| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Oireachtas / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Dáil Éireann / House of Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Seanad Éireann - Senate / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
25 February 2011 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives following the early dissolution of this body on 1 February 2011. Elections to the House of Representatives had previously taken place in May 2007. |
The early elections in February 2011 were a direct result of the impact of the global economic crisis that began in 2008. They were constitutionally due by May 2012.
In the previous elections held in May 2007, Fianna Fáil - which had won the largest share of seats in every election since 1932 - took 78 of the 166 seats at stake. Its coalition partner since 1997, the Progressive Democrats, took two seats. Opposition parties Fine Gael and the Labour Party won 51 and 20 seats respectively, while the Greens and Sinn Fein took six and four seats. After three weeks of negotiations, Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and the Greens agreed to form a coalition government. The House of Representatives re-elected Mr. Bertie Ahern as Prime Minister with the support of his coalition partners and three of the five independent members.
In April 2008, Mr. Ahern announced that he would step down following a scandal over his financial affairs. The following month, his Deputy, Mr. Brian Cowen, succeeded him as the head of Fianna Fáil and Prime Minister.
The global economic crisis severely hit the country of 4.5 million inhabitants. The new Prime Minister, who had served as Finance Minister between 2004 and 2008, faced criticism for failing to anticipate the collapse of the Irish banking sector. In October 2008, Ireland became the first country in western Europe to fall into a recession. By February 2009, the unemployment rate had reached 11 per cent, the highest since 1996. By September 2010, the cost of the bailout plan for the banking system totalled 45 billion euros, raising the country's budget deficit to 32 per cent of its GDP. The country's economy continued to deteriorate, with unemployment surpassing 13 per cent.
The Prime Minister repeatedly insisted that Ireland would not need an international bailout. However, in November 2010 the government had no alternative but to sign an 85 billion euro loan package from the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden, and agree to tax rises and spending cuts. The government announced that it would cut 12,000 posts in the 305,000-strong public-service workforce by 2014. Many citizens took part in protest rallies against the loan conditions, in particular the average interest rate of 5.8 per cent.
The Greens urged Prime Minister Cowen to hold early elections. The latter initially tried to avert a political crisis by reshuffling the cabinet and promising early polls after parliament passed the 2011 budget. On 18 January 2011, his Fianna Fáil party voted to support Mr. Cowen, whose leadership was challenged by Foreign Minister Micheál Martin.
On 20 January, following mounting pressure from the Greens, Prime Minister Cowen announced that he would call early elections for 11 March. On 22 January, he stepped down as Fianna Fáil leader but said that he would remain Prime Minister to oversee implementation of the economic legislation until the March elections. Foreign Minister Martin took over the party leadership.
On 27 January, the House of Representatives passed the Finance Bill, the last piece in a series of financial legislation required to implement the EU-IMF-led loan package. On 31 January, 51-year-old Prime Minister Cowen announced that he would retire from politics, after a 26-year career. He became Ireland's first sitting prime minister not to seek re-election to the House of Representatives. Some 20 outgoing Fianna Fáil members decided to follow suit.
On 1 February, Prime Minister Cowen asked President Mary McAleese to dissolve the House of Representatives for early elections to be held on 25 February.
A total of 566 candidates - up from 466 in 2007 - were running for the 165 of the 166 seats in the House of Representatives, as Speaker Séamus Kirk was re-elected unopposed (see note). Fianna Fáil, which had been in power since 1997, fielded only 75 candidates - down from 106 in 2007 - making it impossible for it to secure a majority in the new legislature. Fine Gael fielded 104 candidates in 2011, up from 91.
Fianna Fáil's new leader, Mr. Martin, described the 2011 elections as "the most important general elections in a generation". He promised to make Fianna Fáil a "vital force" in the new legislature and criticized Fine Gael for its policies which, in his view, comprised "few credible initiatives". Fianna Fáil pledged to revive the economy and restore public finances.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny urged voters to turn anger into action and vote against the Fianna Fáil-led administration. He pledged to restore the country's international reputation as a business location. Fine Gael promised to re-negotiate the conditions of the 2010 bailout with a view to obtaining lower interest rates. It also planned to cut a total of 30,000 posts in the public sector (including the 12,000 already set by the outgoing government) to save 5 billion euros, while creating 100,000 jobs by investing 7 billion euros.
The Labour Party proposed to cut 18,000 public sector jobs, 6,000 more than the target set by the outgoing government. Labour leader Eamonn Gilmore urged voters to opt for a coalition government comprising Fine Gael and the Labour Party that would be "fair and balanced" rather than a "one-party rule" under Fianna Fáil.
The leader of the Greens, Mr. John Gormley, said that his party was ready to work with other parties in the government and promised its support to the new government whenever it did "the right thing for the Irish people".
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams pledged to put "real political backbone" into the House of Representatives.
The United Left Alliance (ULA), comprising several leftist parties and groups - such as the Socialist Party (SP) and the People Before Profit Alliance (PBPA) - criticized the bailout plan of the outgoing government. It pledged to prioritize social needs over profit. The ULA said it would reject any deals with or support for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
The New Vision (NV), an association of independent candidates, promised to work for the separation of bank debt and sovereign debt. As the ULA and the NV were not registered as political parties, their candidates campaigned under these banners but officially ran as independents.
In all, 69.90 per cent of the 3.2 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
Fine Gael came in first with 76 seats but failed to secure a majority. The Labour Party took 37 seats. Fianna Fáil saw its share reduced from 78 to 20 (including outgoing Speaker Kirk, who was re-elected unopposed). The Greens failed to win parliamentary representation. Sinn Fein increased its share to 14. The ULA took a total of five seats while the NV took one. The remaining 13 seats went to independent candidates. A record 25 women were elected.
On 9 March, the newly elected House of Representatives held its first session and elected Mr. Seán Barrett (Fine Gael) as its new Speaker. It subsequently elected Mr. Enda Kenny (Fine Gael) as new Prime Minister, who was then sworn in by President McAleese. His government - comprising Fine Gael and the Labour Party - became the first non-Fianna Fáil led government in 14 years.
The dissolution of the House of Representatives in February triggered indirect elections to the Senate which took place on 25 and 26 April. On 20 May, Prime Minister Kenny appointed another eleven members of the Senate, including Mr. Martin McAleese, husband of the President. The new Senate comprised 19 members of Fine Gael, 13 from Fianna Fail, 11 from the Labour Party, three from Sinn Fein, and 11 independents, including Mr. MacAleese. On 25 May, Mr. Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) was elected as the new Senate President.
Note:
Based on Article 16 - 6 of the Constitution and article 36 of the 1992 Electoral Act, the outgoing Speaker shall be "deemed without any actual election to be elected at such general election as a member of the Dáil (House of Representatives) ".
http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf%20files/Constitution%20of%20Ireland.pdf
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1992/en/act/pub/0023/sec0036.html#sec36 |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 25 February 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'209'244
2'243'176 (69.9%)
22'817
2'220'359 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% of votes |
|
|
| Fine Gael |
104 |
801'628 |
|
|
36.10 |
|
|
| Labour Party |
68 |
431'796 |
|
|
19.45 |
|
|
| Fianna Fail |
75 |
387'358 |
|
|
17.45 |
|
|
| Independents |
202 |
279'459 |
|
|
12.59 |
|
|
| Sinn Fein |
41 |
220'661 |
|
|
9.94 |
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
9 |
26'770 |
|
|
1.21 |
|
|
| People Before Profit Alliance (PBPA) |
9 |
21'551 |
|
|
0.97 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total of seats
|
|
|
|
|
| Fine Gael |
76
|
|
|
|
|
| Labour Party |
37
|
|
|
|
|
| Fianna Fail |
20
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
15
|
|
|
|
|
| Sinn Fein |
14
|
|
|
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| People Before Profit Alliance (PBPA) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
141
25
15.06%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
|
| Comments |
Note on the distribution of seats:
The 'independents' include the candidates elects representing the United Left Alliance (ULA) and the New Vision which took one seat each.
Sources:
House of Representatives (03.03.2011, 20.01.2012)
Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (12.04.2011)
http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?DocId=-1&CatID=71&m=s |
|
