It's still ongoing, but we have a good idea of how the next Dáil will look.
After a hectic weekend of reporting (and it’s not over yet!), Fran and Katie take some time to sit back and go through what we know in the latest episode of RTÉ’s General Election podcast Behind the Ballot.
It’s been a wash-out for the Greens, with party leader Roderic O’Gorman the only one who retained his seat, while the Independent vote didn’t come in quite as strong as people had tipped.
For the bigger three it was a mixed bag. Fianna Fáil will be happiest, Fine Gael will be feeling like opportunities were missed due to some now-questioned tactics, while Sinn Féin have their own positives to draw on.
The real big jumpers were Labour and the Social Democrats, and the talk now moves to who might flirt with forming a government.
The pair also look at the big-name losses, as Stephen Donnelly, Catherine Martin, Gino Kenny, Chris Andrews, and Anne Rabbitte were among those who didn’t retain their seat.
Away from the politics there was also a more light-hearted moment over on the social media app Bluesky.
It all started with Katie tagging David McCullagh in some of her news updates not realising it was actually a man in Florida with the same name.
You can find Behind the Ballot on Spotify here, on Apple podcasts here, or on the RTÉ website here.
