| Election Name: | 2004 European Parliament election in Ireland |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1999 European Parliament election in Ireland |
| Previous Year: | 1999 |
| Previous Mps: | List of members of the European Parliament for Ireland, 1999–2004 |
| Next Election: | 2009 European Parliament election in Ireland |
| Next Year: | 2009 |
| Seats For Election: | 13 seats to the European Parliament |
| Election Date: | 11 June 2004 |
| Turnout: | 1,841,335 (59.0% 8.8pp) |
| Party1: | Fine Gael |
| Alliance1: | European People's Party–European Democrats |
| Last Election1: | 24.6%, 4 seats |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Popular Vote1: | 464,414 |
| Percentage1: | 27.8% |
| Swing1: | 3.2% |
| Party2: | Fianna Fáil |
| Alliance2: | Union for Europe of the Nations |
| Last Election2: | 38.6%, 6 seats |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 524,504 |
| Percentage2: | 29.5% |
| Swing2: | 9.1% |
| Party3: | Sinn Féin |
| Alliance3: | European United Left–Nordic Green Left |
| Last Election3: | 6.3%, 0 seats |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Popular Vote3: | 197,715 |
| Percentage3: | 11.1% |
| Swing3: | 4.8% |
| Party4: | Labour Party (Ireland) |
| Alliance4: | Party of European Socialists |
| Last Election4: | 8.7%, 1 seat |
| Seat Change4: | 0 |
| Popular Vote4: | 188,132 |
| Percentage4: | 10.5% |
| Swing4: | 1.8% |
| Leader5: | Trevor Sargent |
| Leader Since5: | 6 November 2001 |
| Party5: | Green Party (Ireland) |
| Alliance5: | Greens–European Free Alliance |
| Last Election5: | 6.7%, 2 seats |
| Seat Change5: | 2 |
| Popular Vote5: | 76,917 |
| Percentage5: | 4.3% |
| Swing5: | 2.4% |
| Leader6: | Joe Higgins |
| Leader Since6: | — |
| Party6: | Socialist Party (Ireland) |
| Last Election6: | 0.8%, 0 seats |
| Seat Change6: | 0 |
| Popular Vote6: | 23,218 |
| Percentage6: | 1.3% |
| Swing6: | 0.5% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Elected Members: | elected members |
The 2004 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2004 European Parliament election. The voting was held on Friday, 11 June 2004. The election coincided with the 2004 local elections. The election was conducted under the single transferable vote.
Since the 1999 European Parliament election, Ireland's entitlement had fallen from 15 seats to 13 seats due to European Union expansion and some constituencies boundaries and names were changed.
The election was organised by city/county council area, the basis for the local elections being held simultaneously. Voters received different-coloured ballot papers for the European election, city/county council election, and a constitutional referendum, all of which went into the same ballot box and were separated by colour once the boxes arrived at the count centre for the city/county. Not all voters received all ballots as the franchises differ. The European ballots were all counted in one city/county, necessitating a second transportation of the separated ballots from the other city/county centres. For example, the East ballots were counted in Navan, County Meath.[1]
| Party | European party | Party Leader | 1st Pref Vote | % | ±% | Seats | ± | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | EPP-ED | Enda Kenny | 494,412 | 27.8 | +3.2 | 5 | +1 | ||
| Fianna Fáil | UEN | Bertie Ahern | 524,504 | 29.5 | −9.1 | 4 | −2 | ||
| Sinn Féin | GUE/NGL | Gerry Adams | 197,715 | 11.1 | +4.8 | 1 | +1 | ||
| Labour Party | PES | Pat Rabbitte | 188,132 | 10.5 | +1.8 | 1 | ±0 | ||
| Green Party | Greens/EFA | Trevor Sargent | 76,917 | 4.3 | −2.4 | 0 | −2 | ||
| Socialist Party | Joe Higgins | 23,218 | 1.3 | +0.5 | 0 | ±0 | |||
| Independent | 275,870 | 15.5 | +1.2 | 2 | ±0 | ||||
| Total | 1,780,768 | 100 | — | 13 | –2 | ||||
See main article: List of members of the European Parliament for Ireland, 2004–2009.
| Constituency | Electorate | Turnout | Spoilt | Valid Poll | Quota | Seats | Candidates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | 821,723 | 435,136 (52.9%) | 13,239 (3.0%) | 421,897 | 84,380 | 4 | 12 | |
| East | 806,598 | 471,895 (58.5%) | 18,717 (3.9%) | 453,178 | 113,295 | 3 | 13 | |
| North-West | 688,804 | 435,910 (63.3%) | 14,487 (3.3%) | 421,423 | 105,356 | 3 | 9 | |
| South | 802,359 | 498,394 (62.1%) | 14,124 (2.8%) | 484,270 | 121,068 | 3 | 10 | |
| Total | 3,119,484 | 1,841,335 (59.0%) | 60,567 (3.3%) | 1,780,768 | — | 13 | 44 |
| Constituency | Area | Seats | Pop. | per Seat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | County Dublin | 4 | 1.1m | 275k | |
| East | Leinster less County Dublin | 3 | 1m | 333k | |
| South | Munster less County Clare | 3 | 1m | 333k | |
| North-West | Connacht plus counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare | 3 | 800k | 270k | |
| Total | 13 | 3.9m | 300k | ||