supporting community access programmes; expanding and strengthen the Trinity Access Programme (TAP); raising the student grant to match welfare payments, where appropriate.

Education:
Empathy, creativity and teamwork are the future of education. We must adopt a more holistic approach to formal education. Many elements of our education system have not changed since Victorian times. We must embrace the importance of interpersonal and intrapersonal skills for the 21st century workplace. I will campaign for smaller class sizes for children and improved special needs support; promotion of mental health, resilience and mindfulness for young people; optional social service in lieu of third level registration fee

Innovation:
A smart economy is a green economy.  There is a huge opportunity to develop a lucrative green technology sector. There is currently no Green voice in the Oireachtas. In addition to the urgency of  climate change, I will set the agenda for economic development that is sustainable and profitable. I will campaign to establish a TCD Institute of Green Technologies; advance economic development of forestry, fisheries & organic industries; establish Ireland as the home of ‘Green’ cloud computing.

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Lynn Ruane

I grew up in the Killinarden area of Tallaght. As a child, I was bright and eager to learn. However, something happens to aspirational children growing up in underprivileged areas. As you move toward their teenage years, you begin to recognise that your parents and neighbours aren’t doctors or pilots and that begins to shape your idea of what is expected of you. I left school at sixteen as a young mother before returning to education through An Cosán, a community education project founded by Katherine Zappone in Tallaght.

After An Cosán, I studied for a diploma in addiction studies in ITT and spent the following fifteen years engaged in addition and community work in Tallaght and Bluebell. In the late 2000s, the community sector was ravaged by austerity cuts; cuts I was powerless to prevent. I knew I needed to progress with education to fight the injustice of the cuts to these vital services. As a result, I applied for and was successful in securing a place in Trinity College Dublin in 2011 through the Trinity Access Programme.

However, It was clear to me that this same injustice was alive and well in Trinity, amid a third level funding crisis of crushing proportions. In 2015, I ran for students’ union president on a platform of access and inclusivity and was elected. Throughout my presidency, I have fought for equality of access to education. However, a one-year presidency has not been long enough to effect the real change that education in Ireland desperately needs.

I ask for your first preference vote to allow me to continue to act as a champion of education within Seanad Éireann. Trinity has given all of its graduates an appreciation for the value of a world-class education. As a senator, I will fight to ensure those same opportunities for all.

To see my full manifesto, please visit – www.lynnruane.ie

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Anthony Staines

My priorities: A better, fairer, sustainable health service, with universal health care; Better lives for our children and young people; Better lives, and better services, for those with disabilities; Protecting and strengthening higher education; More accountability in public life and public service; Effective Seanad reform.

An effective voice for progress.

I’m a teacher, an activist, a researcher, and an academic. I’m a Dubliner, raised in Castleknock. I went to school in Belvedere. I’m from a political family. My great grandfather, on the Staines side, was an RIC officer. My grandfather, his son Michael, was a revolutionary, a politician, the founder of the Garda Siochána, and a senator. My father, also Michael, was a solicitor, and a life-long Fine Gael activist.

I'm a medical doctor, who graduated in 1984, did my intern year in the old Adelaide hospital in Peter St, and then trained in paediatrics in Dublin. I’m married to Una (Microbiology 1984), who is a science teacher. We moved to the UK, and I trained in public health in Yorkshire and London. We came back to Ireland in the late ‘90s, like so many others. We live in Skerries, in North Dublin, with our two children, one still at school, and one now studying in Trinity.

Since we came back I’ve worked in the universities, for ten years in UCD, and, since 2007, in DCU, where I am the first Professor of health systems. I’m an experienced researcher, a strong methodologist, and an expert data analyst, with over 150 papers published. Most of my work is on health policy and healthcare funding; child and adolescent health; cancer epidemiology; or autism and intellectual disability.

I’ve done a lot of work for the Irish government and HSE over the years, including work on environmental health, health service funding, and nursing. Most recently I worked on a desperately needed information and IT strategy for our health service.

I’ve also been a patient here. I developed a very rare cancer, a carcinoid, which was diagnosed in 1999. I needed a liver transplant to survive, and thanks to the courage and generosity of a family I’ll never meet, I was lucky enough to receive one in St. Vincents.

I’m an experienced director, and I’ve served (pro bono) on several boards, including the Higher Education Authority, and the Health Insurance Authority. Currently I chair two, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, and Quality Matters, a small NGO, which supports other charities giving social care to people with drug, alcohol or mental health problems. I’m also on the Council of the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care.

I’m a political and social activist, as well as a researcher. Over the years, I’ve taken part in public debates and discussions about healthcare quality, alcohol, tobacco, obesity, primary care, health funding, and other health topics. I’ve also been a trade union activist. I’ve worked with many community groups to respond to the health and environmental impacts of large scale development. I worked for the Yes side in the 2015 marriage equality referendum. I’m a Fine Gael supporter. I will sit as an independent, and I will not take any party whip, if you do me the honour of electing me.

I know the limited powers of the Seanad, and I understand how to work with others to influence change. Since the Seanad was set up in 1922, the Trinity senators have been effective voices for progress in Ireland. If you choose to elect me, I will be the same.
To learn more go to my website, http://astaines.eu/, follow me on Twitter (@astaines), LinkedIn (astaines) or FaceBook (Anthony.Staines.IE).

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Ethna Tinney

In December 2000 after a public competition I was appointed as a non-executive director to the board of the Educational Building Society. After a couple of years I became increasingly unhappy with the direction in which the board was taking the Society.  By 2007 there was open war which spilled into the public arena.  I was ousted at that year’s annual general meeting but in April 2008 the members of the Society voted me back on the board as Ireland’s banking crisis began to unfold, and I remained there until May 2011. In July 2015 I was summoned to give testimony to the Oireachtas Banking Enquiry during its closing stages and that is available on oireachtas.ie.
The Irish banks fleeced the people of Ireland with the assistance of successive governments who protected those banks from the consequences of their recklessness by guaranteeing not just the depositors but also the bond-holders.  This has placed an enormous burden on Irish taxpayers and also on people who rely on social services and the health and education systems here as these are being eroded by government to facilitate the repayment of the debts racked up by the banks.  Some valiant politicians are taking on the government about both the constitutionality of the September 2008 guarantee and the secretive way in which deals are being done by NAMA with apparently bankrupt developers, with the IBRC and with some of its debtors.
But my main concern is that the banks are continuing to operate in precisely the same way as they did before they crashed.  It seems they believe that they will be bailed out again if they fail again.  In a properly-functioning economy, market forces dictate deposit rates.  Not in Ireland, where the banks operate as a protected cartel and currently offer depositors derisory interest rates, while at the same time, charging exorbitant rates on mortgages. Where are all their profits going? 

Since successive governments have shown no appetite to rein in the banks, I am standing for the Senate in the Dublin University constituency as an independent candidate in order to attempt to persuade the incoming government to regulate the banks effectively, to strictly control management bonuses, to change the artifice of current accounting conventions, to segregate commercial banks from their investment arms, and to enforce a significant increase in the equity of each bank. A related matter is the current imposition of large fees on students at third-level colleges, which the outgoing government seemed to plan to increase substantially.  It is ironic that government wants to shovel money into the banks, which means it can’t properly fund third-level institutions, which in turn means that students and their hard-pressed families have to undertake crippling loans from those same banks. 
From 1972 to 1976 I was a student at Trinity College and graduated with a B.A Moderatorship in English and French. During my time there I sang with College Singers, was a scholar in the Chapel Choir, and played both piano and flute in the TCD Choral Society orchestra.  In my final year I was the Trinity Singles Lady Tennis Champion. After four years of piano studies in London I returned to Dublin in 1980 and have had a varied career as a concert pianist, as conductor and manager of the orchestra Classical Graffiti and as a broadcaster on radio and television. In 1999 I joined the staff of the fledgling RTE classical music station lyric fm as a producer and remained there for thirteen years, from which I retired early in 2012. So if elected I am in a position to give Seanad Éireann my undivided attention and effort. Therefore I am asking you to vote for me.  Many thanks.

Ethna Tinney