Mairia Cahill set to take Seanad seat today

Mairia Cahill is set to be elected to the Seanad today.

The Belfast woman who revealed her sexual abuse at the hands of an IRA member was nominated by the Labour Party to fill the seat vacated by Jimmy Harte.

Last night she addressed questions raised in recent weeks about her membership of a dissident Republican group.

Four candidates have contested this by-election with only TDs and Senators having a vote. The candidates were Mairia Cahill, Independent and former Fianna Fáil campaigner Jerry Beades, Sinn Féin-nominated Councillor Sinead Burke, and Fianna Fáil-nominated Keith Swanick.

However, Mairia Cahill's election is certain as she will secure the votes of Labour and Fine Gael TDs and Senators.

She ran into controversy over her role in the group Republican Network for Unity - where she served as its national secretary for a few hours in 2010. She says she was associated with the group for no longer than six months.

Breaking her silence on the matter in an interview on RTE radio last night after polls closed, Mairia Cahill apologised for joining the dissident group saying it was at a vulnerable point in her life, and said she no longer considered herself to be a Republican.

Counting of votes gets underway at 11am this morning, with a result expected before lunchtime.