| Election Name: | 2020 Irish general election |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2016 Irish general election |
| Previous Year: | 2016 |
| Next Election: | 2024 Irish general election |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| Outgoing Members: | 32nd Dáil |
| Elected Members: | 33rd Dáil |
| Seats For Election: | 160 seats in Dáil Éireann |
| Majority Seats: | 81 |
| Opinion Polls: | Opinion polling for the 2020 Irish general election |
| Election Date: | 8 February 2020 |
| Turnout: | 62.7% 2.4pp |
| Leader1: | Micheál Martin |
| Leader Since1: | 26 January 2011 |
| Party1: | Fianna Fáil |
| Leaders Seat1: | Cork South-Central |
| Last Election1: | 44 seats, 24.3% |
| Seats1: | 38 |
| Seat Change1: | 6 |
| Popular Vote1: | 484,320 |
| Percentage1: | 22.2% |
| Swing1: | 2.1% |
| Leader2: | Mary Lou McDonald |
| Leader Since2: | 10 February 2018 |
| Party2: | Sinn Féin |
| Leaders Seat2: | Dublin Central |
| Last Election2: | 23 seats, 13.8% |
| Seats2: | 37 |
| Seat Change2: | 14 |
| Popular Vote2: | 535,595 |
| Percentage2: | 24.5% |
| Swing2: | 10.7% |
| Leader3: | Leo Varadkar |
| Leader Since3: | 2 June 2017 |
| Party3: | Fine Gael |
| Leaders Seat3: | Dublin West |
| Last Election3: | 50 seats, 25.5% |
| Seats3: | 35 |
| Seat Change3: | 15 |
| Popular Vote3: | 455,584 |
| Percentage3: | 20.9% |
| Swing3: | 4.7% |
| Leader4: | Eamon Ryan |
| Leader Since4: | 27 May 2011 |
| Party4: | Green Party (Ireland) |
| Leaders Seat4: | Dublin Bay South |
| Last Election4: | 2 seats, 2.7% |
| Seats4: | 12 |
| Seat Change4: | 10 |
| Popular Vote4: | 155,700 |
| Percentage4: | 7.1% |
| Swing4: | 4.4% |
| Leader5: | Brendan Howlin |
| Leader Since5: | 20 May 2016 |
| Party5: | Labour Party (Ireland) |
| Leaders Seat5: | Wexford |
| Last Election5: | 7 seats, 6.6% |
| Seats5: | 6 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 95,588 |
| Percentage5: | 4.4% |
| Swing5: | 2.2% |
| Leader6: | Catherine Murphy Róisín Shortall |
| Leader Since6: | 15 July 2015 |
| Party6: | Social Democrats (Ireland) |
| Leaders Seat6: | Kildare North Dublin North-West |
| Last Election6: | 3 seats, 3.0% |
| Seats6: | 6 |
| Seat Change6: | 3 |
| Popular Vote6: | 63,404 |
| Percentage6: | 2.9% |
| Swing6: | 0.1% |
| Image7: | S–PBP |
| Leader7: | Collective leadership |
| Leader Since7: | n/a |
| Party7: | Solidarity–People Before Profit |
| Leaders Seat7: | n/a |
| Last Election7: | 6 seats, 3.9% |
| Seats7: | 5 |
| Seat Change7: | 1 |
| Popular Vote7: | 57,420 |
| Percentage7: | 2.6% |
| Swing7: | 1.3% |
| Leader8: | Peadar Tóibín |
| Leader Since8: | 28 January 2019 |
| Party8: | Aontú |
| Leaders Seat8: | Meath West |
| Last Election8: | Did not exist |
| Seats8: | 1 |
| Seat Change8: | New |
| Popular Vote8: | 40,917 |
| Percentage8: | 1.9% |
| Swing8: | New |
| Image9: | I4C |
| Leader9: | None |
| Leader Since9: | n/a |
| Party9: | Independents 4 Change |
| Leaders Seat9: | n/a |
| Last Election9: | 4 seats, 1.5% |
| Seats9: | 1 |
| Seat Change9: | 3 |
| Popular Vote9: | 8,421 |
| Percentage9: | 0.4% |
| Swing9: | 1.1% |
| Taoiseach | |
| Posttitle: | Taoiseach after election |
| Before Election: | Leo Varadkar |
| Before Party: | Fine Gael |
| After Election: | Micheál Martin |
| After Party: | Fianna Fáil |
The 2020 Irish general election took place on Saturday 8 February, to elect the 33rd Dáil, the lower house of Ireland's parliament. The election was called following the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil by the president, at the request of the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, on 14 January 2020. The members, Teachtaí Dála (TDs), were elected by single transferable vote in multi-seat constituencies. It was the first election since 1918 to be held on a weekend. Following the election, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil entered into a historic coalition government.
The election was an unprecedented three-way race, with the three largest parties each winning a share of the vote between 20% and 25%. Fianna Fáil finished with 38 seats (including one TD returned automatically as outgoing Ceann Comhairle). Sinn Féin made significant gains; it received the most first-preference votes, and won 37 seats, the party's best result since 1923. Fine Gael, the governing party led by Varadkar, came third both in seats (35) and in first-preference votes. International news outlets have described the result as a historic break from the two-party system, as it was the first time in almost a century that neither Fianna Fáil nor Fine Gael won the most votes. Furthermore, the combined vote share of the two traditional main parties fell to a historic low.[1] [2] The leaders of those parties had long ruled out forming a coalition government with Sinn Féin.
The 33rd Dáil first met on 20 February. The outgoing Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl of Fianna Fáil, was re-elected, reducing to 37 the number of Fianna Fáil TDs. Four candidates were proposed for the position of Taoiseach, but none were successful. Varadkar formally resigned as Taoiseach that day as he was constitutionally obliged to do, but he and the other members of the government continued to carry out their duties until the appointment of their successors.[3] Negotiations to form a new government continued through to June, impacted by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.[4] A Programme for Government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party was published on 15 June 2020.[5] [6] On 26 June, all three parties voted to enter government under the Programme for Government. On 27 June, Micheál Martin was appointed as Taoiseach and formed a new government. The parties agreed that in December 2022, Varadkar would serve again as Taoiseach.[7]
Since the 2016 Irish general election, Fine Gael had led a minority government with the support of Independent TDs, including the Independent Alliance. It relied on a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil.
On 3 December 2019, a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy proposed by Catherine Murphy for the Social Democrats was defeated, with 53 votes in favour to 56 votes against and 35 registered abstentions.[8] On 9 January 2020, Independent TD Michael Collins called for a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health Simon Harris.[9] On 14 January, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sought a dissolution of the Dáil which was granted by the president, with the 33rd Dáil to convene on 20 February at 12 noon.[10] [11] The election was set for 8 February, the first time a general election was held on a Saturday since 1918.[12] [13]
Members of Dáil Éireann known as TDs (Dáil deputies) were elected by single transferable vote (STV) from 39 constituencies with between three and five seats. Voters complete a paper ballot, numbering candidates 1, 2, 3, etc. in order of their preference. Ballot boxes are sent to the constituency count centre after polls close and are counted the following morning. Voters may mark as many or as few preferences as they wish. Each ballot is initially credited to its first-preference candidate but if the first preference candidate is elected or eliminated on later counts, the vote may be transferred to the next usable preference, in which case it is not used to elect the candidate marked as the first preference. (The vote is only used to elect one candidate in the end or none at all.)[14] The whole-vote method is used for transfers of surplus votes held by elected candidates.[15] As the outgoing Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, did not announce his retirement, he was automatically returned, and the remaining 159 of the 160 seats were up for election.[16]
A Constituency Commission, convened in July 2016 under the provisions of the Electoral Act 1997 with High Court judge Robert Haughton as chair, made recommendations on changes to constituency boundaries after publication of initial population data from the 2016 census.[17] [18] The commission had some discretion but was constitutionally bound to allow no more than a ratio of 30,000 people per elected member, and was required by law to recommend constituencies of three, four or five seats, and to avoid – as far as was practicable – breaching county boundaries. The Commission report, released on 27 June 2017, recommended an increase in the number of TDs from 158 to 160 elected in 39 constituencies.[19] [20] These changes were implemented by the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017.[21] [22] The election of the 33rd Dáil was therefore held using the new boundaries, for 160 seats.
The following members of the 32nd Dáil did not seek re-election.
| Constituency | Departing TD | Party | First elected | Date confirmed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavan–Monaghan | data-sort-value="Ocaolain, Caoimhghin" | Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin | Sinn Féin | 1997 | [23] | |
| Clare | data-sort-value="Harty, Michael" | Michael Harty | 2016 | [24] | ||
| Cork North-Central | data-sort-value="Obrien, Jonathan" | Jonathan O'Brien | Sinn Féin | 2011 | [25] | |
| Cork South-West | data-sort-value="Daly, Jim" | Jim Daly | Fine Gael | 2011 | [26] | |
| Dublin Bay North | data-sort-value="Broughan, Tommy" | Tommy Broughan | 1992 | [27] | ||
| Dublin Bay North | data-sort-value="McGrath, Finian" | Finian McGrath | 2002 | [28] | ||
| Dublin Central | data-sort-value="Osullivan, Maureen" | Maureen O'Sullivan | 2009 | [29] | ||
| Dublin Fingal | data-sort-value="Ryan, Brendan" | Brendan Ryan | Labour Party | 2011 | [30] | |
| data-sort-value="Bailey, Maria" | Maria Bailey | Fine Gael | 2016 | 22 January 2020[31] | ||
| data-sort-value="Barrett, Sean" | Seán Barrett | Fine Gael | 1981 | 6 December 2019[32] | ||
| Kerry | data-sort-value="Ferris, Martin" | Martin Ferris | Sinn Féin | 2002 | [33] | |
| Limerick City | data-sort-value="Noonan, Michael" | Michael Noonan | Fine Gael | 1981 | [34] | |
| Longford–Westmeath | data-sort-value="Penrose, Willie" | Willie Penrose | Labour Party | 1992 | [35] | |
| Louth | data-sort-value="Adams, Gerry" | Gerry Adams | Sinn Féin | 2011 | [36] | |
| Mayo | data-sort-value="Kenny, Enda" | Enda Kenny | Fine Gael | 1975 | [37] | |
| Sligo–Leitrim | data-sort-value="McLoughlin, Tony" | Tony McLoughlin | Fine Gael | 2011 | [38] | |
| Waterford | data-sort-value="Deasy, John" | John Deasy | Fine Gael | 2002 | [39] | |
| Waterford | data-sort-value="Halligan, John" | John Halligan | 2011 | [40] | ||
The campaign officially began after the dissolution of Dáil Éireann on 14 January 2020 and lasted until polling day on 8 February 2020. the Polling was just over a week after the United Kingdom (which includes Northern Ireland) withdrew from the European Union, making it the first major election to be held within the EU after Brexit. The election took place on a Saturday for the first time since the 1918 election.[41] Leo Varadkar said that the change of day was to prevent school closures (many schools in Ireland are used as polling stations) and to make it easy for third-level students and those working away from home to vote.[42]
Nomination of candidates closed on Wednesday, 22 January. A record number of women were nominated, with 162 of the 531 candidates.[43] This was the first Irish general election in which there was a female candidate running in every constituency. If a party does not have a minimum of 30% male and 30% female candidates, it forfeits half of their state funding. At close of nominations, Fine Gael had 30.5% female candidates, Fianna Fáil had 31%, Labour had 32%, Sinn Féin had 33%, People Before Profit had 38%, the Green Party had 41%, and the Social Democrats had 57%, all passing the quota.[44]
Parties contesting a general election for the first time included Aontú, the Irish Freedom Party, the National Party and RISE (as part of S–PBP).
Voter registration via the Supplementary Register of Voters closed on 23 January, with very high registration taking place on the last day – Dublin City Council, for example, reporting 3,500 registrations on the final day allowed, and a total of 14,000 additional registrations, reported to be twice the normal amount for a general election.[45]
On 3 February 2020, the returning officer for Tipperary cancelled the writ of election there, as required by Section 62 of the Electoral Act 1992, after the death of candidate Marese Skehan.[46] However, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government formed a view that the 1992 provision breached the constitutional requirement that elections take place within 30 days of a Dáil dissolution, so on 5 February he issued a Special Difficulty Order allowing the election to proceed on the same date as other constituencies.[47] [48] [49] Skehan's name remained on the ballot paper.[50] [51]
| Manifesto (external link) | Other slogan(s) | Refs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | A future to Look Forward to | "Building a Republic of Opportunity, Taking Ireland Forward Together." | [52] [53] | ||||
| Fianna Fáil | An Ireland for all / Éire do chách | ||||||
| Sinn Féin | Giving workers & families a break | "Time for change", "Standing up for Irish unity" | [54] | ||||
| Labour Party | Building an equal society | ||||||
| Planet Before Profit | "Socialism for the 21st century" | [55] | |||||
| Solidarity | "Real change, not spare change" | [56] | |||||
| RISE | [57] | ||||||
| Social Democrats | Hope for better. Vote for better. | "Invest in better" | |||||
| Green Party | Want Green? Vote Green! | "The future belongs to all of us" | [58] | ||||
| Aontú | "Think outside the political cartel" | [59] | |||||
| 2020 Irish general election debates | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jan | Virgin One | Pat Kenny | [60] | |||||||||
| 27 Jan | RTÉ One | Claire Byrne | [61] | |||||||||
| 30 Jan | Virgin One | Ivan Yates Matt Cooper | [62] | |||||||||
| 4 Feb | RTÉ One | David McCullagh Miriam O'Callaghan | ||||||||||
| 6 Feb | RTÉ One | David McCullagh Miriam O'Callaghan | ||||||||||
| 6 Feb | Virgin Media | Ivan Yates Matt Cooper | ||||||||||
| 6 Feb[63] | TG4 | Páidí Ó Lionáird | ||||||||||
The first leaders' debate took place on Virgin Media One on 22 January, but was restricted to Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin.[64]
A leaders' debate featuring seven party leaders/representatives took place on RTÉ One on Monday 27 January, from NUI Galway.[65] [66]
On 27 January, RTÉ published an article explaining its rationale as to whom it invited to appear in televised leadership debates.[67] Aontú announced that it would seek a High Court injunction to prevent the broadcast of the leaders' debate scheduled for the same day but later in the day they announced that they would not proceed with the action.[68]
A further RTÉ debate was scheduled for 4 February, again on RTÉ One, and featuring only Varadkar and Martin. Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin, had objected to her exclusion, and Sinn Féin threatened legal action if it was excluded from this debate.[69] On 3 February, RTÉ announced that it had invited McDonald to participate in the final debate, in part due to Sinn Féin's standing in recent opinion polls, and Sinn Féin confirmed that it would accept the invitation.[70] [71]
A final debate between the leader of smaller parties took place on 6 February on RTÉ One.
The table below lists all of the nominated candidates. Elected candidates are shown in bold text.
| Constituency | Fine Gael | Fianna Fáil | Sinn Féin | Labour | Solidarity–PBP | Green | Social Democrats | Independent | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow–Kilkenny | Pat Deering Patrick O'Neill John Paul Phelan | Bobby Aylward John McGuinness Jennifer Murnane O'Connor | Kathleen Funchion | Denis Hynes | Adrienne Wallace (PBP) | Malcolm Noonan | Alan Hayes Angela Ray | Helena Byrne (Renua) Melissa O'Neill (IFP) | |
| Cavan–Monaghan | Heather Humphreys Sandra McIntyre T.P. O'Reilly | Robbie Gallagher Brendan Smith Niamh Smyth | Matt Carthy Pauline Tully | Liam van der Spek | Emmett Smith (PBP) | Tate Donnelly | Joseph Duffy | Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) | |
| Clare | Pat Breen Joe Carey Martin Conway | Cathal Crowe Timmy Dooley Rita McInerney | Violet-Anne Wynne | Theresa O'Donohue (PBP) | Róisín Garvey | David Barrett Trudy Leyden Michael McNamara Joseph Woulfe | Michael Leahy (IFP) Conor O'Brien (Renua) | ||
| Cork East | Pa O'Driscoll David Stanton | James O'Connor Kevin O'Keeffe | Pat Buckley | Seán Sherlock | Liam Quaide | Thomas Kiely Mary Linehan-Foley Shane O'Grady Sean O'Leary | Conor Hannon (Aontú) Frank Shinnick (IFP) | ||
| Cork North–Central | Colm Burke Lorraine O'Neill | Tony Fitzgerald Sandra Murphy Pádraig O'Sullivan | Thomas Gould | John Maher | Mick Barry (S) | Oliver Moran | Sinéad Halpin | T J Hogan Ger Keohane Diarmaid Ó Cadhla Stephen O'Donovan Kenneth O'Flynn Sean O'Leary | James Coughlan (WP) Finian Toomey (Aontú) |
| Cork North–West | Michael Creed John Paul O'Shea | Aindrias Moynihan Michael Moynihan | Colette Finn | Ciarán McCarthy | Seán O'Leary | Becky Kealy (Aontú) Tara Nic Domhnaill (IFP) | |||
| Cork South–Central | Jerry Buttimer Simon Coveney | Micheál Martin Michael McGrath | Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire | Ciara Kennedy | Bobby Murray Walsh (PBP) | Lorna Bogue | Patricia O'Dwyer | Paudie Dineen John Donohoe William O'Brien Sean O'Leary | Anna Daly (Aontú) |
| Cork South–West | Karen Coakley Tim Lombard | Margaret Murphy O'Mahony Christopher O'Sullivan | Paul Hayes | Kevin O'Connor (PBP) | Bernadette Connolly | Holly Cairns | Alan Coleman Michael Collins Sean O'Leary | Mairéad Ruane (Aontú) | |
| Donegal | Martin Harley Joe McHugh | Pat "the Cope" Gallagher Charlie McConalogue | Pearse Doherty Pádraig Mac Lochlainn | Michael White | Peter Casey Niall McConnell Arthur McGuinness John O'Donnell Thomas Pringle | Mary T. Sweeney (Aontú) | |||
| Dublin Bay North | Richard Bruton Catherine Noone | Seán Haughey Deirdre Heney | Denise Mitchell | Aodhán Ó Ríordáin | Bernard Mulvany (PBP) Michael O'Brien (S) | David Healy | Cian O'Callaghan | Michael Burke Conor Creaven Brian Garrigan John Lyons Linda McEvoy Sean O'Leary | Ben Gilroy (IFP) Proinsias O'Conarain (Aontú) |
| Dublin Bay South | Eoghan Murphy Kate O'Connell | Jim O'Callaghan | Chris Andrews | Kevin Humphreys | Annette Mooney (PBP) | Eamon Ryan | Sarah Durcan | Norma Burke Peter Dooley Mannix Flynn John Keigher Sean O'Leary | Jacqui Gilborne (Renua) Ben Scallan (IFP) |
| Dublin Central | Paschal Donohoe Deirdre Duffy | Mary Fitzpatrick | Mary Lou McDonald | Joe Costello | Gillian Brien (PBP) Rita Harrold (S) | Neasa Hourigan | Gary Gannon | Christy Burke Patrick Clohessy Sarah Louise Mulligan Sean O'Leary Dolores Webster | Ian Noel Smyth (Aontú) Éilis Ryan (WP) |
| Dublin Fingal | Alan Farrell James Reilly | Lorraine Clifford-Lee Darragh O'Brien | Louise O'Reilly | Duncan Smith | Terry Kelleher (S) John Uwhumiakpor (PBP) | Joe O'Brien | Paul Mulville | Tony Murphy Gemma O'Doherty Sandra Sweetman | Dean Mulligan (I4C) Alistair Smith (UP) |
| Dublin Mid–West | Vicki Casserly Emer Higgins | John Curran Catriona McClean | Eoin Ó Broin Mark Ward | Joanna Tuffy | Gino Kenny (PBP) | Peter Kavanagh | Paul Gogarty Francis Timmons | David Gardiner (WP) | |
| Dublin North–West | Noel Rock | Paul McAuliffe | Dessie Ellis | Andrew Montague | Conor Reddy (PBP) | Caroline Conroy | Róisín Shortall | Ian Croft Niall Fitzgerald | Stephen Redmond (NP) |
| Dublin Rathdown | Josepha Madigan Neale Richmond | Deirdre Conroy Shay Brennan | Sorcha Nic Cormaic | Lettie McCarthy | Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin (PBP) | Catherine Martin | Patrick Noonan Shane Ross | Liam Coughlan (Aontú) | |
| Dublin South–Central | Catherine Byrne | Catherine Ardagh | Aengus Ó Snodaigh | Rebecca Moynihan | Bríd Smith (PBP) | Patrick Costello | Tara Deacy | Robert Foley Alan Kerrigan Richard Murray Sean O'Leary | Joan Collins (I4C) Serina Irvine (NP) |
| Dublin South–West | Colm Brophy Ellen O'Malley Dunlop | John Lahart Charlie O'Connor Deirdre O'Donovan | Seán Crowe | Ciarán Ahern | Sandra Fay (S) Paul Murphy (RISE) | Francis Noel Duffy | Carly Bailey | Mick Duff Colm O'Keeffe Katherine Zappone | Philip Dwyer (NP) Ann Marie Condren (Renua) |
| Dublin West | Emer Currie Leo Varadkar | Jack Chambers | Paul Donnelly | Joan Burton | Ruth Coppinger (S) | Roderic O'Gorman | Aengus Ó Maoláin | Peter Casey Sean O'Leary Stephen O'Loughlin | Edward Mac Manus (Aontú) |
| Dún Laoghaire | Jennifer Carroll MacNeill Mary Mitchell O'Connor Barry Ward | Cormac Devlin Mary Hanafin | Shane O'Brien | Juliet O'Connell | Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP) | Ossian Smyth | Dave Quinn | John Waters | Con Óg Ó Laoghaire (IFP) Mairéad Tóibín (Aontú) |
| Galway East | Ciarán Cannon Pete Roche | Donagh Killilea Anne Rabbitte | Louis O'Hara | Marian Spelman | Eoin Madden | Peter Reid | Seán Canney David O'Reilly | Deaglán Mac Canna (Renua) Martin Ward (Aontú) | |
| Galway West | Seán Kyne Hildegarde Naughton | Ollie Crowe Éamon Ó Cuív | Mairéad Farrell | Níall McNelis | Conor Burke (S) Joe Loughnane (PBP) | Pauline O'Reilly | Niall Ó Tuathail | Catherine Connolly Mike Cubbard Noel Grealish Daragh O'Flaherty | Cormac Ó Corcoráin (Aontú) |
| Kerry | Brendan Griffin Mike Kennelly | John Brassil Norma Foley Norma Moriarty | Pa Daly | Cleo Murphy | Ted Cronin Danny Healy-Rae Michael Healy-Rae Sean O'Leary | John Bowler (IFP) Sonny Foran (Aontú) | |||
| Kildare North | Bernard Durkan Anthony Lawlor | James Lawless Frank O'Rourke | Réada Cronin | Emmet Stagg | Paul Mahon (PBP) | Vincent P. Martin | Catherine Murphy | David Monaghan Wayne Swords | Séamus Ó Riain (Renua) |
| Kildare South | Martin Heydon | Suzanne Doyle Seán Ó Fearghaíl (CC) Fiona O'Loughlin | Patricia Ryan | Mark Wall | Róisín Uí Bhroin (PBP) | Ronan Maher | Linda Hayden | Cathal Berry Fiona McLoughlin Healy | Anita Mhic Gib (Aontú) |
| Laois–Offaly | Marcella Corcoran Kennedy Charles Flanagan | Barry Cowen Pauline Flanagan Seán Fleming Peter Ormond | Brian Stanley | Noel Tuohy | Stephen Tynan (PBP) | Pippa Hackett | John Leahy Carol Nolan | John Daly (NP) Noel O'Rourke (Renua) Ken Smollen (IDP) | |
| Limerick City | Maria Byrne Kieran O'Donnell | James Collins Willie O'Dea | Maurice Quinlivan | Jan O'Sullivan | Mary Cahillane (S) | Brian Leddin | Jenny Blake | Frankie Daly | Rebecca Barrett (NP) Michael Ryan (Aontú) |
| Limerick County | Tom Neville Patrick O'Donovan | Michael Collins Niall Collins | Séighin Ó Ceallaigh | Claire Keating | Con Cremin Robert O'Donnell Richard O'Donoghue | John Dalton (Renua) Cristín Ní Mhaoldhomhnaigh (NP) Conor O'Donoghue (Aontú) | |||
| Longford–Westmeath | Peter Burke Micheál Carrigy Gabrielle McFadden | Joe Flaherty Robert Troy | Sorca Clarke | Alan Mangan | Dom Parker (S) Barbara Smyth (PBP) | Louise Heavin | Donal Jackson Anna Kavanagh Frank Kilbride Kevin "Boxer" Moran | James Reynolds (NP) | |
| Louth | John McGahon Fergus O'Dowd | Declan Breathnach James Byrne | Imelda Munster Ruairí Ó Murchú | Ged Nash | Audrey Fergus (PBP) | Mark Dearey | Topanga Bird David Bradley Albert Byrne Peter Fitzpatrick | Cathal Ó Murchú (IFP) Eamon Sweeney (Renua) | |
| Mayo | Alan Dillon Michelle Mulherin Michael Ring | Dara Calleary Lisa Chambers | Rose Conway-Walsh | Kamal Uddin | Joe Daly (PBP) | Saoirse McHugh | Gráinne de Barra Seán Forkin Gerry Loftus Stephen Manning | Paul Lawless (Aontú) Daithí Ó Fallamháin (IFP) | |
| Meath East | Regina Doherty Helen McEntee | Thomas Byrne Deirdre Geraghty-Smith | Darren O'Rourke | Annie Hoey | Andrew Keegan (PBP) | Seán McCabe | Joe Bonner Sharon Keogan | Seamus McDonagh (WP) Emer Tóibín (Aontú) | |
| Meath West | Damien English Noel French Sarah Reilly | Shane Cassells | Johnny Guirke | Séamus McMenamin | Ronan Moore | John Malone (Renua) Peadar Tóibín (Aontú) | |||
| Roscommon–Galway | Aisling Dolan | Orla Leyden Eugene Murphy | Claire Kerrane | Kenny Tynan (PBP) | Julie O'Donoghue | Thomas Fallon Michael Fitzmaurice Denis Naughten | Paul Hanley (NP) James Hope (Aontú) | ||
| Sligo–Leitrim | Frank Feighan Thomas Walsh | Shane Ellis Marc MacSharry Eamon Scanlon | Martin Kenny | Nessa Cosgrove | Gino O'Boyle (PBP) | Bláithin Gallagher | James Conway Marian Harkin Mary O'Donnell Bernie O'Hara John Perry Sean Wynne | Declan Bree (I4C) Anne McCloskey (Aontú) Paul McWeeney (NP) Oisín O'Dwyer (Renua) | |
| Tipperary | Garret Ahearn Mary Newman Julian | Jackie Cahill Sandra Farrell Imelda Goldsboro | Martin Browne | Alan Kelly | Rob O'Donnell | Joe Hannigan Séamus Healy Michael Lowry Mattie McGrath Marese Skehan | Dolores Cahill (IFP) | ||
| Waterford | John Cummins Damien Geoghegan | Mary Butler Eddie Mulligan | David Cullinane | John Pratt | Úna Dunphy (PBP) | Marc Ó Cathasaigh | Bernadette Philips Matt Shanahan | Rónan Cleary (Aontú) | |
| Wexford | Michael W. D'Arcy Paul Kehoe | James Browne Malcolm Byrne Lisa McDonald Michael Sheehan | Johnny Mythen | Brendan Howlin | Deirdre Wadding (PBP) | Paula Roseingrave | Ger Carthy Bart Murphy Verona Murphy | Jim Codd (Aontú) Seanie O'Shea (I4C) | |
| Wicklow | Andrew Doyle Simon Harris Billy Timmins | Pat Casey Stephen Donnelly | John Brady | Paul O'Brien | Sharon Briggs (PBP) | Steven Matthews | Jennifer Whitmore | Joe Behan Valerie Cox Tom Dunne Anthony FitzGerald Charlie Keddy William King John Larkin John Snell | Seamus Connor (Aontú) Eileen Gunning (NP) |
See main article: Opinion polling for the 2020 Irish general election. Opinion polls on voting intentions were conducted regularly. Polls were published on an approximately monthly basis by The Sunday Business Post (which uses the Red C polling company) and The Sunday Times (which used the Behaviour and Attitudes polling company for all of its polls since 2016 until its final poll prior to the election, for which it used Panelbase).
Less frequent polls were published by The Irish Times, Sunday Independent, Irish Mail on Sunday, RTÉ News, and others.
The chart below depicts the results of opinion polls since the previous general election.
Polls opened at 7am UTC and closed at 10pm. The total poll was down by 2.2% to 62.9% compared to the previous election, despite it being held on a Saturday. However, severe weather warnings were in place over much of the country due to Storm Ciara.
Counting of the votes commenced at 9am on 9 February and concluded at 11:59pm on 10 February, with Galway East being the first constituency to report and Cavan-Monaghan being the last constituency to report.[72] [73]
The result showed a close contest between three parties. Fianna Fáil won 38 seats (including Seán Ó Fearghaíl returned automatically as outgoing Ceann Comhairle), six fewer than in 2016. Sinn Féin won 37 seats, a gain of fifteen over the previous election. Fine Gael, the party of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, won 35 seats, a fall of 15 from the 2016 election. Among the smaller parties, the Green Party showed the largest gains, increasing from three to twelve seats, a gain of nine over the previous election. Sinn Féin received the most first-preference votes nationwide, finishing a close second in seats. No single party secured more than 25% of the first-preference votes, nor more than 25% of the seats. According to Dublin City University political scientist Eoin O'Malley, it was the most fragmented Dáil ever, with the effective number of parties at 5.95.[74]
Journalists commented on the effects of Sinn Féin's late surge and unexpectedly high first-preference vote. John Drennan listed eleven constituencies where it might have won another seat had it run an extra candidate.[75] Marie O'Halloran observed that Sinn Féin transfers affected the outcome of 21 constituencies, favouring other left-wing parties.[76] Sean Murray noted that Solidarity–People Before Profit benefited most from Sinn Féin transfers.[77]
The Green Party also had their best-ever result, with 12 seats, reflecting increased interest in environmentalism and climate change in Ireland.[78] [79]
The Social Democrats had their best-ever result, with 6 seats; they attributed this to focusing their efforts on winnable seats rather than fielding candidates in every constituency.[80]
Minor far-right and anti-immigration parties (the National Party, Irish Freedom Party and Anti-Corruption Ireland) fared very poorly, winning less than two percent wherever they stood. However, some independent politicians who had expressed anti-immigration views were elected, like Verona Murphy and Noel Grealish.[81] [82]
| bgcolor=white colspan=11 | |||||||||||||||
| Party | Leader | First-preference votes | Seats | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-type="number" | Votes | data-sort-type="number" | % FPv | data-sort-type="number" | Swing (pp) | data-sort-type="number" | [86] | data-sort-type="number" | data-sort-type="number" | data-sort-type="number" | Elected 2020 | data-sort-type="number" | |||
| Micheál Martin | 484,315 | 22.18 | 1.96 | 84 | 44 | 45 | 38 | 6 | |||||||
| Mary Lou McDonald | 535,573 | 24.53 | 10.80 | 42 | 23 | 22 | 37 | 14 | |||||||
| Leo Varadkar | 455,568 | 20.86 | 4.43 | 82 | 50 | 47 | 35 | 15 | |||||||
| Eamon Ryan | 155,695 | 7.13 | 4.43 | 39 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 10 | |||||||
| Brendan Howlin | 95,582 | 4.38 | 2.17 | 31 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |||||||
| Catherine Murphy Róisín Shortall | 63,397 | 2.90 | 0.08 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | |||||||
•People Before Profit •Solidarity •RISE | Collective leadership | 57,420 40,220 12,723 4,477 | 2.63 1.84 0.58 0.21 | 1.28 0.12 1.37 new | 37 27 9 1 | 6 3 3 new | 6 3 2 1 | 5 3 1 1 | 1 2 new | ||||||
| Peadar Tóibín | 41,575 | 1.90 | new | 26 | data-sort-value="0" | New | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| None | 8,421 | 0.39 | 1.07 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| Hermann Kelly | 5,495 | 0.25 | new | 11 | data-sort-value="0" | New | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Vacant | 5,473 | 0.25 | 1.91 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Justin Barrett | 4,773 | 0.22 | new | 10 | data-sort-value="0" | New | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Ken Smollen | 2,611 | 0.12 | 0.07 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Michael Donnelly | 1,195 | 0.05 | 0.10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Jeff Rudd | 43 | <0.01 | new | 1 | data-sort-value="0" | New | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| — | 266,353 | 12.20 | 3.7 | 125 | 19 | 22 | 19 | ||||||||
| 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Total Valid | 2,183,489 | 99.20 | |||||||||||||
| Spoilt votes | 17,703 | 0.80 | |||||||||||||
| Total | 2,201,192 | 100 | — | 552 | 158 | 158 | 160 | 2 | |||||||
| Registered voters/Turnout | 3,509,969 | 62.71 | |||||||||||||
| Party | Surplus (1st count) | Surplus (Later count) | Elimination | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counts | Votes | Counts | Votes | Counts | Votes | |||
| Sinn Féin | 27 | 120,595 | 4 | 2,762 | 3 | 18,990 | ||
| Fianna Fáil | 5 | 4,986 | 32 | 124,173 | ||||
| Fine Gael | 2 | 2,702 | 4 | 8,117 | 38 | 171,759 | ||
| Independent | 4 | 7,343 | 5 | 9,200 | 77 | 131,727 | ||
| Green Party | 1 | 969 | 2 | 989 | 23 | 90,082 | ||
| Labour | 1 | 417 | 25 | 68,602 | ||||
| Social Democrats | 2 | 2,336 | 13 | 33,770 | ||||
| Solidarity–PBP | 3 | 5,843 | 29 | 57,009 | ||||
| Aontú | 25 | 43,831 | ||||||
| Independents 4 Change | 2 | 6,882 | ||||||
| Irish Freedom Party | 11 | 7,744 | ||||||
| Renua | 11 | 6,484 | ||||||
| National Party | 10 | 5,900 | ||||||
| Irish Democratic Party | 1 | 3,941 | ||||||
| Workers Party | 4 | 1,626 | ||||||
| United People | 1 | 97 | ||||||
| Totals | 34 | 131,609 | 26 | 34,650 | See note below | 772,617 | ||
With 160 TDs in the 33rd Dáil (including the Ceann Comhairle who casts a vote only in the case of a tie), 80 TDs were needed to form a governing coalition. A smaller group could form a minority government if they negotiated a confidence and supply agreement with another party.
During the campaign, the leaders of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had ruled out forming a coalition government with Sinn Féin.[87] Some in Fianna Fáil were reported to favour going into coalition with Sinn Féin over renewing an arrangement with Fine Gael. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald announced her intention to try to form a coalition government without either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, but she did not rule out a coalition with either party.[87] After the results came in on 10–11 February, Leo Varadkar continued to rule out a Fine Gael coalition with Sinn Féin, while Micheál Martin changed tack and left open the possibility of a Fianna Fáil–Sinn Féin coalition or a grand coalition with Fine Gael.[88] On 12 February, Varadkar conceded that Fine Gael would likely go into opposition. Varadkar argued that since Sinn Féin achieved the highest vote, it had the responsibility to build a coalition that allows it to keep its campaign promises, and that Fine Gael was "willing to step back" to allow Sinn Féin to do so.[89]
Sinn Féin stated an intention to form a broad left coalition; combined, left-leaning parties have 67 seats (37 Sinn Féin, 12 Green, 6 Labour, 6 Social Democrats, 5 Solidarity–PBP, and 1 Independents 4 Change), but other parties of the left have raised doubts about such a prospect. In addition, Sinn Féin would have needed the support of at least 13 independents (out of 19 total) to form a government.[90]
A Fianna Fáil–Fine Gael coalition would have had 73 seats and so needed support from smaller parties or independents to form a government. A Fianna Fáil–Sinn Féin coalition would have had 74 seats, which would also have required smaller party or independent support.[91] These three options in an opinion poll the week after the election received respective support from 26%, 26%, and 19% of voters, with 15% preferring another election.[92]
On 20 February, the new Dáil met for the first time. The Fianna Fáil number dropped to 37 when Ó Fearghaíl was re-elected as Ceann Comhairle on the first day of the 33rd Dáil.[93] No candidate for Taoiseach succeeded in securing support of the Dáil. Varadkar, having failed to be re-elected Taoiseach, resigned, in line with the constitutional requirement where a Taoiseach fails to enjoy the support of a majority of the Dáil. He and the other members of the government continued to carry out their duties pending the appointment of their successors. It was reported that Fine Gael was prepared to go into opposition.[94] On 11 March, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael entered detailed talks to establish a coalition, potentially with the Green Party, and deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland.[95] [96] As of 17 March, those talks were still scheduled for later that week. However, the Green Party suggested that it would not join such a coalition, preferring a national unity government.[97] On 4 April, it was reported that FF and FG were making progress on their talks, and that the Labour Party was preferred to the Green Party as the third coalition partner due to internal divisions in the Green Party. However, the Labour Party stated that it preferred to remain in opposition. Another option would be a grand coalition which could reach a majority with the support of independents, but such a coalition would be fragile. Some Fine Gael politicians predicted another election in September, which Fianna Fáil was eager to avoid.[98]
On 14 April, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael reached a coalition agreement, which includes a rotation for Taoiseach. However, they lacked a majority and needed to bring other parties or independents into the coalition to form a government.[99] The Greens required an annual 7% cut to carbon emissions, among other demands, to participate as the third party of government; these demands did not include Green leader Eamon Ryan participating in the taoiseach rotation scheme, despite rumours to the contrary.[100] [101] [102] The Social Democrats, Aontú, and technical groups of independents also expressed varying degrees of interest in entering into government formation negotiations with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.[103] [104] [105] [106]
A draft programme for government was agreed between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party on 15 June 2020. It was determined that the position of Taoiseach would rotate between Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar. Martin would serve as Taoiseach for the first half of the term, with Varadkar as Tánaiste; the two would switch positions for the second half of the term.[5] The programme needed the approval by each party's membership. Fianna Fáil and the Green Party require a simple majority and a 67% majority, respectively, in a postal ballot of all members, while Fine Gael uses an electoral college system, with its parliamentary party making up 50% of the electorate, constituency delegates 25%, councillors 15% and the party's executive council filling the final 10%.[107]
On 26 June, Fine Gael voted 80%, Fianna Fáil voted 74% and the Green Party voted 76% in favour of the programme. Clare Bailey, the leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland – a branch of the Irish Green Party – publicly rejected the idea of the Greens being part of the coalition deal with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. She said the coalition deal proposed the "most fiscally conservative arrangements in a generation".[108] The coalition deal allowed for a government to be formed on 27 June, with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin serving as Taoiseach until December 2022.[109] [110] Subsequently, the Dáil voted on 27 June to nominate Micheál Martin as Taoiseach. He was appointed afterward by President Michael D. Higgins and announced his cabinet later that day.[111]
The Dáil election was followed by the 2020 Seanad election to the 26th Seanad.