Outgoing Galway West TD and Minister of State Seán Kyne has been appointed to the Seanad as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s nominee.
The Taoiseach has appointed Kyne to the Seanad to fill the vacancy left by Frankie Feighan after he was elected as a TD for Sligo-Leitrim.
The move to the other house comes after Kyne lost his seat in Galway West in the general election.
Though he lost his seat, Seán Kyne is continuing in his role as Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and the Islands in a caretaker function until a new government is formed.
He served two terms in the Dáil before losing out in recent weeks, having first been elected in 2011, and the returned to his seat in 2016.
He is one of the few candidates who will not have to be elected to the Seanad as the Taoiseach is able to nominate 11 candidates.
The outgoing Seanad continues in session after a general election, which is why someone had to be put forward to fill the seat vacated by Feighan.
