European Parliament election, 2009 (Ireland)

Ireland European Parliament election, 2009

5 June 2009

12 seats to the European Parliament   First party Second party Third party   Leader Enda Kenny Brian Cowen Eamon Gilmore Party Fine Gael Fianna Fáil Labour Party Alliance EPP ALDE S&D Leader since 2 June 2002 7 May 2008 6 September 2007 Last election 27.8%, 5 seats 29.5%, 4 seats 10.5%, 1 seat Seats won 4 3 3 Seat change 1 1 2 Popular vote 532,889 440,562 254,669 Percentage 29.1% 24.1% 13.9% Swing 1.3 5.4% 3.4%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Joe Higgins Gerry Adams Declan Ganley Party Socialist Party Sinn Féin Libertas Alliance EUL–NGL EUL–NGL Lib.eu Leader since 1996 1983 30 October 2008 Last election 1.3%, 0 seats 11.1%, 1 seat New Seats won 1 0 0 Seat change 1 1 0 Popular vote 50,510 205,613 99,709 Percentage 2.7% 11.2% 5.4% Swing 1.4% 0.1% 5.4%

Colours indicate winning party.

Members of the European Parliament for Ireland
1st delegation	(1973)
2nd delegation	(1973–77)
3rd delegation	(1977–79)
1st term	(1979)
2nd term	(1984)
3rd term	(1989)
4th term	(1994)
5th term	(1999)
6th term	(2004)
7th term	(2009)
8th term	(2014)

2009–2014 European Parliament Ireland constituencies

The 2009 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2009 European Parliament election and was held on Friday, 5 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections. Two by-elections (Dublin South and Dublin Central) were also held on the same day.^[1]

National and regional summaries

Local and Euro election posters and banners in Cork city

The governing Fianna Fáil party lost one MEP and a significant share of the vote, in line with the day's other election results. Fine Gael increased its national vote share but lost a seat. The Labour Party, which increased its delegation from one MEP to three, was the only major party to make seat gains. Sinn Féin lost its only MEP in the Republic of Ireland, and the Socialist Party won a seat for the first time. One independent MEP lost her seat. The Green Party's vote was halved, and the pan-European Libertas party, based in Ireland, also failed to make a breakthrough.

In Dublin, Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael and Proinsias De Rossa of Labour were re-elected, while Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party defeated the incumbent Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin MEPs to take the third seat. In the East constituency, Mairead McGuinness of Fine Gael and Liam Aylward of Fianna Fáil were re-elected. Nessa Childers of Labour took the vacant final seat. North-West re-elected independent ALDE MEP Marian Harkin and Jim Higgins of Fine Gael, while the Fianna Fáil seat was retained by former MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher. In South, Brian Crowley of Fianna Fáil was re-elected, Seán Kelly won a seat from his Fine Gael colleague Colm Burke, and Labour's Alan Kelly took the last seat in a tight contest between him, Sinn Féin's Toiréasa Ferris and the incumbent Independent Kathy Sinnott in the final count.^[2]

Constituency changes

In accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Nice, the number of MEPs from Ireland in the European Parliament was reduced from 13 to 12 for this election. The Dublin constituency was reduced from 4 seats to 3, and the counties of Longford and Westmeath were transferred from the East constituency to the North-West constituency. The election was conducted under the single transferable vote in Ireland; the only other constituencies to elect their MEPs under STV are Malta and Northern Ireland, with the rest of Europe using variants of the list system.

Results

Elections to the European Parliament in Ireland – 2009^[3]

Party		Party leader	First pref vote	%	±%	Seats	±
	Fine Gael	Enda Kenny	532,889	29.1	1.3	4	1
	Fianna Fáil	Brian Cowen	440,562	24.1	5.4	3	1
	Labour Party	Eamon Gilmore	254,669	13.9	3.4	3	2
	Socialist Party	Joe Higgins	50,510[4]	2.7	1.4	1	1
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	205,613	11.2	0.1	0	1
	Libertas	Declan Ganley	99,709	5.4	5.4	0	±0
	Green Party	John Gormley	34,585	1.9	2.4	0	±0
	Independents		210,776	11.5	4.0	1	1
Total			1,829,313	100	—	12	−1

Voting details

Constituency	Electorate	Turnout	Spoilt	Valid Poll	Quota	Seats	Candidates
Dublin	812,465	412,684 (50.8%)	6,054 (1.5%)	406,630	101,658	3	10
East	778,502	442,291 (56.8%)	13,042 (2.9%)	429,249	107,313	3	11
North-West	805,626	510,982 (63.4%)	15,675 (3.1%)	495,307	123,827	3	13
South	861,727	509,963 (59.2%)	11,836 (2.3%)	498,127	124,532	3	10
Total	3,258,320	1,875,920 (57.5%)	46,607 (2.5%)	1,829,313	—	12	44

See also

• List of members of the European Parliament for Ireland, 2009–14 – List ordered by constituency

References

1. "By-elections set for June 5th". The Irish Times. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
2. Riegel, Ralph (9 June 2009). "Labour's Kelly fights off late Sinnott surge". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
3. "Elections 2009 – European Elections – National Summary". RTÉ News. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
4. "Elections 2009 – European Elections – Dublin". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2009.

External links

• European Elections 2009 in Ireland
• ElectionsIreland.org – 2009 European Parliament (Ireland) election results