Seanad seat looms for Boyle

DAN BOYLE’S immediate political future is inextricably linked to the outcome of last night’s Green Party conference.

Mr Boyle, 44, was one of the surprise casualties in the general election, losing his seat in the Cork South Central constituency.

His loss was a significant blow to the Greens, given that he was finance spokesman and had developed the party’s economic policies for the last number of years.

Those policies helped the Greens recast its image as a fiscally responsible, economically literate party.

Mr Boyle’s importance to the Greens was emphasised by the fact that he was appointed one of the three-member team to negotiate with Fianna Fáil on the formation of a government, despite losing his seat.

Most TDs who lose their seats return to their previous professions. Some, however, enter the Seanad.

Mr Boyle, a former community youth worker, is expected to opt for the latter route. Unlike many would-be senators, he would not have to seek a nomination and contest the Seanad elections.

The Taoiseach has the right to nominate 11 people of his choosing to the Senad, and, given the Fianna Fáil-Green deal, Mr Boyle is expected to be one of the nominees.

With the likelihood that the Greens will get two junior ministries in the government, Mr Boyle may even have a chance of being a member of the administration.

As a general rule, ministers are drawn from the ranks of the Dáil. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Finance Minister must all be TDs, but those positions aside, there is nothing to prevent Bertie Ahern appointing a senator to a ministry.

That means Mr Boyle could be given a junior ministry, and would prove a remarkable turnaround given his surprise defeat in the election. It would also prove highly ironic should the Taoiseach prove responsible for keeping Mr Boyle in Leinster House.

Prior to the election, Mr Boyle was one of Fianna Fáil’s most frequent critics, at one point insisting: “It is time to vote these wasters out.”