Former Sinn Féin MP, Elisha McCallion has been elected to Seanad Éireann to serve on the senate's Industrial and Commercial panel.
Senator McCallion (37) topped the poll on the first count. However, she struggled to pick up transfers and was eventually the last to be elected on the final count, coming in under quota.
The Derry woman served as MP for the city until December last after defeating former SDLP leader, Mark Durkan in an historic Westminster victory in 2017. However, her tenure as MP was short-lived as she lost the seat to a landslide victory by current SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood. Mr Eastwood recorded a massive 17,110 majority over the outgoing Sinn Féin MP.
A former mayor of Derry and a former assembly member, Senator McCallion said she was delighted to be elected to the Seanad. She said she was joining the biggest Sinn Féin electoral team across the island of Ireland.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that the people of the North have another voice in the Oireachtas standing up for their interests.
“Our immediate priority is dealing with the ongoing public health emergency and taking steps to protect the public right across the island and to stop the spread of Covid-19,” the Derry senator said.
The current pandemic was an unprecedented crisis and the necessary steps to combat it would undoubtedly impact on the lives of workers, families and local businesses, she said.
Senator McCallion said: “It’s vital that protections already put in place, including financial support for cross border workers, are made available to workers who live in the North.”
Sinn Féin would continue to press the Irish government to extend its Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment scheme to people who lived in the North but worked in the Republic.
Senator McCallion was one of three northerners who contested the Seanad election. Unionist and former Ulster Farmers’ Union president, Ian Marshall failed in his bid to be re-elected to the Agriculture Panel.
Derry writer and campaigner, Garbhan Downey stood for the National University of Ireland panel to highlight the campaign for an independent cross border university for the north west of Ireland. While he failed to be elected, Mr Downey, a former Irish News journalist, said he achieved what he set out to do by placing the university campaign at the centre of the political agenda.
