2024 Irish local elections
 | This article documents a current election. Information may change rapidly as the election progresses until official results have been published. Initial news reports may be unreliable, and the last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2024) |
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The 2024 Irish local elections were held in all local authorities in Ireland on Friday, 7 June 2024. European Parliament elections were held on the same day.[1] Each local government area (a city, a county, or a city and county) is divided into local electoral areas (LEAs) where three to seven councillors are elected on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).[2] It includes the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, the first directly elected mayor in Ireland.[3][4] This year saw a record number of women standing for election, with 31.4% (682 out of 2,171 candidates) being female.[5]
Election timetable
- 5 April: Ministerial order fixing the election date made by Darragh O'Brien, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage[1]
- 8 May: Date on which posters may be erected
- 7 June: Polling day (7 a.m.–10 p.m.)
Campaign
Violence and abuse against candidates
On 8 May, Fingal councillor Tania Doyle and her husband, while erecting election posters, were assaulted by a man shouting anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric while an accomplice filmed it. Her husband was left bleeding and knocked to the ground by the assault which also saw Doyle herself punched in the head after she attempted to shield her husband. The assault lasted 15 minutes and only ended when the accomplice pulled the assaulter away from kicking Doyle's husband while on the ground. Doyle stated she feared for their lives and going forward would not be canvassing for the remainder of the election.[6] The gardaí have stated that they are investigating the matter.[6]
Concurrently on 8 May, Dublin City Councillor Janet Horner of the Green Party and a colleague claim she was assaulted by a man who said "Dublin 1 is for the far-right". Horner was erecting election posters when she claimed she was confronted by a man who threatened to kill her. She claims the man confiscated her posters and struck her when she resisted. Horner contacted the Gardaí afterwards and resolved to continue to canvass despite the event.[7]
In another incident on 8 May, two women placing posters up in the Smithfield area of Dublin for Social Democrats candidate Ellen O'Doherty were threatened with a knife by a man demanding they remove the posters, who was then joined by another man. The women managed to escape when a local woman came from a nearby house and begged the men to stop. The campaigners reported the incident to the Gardai and said they would not canvass in future nor return to the area.[8][9]
On 15 May Fianna Fail candidate Suzzie O'Deniyi was canvassing with members of her team in the Caherdavin area of Limerick when a man is alleged to have begun screaming racist and sexist slurs about O'Deniyi at her supporters. The man recorded himself doing so on his phone.[10] A man, Aaron Daly of Caherdavin, was arrested by Gardaí and charged with two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, contrary to section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public order) Act 1994 before being released on bail. Daly was ordered to have no contact of any kind with O'Deniyi and that he is to report to the Gardai regularly until his trial, which is scheduled for 6 September 2024.[11]
On 17 May, Fine Gael candidate in Artane–Whitehall Linkwinstar Mattathil Mathew and his campaign team were forced to take down posters after they were racially abused and intimidated by a group of men. The perpetrators filmed the incident and posted it to social media.[12]
On 16 May Tánaiste Micheál Martin addressed the targeting of candidates, denouncing it and noting that the large majority of those targeted are from minority backgrounds. Martin stated the right to run in elections is a pillar of liberal democracy, regardless of background.[13]
Standing of parties
| Party | Councillors | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 result | Current seats | Change | ||
| Fianna Fáil | 279 | 276 |  3
| |
| Fine Gael | 255 | 254 | 1
| |
| Sinn Féin | 81 | 81 | 
| |
| Labour | 57 | 55 | 2
| |
| Green | 49 | 45 | 4
| |
| Social Democrats | 19 | 22 |  3
| |
| Independent Ireland | — | 13 | 13
| |
| PBP–Solidarity | 11 | 10 | 1
| |
| Aontú | 3 | 3 |
| |
| Inds. 4 Change | 3 | 2 | 1
| |
| Right to Change | — | 2 | 2
| |
| Rabharta | — | 1 | 1
| |
| Kerry Ind. Alliance | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Republican Sinn Féin | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Workers' Party | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Workers and Unemployed | 1 | 1 |
| |
| Independent | 185 | 181 | 4
| |
Results by party
| Party | Candidates | Seats | ± | 1st pref. | FPv% | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | 366 | ||||||
| Fine Gael | 339 | ||||||
| Sinn Féin | 335 | ||||||
| Labour | 109 | ||||||
| Green | 129 | ||||||
| Social Democrats | 77 | ||||||
| Aontú | 66 | ||||||
| People Before Profit[a] | 45 | ||||||
| Solidarity[a] | 8 | ||||||
| Inds. 4 Change | 2 | ||||||
| Workers and Unemployed | 2 | ||||||
| Workers' Party | 3 | ||||||
| Kerry Ind. Alliance | 1 | ||||||
| Independent Left | 1 | ||||||
| Republican Sinn Féin[b] | 1 | ||||||
| 100% Redress | 6 | New | New | ||||
| Farmers' Alliance | 2 | New | New | ||||
| Glór | 1 | ||||||
| Independent Ireland | 61 | New | New | ||||
| Ireland First | 8 | ||||||
| Irish Freedom | 28 | New | New | ||||
| The Irish People | 57 | New | New | ||||
| National Party | 15 | New | New | ||||
| Party for Animal Welfare | 5 | New | New | ||||
| Rabharta[c] | 4 | New | New | ||||
| Right to Change | 2 | New | New | ||||
| Wexford Ind. Alliance[b] | 12 | ||||||
| Independent | 487 | ||||||
| Total | 2172 | 949 | — | — | — | ||
Opinion polls
| Last date of polling |
Polling firm / Commissioner | Sample size |
SF Left |
FF Renew |
FG EPP |
GP G/EFA |
Lab S&D |
SD | PBP–S | Aon | O/I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2024 | Red C/Business Post[15] | 1,021 | 21 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 26[nb 1] |
| 15 May 2024 | The Irish Times/Ipsos B&A[16] | 1,500 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| 8 February 2020 | 2020 general election | — | 24.5 | 22.2 | 20.9 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 13.5 |
| 24 May 2019 | 2019 local elections | — | 9.5 | 26.9 | 25.6 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 24.1 |
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Contesting as part of People Before Profit–Solidarity.
- ^ a b Not a registered party. Will appear on the ballot as non-party.
- ^ Will not appear on the ballot as Rabharta. The Electoral Commission proposed the registration of the party to contest European and local elections on 12 April. However, as the proposed decision was subject to a 21-day appeal period, it will not be in force for the 7 June 2024 elections.[14]
- ^ Includes 24% for 'Independent' and 2% for 'Other Party'.
References
- ^ a b "Polling Day Orders made for European, local and Limerick mayoral elections". Gov.ie (Press release). Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Local elections in Ireland". Citizens Information Board. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Cabinet approves legislation for a directly elected Mayor for Limerick". Government of Ireland. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ English, Bernie (6 March 2024). "President signs Mayor of Limerick bill into law". Limerick Post. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Local elections 2024: See the full list of candidates in your area". web.archive.org. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b MacRedmond, David (12 May 2024). "'We feared for our lives': Fingal councillor Tania Doyle attacked while putting up posters". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ Jennifer, Bray (15 May 2024). "Green Party councillor attacked while hanging posters in Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ Gataveckaite, Gabija (10 May 2024). "Social Democrats campaigners say they were threatened with knife while putting up local election posters". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Gataveckaite, Gabija (14 May 2024). "Gardaí investigate alleged knife threat against Social Democrats campaigners". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ McGee, Harry (16 May 2024). "Gardaí investigating alleged racist abuse of Limerick election candidate and canvassing team". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Raleigh, David (20 May 2024). "Man granted bail after alleged racist abuse of Fianna Fáil local election canvassers in Limerick". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Matthews, Jane (20 May 2024). "FG candidate grateful for outpouring of support after being attacked for putting up posters". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Matthews, Jane (16 May 2024). "Threats to election candidates from minority backgrounds 'dangerously off the wall', Tánaiste says". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "Changes to Register of Political Parties See New Party Proposed and Name/Emblem Changes for Another". Electoral Commission. 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Business Post Red C Opinion Poll Report May 2024" (PDF). Business Post. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "Three main parties and Independents expected to evenly divide most of local elections spoils". The Irish Times.
External links
- 2024 Local Elections ElectionsIreland.org
- Adrian Kavanagh: Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses
