RTÉ Coverage of General Elections - 1989

General Election 1989

Following a June general election, the results made it very difficult to form a new government. Fianna Fáil failed to win a hoped for overall majority and actually lost seats. The Progressive Democrats also lost seats while Roger Garland won the Green Party's first seat. A month after the general election, following protracted negotiations, the Progressive Democrats entered coalition with Fianna Fáil to form a new government.

The European elections were held in conjunction with the general election in June 1989. What would other Europeans have made of one woman on the Aran islands who used the 'shouted vote' to choose her preference? Other issues in the West of Ireland included emigrants returning to vote and the anti-rod licence protest.

When the election results were complete it became obvious that yet again it was going to be difficult to form a government. When the newly elected Dáil deputies met on 29 June, they were unable to elect a new Taoiseach and government. In a Dáil debate on 6 July, Charles Haughey indicated that Fianna Fáil would be willing to enter coalition "in the higher national interest" of forming a government and avoiding another election.

Liam Cahill reports from the Dáil on the day that Fianna Fáil relinquish the notion of single party government.

A month after the general election, Fianna Fáil entered coalition for the first time since the 1930s. More remarkable was that their partners were to be the Progressive Democrats, the party whose founding members had left Fianna Fáil in 1985. As late as the second day of the count, Charles Haughey was opposed to any form of coalition.

When the 26th Dáil government gathered to finally elect a government, 'Today Tonight' sought the opinions of the deputies from all sides.

Brian Swift of Fianna Fáil and and Martin Cullen of the Progressive Democrats tell reporter Michael Ryan what losing their Dáil seats in the general election meant for them.