Analysis: Despite a few attempts by politicians to abandon it, the proportional representation system has stayed the course in Ireland
By Martin O'Donoghue, Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory
When the country goes to the polls on November 29th, as was the case in June's local and European elections, voters may be faced with lengthy ballot papers, a long list of options and a counting process that takes days. While the system and the proliferation of candidates in June drew confusion and the need for explanation, 2024 was hardly the first time that a surge in new candidates and parties added extra layers to the often pain-staking proportional representation with a single transferrable vote (or PR-STV for short) process in Ireland. It's a system where, in the words of Taoiseach Simon Harris, every vote "can be seen so transparently moving from table to table".
From RTÉ News, the single transferable vote explained
When did we start using PR-STV in the first place?
As Diarmaid Ferriter has pointed out, any Irish pride in the PR-STV system comes with a heavy helping of irony given that it was first introduced by the British government in 1919 to help rate-payers gain a foothold against Sinn Féin on Sligo Corporation. It was subsequently applied to the northern and southern parliaments in the architecture of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act and was embraced by Irish law-makers in the century since. Constitutional drafters in 1922 saw it as antidote to the party domination of the Westminster system and a chance to offer minority representation.
While the appointment of senators by the first Free State leader W.T. Cosgrave in 1922 appeared a safe avenue to accomplish the latter goal, the practicalities of subsequent senate elections with the entire 26-county area chosen as a constituency proved its downfall. In 1925, a lengthy list of candidates with no visible party structure on the ballot produced a dismally low turnout and a counting process that dragged on for weeks. It was, in the words of John Coakley, a 'unique electoral experiment' and was not repeated. After an Oireachtas committee on reform, popular election to the Upper House was abolished.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's The History Show, Elaine Callinan and David Farrell on the history of the single transferable vote in Ireland
Dáil elections and proportional representation
No Dáil election ever took the entire state as a putative constituency, but early elections in the 1920s did take a 'purer' approach to PR-STV than we have today with larger constituencies which ensure the maximum proportionality under the system. By June 1927, as today, there was also a proliferation of parties. Fianna Fáil had been founded by Éamon de Valera in 1926, while Sinn Féin, Labour, the Farmers Party and Cumann na nGaedheal were joined by former home rulers in the National League and a pro-treaty republican party, Clann Éireann.
These parties contested constituencies of varying sizes, but Galway was the bumper constituency. As Labour candidate Gilbert Lynch's memoir recounted, it was contested as a single nine-seat constituency with 22 candidates (all of whom were men) ranging over an area covering 2,375 square miles.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ News, Know Your Constituency's guide to Galway West for Election 24
The Connacht Tribune was prompted to offer a sweepstake prize of three guineas to any reader who could predict the result. The fact that the victor, a Vincent Bruen from Glenamaddy, had only predicted eight of the nine candidates returned is illustrative in itself. Another local paper, the Tuam Herald complained that PR-STV gave 'every faddest, crank and discontent' an opportunity to be elected.
De Valera gets stroppy about PR-STV
PR-STV has attracted opposition in both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil at different times. When Fine Gael was formed under the leadership of Eoin O'Duffy in 1933, the abolition of proportional representation appeared among the party's Heads of Policy. De Valera grew frustrated with the system too. In the days of Fianna Fáil dominance, a British style first-past-the-post system would of course have suited him.
Benegal Narsing Rau was constitutional adviser to the Constituent Assembly of India visited Ireland in November 1947. He recalled that de Valera told him he would 'do away with proportional representation in any shape or form’ if he rewrote Bunreacht na hÉireann. Attorney-General at the time Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh also told Rau PR-STV ‘had worked very unsatisfactorily’ and more three-seat constituencies would be introduced to alleviate ‘multiplying groups in parliament’ without need for ‘amending the constitution’.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ News report on Jack Lynch's 1968 referendum to change the Irish voting system to first-past-the-post
Amending the constitution in this area was exactly what de Valera attempted a decade later when he introduced a proposal to replace PR with first-past-the-post voting. But when the proposal was put to the people, it was rejected by a small margin on the same day de Valera was elected President in 1959. In 1968, another Fianna Fáil Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, introduced a second referendum to adopt first-past-the-post which was rejected by almost 61% of voters.
The story in the rest of Europe
Many European countries use neither Irish-style PR-STV or the British system, but modified PR or a mixed system with a list like Germany, which allows voters to register preferences for parties as well as individual candidates. However, the two Irish referendums in the 1950s and 1960s certainly ended calls for the British model of first-past-the post.
While political scientist Prof Michael Gallagher has noted the dilemma of ensuring manageable constituencies and counts alongside achieving the proportionality desired in PR-STV for the European elections, Irish voters can see the outflows of the alternative up close in United Kingdom elections. Rather than days, some constituencies declared candidates to be elected last July within hours of polls closing. Yet as the results on the night went on to demonstrate, British elections produce seat allocations not nearly as close to popular vote percentages as Irish elections do.
Follow RTÉ Brainstorm on WhatsApp and Instagram for more stories and updates
Dr Martin O'Donoghue is postdoctoral research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt. He is a former Research Ireland awardee.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
