DUBLIN WEST BYELECTION:LABOUR WILL return to the Dáil this week with an enhanced party of 38 TDs following Patrick Nulty's Dublin West byelection win.
The victory also makes Labour the first Government party in almost 30 years to take a byelection after Fianna Fáil’s Noel Treacy took Galway East in 1982.
Tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore described Mr Nulty’s success as a “fabulous result” for the party, which now has two seats in the constituency.
In his acceptance speech Mr Nulty (28), who opposed joining with Fine Gael to form the Coalition, reminded those present that the byelection was because of Brian Lenihan’s death, “who is remembered with great fondness”. The result means that Fianna Fáil has no TDs in the Dublin area.
At the Citywest count centre the party was ecstatic about its byelection showing. Mr Nulty won on the fifth and final count with 17,636 votes, against 11,590 votes for Fianna Fáil councillor David McGuinness (25), a music teacher.
A senior Fianna Fáil party member said “we’re not breaking out the champagne yet, but we are back in the game” after the party’s general election drubbing. The candidate was “blown away” by his performance and said the Fianna Fáil fightback “starts now”.
In the general election, as running mate to Mr Lenihan, Mr McGuinness received just 623 first preference votes while the party’s overall showing was 16.59 per cent. Mr McGuinness said the party’s “22 per cent of the vote is ours and ours alone”.
Director of elections Seán Ó Fearghaíl said surpassing the 16.6 per cent vote to almost 22 per cent “means an awful lot to us”.
Mr Nulty was the bookies’ favourite. He is a housing policy analyst for homeless charity Focus Ireland and had been expected to win from the earliest tallies on Friday morning. But it took until almost 3am on Saturday for his win to be declared, following a challenge by the Socialist party.
Its candidate, secondary school teacher Cllr Ruth Coppinger (43), was just 18 votes behind Mr McGuinness on the fourth count after the elimination of Fine Gael candidate Cllr Eithne Loftus. Socialist TD Joe Higgins requested a full recount.
That showed errors in transfers and put Ms Coppinger and Mr McGuinness in a dead heat. Returning officer John Fitzpatrick invoked section 122 of the Electoral Act which provides for the candidate with most first preference votes to go through. Mr McGuinness was 200 votes ahead on the first count.
Afterwards Ms Coppinger said the result was “no ringing endorsement” of the Government and that Fine Gael had “imploded”.
Ms Loftus (68) trailed in fourth for Fine Gael with 14.74 per cent and secured just 681 transfers before her elimination.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar rejected claims he had used his influence to have a byelection candidate who would be no threat to him at the next general election.
“I can absolutely understand why people believe that, but it’s absolutely not true,” he said.
Sinn Féin candidate Paul Donnelly got 9 per cent of the vote while the Green Party’s Roderic O’Gorman also improved his standing from 1.42 per cent in February to 5 per cent. Thirteen candidates stood for election including seven Independents.
