Last month’s Irish election resulted in a hung Dáil and uncertainty about the nature and identity of the next government. Alan Whysall discusses the result and its possible implications on both sides of the border.
A general election by single transferable vote to the lower house of the Irish parliament, the Dáil, was held on 26 February. The government suffered badly. The 32nd Dáil is hung, and there may not be a successor government for some weeks.
The following table summarises seats won, and first preference votes cast:
| Party | Seats | Vote share (first preferences) |
| Fine Gael | 50 | 25.5% |
| Fianna Fáil | 44 | 24.4% |
| Sinn Féin | 23 | 13.9% |
| Labour | 7 | 6.6% |
| Independent/Other | 34 | 29.7% |
The Dáil has 158 seats, so 80 are required for an overall majority. There is more detail on the election here.
The result was a profound upset for the governing Fine Gael/Labour coalition. It had come…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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