Government parties take both Seanad seats in by-elections

The margin of victories showed that the coalition Government is strong enough to last its five-year term, said Tánaiste Leo Varadkar

Maria Byrne and Gerry Horkan are the newly elected senators to Seanad Éireann. Picture: Maxwells

The Government has taken both seats in the Seanad by-elections, with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar saying that the margin of victories showed that the coalition Government is strong enough to last its five-year term.

Voting in the by-elections for the seats on the agriculture and industrial panels, vacated by the resignations of Fine Gael's Michael D'Arcy and Sinn Féin's Elisha McCallion, took place over recent weeks, with 218 TDs and senators casting ballots.