Restaurants Association of Ireland chief Adrian Cummins to contest Seanad elections

Restaurants Association of Ireland chief Adrian Cummins will contest the Seanad elections.

Mr Cummins has been a vocal opponent of the Government’s decision to increase the VAT rate for the hospitality sector from nine per cent to 13.5 per cent following a temporary cut in the rate.

He also lobbied for the lower rate to be restored during Budget 2025, holding a large rally outside Leinster House with hospitality owners from across the country.

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Mr Cummins will contest a seat on the industrial and commercial panel in the Seanad. He has been CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland since January 2009.

He previously contested the 2004 local elections for Fianna Fail in Loughrea, Co Galway, and received 4.7% of the vote.

The RAI is one of the nominating bodies that can put forward candidates for the industrial and commercial panel. Mr Cummins will be one of the candidates seeking to win one of nine seats up for grabs on the industrial and commercial panel during the Seanad election.

Several seats have already been vacated due to the election of Fianna Fail’s Catherine Ardagh, Fine Gael’s Micheal Carrigy and Barry Ward and the Labour Party’s Mark Wall to the Dail following last month’s election.

The Oireachtas website states that the industrial and commercial panel includes “people having knowledge and practical experience of the following interests and services, namely, industry and commerce, including banking, finance, accountancy, engineering, and architecture”.

Other nominations for this panel so far include outgoing Fianna Fail Senator Aidan Davitt and outgoing Independent Sharon Keogan.

Fine Gael has nominated former Senator Tony Mulcahy, while the Irish League of Credit Unions has nominated Vanessa Foran to run.

This is one of the five “vocational panels” in the Seanad, alongside the cultural and educational panel, the agriculture panel, the labour panel and the administrative panel.

Another cohort of senators is picked by the Taoiseach, while graduates of Trinity College Dublin vote for three members of the Trinity College panel.

Another three senators are elected by graduates of the National University of Ireland, including UCD, UCC, NUI Maynooth and the University of Galway.

Voting in the Seanad elections will take place on January 30. Only a certain cohort of people can vote for senators who will sit on vocational panels.

This includes members of the incoming Dail, members of the outgoing Seanad and members of county councils, city councils and city and county councils.

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