The 2002 Irish general election to the 29th Dáil was held on Friday, 17 May, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday, 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. The general election took place in 42 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, with a revision of constituencies since the last election under the Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1998. The outgoing minority Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrat administration was returned with a majority of 10.
The 29th Dáil met at Leinster House on Thursday, 6 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Bertie Ahern was re-appointed Taoiseach, forming the 26th government of Ireland, a majority coalition government of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
Overview
The general election was significant for a number of reasons:
The election was considered a success for Fianna Fáil, with the party coming within a handful of seats from achieving an overall majority (the nearest the country came to a single-party government since 1987) and winning the most first-preference votes in every single Dáil constituency. The only high-profile loss was cabinet minister Mary O'Rourke losing her seat in Westmeath. The re-election of the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats government, the first occasion since 1969 that an Irish government won re-election. The meltdown in Fine Gael support, which saw the main opposition party drop from 54 to 31 seats, and lose all but three seats in Dublin. The failure of the Labour Party, contrary to all expectations, to increase its seat total. Later in the year, Ruairi Quinn stepped down as leader of the Labour Party. He was replaced by Pat Rabbitte, who was one of four Democratic Left TDs who joined in a merger with Labour in 1999. The most high-profile loss for the party was the defeat of former leader Dick Spring in Kerry. The success of the Green Party, which increased its TDs from two to six, including its first TD outside of Dublin. The electoral success of Sinn Féin, which increased its seat number from one to five. The election of a large number of independent candidates. Contrary to what opinion polls and political pundits were predicting, the Progressive Democrats kept all of their seats, and picked up four more. It was the first time electronic voting machines were used in an Irish election. They were used in three constituencies: Dublin North, Dublin West and Meath. They would not be used again at a general election.
Fine Gael The most noticeable feature of the election was the collapse in Fine Gael's vote. It suffered its second worst electoral result ever (after the 1948 general election), with several prominent members failing to get re-elected, including: Alan Dukes – former party leader Jim Mitchell – deputy leader Nora Owen – former deputy leader and former Minister for Justice Austin Currie – former presidential candidate Jim Higgins – former Chief Whip Alan Shatter – front bench member Deirdre Clune – front bench member Michael Creed – front bench member Frances Fitzgerald – front bench member
The party's losses were especially pronounced in Dublin, where just three TDs (Richard Bruton, Gay Mitchell and Olivia Mitchell) were returned, fewer than Fianna Fáil, Labour, the Progressive Democrats or the Greens. The reasons for the drop in support for Fine Gael are many and varied: There was an element of bad luck in some losses, and the proportion of seats they lost (42.6%) was much greater than the proportion of votes (25.2%). In 2002, the Irish economy was booming, unemployment was low, and the outgoing government was a stable one that had lasted its full term. No other opposition party, noticeably Labour, would agree to a pre-election pact with Fine Gael, sensing the unpopularity of the party. This meant that no-one felt that Fine Gael would be able to lead a government after the election. In contrast, the two parties of the outgoing government fought the election on a united front. The Fine Gael party was poorly organised in Dublin, and morale was low. The political landscape had changed in Ireland since Fine Gael's heyday in the 1980s. The Progressive Democrats and the Green Party in particular ate into Fine Gael's middle class support, and anti-Fianna Fáil voters had a much wider range of parties to choose from. All 4 of the extra seats won by the Green Party were at the expense of Fine Gael, as were 3 out of 4 of the Progressive Democrats' gains. Toward the end of the campaign, Michael McDowell warned that because Fianna Fáil were so high in the opinion polls, they could form a government by themselves. This led to a significant shift to the Progressive Democrats at the last minute, and many Fine Gael voters voted strategically for the Progressive Democrats to avoid a single-party Fianna Fáil government.
In the immediate aftermath of the election, Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan announced his resignation from the leadership and Enda Kenny was chosen as the new leader in the subsequent election.
Results PartyFianna FáilFine GaelLabour PartySinn FéinProgressive DemocratsGreen PartySocialist PartyLeaderBertie AhernMichael NoonanRuairi QuinnGerry AdamsMary HarneyTrevor SargentJoe HigginsVotes41.5%, 770,74822.5%, 417,61910.8%, 200,1306.5%, 121,0204.0%, 73,6283.8%, 71,4700.8%, 14,896 Seats 81 (48.8%) 31 (18.7%) 20 (12.7%) 5 (3.0%) 8 (4.8%) 6 (3.6%) 1 (0.6%) + ↓ 81 8 15 31 20 6 5 1 Fianna Fáil PDs Inds Fine Gael Labour Party Green Party Sinn Féin
Independents include Independent Health Alliance candidates (12,296 votes, 1 seat) and Independent Fianna Fáil (6,124 votes, 1 seat).
Voting summary
Seats summary
Government formation Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats formed the 26th government of Ireland, a majority coalition government. it is the only coalition government in Irish politics to have been returned after a general election.
Dáil membership changes The following changes took place as a result of the election: 22 outgoing TDs retired 143 TDs stood for re-election (plus the Ceann Comhairle, Séamus Pattison who was automatically returned) 110 of those were re-elected 33 failed to be re-elected 55 successor TDs were elected 47 were elected for the first time 8 had previously been TDs There were 7 successor female TDs, replacing 6 outgoing, increasing the total number by 1 to 22 There were changes in 38 of 42 constituencies contested
Outgoing TDs are listed in the constituency they contested in the election. For some, such as Marian McGennis, this differs from the constituency they represented in the outgoing Dáil. Where more than one change took place in a constituency the concept of successor is an approximation for presentation only.
Constituency Departing TD Party Change Comment Successor TD Party Carlow–Kilkenny John Browne Fine Gael Retired Nolan – Former TD M. J. Nolan Fianna Fáil Cavan–Monaghan Andrew Boylan Fine Gael Lost seat Paudge Connolly Independent Clare Brendan Daly Fianna Fáil Lost seat James Breen Independent Donal Carey Fine Gael Lost seat Pat Breen Fine Gael Cork East Paul Bradford Fine Gael Lost seat Sherlock – Former TD Joe Sherlock Labour Party Cork North-Central Liam Burke Fine Gael Retired Lynch – Former TD Kathleen Lynch Labour Party Cork North-West Michael Creed Fine Gael Lost seat Gerard Murphy Fine Gael Cork South-Central Deirdre Clune Fine Gael Lost seat Dan Boyle Green Party Cork South-West P. J. Sheehan Fine Gael Lost seat Denis O'Donovan Fianna Fáil Donegal North-East Harry Blaney Ind. Fianna Fáil Retired Niall Blaney Ind. Fianna Fáil Donegal South-West Tom Gildea Independent Retired Gallagher – Former TD Pat "the Cope" Gallagher Fianna Fáil Dublin Central Jim Mitchell Fine Gael Lost seat Mitchell – FG Deputy Leader. Fitzpatrick – Former TD Dermot Fitzpatrick Fianna Fáil Former TD (took McGennis' seat) Joe Costello Labour Party Dublin Mid-West Austin Currie Fine Gael Lost seat Currie – Former Presidential candidate Paul Gogarty Green Party New constituency, new seat John Curran Fianna Fáil Dublin North Nora Owen Fine Gael Lost seat Owen – Former Minister for Justice Jim Glennon Fianna Fáil Dublin North-Central Derek McDowell Labour Party Lost seat Finian McGrath Independent Health Alliance Dublin North-East Michael Joe Cosgrave Fine Gael Lost seatSeats reduced from 4 to 3 Dublin North-West Proinsias De Rossa Labour Party RetiredSeats reduced from 4 to 3 Dublin South Alan Shatter Fine Gael Lost seat Shatter – Fine Gael Front Bench member Eamon Ryan Green Party Dublin South-Central Ben Briscoe Fianna Fáil Retired Michael Mulcahy Fianna Fáil Marian McGennis Fianna Fáil Lost seat McGennis prev held Dublin Central Aengus Ó Snodaigh Sinn Féin Dublin South-East Frances Fitzgerald Fine Gael Lost seat McDowell – Former TD Michael McDowell Progressive Democrats Dublin South-West Brian Hayes Fine Gael Lost seat Seán Crowe Sinn Féin Chris Flood Fianna Fáil Retired Charlie O'Connor Fianna Fáil Dublin West Liam Lawlor Independent Retired Burton – Former TD Joan Burton Labour Party Dún Laoghaire David Andrews Fianna Fáil Retired Barry Andrews Fianna Fáil Seán Barrett Fine Gael Retired Fiona O'Malley Progressive Democrats Monica Barnes Fine Gael Retired Ciarán Cuffe Green Party Galway East Michael P. Kitt Fianna Fáil Lost seat Joe Callanan Fianna Fáil Ulick Burke Fine Gael Lost seat Paddy McHugh Independent Galway West Bobby Molloy Progressive Democrats Retired Noel Grealish Progressive Democrats Kerry North Denis Foley Independent Retired Tom McEllistrim Fianna Fáil Dick Spring Labour Party Lost seat Spring – Former Leader of the Labour Party Martin Ferris Sinn Féin Kerry SouthNo membership changes Kildare NorthNo membership changes Kildare South Alan Dukes Fine Gael Lost seat Dukes – Former Leader of Fine Gael Seán Ó Fearghaíl Fianna Fáil Laois–Offaly Tom Enright Fine Gael Retired Olwyn Enright Fine Gael Charles Flanagan Fine Gael Lost seat Tom Parlon Progressive Democrats Limerick East Desmond O'Malley Progressive Democrats Retired Former leader of the Progressive Democrats Tim O'Malley Progressive Democrats Eddie Wade Fianna Fáil Lost seat Peter Power Fianna Fáil Limerick West Michael Finucane Fine Gael Lost seat John Cregan Fianna Fáil Longford–Roscommon Seán Doherty Fianna Fáil Retired Michael Finneran Fianna Fáil Louis Belton Fine Gael Lost seat Mae Sexton Progressive Democrats Albert Reynolds Fianna Fáil Retired Reynolds – Former Taoiseach Peter Kelly Fianna Fáil Louth Brendan McGahon Fine Gael Retired Fergus O'Dowd Fine Gael Michael Bell Labour Party Lost seat Arthur Morgan Sinn Féin Mayo Jim Higgins Fine Gael Lost seat Higgins – Former Chief Whip Jerry Cowley Independent Tom Moffatt Fianna Fáil Lost seat John Carty Fianna Fáil Meath John V. Farrelly Fine Gael Lost seat Damien English Fine Gael Sligo–Leitrim Matt Brennan Fianna Fáil Retired Jimmy Devins Fianna Fáil Gerry Reynolds Fine Gael Lost seat Marian Harkin Independent Tipperary North Michael O'Kennedy Fianna Fáil Retired Máire Hoctor Fianna Fáil Tipperary SouthNo membership changes Waterford Austin Deasy Fine Gael Retired John Deasy Fine Gael Brendan Kenneally Fianna Fáil Lost seat Ollie Wilkinson Fianna Fáil Westmeath Mary O'Rourke Fianna Fáil Lost seat Donie Cassidy Fianna Fáil Wexford Hugh Byrne Fianna Fáil Lost seat Tony Dempsey Fianna Fáil Michael D'Arcy Fine Gael Lost seat Liam Twomey Independent Ivan Yates Fine Gael Retired Paul Kehoe Fine Gael WicklowNo membership changes
The cross-party seat transfers are summarized thus: