Paschal Canice Mooney
Paschal Canice Mooney (born 14 October 1947) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and a member of Seanad Éireann. A journalist and broadcaster, he was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, on the Cultural and Educational Panel. He retained his seat at each subsequent election until losing it at the 2007 election to the 23rd Seanad. He was re-elected to Seanad Éireann on the Agricultural Panel in a Seanad by-election on 19 January 2010.
Political Career[edit]
He was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, on the Cultural and Educational Panel as a nominee of the Library Association of Ireland (LAI). He retained his seat at each subsequent election until losing it in the 2007 election. He was a member of Leitrim County Council from 1991–1999. Mooney also served as a delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union 1998 to 2002 and subsequently was a member of the Irish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 2002–08.
He was appointed a member of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) in 1997 and served until 2007. Mooney returned to the BIPA in 2011 and also sits on the North/South Parliamentary Body which meets twice yearly in Belfast and Dublin and is the representative of the Stormont Assembly and Oireachtas. In April 2008, Mooney was nominated to the position of Chairman of Fáilte Ireland North West, one of five Regional Tourism Boards in Ireland charged with promoting their regions and attracting tourists.
Mooney was selected as running mate to Seán Ó Neachtain as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 2009 European Parliament election for the North-West constituency. Following the announcement by O'Neachtain that he was not contesting the election due to health reasons, Pat the Cope Gallagher was nominated to contest the constituency as Mooney's Fianna Fáil running mate. On 19 January 2010 Mooney was elected on the first count in a Seanad by-election caused by the death of Senator Peter Callanan in October 2009.
As a result he took a seat on the Agricultural panel in the 23rd Seanad returning after an absence of two and a half years. He was re-elected at the 2011 Seanad election. He is the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Social Protection. He is also a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agricultural and the Joint Committee on Transport, Energy and Communications.
