Main Points
- Election 2024 counting is complete with all 174 seats now filled after Cavan-Monaghan called final results late on Monday night. In the new Dáil, Fianna Fáil will have the most seats (48), followed by Sinn Féin (39) and Fine Gael (38).
- Results hub: See the live results for all 43 constituencies
And that brings tonight’s live election blog to an end too – but our coverage of what comes next, and one might be tempted to say things are only heating up, will continue apace in the days and weeks ahead.
So with the conclusion of Cavan-Monaghan, the 2024 election count comes to an end, and yet the politics is only starting. Here is a run-through of how things stand in the next Dáil Éireann:
A range of Independent TDs are contemplating the prospect of entering Ireland’s next coalition government as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael consider ways to secure a solid majority.
Three long days of counting in the general election finished late on Monday night when the final two seats were declared in the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan.
Fianna Fáil was the clear winner of the election, securing 48 of the Dáil’s 174 seats.
Sinn Féin took 39 and Fine Gael 38.
Here is a complete constituency break down
Here is a coalition building tool to see who might make up the numbers
Labour and the Social Democrats both won 11 seats; People Before Profit-Solidarity took three; Aontú secured two; and the Green Party retained only one of its 12 seats. Independents and others accounted for 21 seats.
The return of a Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael-led coalition is now highly likely.
However, their combined seat total of 86 leaves them just short of the 88 needed for a majority in the Dáil. – PA
In a final count centre dispatch for 2024, here’s Seanín Graham from Cavan-Monaghan:
In a repeat performance of the 2020 general election, the Cavan-Monaghan constituency was the last to declare following a marathon 44-hour count.
And just like last time, the line-up remains the same in this five-seater with two Sinn Féin, two Fianna Fáil and one Fine Gael returned.
The only difference is the personalities.
Sinn Féin’s former TD Pauline Tully was the most high-profile election casualty, losing her seat after the party’s gamble of fielding three candidates failed to pay off.
Her running mate Matt Carthy topped the poll to retain his seat with more than 15,000 votes – though it took until the twelfth count to get him over the line.
In his acceptance speech, Carthy described it as a “bittersweet” moment following the “devastating” departure of Tully.
First-time Sinn Féin candidate, Monaghan theatre manager Cathy Bennett, got in on the thirteenth count, and a singsong of Óró Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile erupted among her supporters in the Cavan Leisure Centre.
Fine Gael’s David Maxwell was the only candidate to exceed the 11,542 quota and the first to be elected shortly after 4am on Monday. He replaces the party’s veteran TD and Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys, who announced her surprise retirement in October.
Fine Fáil’s sitting TDs, Niamh Smyth and Brendan Smyth, were the final two elected on the fourteenth count at 9.50pm on Monday evening. Neither reached the quota.
Who needs fantasy football when you can select your own fantasy government? We think of everything here so why not give it a go.
Check out our Election 2024 Coalition builder tool – select the parties or individual Independent TDs of your choice to create the kind of administration you can only dream of. Just don’t stay up all night, it’s Monday.
Fine Gael’s Neale Richmond isn’t much of a sport either when it comes to the next taoiseach question – he’s pretty sure nobody in the Katie Hannon debate is thinking about it.
“We have a process to follow within Fine Gael. We’re a democratic open party. Our taoiseach, our party leader, will have to seek a mandate from the parliamentary party on Wednesday to actually seek to enter negotiations,” he says.
“And then there will, I hope, be discussions with like-minded parties and individuals that is based around policy. It’s very easy to be cynical about politics and say it’s all about positions and it’s all about baubles but actually it’s about making changing and improving people’s lives.”
Oh, but hold on, it’s also – interjects Katie Hannon – about positions and baubles a lot of the time. No?
“I think this is unfair,” says Richmond (perhaps to little sympathy), “… I understand [people’s] frustration and the last thing they want to think is that people went to the polls last week and the sole concern in our heads was who’s going to be taoiseach. It’s not; it is about policy.”
Marie Sherlock has said that unlike other parties, Labour has been talking about trying to form common platform with like-minded parties. But to do what? Well, ultimately there is power in numbers, she says, that can help hammer out a deal – essential when facing up against “two big beasts”. That’s Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, in case anyone missed it.
Can we talk turkey Jack Chambers, asks Katie Hannon. He is stern faced but he knows what’s coming – what is the make-up of the next government?
Well, says Mr Chambers, first off Fianna Fáil have to talk with the 19 new TDs they have this time around. Then, he says, they will think about policy and how to “make further progress” on issues including housing. That might jar a bit with many of those who, let’s face it, won’t be in the next government.
So you won’t be talking about who is the next taoiseach and who will be ministers, Katie asks?
“The key is policy; the key is substance over the next five years where we can maximise the mandate,” says Jack Chambers, refusing to take any bait.
Fianna Fáil’s Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth have become the final two TDs elected to the Dáil, and the marathon length Cavan-Monaghan count is at an end.
Oh, a final vote here in Cavan-Monaghan...
On Upfront With Katie Hannon, Labour’s Marie Sherlock has said she was not shocked at the vote Gerry Hutch attracted, due to the level of frustration among the public. “I don’t think worry is the word,” she said of the close call in her election (she almost lost out to Hutch). Interesting that in interviewing the successful Ms Sherlock, much of the attention still falls on the defeated Hutch. “I think the first thing to say is that he got 3,000 votes and that has to be respected,” Ms Sherlock said.
“I have not decided on my future but will make my position known sooner rather than later,” said shocked and disappointed, and now former, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell who was among those who lost their seats.
But, writes Marie O’Halloran and John Fallon, a number of such former TDs may now be looking toward the Seanad lifeboat.
Outgoing Senators’ phones are busy as seatless politicians check the lie of the land and look to the success of a number of former TDs turned Senators who are now back in the lower chamber.
They include Fianna Fáil’s Malcolm Byrne and Timmy Dooley and Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer. Outgoing Senators making their first appearance in the Dáil include Fianna Fáil’s Catherine Ardagh and Erin McGreehan, Michael Carrigy, John Cummins, Emer Currie and Barry Ward, as well as Labour’s Mark Wall.
Meanwhile, Gráinne Seoige has said she wants to take a break before deciding if she is to remain in politics after a bruising maiden voyage in Galway West where she failed to make an impact despite major backing from Fianna Fáil headquarters.
The 51-year old rejected suggestions she was parachuted in as a celebrity candidate, reports John Fallon.
“I reject completely that supposition because it’s just not true,” she said during a brief visit to the Galway West count centre. “There’s no parachute. And the celebrity thing is a tag and it’s not a nice one because it makes somebody out to be without substance. And I have plenty of substance and the Tánaiste himself said I was a substantive candidate.
“I have been taking stuff like this since I entered the media in 1996. I am well used to labels. It’s something that happens to women all over society and women in politics even more.”
Ms Seoige, who pointed out that she had been nominated at grassroots level, was disappointed at her poor showing in the polls where she picked up less than 5 per cent of the first preference vote among 17 candidates.
“Nobody achieves anything in this life unless they leave their comfort zone, and I did that. And that’s something I’ll always bring with me. And you never know what’s going to happen in the future.”
Well, while we await the final, final votes in this weekend (and then some) long election count, we can remind ourselves about what we know of the new TDs and what might happen in the coming days and weeks in terms of forming a new government. It is, remember, a numbers game – parties can say what they like but a new coalition requires at least 88 TDs. As political editor Pat Leahy explains “the only coalition game in town will be based on the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael combination”. Here is his walk through on where things stand.
Speaking to The Irish Times after he was elected in Louth on the 20th count, Labour’s Ged Nash said he felt the party was “vindicated” because the party’s vote was up by a third compared to 2020, Jade Wilson reports.
“People responded to our message that the state should take a bigger role in people’s lives to address the problems we have around housing, climate…”
He said it was “time the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and perhaps some others sit down to try to agree and consider a way forward”, before Labour would speak to any other parties about government formation.
Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy has retained his seat in Cavan-Monaghan following the twelfth count, Seanín Graham reports.
A Tricolour was unfurled at Cavan Leisure Centre as Carthy’s poll topping result was announced shortly before 6pm.
The 47-year-old was elected on count 12 after picking up more than 4,000 transfers from running mate and former TD, Pauline Tully.
Carthy’s votes totalled 15,140.
In what is the last constituency in the country to declare, four candidates remain in the race for three seats.
Carthy’s other running mate, first-time candidate Cathy Bennett, is likely to be returned in the next count when she will benefit from his surplus of more than 3,500 votes.
Two Fianna Fáil incumbents, Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth, along with Aontú's Sarah O’Reilly, are the other three remaining candidates.
O’Reilly is likely to be knocked out at the next stage.
Ireland’s youngest TD ‘extremely honoured’ to be elected
Back to Cork North-Central where Ireland’s youngest TD, Labour’s Eoghan Kenny (24) said he is “extremely honoured” to be elected after People Before Profit’s Mick Barry conceded following a recount of some 40,000 ballots.
“There’s a real need for a new generation of politicians to tackle the very issues that we are facing in housing, healthcare, childcare and many different issues across the board.
“Of course, being the youngest TD in Dáil Éireann is a real privilege and hopefully we’ll set the world alight with the Labour Party,” he said.
Mr Kenny said his party is “alive and kicking” across the country, and wishes to provide the “necessary change this country needs”.
Asked by Barry Roche if he believes Labour should go into a coalition with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, Mr Kenny reiterated his party leader’s plan to first speak with “centre-left parties who share the same values and policies and positions that we have.”
Some photos coming in from the Louth count where Fine Gael’s Paula Butterly, Labour’s Ged Nash and Fianna Fáil’s Erin McGreehan filled the remaining three seats.
Following his election in Louth, Labour TD Ged Nash said he does not believe “that anybody votes for anybody to go into opposition.”
“And if people do, they have plenty of opportunities to that, we’re a party of government, that’s what we’re focused on and we want to be part of the next government,” he said.
He said his party had been “written off and vilified” in the past “because we put the country first.”
“When we’re looking at government formation, people need to reflect on that, the message they were given by the electorate.
“If you want to make this country better, there’s one way of doing that and that’s to be in government, to put your money where your mouth is, to put your ideas into action and to see them implemented,” he said.
After conceding defeat in Cork North-Central and losing his seat, People Before Profit’s Mick Barry has urged the Social Democrats and the Labour Party not to prop up a Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael coalition.
“They should learn the lessons of what happened to the Greens.
“When smaller left parties, progressive parties go into government with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, especially as junior partners, it’s the progressive agenda that gets stamped on and those parties get damaged as well,” he said.
Mr Barry urged the Social Democrats and Labour to talk to Sinn Féin, People Before Profit-Solidarity and left wing independents, adding that if numbers are not sufficient to form a government, they should form a “serious and strong left opposition”.
“It should be an opposition that doesn’t just oppose the government in the Dáil, but opposes the government through campaigning work on the streets, like we saw with the water charges campaign, there is a crying need for a campaign of that character in relation to housing,” he said.
Ged Nash (LAB), Paula Butterly (FG) and Erin McGreehan (FF) are the final 3 TDs elected in Louth following the 20th count, Jade Wilson reports.
Mick Barry concedes
People Before Profit’s Mick Barry has now conceded in Cork North-Central after the gap between him and Labour councillor Eoghan Kenny had widened from 35 votes to 39 after 40,000 papers were examined, Barry Roche reports.
Speaking to reporters after conceding and losing his seat, Mr Barry said he and his team gave it their “best shot”.
“I think Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would be making a mistake if they felt that, with just over 40 per cent of the vote in less than a 60 per cent poll, that they’ve got a mandate,” he said.
Mr Barry believes that younger people affected by the housing crisis who do not feel as though their voices will be heard in the Dáil could take the housing issue “onto the streets in the way that water charges was in the past.”
Mary Lou McDonald, meanwhile, has been in touch with the leaders of the Social Democrats and Labour, according to Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin.
“The outcome of the election is now clear. The numbers are there for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to form a government together. It looks like Micheál Martin is intent on bringing Fine Gael in as a junior party for the next five years. This would be the worst possible outcome for the people of the country.
“It would be disastrous for people who need housing, for people who are on hospital trolleys, for people who are suffering with the cost of living crisis, for young people who are considering leaving Ireland because they see no future here.
“People need a government that will sort out all of that.
“Today we have made contact with the leaders of the Social Democrats and Labour Party and we will be contacting the other progressive TDs and groupings this week.
“Our new increased parliamentary team will meet on Wednesday in Leinster House with Mary Lou McDonald and we will assess where we take things at that stage,” he said in a statement.
Former Labour Party leader Alan Kelly and Fianna Fáil newcomer Ryan O’Meara have been elected in Tipperary North, Neil Michael reports.
Mr Kelly was elected after he passed the quota, while the 29-year-old Fianna Fáil newcomer was elected despite not reaching it.
However, by the end of the tenth count, he had the next highest number of votes after Mr Kelly and so won the third and final seat.
Mr Kelly repeatedly broke down in tears both before and after the result - which he had earlier dedicated to his father Tom who is seriously ill in hospital.
The count had been delayed by a call for a full recount last night after the ninth count but this was withdrawn earlier today.
The full recount had been called after two partial rechecks of the distribution of votes between independent councillor Jim Ryan and Fianna Fáil’s Michael Smith.
Mr Ryan was not satisfied with the results of the rechecks - which showed there were either one or two votes between him and Tipperary County Council councillor Smith.
As a result, he called for and was granted a full recount, which was due to begin in the Thurles count centre this morning at 11am.
But after a few hours, and minor changes to the ninth count, Mr Smith conceded defeat.
“Today wasn’t my day,” says the Dáil’s longest-serving TD, Bernard Durkan (FG).
Back to Louth which boasted the longest ballot paper in the country with a record 24 candidates. Jade Wilson tells us it is now on its 20th count.
Counting finished at 1am and resumed at 10am on Monday morning.
Just two seats are filled by Sinn Féin’s Ruairí Ó Murchú and Joanna Byrne with three remaining open.
Speaking of Cork North-Central, there is an update from the returning officer who said a full recount could be done by late this evening, though it could go on into the early hours.
“It’s a slow process but it has to be slow to be correct,” he told reporters.
Any candidate can ask for a recount, though whether the returning officer grants such a request is another matter.
In Mick Barry’s case, he said he had “no hesitation” is granting the request, with just 35 votes separating him from Labour councillor Eoghan Kenny.
Just three counts remain ongoing (Cavan-Monaghan, Louth, and Tipperary North) with nine seats left to fill among them.
This is alongside a full recount in Cork North-Central requested by Mick Barry of People Before Profit after just 35 votes separated him from Labour councillor Eoghan Kenny.
See our results hub here.
It’s been a long weekend for RTÉ's Brian O’Donovan...
Back to Kildare North where Fiachra Gallagher brings us the final state of play as long-time TD Bernard Durkan loses his seat:
The Social Democrats retained its seat in Kildare North after Aidan Farrelly, a 37-year-old county councillor, was elected, succeeding party co-founder Catherine Murphy. He was one of three first-time TDs elected in the five-seater.
Mr Farrelly, a lecturer at Maynooth University with a background in youth work, ran as the Social Democrats candidate following the retirement of Ms Murphy. She had served as TD for Kildare North since 2011, and also between 2005 and 2007.
Kildare North was one of the final constituencies to finish counting, with all seats filled shortly after 3pm on Monday.
Fine Gael also retained its seat in the constituency – but it was Cllr Joe Neville, rather than Bernard Durkan, who was elected to the 34th Dáil.
Mr Durkan spent 42 consecutive years as a TD, but on Sunday evening, he conceded that he would not be retaining his seat. He said he would step back from public life.
Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless, a junior minister in the Department of Transport in the last Government, was elected on the 8th count, the first candidate to be elected. Naoise Ó Cearúil will join his running mate in the 34th Dáil after his election.
Réada Cronin, the Sinn Féin candidate, comfortably retained her seat. She was first elected in 2020.
Mr Durkan, the Dáil’s longest serving TD, was in a contemplative mood last evening when he accepted that the curtain was coming down on his political career:
Sinn Féin’s Pauline Tully loses her seat
Sinn Féin’s Pauline Tully has lost her Cavan-Monaghan TD seat in the five-seater constituency on Monday afternoon, Seanín Graham reports.
The former maths and history school teacher is the most high-profile casualty of the race so far, having served one term in office.
Fresh counting got underway at lunchtime at Cavan Leisure Centre.
Only one candidate has been elected, Fine Gael’s David Maxwell, when he became the first to exceed the 11,541 quota shortly after 4am on Monday.
Following the eleventh count, in which Maxwell’s 811 votes were redistributed, Tully received just six votes. She received more than 7,800 votes. Five candidates are now vying for the remaining four seats.
Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy is nailed on to top the poll and retain his seat on the back of Tully’s surplus. He is currently at 10,981 votes.
The other remaining candidates are Fianna Fáil’s Niamh Smyth, at 10,313 votes and her running mate, Brendan Smith at 10,062 votes, followed by Aontú's Sarah O’Reilly, at 8490 votes, and first-time Sinn Féin candidate, Cathy Bennett at 8,220.
Done and dusted in Kildare North, writes Fiachra Gallagher. Réada Cronin (SF) exceeds quota of 9,505 on the 12th count, Naoise Ó Cearúil (FF) and Joe Neville elected without reaching the quota. The latter two are first-time TDs. Bernard Durkan (FG) misses out after 42 consecutive years as a TD.
The election of Labour’s Alan Kelly and Fianna Fail’s Ryan O’Meara is due to be announced later this afternoon, reports Neil Michael.
Their election had been delayed by a last minute call for a recount last night but this was withdrawn earlier today.
The full recount had been called for two rechecks of the distribution of surplus votes between independent councillor Jim Ryan and Fianna Fail’s Michael Smith.
Mr Ryan was not satisfied with the results of the rechecks - which showed there were either one or two votes between him and Tipperary County Council councillor Smith.
As a result, he called for and was granted a full recount, which was due to begin in the Thurles count centre this morning at 11am.
But after a few hours, and minor changes to the ninth count, Cllr Smith conceded defeat.
As none of the remaining candidates, him, Kelly, O’Meara and Smith had reached the quota, and he had the lowest number of votes, he accepted he was to be eliminated. Afterwards he said: “I congratulate all three candidates that are going to be elected. “But I am heartened that my vote is going to secure the vote for Fianna Fail and ensure we have a TD in Tipperary.”
While the details of the 9th count will be formally printed after around 3pm, there will then be the results of what is expected to be the tenth and final count. Michael Lowry was the first to be elected to the new three-seat constituency. He topped the poll and was elected on the first count, which was announced on Saturday evening.
It is quite the opposite story in Cork North-Central, reports Barry Roche. Mick Barry says he is going for a full recount.
The full recount of Tipperary North has been cancelled, writes Neil Michael. The last of four unelected candidates has conceded defeat and accepted he will be eliminated.
The recount had been called after Independent Jim Ryan disputed the distribution of votes between himself and Fianna Fáil’s Michael Smith.
But just 10 minutes ago, councillor Smith conceded.
It means that Labour’s Alan Kelly and Fianna Fáil’s Ryan O’Meara will be the next TDs elected to the three-seat constituency.
The current count (12th) will likely be the last count in Kildare North. Announcement due in a few minutes. Réada Cronin (SF), Naoise Ó Cearúil (FF) and Joe Neville (FG) to be elected.
The recount in Tipperary North started two hours ago but there is, as yet, no indication of when we will have any white smoke as the margins are very tight.
The Monk on the run was always going to be a meme, wasn’t it?
Sinn Féin’s Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has said it “doesn’t just follow” that Fianna Fáil will “get away” with allowing Fine Gael return to power.
Speaking on RTÉ radio, the Donegal TD said that “you can try and force Fine Gael back into government again – that’ll take them to nearly 20 years in government – or you can look at this progressive platform that we have and go in a very different direction.”
Mick Barry of People Before Profit has been speaking to Barry Roche in Cork about the prospects of a full recount in Cork North-Central.
“After the final count last night there were 35 votes between myself and Labour councillor Eoghan Kenny, so I’ve called a full recount and that has started here this morning,” he said.
“It started with an examination of the bundles, they bundled the votes in 50, to see if any have been misplaced and the result of that is expected and then the two teams will meet with the city sheriff and decide where we go from there, so nothing definite.”
Labour TD for Limerick City Conor Sheehan has acknowledged that there was an administrative error made on the ballot paper but said that the fact that he finished more than 600 votes ahead of the other person vying for the last seat left no doubt about the result.
There was some disquiet in the city on Friday when it emerged that although ballot papers are supposed to be in alphabetical order, surnames starting with the letter O came after those starting with the letter Q.
“There was over 600 votes between myself and Councillor Elisa O’Donovan, who ultimately came fifth, so that is beyond the doubt,” Sheehan told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne.
“It is very clear that I took the fourth seat by a considerable margin in the end. It was a basic administrative error. It shouldn’t have happened and I can’t understand how it wasn’t proofed properly.”
Independent TD for Longford-Westmeath Kevin “Boxer” Moran told the same programme that he gets “annoyed” when he hears parties suggest they could end up like the Green Party if they agree to go into government with bigger parties.
“We all want to govern and that is why we put our names forward,” he said. “This idea of saying you don’t want to in case you get burnt – one day in government is better than 100 days in opposition. I’ve been there.”
The two big Government parties look set to be returned to power after the general election, but where did the votes of the three biggest parties, post-election, come from? These maps by my colleague Paul Scott show the geography of the first-preference vote share:
They are back up and running in Kildare North where the 11th count has just concluded with no one elected, writes Fiachra Gallagher. The former Social Democrats councillor Bill Clear who ran as an Independent had been eliminated.
Is the new soft-left bloc ready for government, asks Jack Horgan-Jones.
We have a notion now as to what is happening in Cork North-Central, although anyone hoping for a quick conclusion to the count is likely to be wildly disappointed.
First there is going to be a check of a bundle of a thousand votes to see if any were misplaced.
That recheck will take until lunchtime and then another decision will be made. If a full recount goes ahead it will take a number of days due to reduced staff numbers.
As the dust settles on the 2024 general election it’s clear that the picture [for Sinn Féin] is not quite as rosy as the scenes in the RDS might suggest, writes Jennifer Bray.
Labour’s Eoghan Kenny – who is waiting on a recount today to see if his victory for the last seat in Cork North-Central is confirmed – featured in The Irish Times when as a Leaving Cert student at the Patrician Academy in Mallow, he wrote to then minister for education Joe McHugh questioning the delay in providing a new school building
A future minister for education at some stage down the road, perhaps, if he makes it to Dáil Éireann, suggests our man on the ground Barry Roche.
Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats, speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, said she is “really, really pleased” with the result for the party.
Deputy Whitmore added: “Our TDs will have to meet but we’ve been very, very clear from the starting point, in that, we are keen to go into government as long as we can achieve a number of red lines that we set out very early on. (These) cover areas such as health; the area of disabilities which just hasn’t had a government focus to date, which is non-negotiable (for us); climate change; childcare and indeed housing.”
The Wicklow TD said they will “talk to everybody and we’ve said that all along” when it comes to negotiating with other parties on forming a coalition government.
“It’s important that we set out our stall, we obviously need to hear what the other parties would like to achieve if they were to be in government. It’s really important to have these discussions.”
The deputy said she is delighted to see there is a “focus on the left” as it has “increased its share and its mandate” but “I’m not going to pre-empt discussions.”
As focus turns to coalition talks about talks, one of the youngest newly elected TDs, an Independent, gave an initial response late last night to possible government participation, writes Marie O’Halloran.
Dublin Bay North Independent Barry Heneghan (26), asked if he would go into hovernment with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, said “we’ll discuss this with the kitchen Cabinet”. He is a protege of former Independent TD Finian McGrath who served as a minister of state in the 2016 to 2020 coalition.
Mr Heneghan, part of the “locked-out” generation of young people caught by rising rents and house prices, currently lives at home with his parents.
He told reporters when declared elected just before 1am: “I think people want an independent young voice to represent them in the Dáil and that’s exactly what I’m going to do”. He said voters “have put their trust in me. I won’t let you down and I’ll do my best, starting from tomorrow”.
The Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said that she will only speak to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael about government as part of a broader left platform with the Social Democrats and other left-wing parties.
“We are serious about delivering change,” Ms Bacik told RTE’s Morning Ireland, reiterating her intention to talk to other centre-left parties to form a common platform ahead of any negotiations about government with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
Asked if she was prepared to negotiate on her own if the Social Democrats refused to join talks about government, she said that “we are absolutely not prepared to do that at this stage.”
However, Ms Bacik said that it was “not healthy for democracy for parties to sit in perpetual opposition” and said that left-wing parties should talk to one another about government.
The final two seats in Donegal were taken by the 100% Redress candidate Charles Ward and outgoing Fianna Fáil Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue. Both were elected on count 16 with sitting Independent TD Thomas Pringle losing out on the last seat.
It is worth noting that while a government made up of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is not the most likely outcome of the general election, the big winners are the Labour Party and the Social Democrats which will both be returning to Leinster House as considerably stronger forces. The Green Party – which will have only one seat in leader Roderic O’Gorman – have suffered the heaviest of losses.
Miriam Lord’s excellent piece on the counting in the RDS is a must-read this morning.
According to Fintan O’Toole, it would be a silly exaggeration to call any general election a non-event.
But in this case the overstatement would be slight. The things that did not happen seem a lot more significant than those that did. The outcome is negatively charged in five different ways.
Amid signs of wariness in both Labour and the Social Democrats about joining a Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition, newly elected Independent TDs have been declaring their willingness to support a new government. Our politics team have the story.
When it comes to what to watch out for this morning, there are two of five seats filled in Kildare-North with the 11th count set to start at 9am.
In Louth there are also two of five seats filled with the 18th count to start again at 10am.
In Tipperary North one of three seats has been filled and a recount starts this morning.
Just one of five seats has been filled in Cavan-Monaghan and it all cranks up again there at 1pm.
And finally there is also a recount coming in Cork North-Central.
Looking at the bigger picture, Fianna Fáil will be the largest party with 43 seats secured already. Sinn Féin are currently on 36 while Fine Gael are also on 36.
The Social Democrats have 11 seats, while Labour is on nine, while 23 candidates under the banner of Independent/Others have been elected.
What all that means in terms of government formation is that Sinn Féin can’t really form part of the next government without the support of one of the two other biggest parties.
The big news overnight was Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly losing his Dáil seat after being eliminated in Wicklow. Taoiseach Simon Harris’s running mate Edward Timmins was deemed elected at 5.25am without reaching the quota after benefiting enormously from a huge surplus from Harris, who topped the poll with more than 5,000 votes to spare.
Earlier in the day, Donnelly said a combination of a strong “Government vote” for Mr Harris and the loss of a seat from the four-seat constituency had dented his chances.
“We knew Simon would take a huge vote – a Government vote, if you like – in the constituency. It was strong actually, but when you’re sharing a constituency and a hometown with a taoiseach and moving from a five-seater to a four-seater – when you put those two things together, it obviously creates a lot of pressure,” he said.
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? No, no we are not. There is a ways to go yet before we will know the exact make-up of the next Dáil. At the time of writing – shortly after 7am – there are just 13 seats in to be filled with counting (and recounting) set to continue in five constituencies.
