Labour Party senators to meet

The new Labour Party Seanad group will meet for the first time today.

The six senators – Dominic Hannigan (Meath East), Alan Kelly (Tipperary North), Michael McCarthy (Cork South West), Phil Prendergast (Tipperary South), Brendan Ryan (Dublin North) and Alex White (Dublin South) – will gather in Leinster House to discuss the upcoming session.

Mr White became the first candidate to be elected last week when he topped the poll in the Cultural and Education Panel with 161 votes, a welcome boost for the party after its poor general election performance.

The meeting comes a fortnight after party leader Pat Rabbitte signalled a major internal probe into where the party is going after what he admitted was a disappointing result.

He was speaking at the annual Tom Johnson Summer School in Galway city.

The senators will also meet with deputy leader Liz McManus TD.