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Dermot Cantillon draws on the positives after failed Seanad election bid

Naas racecourse chairman and well-known breeder stood as an independent

Dermot Cantillon: frustrated about such a key element of decision-making
Dermot Cantillon: worked hard canvassing the electorateCredit: Conor Healy Photography (no repro fee)

Naas racecourse chairman and Tinnakill House Stud owner Dermot Cantillon is accentuating the positives after failing in his attempt to get elected to the Seanad, the upper house of the Irish legislature.

Cantillon, who ran as an independent candidate, was unsuccessful in securing one of 11 seats on the Agricultural vocational panel and expressed frustration at the convoluted nature of the electoral process.

But he said overall it was a worthwhile experience that had allowed him to forge relationships with key figures in Irish politics.

Cantillon secured 27 first preference votes from the panel, which comprises county councillors, outgoing senators and TDs [members of Dáil Éireann, the lower legislative house in Ireland], surviving to the eighth count when he was eliminated on 30 votes.

“It was always going to be difficult although I didn't think it was impossible,” said Cantillon of his bid to become one of the 43 out of 60 members of the Seanad with specialist sectoral expertise.

“It's a very convoluted and complicated process. After I was given the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association nomination, on the basis I would speak up for the racing and breeding industries among other rural issues, I had to canvass the electorate of around 1,150 members for their votes.

“Obviously I couldn't meet all of them but I targeted those who were likely to lend their support, particularly those in rural areas.

“By and large I got a good reception in the country but it's nearly impossible to make contact with councillors in the Dublin region – I've no relationships there and people weren't returning my calls."

Cantillon explained that the nature of the election process meant there were obstacles to an independent winning the vote.

“I felt after a lot of positive meetings that I had a chance of getting votes, but then other unsuccessful candidates probably felt the same way," he said.

“Politicians being politicians they probably found it easier to say to me, 'what a great idea, I'll give you my number one vote', rather than state the truth: that this is the domain of the political class.

“Politicians vote along party lines and for their own representatives even though it's a secret ballot, and a lot of other independent candidates were politically aligned.”

Cantillon said he was unlikely to make another attempt at being elected to the Seanad while it operated in its present state.

“We had a referendum in Ireland in 2013 asking whether it should be abolished,” he explained. “The people voted narrowly for keeping it and afterwards there was a lot of talk about reforming it and making it less elitist and more democratic, but that hasn't happened.

“I wouldn't try to get elected again unless the whole system was finally changed to make it fairer for an independent candidate to compete with the politicians.”

Regardless, Cantillon insisted that the experience was worthwhile.

He said: “The big positive is that I got to meet a lot of people in the Oireachtas [the legislature of Ireland] and have developed relationships with key individuals in Irish politics who are sympathetic to the industry, so I'm now in a position to influence more people to press our cause.

“Engaging with people to make the case for our industry is something that has never intimidated me.”


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