Fianna Fail suffers worst election results for 80 years

Fianna Fáil was last night coming to terms with its worst election result since the 1920s, while Sinn Féin made a major breakthrough…

Fianna Fáil was last night coming to terms with its worst election result since the 1920s, while Sinn Féin made a major breakthrough and Fine Gael's position as the core of a possible alternative government was boosted significantly.

News late last night that the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr Gerard Collins, would lose his European Parliament seat in the South constituency came as a further shock to Fianna Fáil, which had just begun to put a brave face on the disastrous local election outcome.

Independent disability rights campaigner Ms Kathy Sinnott is set to take this seat, joining Fianna Fáil's Mr Brian Crowley MEP and Fine Gael's Mr Simon Coveney in the Parliament.

Fianna Fáil will win just four European Parliament seats, compared to six in 1999. Party TDs and senators will discuss the result in Leinster House tomorrow night, while two newly-elected MEPs, Mr Eoin Ryan and Mr Liam Aylward, last night called for a major Cabinet reshuffle.

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Fine Gael looked set last night to equal Fianna Fáil's number of European seats. Labour had a good chance of winning two seats, a gain of one. Sinn Féin was likely to win one - with an outside chance of a second - while two Independents were also on the verge of election. The Green Party was in danger of losing both of its European Parliament seats.

The only good news for the Government was the overwhelming approval of its citizenship referendum, by a margin of four to one. Some 79.2 per cent voted Yes to remove the automatic right to citizenship of all children born on the island of Ireland, with 20.2 per cent voting No.

In Dublin Sinn Féin's Ms Mary Lou McDonald appeared close to taking Sinn Féin's first European Parliament seat, although the Green Party's Ms Patricia McKenna MEP and Labour's Ms Ivana Bacik were still in the race. Fine Gael's Mr Gay Mitchell, Fianna Fáil's Mr Eoin Ryan and Labour's Mr Proinsias de Rossa will take the other three Dublin seats. The challenge from the early favourite, Fianna Fáil's Mr Royston Brady, collapsed.

In East, Fine Gael's Ms Mairéad McGuinness headed the poll, while Fianna Fáil's Mr Liam Aylward was also certain to be elected. There was no reliable prediction as to whether Labour's Mr Peter Cassells or Fine Gael's Ms Avril Doyle would take the final seat.

In the North West, Fianna Fáil's Seán Ó Neachtain was expected to take the only Fianna Fáil seat, Independent Ms Marian Harkin was on course for election, with the final seat between Fine Gael's Mr Jim Higgins, Independent Ms Dana Rosemary Scallon and Mr Pearse Doherty of Sinn Féin.

Mr Mitchell and Mr Crowley were declared elected last night, while in East Ms McGuinness was declared elected at 1.10 a.m.

In the local government elections Fianna Fáil's national support slumped to 32 per cent, its lowest ever in a local election, down seven points from the 1999 local polls and nine from the 2002 general election. The party lost up to 80 local authority seats and, for the first time in 70 years, lost control of Clare County Council. Fine Gael's national support was 27 per cent, down one point from 1999 but representing a substantial achievement for the party which won just 22.5 per cent in 2002. It was set last night to improve on the number of seats it won in 1999. Labour failed to increase its national first-preference vote on 1999, winning 11 per cent nationally, unchanged from both 1999 and 2002.

The Progressive Democrats' national vote rose to 4 per cent, from 3 per cent in 1999. The Green Party also won 4 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent in 1999. The vote for Independents and others was up one point, to 14 per cent.

The turnout of around 60 per cent was the highest in local elections since 1985, reflecting the determination of voters to give an anti-Government message. It also reflected the interest in the personality-driven European contests and possibly the appeal of Sinn Féin to younger working-class sections of the electorate, which traditionally have a lower turnout. The referendum may also have been a factor.

Fine Gael was jubilant last night after its performance outstripped opinion poll predictions. A significant number of new councillors was elected, and the party sees some of these as potential Dáil prospects.

Labour, meanwhile, becomes the largest party on Dublin City Council, with its second European seat further boosting the party despite its failure to secure an increase in its national vote.

While the Green Party doubled its number of local authority seats, the European result and the loss of both of its Dublin city councillors were a major disappointment.

While many Ministers and backbenchers called for a fundamental re-examination of the Government's performance, there were no expressions of discontent with Mr Ahern's leadership. Four ministers acknowledged in different ways that Fianna Fáil had made mistakes in government and would move to address these.