No hanging about (or giving Micheal Martin his traditional right to make the announcement), so Taoiseach Enda Kenny calls a byelection for the late Brian Lenehan’s seat on the same day as the Presidential poll…
And two referenda questions, “one on judges’ pay, and the other on the provision of additional powers to Oireachtas committees investigating matters of public interest”.
Could be interesting, but prospectively it looks like a punch up between the two government parties, with a possible challenge from the United Left:
Labour 28.99%
FG 27.19%
Soc 19.03%
FF 16.59%
SF 6.11%
More details from last February’s general election at Elections Ireland… It may depend on how many more job losses there between now and then…
This was Fianna Fail’s last seat in the capital…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty