| 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) |
24 May 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats of the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 29 April 2007
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern asked the country's President
Mary McAleese
to dissolve the parliament
paving the way for elections to the House of Representatives on 24 May.
Since 1997
Mr. Ahern
of the Fianna Fáil party
has led a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats. In the last elections held in May 2002
the two parties won 81 and eight seats respectively
controlling 89 of the 166 seats. The main opposition Fine Gael and the Labour Party took 31 and 21 seats each.
A total of 466 candidates ran for the 2007 elections
in which Mr. Ahern sought a third term in office.
The country enjoyed strong economic growth under the coalition government. Mr. Ahern
who had played a major role in political reconciliation in Northern Ireland
helped broker another power-sharing agreement in early May 2007. He pledged tax cuts
free health screening
and higher pensions. However
he suffered a setback when news leaked that he had received money from a friend to renovate a house in Dublin
which he subsequently bought.
Fianna Fáil's partner
the Progressive Democrats
was led by Justice Minister Michael McDowell. During the election campaign
Mr. McDowell was faced a scandal involving the country's most secure prison
from which a convicted armed robber had phoned a call-in TV show using a mobile phone. Further investigation revealed the presence of illegal drugs and smuggled mobile phones within the prison
which raised public concern.
Fine Gael
led by Mr. Enda Kenny
and the Labour Party of Mr. Pat Rabbitte
formed a centre-left alliance. Both parties criticized the government for failing to improve public services. Fine Gael presented a platform entitled
promising improved health services
more resources for tackling crime
better childcare services
and fairer taxes.
The coalition government remained the largest group in the House of Representatives by winning a total of 80 seats (78 went to Fianna Fáil and two to the Progressive Democrats)
but failed to win an absolute majority. The opposition Fine Gael gained 20 more seats
winning 51
with the Labour Party taking 20 seats. The Greens took six seats
while Sinn Fein took four. The five remaining seats went to independent candidates.
In all
22 women were elected. The new House of Representatives will have 41 first-time MPs.
On 14 June
the newly-elected House of Representatives held its first session and elected Mr. John O'Donoghue (Fianna Fáil) as its new Speaker.
After three weeks of negotiations
Fianna Fáil
the Progressive Democrats and the Greens agreed to form a coalition government.
On 15 June
the House of Representatives re-elected Mr. Ahern as Prime Minister
with the support of his coalition partners and three of the five independent members. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 24 May 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'110'914
2'085'245 (67.03%)
19'435
2'065'810 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Fianna Fail |
106 |
858'565 |
|
|
41.56 |
|
|
| Fine Gael |
91 |
564'428 |
|
|
27.32 |
|
|
| Labour Party |
50 |
209'175 |
|
|
10.13 |
|
|
| Green Party |
44 |
96'936 |
|
|
4.69 |
|
|
| Independents |
90 |
118'951 |
|
|
5.76 |
|
|
| Sinn Fein |
41 |
143'410 |
|
|
6.94 |
|
|
| Progressive Democrats |
30 |
56'396 |
|
|
2.73 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Fianna Fail |
78
|
|
|
|
|
| Fine Gael |
51
|
|
|
|
|
| Labour Party |
20
|
|
|
|
|
| Green Party |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Sinn Fein |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Progressive Democrats |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
144
22
13.25%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Note:
The distribution of seats indicated above includes outgoing Speaker
Mr. Rory O'Hanlon
(Fianna Fail) who was elected unopposed.
Sources:
- House of Representatives (14.06.2007
01.01.2010)
- http://www.environ.ie/
- http://www.rte.ie/news/elections2007 |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
