Higher Education (Seanad constituency)

{{Infobox constituency

| name = Higher Education

| type = Seanad

| year =

| future = yes

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| towns =

| members_label = Senators

| members =

| seats = 6

| previous = {{ubl|Dublin University|National University}}

}}

The Higher Education constituency is a future university constituency with an electorate comprising graduates of institutions of higher education in the Republic of Ireland which will elect six members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). The constituency will replace the separate three-seat Dublin University and National University of Ireland constituencies at the next Seanad general election, which will follow the next general election to Dáil Éireann (the lower house), due by January 2030.

Background

From 1937, the Constitution of Ireland provided that of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, three were to be elected by the National University of Ireland (NUI) and three were to be elected by Dublin University. This was regulated by the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937. In 1979 when the dissolution of the NUI was being considered, the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution was approved which mandated expansion of the franchise to other institutions of higher education in the State, in substitution for the number provided, and allowing the dissolution of the NUI or the University of Dublin. Plans to dissolve the NUI ultimately did not progress, instead reforms made the NUI a federal university, and no amendment was made to the legislation to enfranchise any other institution. Despite a number of attempts over decades in the Dáil and Seanad to give effect to the Seventh Amendment, no amending legislation was progressed and enacted until 2024.

In December 2019, Tomás Heneghan, a graduate of the University of Limerick, challenged his exclusion from the Seanad franchise on both the university panels and the vocational panels. He initially represented himself as a lay litigant, with the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) joining his case and representing him from February 2020. In November 2021, the High Court dismissed his claim.{{Cite BAILII|litigants=Heneghan v. Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government|court=IEHC|num=716|year=2021}} On appeal, limited to the university franchise, in March 2023, the Supreme Court found that the limitation of the franchise in sections 6 and 7 of 1937 Act was unconstitutional as the Seventh Amendment had mandated the expansion of the franchise rather than merely permitting the Oireachtas to expand the franchise. In a separate judgment in July 2023, it suspended the declaration of invalidity to 31 May 2025.{{Cite BAILII|litigants=Heneghan v. Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government|court=IESC|num=18|year=2023}}

Under the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024, at any Seanad general election held after 31 March 2025, a new constituency named Higher Education will elect six senators.{{Cite ISB|title=Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024|year=2024|number=40|section=6|stitle=Constituency and electors|date=29 October 2024}}{{cite press release |title=Government approve legislation to extend electorate for Seanad University seats |date=10 September 2024 |publisher=Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage |url=https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/05efd-government-approve-legislation-to-extend-electorate-for-seanad-university-seats/ |website=Government of Ireland}}

Following engagement with Heneghan, 53 members of the Dáil voted against the 2024 Act, including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit–Solidarity, Independent Ireland and a number of independent TDs, with Sinn Féin TD Denise Mitchell telling the Dáil "the Government has missed a huge opportunity with this Bill. It has taken what the Supreme Court found and interpreted it in the narrowest of ways...It is the Government's call, and the record will show that it was on the wrong side and acting in the interests of the elites and not in the interests of democracy" and the Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan saying "I urge the Government at this late stage to withdraw these tweaks and as quickly as possible in the next Oireachtas to bring forward meaningful change and stop excluding such a large part of our population from their democratic say simply on the basis of who holds a degree. It is completely and utterly indefensible." 72 TDs voted in favour of the legislation, including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, and a number of Independent TDs, including former Fine Gael TD Peter Fitzpatrick, former Progressive Democrats TD Noel Grealish, former Fianna Fáil TD Marc MacSharry, and Cathal Berry.

Franchise

A person shall be entitled to be registered as an elector in the register of electors if he or she:{{Cite ISB|title=Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Act 2024|year=2024|number=40|section=7|stitle=Franchise|date=29 October 2024}}

(a) has been awarded a degree by, or obtained a degree from, an institution that is a designated institution, or an institution that has been dissolved and the functions of which have been transferred to an institution that is a designated institution,
(b) is a citizen of Ireland, and
(c) has attained the age of eighteen years.

There is no requirement to be resident in Ireland, so electors living outside Ireland may vote. The first register of electors for this constituency came into effect on 1 April 2025. The registration authority on behalf of all the institutions is the National University of Ireland. Those registered on the Dublin University and National University registers of electors were not auto-enrolled onto the Higher Education register of electors and must apply for registration as electors in the new constituency.

From 2026 onwards the voter registration deadline will be 26 February each year with the register coming into effect on 1 June. There is no supplementary register provided for in the legislation.