Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
, the
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
's
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, the
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
called by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
on 1 February, at the request of
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Brian Cowen
Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011.
Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...
. The 31st Dáil met on 9 March 2011 to nominate a Taoiseach and ratify the new ministers of the
29th Government of Ireland
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
.
Cowen had previously announced on 20 January that the election would be held on 11 March, and that after the 2011 budget had been passed he would seek a
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
of the
30th Dáil
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
by the President. However, the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
, the junior party in
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
with Cowen's
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
, withdrew from government on 23 January, stating that it would support only a truncated finance bill from the opposition benches, in order to force an earlier election. On 24 January,
Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
Brian Lenihan Jnr
Brian Joseph Lenihan (21 May 1959 – 10 June 2011) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from March 2011 to June 2011, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law ...
reached an agreement with the
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
in Dáil Éireann to complete all stages of passing the finance bill in both houses of the Oireachtas by 29 January—following which the Dáil was to be dissolved immediately. Constitutionally, following a Dáil dissolution, an election must be held within 30 days.
Following the collapse of the coalition, the then minority governing party, Fianna Fáil, sought to minimise its losses following historically low poll ratings in the wake of the
Irish financial crisis
The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, a subsequent pr ...
.
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
sought to gain a dominant position in Irish politics after poor results in the 2000s, and to replace Fianna Fáil for the first time as the largest party in Dáil Éireann. The Labour Party hoped to make gains from both sides, and was widely expected to become the second-largest party and to enter into coalition government with Fine Gael; its highest ambition at the start of the campaign, buoyed by record poll ratings in preceding months, was to become the leading partner in government for the first time in the party's 99-year history. The Green Party, having been in coalition with Fianna Fáil during the Government of the 30th Dáil, faced stiff competition for its votes and was expected to lose at least four of its six seats.
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
was expected to make gains, encouraged by a by-election victory in November 2010 and by opinion polls which placed it ahead of Fianna Fáil. Some other
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
groups, including
People Before Profit
People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a left-wing to far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
History
PBP was established in 2005 as t ...
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, contested the general election under a joint banner, the
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping origin ...
.
Fianna Fáil was swept from power in the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state in 1922. The party lost more than half of its first-preference vote from 2007, and garnered only 20 seats. It was the third-largest party in the 31st Dáil; this was the first election since that of September 1927 out of which it did not emerge the largest party in the chamber. ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'', Ireland's
newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...
, described Fianna Fáil's meltdown as "defeat on a historic scale." Fine Gael won 76 seats, becoming the largest party in the Dáil for the first time in its 78-year history, while the Labour Party became the second-largest party, with 37 seats; Sinn Féin also increased its number of seats. Fine Gael leader
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
became Taoiseach, in a coalition with Labour.
Background
Following the bailout of Irish banks and the deteriorating level of state debt that led to the
Irish financial crisis
The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, a subsequent pr ...
, the Irish government agreed to a bailout from the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
amid fears of a wider
Eurozone crisis
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
. The
European Financial Stability Facility
The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is a special purpose vehicle financed by members of the eurozone to address the European sovereign-debt crisis. It was agreed by the Council of the European Union on 9 May 2010, with the objecti ...
then offered the government a multibillion-euro deal for its new debt burden.
The notion of such a move was widely condemned in Ireland, with ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' criticising
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
that despite its "primary aims othe commitment 'to maintain the status of Ireland as a sovereign State'... The Republican Party's ideals are in tatters now."
Following the acceptance of the deal on 21 November 2010, the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
leader
John Gormley
John Gormley (born 4 August 1959) is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lor ...
called for the Taoiseach to fix a date for a general election in the second half of January 2011; however, he added that the party would support the coalition for the "coming weeks and months". The Labour Party and
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
called for an immediate election in order to seek "political certainty." On 22 November 2010,
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Brian Cowen
Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011.
Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...
indicated that the election would take place in early 2011 after the 2011 budgetary process (a prerequisite to the bailout) had been completed. There were fears that calling the election could trigger another credit downgrade.
On 16 January Cowen announced his decision to stay on as Taoiseach and to lead Fianna Fáil into the general election. On 18 January he called for and won a vote of confidence within the party (which had been precipitated by revelations of two previously undisclosed meetings with
Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank was an Republic of Ireland, Irish bank headquartered in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It began to wind down after nationalisation in 2009. In July 2011 Anglo Irish merged with the Irish Nationwide Building Society, forming a new co ...
chairman
Seán FitzPatrick
Seán FitzPatrick (25 May 1948 – 8 November 2021) was an Irish banker who was chief executive and then chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, until he resigned in December 2008 amid mounting revelations over hidden loans. The scandal precipitated a co ...
) with a majority of the 71 Fianna Fáil deputies supporting him. Despite saying he would offer Cowen "full support", Foreign Minister
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
resigned. However, following criticism within his party after his failed attempt to carry out a reshuffle of Fianna Fáil ministers, Cowen announced his resignation as leader of the party on 22 January. He confirmed he would remain as Taoiseach until after the election.
The key dates were:
Electoral system
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
uses
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
with a
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
, also known as PR–STV. The general election took place in 43 parliamentary constituencies throughout the state for 165 of the 166 seats in the Dáil, with the final seat taken by the outgoing Ceann Comhairle (chairman), returned automatically. Each multi-member constituency returns three, four or five Teachtaí Dála (Dáil deputies).
The closing date for nominations was 9 February 2011. A total of 566 candidates contested the election, nearly 100 more than the 2007 general election. The number of candidates per party was:
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
(104),
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
(43),
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
(41), and Independents and smaller parties (233). The latter figure includes 20 candidates affiliated to the
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping origin ...
, 20 independents who ran under the
New Vision
The ''New Vision'' is a Ugandan English-language newspaper published daily in print form and online.
Overview
''New Vision'' is one of two main national English-language newspapers in Uganda, the other being the ''Daily Monitor''. It is publi ...
label, eight
Christian Solidarity Party
The Christian Solidarity Party ( ga, Comhar Críostaí) was a minor political party in the Republic of Ireland. It had no representation at local or national level. Founded in 1991 as the Christian Principles Party, it stood candidates in the 1 ...
Fís Nua
Fís Nua (; English: "New Vision") is a minor environmentalist political party in Ireland.
History
The party was formed in June 2010, mainly by former members of the Green Party who were unhappy with that party's participation in the then coal ...
candidates. Voting took place between 07:00 and 22:00 ( WET).
Date
Section 7 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1927 requires that the Dáil be dissolved within five years after its first meeting following the previous election (14 June 2007). Article 16.3.2 of the
Constitution of Ireland
The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...
requires that a general election for members of Dáil Éireann must take place not later than thirty days after the dissolution. The next general election had to, therefore, take place no later than 14 July 2012.
The current statutory framework for the setting of a date for polling day in the general election was set out in the Electoral Act 1992, as amended. Section 96 of the Electoral Act 1992 requires that the poll is held, not earlier than the seventeenth day or later than the twenty-fifth day, following the day on which the Dáil is formally dissolved by the President. The writs for the election are issued by the Clerk of the Dáil on the day the Dáil is dissolved.
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin (born 1 June 1959) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from 2010 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Inn ...
said the general election was likely to take place in mid-March 2011. Batt O'Keeffe, the then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, hinted that the election might take place on 25 March. On 19 January the Green Party indicated that they expected the budgetary process to be completed by the end of February, and that the election should be held no later than the end of March. Brian Cowen attempted a reshuffle of his party's ministers on 20 January 2011. However, following the resignation of six cabinet ministers, it became clear that the Green Party would not allow him to fill the vacancies. He subsequently announced that the election for the 31st Dáil would take place on 11 March. Motions of no confidence in the outgoing government were tabled by Fine Gael for 25 January and by the Labour Party for 26 January; both parties said they would be willing to give the government time to expedite the Finance Act in return for bringing forward the election date. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said it could be moved by "a week or two at most". Cowen resigned as Fianna Fáil leader on 22 January, and the Green Party withdrew from government the next day, but promised to support the Finance Act.
On 28 January it was announced that Cowen intended to ask McAleese to dissolve the Dáil on 1 February. Cowen formally asked for a Dáil dissolution on 1 February, after the finance bill cleared parliament. In accordance with Irish constitutional practice (no Irish president has ever refused such a request), McAleese granted the dissolution.
As usual, certain offshore islands voted earlier than the rest of the country. Voters on
Arranmore
''Árainn Mhór'' (English name: Arranmore) is an island off the west coast of County Donegal, Ireland. Arranmore is the largest inhabited island of County Donegal, with a population of 469 in 2016, but has had a gradually falling native popula ...
,
Clare Island
Clare Island ( or ''Oileán Chliara''), also historically Inishcleer, is a mountainous island guarding the entrance to Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of Umhaill, it is famous as the home of the 15th century pi ...
Inishbiggle
Inishbiggle () is a small inhabited island off the coast of Ballycroy in County Mayo. Its name in Irish means "Vigil Island"
Geography
The island is situated between the northeast of Achill Island and the mainland, and is accessed by boat f ...
Inishturk
Inishturk (''Inis Toirc'' in Irish, meaning ''Wild Boar Island'') is an inhabited island of County Mayo, in Ireland.
Geography
The island lies about off the coast; its highest point reaches above sea level. Between Inisturk and Clare Isl ...
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
) cast their ballots on 24 February.
Constituency changes
The number of TDs elected and the number of constituencies contested remained the same as for the previous general election, though there were substantial boundary changes.
*
Limerick East
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. With a populati ...
(5) replaced by
Limerick City
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...
(from 5 to 4)
*
Louth Louth may refer to:
Australia
*Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia
* Louth, New South Wales, a town
* Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia
**Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality
Canada
* Louth, Ontario
Ireland
* Cou ...
(from 4 to 5)
:Number of seats given in brackets after constituency name.
Boundary changes were also made in twenty other constituencies.
Retiring incumbents
The following 39 members of the 30th Dáil did not contest the 2011 general election.
†Vacant seat, deputy had resigned before the dissolution of Dáil Éireann.
In four constituencies (Cavan–Monaghan, Cork North-West, Dublin North-West, and Dublin South-Central) Fianna Fáil nominated fewer candidates than it had outgoing TDs, effectively conceding a seat in each.
Campaign
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
leader
Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...
(an MP and MLA for Belfast West) announced on 15 November 2010 that he would resign both these seats and contest the
Louth Louth may refer to:
Australia
*Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia
* Louth, New South Wales, a town
* Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia
**Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality
Canada
* Louth, Ontario
Ireland
* Cou ...
constituency at the following Irish general election, in an attempt to retain the seat being vacated by the retirement of
Arthur Morgan Arthur Morgan may refer to:
* Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856) (1856–1916), Premier of Queensland, Australia
* Arthur Ernest Morgan (1878–1975), American administrator, educator and engineer
* Arthur Morgan (Australian politici ...
.
A number of election candidates were given formal warnings not to place election posters until the date had been announced.
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
leader
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
stated that the party would not rule out supporting a minority
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
government if its policies were in line with Fianna Fáil's programme for economic recovery. On 31 January 2011 Martin named
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin (born 1 June 1959) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from 2010 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Inn ...
as the new deputy leader, while the government chief whip John Curran was named as justice spokesman. Barry Andrews was appointed as health spokesman, Billy Kelleher transport, Peter Power foreign affairs and trade, and
Niall Collins
Niall Collins (born 30 March 1973) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister of State for Skills and Further Education since July 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick County constituency since 2016, and ...
defence. He also appointed
Willie O'Dea
Willie O'Dea ( ; born 1 November 1952) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick City constituency since 2011, and previously from 1982 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency. He has served as Min ...
, a former
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
who had resigned in February 2010 after committing perjury in front of the High Court, as communications spokesperson. Brian Lenihan would continue as the finance spokesman in addition to being Finance Minister.
In early February,
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
President
Jean-Claude Trichet
Jean-Claude Trichet (; born 20 December 1942) is a French economist who served as President of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011. Previous to his assumption of the presidency he served as Governor of the Bank of France from 1993 to 2003 ...
told political parties to go ahead with the terms of the EU-IMF financial bailout plan. This came despite Fine Gael and Labour saying they would like to see a renegotiation of some of the key elements of the deal. Labour Party leader
Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to:
* Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name
* Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist
* ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II
*"Éam ...
asked voters to choose between " Frankfurt's Way or Labour's Way".
Micheál Martin was involved in an alleged racist gaffe, mocking a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
accent while speaking on his party's innovation proposals at the Dublin Web Summit.
During the campaign, there were numerous reports of infighting between Fianna Fáil candidates Peter Power and
Willie O'Dea
Willie O'Dea ( ; born 1 November 1952) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick City constituency since 2011, and previously from 1982 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency. He has served as Min ...
in
Limerick City
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
Mary Fitzpatrick
Mary Fitzpatrick (born 20 February 1969) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as a Senator since June 2020, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.
Early life
Fitzpatrick is from the Navan Road in Dublin and was educated at Our ...
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin (born 1 June 1959) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from 2010 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Inn ...
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...
.
New parties and groupings
A number of parties and political alliances were set up in order to contest the election.
The
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping origin ...
was set up on 25 November 2010, announcing it would field twenty candidates in the election. The group consisted of
People Before Profit
People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a left-wing to far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
History
PBP was established in 2005 as t ...
, the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
and the Tipperary South-based Workers and Unemployed Action. However, the group failed to get its name mentioned on the ballot.
A number of public figures, including journalists
Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is a polemicist, literary editor, journalist and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. O'Toole was drama critic for the '' New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and ...
Eamon Dunphy
Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional association football, footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella ...
, discussed standing as members of a loose alliance dubbed "Democracy Now" to reform the political system and replace the IMF bailout agreement with a structured debt default. O'Toole wrote on 29 January that, once the election date was brought forward from late March, "the risk of going off half-cocked seemed to outweigh the hope of making a difference", and the plan was abandoned. The ''
Evening Herald
''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Even ...
'' reported that "almost half of the 20 figures approached by Democracy Now in ate Januarywere unable to commit to the campaign".
Finian McGrath
Finian McGrath (born 9 April 1953) is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister of State for Disability Issues from 2016 to 2020. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2002 to 2020.
Early and personal life
Born in Tuam, C ...
Shane Ross
Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross (born 11 July 1949) is a former Irish Independent politician who served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from May 2016 to June 2020. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency from 20 ...
, who stood as
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
s, were also involved in the proposal.
The newly registered party
Fís Nua
Fís Nua (; English: "New Vision") is a minor environmentalist political party in Ireland.
History
The party was formed in June 2010, mainly by former members of the Green Party who were unhappy with that party's participation in the then coal ...
announced on 5 February that it was running six candidates in the election, three of whom were former Green Party members.
Television debates
Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
proposed that a series of debates between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party should take place on
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
on
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
. This proposal was accepted by the Labour Party leader
Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to:
* Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name
* Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist
* ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II
*"Éam ...
. On 27 January, Fine Gael leader
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
proposed a five-way debate which was also to include Sinn Féin and the Green Party. Kenny refused to take part in any debate that would involve TV3 news broadcaster
Vincent Browne
Vincent Browne (born 17 July 1944) is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Sunday Business Post'' and a non-practising barrister. From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show ...
. In September 2010, Browne had made a comment on his show that Kenny "should go into a dark room with a gun and bottle of whiskey". Browne has since apologised for the remark, and said he would step aside as moderator of the TV3 three-way leaders' debate if Kenny agreed to take part. Responding to TV3's offer to replace Browne as moderator, Kenny stated that a clash in his schedule meant he was unable to take part in the debate.
In negotiations, TV3 proposed following the British model, in which the moderator does not ask follow-up questions and does not criticise or comment on the leaders' answers. However, the right of journalist Vincent Browne to "seek factual clarification where necessary" was reserved. It was agreed Browne would sit between Micheál Martin and Eamon Gilmore, and their positions either to the right or left of him were determined by the drawing of lots. Although both Martin and Gilmore had requested that an empty chair be left to represent the absence of Kenny, this was ruled out by TV3.
A second debate lasting an hour took place on RTÉ on 14 February. The debate was hosted by
Pat Kenny
Patrick Kenny (born 29 January 1948) is an Irish broadcaster, who currently hosts the daily radio show ''The Pat Kenny Show'' on Newstalk and the current affairs show ''Pat Kenny Tonight'' on Virgin Media One.
Prior to this, Kenny had a 41-yea ...
and involved leaders of the five main parties; Micheál Martin, Enda Kenny, Eamon Gilmore, John Gormley and Gerry Adams. The studio audience consisted of 140 undecided voters, six of whom asked pre-set questions. Leaders were given 45 seconds to respond to the question with efforts made to confine contributions to 45 seconds during the "free debate".
The third debate took place on
TG4
TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond.
TG4 was formerly known ...
in Irish, the first debate to take place in the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
. The fourth and final debate took place on RTÉ on 22 February. The final debate was watched by an average television audience of 800,000 people.
Directors of Elections
The following people were appointed by their parties to act as their director of elections:
*Fianna Fáil –
Tony Killeen
Tony Killeen (born 9 June 1952) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served Minister for Defence from 2010 to 2011, Minister of State for Fisheries and Forestry from 2008 to 2010, Minister of State at the Department of the Environmen ...
*Fine Gael –
Phil Hogan
Phil Hogan (born 4 July 1960) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as European Commissioner for Trade between 2019 and 2020, and previously European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development between 2014 and 2019.
He previously ...
*Labour Party –
Ruairi Quinn
Ruairi Quinn (born 2 April 1946) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997, ...
*Green Party – Donal Geoghegan
*Sinn Féin – Brian Tumilty
Opinion polls
The parties maintained their results from the 2007 general election for about eighteen months afterwards, with little change in polling figures. Fianna Fáil enjoyed a small bounce in May 2008 after the election of Brian Cowen to succeed Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach.
Fine Gael took the lead in opinion polls after the October 2008 budget, which included tax increases and spending cuts to address the growing financial crisis. A second emergency budget in April 2009 continued the downward trend in the popularity of the government parties, with Labour now capturing the gains from disaffected Fianna Fáil supporters. Two polls in the first half of 2009 showed Fianna Fáil coming third, behind both Fine Gael and Labour. Most polls between the 2009 local elections and the summer of 2010 showed Fine Gael far ahead in first place, around the mid-30s, with Fianna Fáil in the mid-20s and Labour in the low 20s.
An ''Irish Times'' poll on 11 June 2010 gave Labour an unprecedented 32%, ahead of Fine Gael on 28% and Fianna Fáil on 17%. This surprise result was followed by the unsuccessful leadership challenge by Fine Gael deputy leader
Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North since 2016, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He is the Chairman of th ...
against Enda Kenny; a period of instability followed, during which Labour challenged Fine Gael for first place in the polls.
As the economic crisis continued to worsen in late 2010, Fianna Fáil fell below 20% support, and did not recover from this in any opinion polls taken before the election. In November 2010, the EU/IMF rescue, followed by an historic defeat at the Donegal South-West by-election, marked a new period in opinion polling. Fianna Fáil and the Green Party fell to unprecedented lows, with improvements for Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and independent candidates, and a decline in Labour's position. Fine Gael took a strong lead in polling, with Labour safely in second place, while Fianna Fáil struggled to maintain third place, just ahead of Sinn Féin and independents, all polling in the low teens.
As the election campaign began in February, Fine Gael enjoyed a surge at the expense of the other parties. Results in the high 30s suggested that Fine Gael could form a government on its own, rather than with its traditional coalition partners in the Labour Party. However, the exit poll taken on election night, and the subsequent results on the following days, showed an eleventh-hour fall in Fine Gael support to the mid-30s, the benefits of which seemed to accrue to Fianna Fáil and Independents.
Polling for parliamentary represented parties is as such:
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping origin ...
(ULA) won 59,423 votes (2.7%) and five seats. The ULA comprised the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, the
People Before Profit Alliance
People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a left-wing to far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
History
PBP was established in 2005 as ...
Declan Bree
Declan Bree (born 1 July 1951) is an Irish independent politician. He was a founder of the Sligo/Leitrim Independent Socialist Organisation in 1974, and was a member of that group until joining the Labour Party in 1991. He served in Dáil Éi ...
(2,284 votes).
Independents include
New Vision
The ''New Vision'' is a Ugandan English-language newspaper published daily in print form and online.
Overview
''New Vision'' is one of two main national English-language newspapers in Uganda, the other being the ''Daily Monitor''. It is publi ...
candidates (25,422 votes) and People's Convention candidates (1,512 votes).
*Fine Gael and Labour Party majority coalition government formed.
Voting summary
Seats summary
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Irish state, and amongst the worst ever suffered by any Western European governing party. The party's first-preference vote plunged to 17.5 per cent – less than half of its first-preference vote from 2007. Without a significant number of transfers, the election count quickly turned into a rout.
From 77 seats at dissolution, the party was reduced to a rump of 20 TDs, the worst election result in the party's 85-year history. The 57-seat loss far exceeded Fine Gael's 15-seat loss in 1977, the previous record for the worst defeat of a sitting government. By comparison, after the five elections since 1932 at which Fianna Fáil was consigned to opposition, it remained the largest party in the Dáil, with well over 60 TDs.
The party suffered a near-total meltdown in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, which had been one of the party's strongholds since 1977. Twelve of the party's 13 Dublin TDs seeking re-election were defeated. Outgoing
Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
Brian Lenihan Jnr
Brian Joseph Lenihan (21 May 1959 – 10 June 2011) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Finance from 2008 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from March 2011 to June 2011, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law ...
barely retained his Dublin West seat on the fifth count, and was, until his death on 10 June 2011, the lone Fianna Fáil TD from the capital. Notably, the party was completely shut out in Dublin Central, which former Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
had represented for 34 years.
The most high-profile casualty was
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper described it as "Ireland's
Portillo moment
The Portillo moment was the dramatic declaration of the result for the Enfield Southgate constituency in the 1997 UK general election, at around 3:10 am on 2 May 1997. The Labour candidate Stephen Twigg defeated the sitting MP, Conservative ca ...
". She was the second Tánaiste in a row to lose their own seat in an election, after Michael McDowell in 2007. Other senior cabinet ministers who lost their seats included
Pat Carey
Pat Carey (born 9 November 1947) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs from 201 ...
and
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin (born 1 June 1959) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from 2010 to 2011, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Inn ...
.
Junior ministers
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is desi ...
Áine Brady
Áine Brady (; born 8 September 1954) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2009 to 2011. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare North constituency from 2007 to 2011.
She was Fianna Fáil's you ...
Conor Lenihan
Conor Lenihan (born 3 March 1963) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2004 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-West constituency from 1997 to 2011.
He was from 2011 to ...
,
Martin Mansergh
Martin George Southcote Mansergh (born 31 December 1946) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2008 to 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary South constituency from 2007 to 2011. H ...
, Peter Power and Dick Roche. Fianna Fáil also had no women TDs in the 31st Dáil.
The severity of the defeat came as a shock to many of Fianna Fáil's senior leaders. Martin and others had concluded almost as soon as the election writ was drawn up that the party would not win a record fifth consecutive term in government. However, while they anticipated massive losses, they had hoped to hold on to at least 30 seats.
Fine Gael
Fine Gael became largest party in the Dáil for the first time in its 78-year history. The party won 76 seats, six more than its previous record seat count in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
. There initially had been talk of Fine Gael winning an overall majority—something no Irish party has done since 1977—but the party ultimately came up seven seats short. The party also took 17 seats in the Dublin region-its best result in 29 years-to become the second party in the capital.
Labour Party
The Labour Party made a very strong showing, almost doubling its share of the vote to become the second-largest party in the Dáil, its best showing ever. It also took 18 seats in Dublin to become the first party in the capital. However, in contrast to predictions by
Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to:
* Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name
* Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist
* ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II
*"Éam ...
, most of the party's gains were in the
Greater Dublin
The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its e ...
,
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
and
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
constituencies. Despite an increase in its vote, the party only managed to win two seats in
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
, both of which were in
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
.
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin also made significant gains. All its sitting TDs were returned, Seán Crowe regaining the seat in Dublin South-West he lost in 2007, and party president
Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...
retaining Arthur Morgan's seat in
Louth Louth may refer to:
Australia
*Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia
* Louth, New South Wales, a town
* Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia
**Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality
Canada
* Louth, Ontario
Ireland
* Cou ...
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
lost all of the six seats it had previously held, including that of party leader
John Gormley
John Gormley (born 4 August 1959) is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lor ...
and
Eamon Ryan
Eamon Michael Ryan (born 28 July 1963) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport since June 2020 and Leader of the Green Party since May 2011. He ha ...
, both of whom served as cabinet ministers in the previous government. Three out of their six incumbent TDs lost their deposits. The party's share of the vote fell below 2%, meaning that they could not reclaim election expenses, and their lack of parliamentary representation led to the ending of state funding for the party. This financial crisis made it likely that the Greens may have been forced to close their Dublin office and make "some if not all" of their staff redundant.
United Left Alliance
The
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping origin ...
won five seats. Two former TDs returned to the Dáil: Joe Higgins of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
and
Séamus Healy
Séamus Healy (; born 9 August 1950) is a former Irish Independent politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2000 to 2007 and 2011 to 2020.
He is part of the Clonmel-based Workers and Unemployed Action (WUA) which had a number of loc ...
Clare Daly
Clare Daly (born 16 April 1968) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2019. She is a member of Independents 4 Change, part of The Left in the European P ...
became the Socialist Party's second-ever TD. The
People Before Profit
People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a left-wing to far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
History
PBP was established in 2005 as t ...
won its first two seats in Dáil Éireann, with
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett (born 6 February 1967) is an Irish People Before Profit/Solidarity politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since the 2011 general election. Boyd Barrett is a former member of Dún ...
and
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
elected. United Left Alliance candidates won a combined vote share of 2.7%, more than the Green Party.
Notable firsts
The 2011 election resulted in a record number of first time TDs, with 76 elected for the first time.
It was the first occasion in which no political party won a seat in every constituency.
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
took a seat in every constituency with the exception of Dublin North-West.
Labour Party TDs Dominic Hannigan and John Lyons became the first openly gay people to be elected to the Dáil.
TDs who lost their seats
Forty-five sitting TDs (27% of the total) lost their Dáil seats: Fianna Fáil (35), Green Party (6), Fine Gael (3) and Independent (1).
Former TDs re-elected
Eight former TDs were re-elected.
Leading vote-getters
The leading vote-getter in 2011 was Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. The candidate who won the highest percentage of a
quota
Quota may refer to:
Economics
* Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country
* Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture
* Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe
* Indi ...
was Fine Gael's Michael Noonan. The top ten by votes won were:
Reactions
Kenny said he would work on a quick formation of a new government, calling the verdict a "democratic revolution." He also said his top priority will be renegotiating the bailout. Despite his attempts to renegotiate the bailout, which was a condition in coalition talks, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
response was read as a blow to these attempts when she said "We can't get to a point where Ireland pays lower interest rates than Portugal. reland and Greece hadtapped an aid programme nd agreed to conditions that they must fulfil If the Irish government now has a problem with interest rates, our job is to figure out what we can do – or whether we can do anything." Pressure continued to mount on Kenny's attempt to reconfigure the loan terms of the bailout as Merkel was scheduled to attend a
European People's Party
The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
leaders' meet that Kenny, Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk ( , ; born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and was a co-founder and leader of the Civic Pla ...
and European Union President
Herman Van Rompuy
Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy (; born 31 October 1947) is a Belgian politician, who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009 and then as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014.
A politicia ...
(of Belgium's CD&V) were also attending. Host Finnish Finance Minister
Jyrki Katainen
Jyrki Tapani Katainen (born 14 October 1971) is a Finnish politician who served as the European Commission's Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness from 2014 until 2019. Katainen was previously Prime Minister of Finland fr ...
, facing an
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of his own, also opposed lowering Ireland's average loan rate of 5.8%. In response to talking about indebted states cannot expect concessions having agreed to additional measures to boost competitiveness and stabilise their finances, he said: "You can't be rewarded by others for doing your job well. The concession is that those countries' credibility in the markets will improve."
The
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
declined after the election on speculation the new government would seek to revalue the bailout with senior bank bond holders. The
Irish Stock Exchange
Euronext Dublin (formerly The Irish Stock Exchange, ISE; ga, Stocmhalartán na hÉireann) is Ireland's main stock exchange, and has been in existence since 1793.
The Euronext Dublin lists debt and fund securities and is used as a European g ...
's ISEQ index increased by over 1% on 28 February following the election.
The ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' blamed
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
Brian Cowen
Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011.
Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...
for having ignored warnings on public finances from civil servants during the
Celtic Tiger
The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by a subseque ...
days.
Analysis
The election result was read as harsh on the
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
which
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
read as its intention was to "provide economic harmony... ndensure political stability." Of which it said neither has happened. It also suggested that:
''The Irish Times'' columnist
Diarmaid Ferriter
Diarmaid Ferriter (born February 1972) is an Irish historian, broadcaster and university professor. He has written eleven books on the subject of Irish history, and co-authored another. Ferriter attended St. Benildus College in Kilmacud in Dub ...
likened Fianna Fáil's electoral meltdown to the 1918 election, which saw the
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish national ...
nearly wiped off the map by Sinn Féin. According to Ferriter, in both cases the electorate rejected "a tired old movement, arrogant from long-time electoral dominance". He even suggested Fianna Fáil might have been swept out of the chamber entirely in a
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system, and that the party now faced a battle to stay relevant on the Irish political scene.
Government formation
With the largest number of seats, but not a majority, Fine Gael was the most likely party to lead the new government. There had been speculation that the party might be able to form a single-party minority government supported by a number of independents or by Fianna Fáil. However, it became clear almost as soon as the result was beyond doubt that Fine Gael's senior leadership preferred to go into coalition with the Labour Party. Following a meeting of the leaders of the two parties, negotiating teams were appointed on 1 March to discuss the possibility of agreeing a joint programme for government. The teams were Michael Noonan,
Phil Hogan
Phil Hogan (born 4 July 1960) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as European Commissioner for Trade between 2019 and 2020, and previously European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development between 2014 and 2019.
He previously ...
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
and
Joan Burton
Joan Burton (born 1 February 1949) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Social Protection from 2011 to 2016, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2 ...
,
Brendan Howlin
Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency since 1987. He previously served as Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expenditu ...
and
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 19 ...
for Labour. After meeting for a second day they described the talks as "friendly". Officials from the Department of Finance and the National Treasury Management Agency also briefed them on economic issues as opposition parties had not been briefed before the election. Burton then said there was a "very challenging situation in the banking sector".
Late on the night of 5 March, Fine Gael and Labour reached a formal coalition agreement. The programme for government was ratified the following day by a special delegate conference of the Labour Party and by a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party. This cleared the way for Enda Kenny to be nominated as Taoiseach on 9 March. The coalition deal was opposed within the Labour Party by
Tommy Broughan
Thomas Broughan (born 1 August 1947) is a former Irish Independent politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1992 to 2020.
He sat as a TD for the Labour Party until late 2011, representing the Dublin North-East constituency from 1992 ...
and
Joanna Tuffy
Joanna Tuffy (born 9 March 1965) is an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Mid-West constituency 2007 to 2016. She was a Senator for the Administrative Panel from 2002 to 2007.
Early life
Born in ...
.
When the Dáil convened on 9 March, Kenny was the only candidate nominated as Taoiseach, and was elected by 117 votes for to 27 against. as well as the Fine Gael and Labour parties, he was supported by a number of independent TDs, while Fianna Fáil abstained on the vote. Under the terms of the deal, Gilmore became
Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...
Government of the 31st Dáil
The Government of the 31st Dáil or the 29th Government of Ireland (9 March 2011 – 6 May 2016) was the government of Ireland which was formed following the 2011 general election to Dáil Éireann on 25 February 2011. It was a coalition govern ...
*
Members of the 24th Seanad
This is a list of the members of the 24th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected on 27 April 2011 after postal voting closed. The Taoiseach's nominees were announced on 20 May 20 ...
*
Members of the 31st Dáil
This is a list of members who were elected to the 31st Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These TDs (Members of Parliament) were elected at the 2011 general election on 25 February 2011. On the advice o ...
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...