Newly elected TD Ivana Bacik said her victory in the Dublin Bay South by-election shows people respond to a positive message of change.
The Labour Party candidate was deemed elected on the ninth and final count. She topped the poll in the first count, winning the highest share of first preference votes and a significant share of transfers.
With close family members and a handful of party supporters permitted under Covid rules, Ivana Bacik was deemed elected after more than 12 hours of counting at the RDS.
It brings Labour's strength in the Dáil to seven, delivering a much needed and long-awaited morale boost as it tries to rebuild from its electoral disaster of 2016.
Sinn Féin’s vote held solid; with 15% of first preference votes, it fell marginally short of the last general election in this constituency, which would not be considered one of its strongholds.
The coalition parties will be waking up today to a period of soul searching.
Fine Gael - with a 26% share of first preference vote - was not far off its general election result in Dublin Bay South.
But it had made a huge push to retain Eoghan Murphy’s seat and not doing so leaves it without representation in a constituency where it has always had a strong foothold.
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How result will impact Labour - and the losing parties
Fianna Fáil had low expectations going in to this race. But with just 5% of the first preference share, its candidate Deirdre Conroy came in lower than the party had feared.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said by-elections are not in any way a marker for general elections.
He also said he is not concerned about his position as leader of the party. But the result will raise questions about Fianna Fáil's support in the capital.
The Green Party’s Claire Byrne, with 8% of the vote, fell far short of the party’s performance here in 2020 and the Greens conceded that some of their first preferences had been gobbled up by Ms Bacik.
Labour’s Ivana Bacik will take her seat next week as the newest member of Dáil Éireann.
