Fianna Fail was the overall winner of Saturday's elections to the board of Udaras na Gaeltach ta, its members taking almost half of the 17 seats available. The the Minister of State for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and Islands, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, will now nominate another three members, one of them the Cathaoirleach, ensuring a majority for the Government parties.
Of the 17 seats, Fianna Fail won seven, Fine Gael five, Labour one, and three independent candidates were elected.
There is a recount in Galway, where Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats are fighting for the last seat. Mr Sean Craven (PD) is just two votes behind Mr Padraic O Biadha (FF).
As expected, some smaller Gaeltacht areas within individual counties were left without representation on the board, even though each of the seven counties of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Meath are guaranteed at least one seat, following new regulations which came into force with this election.
There will now be pressure now on Mr O Cuiv to appoint people from these small gaeltachts as his representatives.
Turnout was about 50 per cent, but in parts of Galway city it was as low as 12 per cent. Mr Sean O Tuairisg (FF) was elected on the first count on his first time out. The second of the six Galway seats went to Mr Seosamh O Cuaig, an independent candidate from the western part of the Connemara Gaeltacht.
His supporters celebrated his election with a bonfire.
Also elected in Galway were Mr Sean O Neachtain (FF), Mr Pol O Foighil (FG), Ms Connie Ned Fhatharta (FF), the only woman on the board, but a total recount is under way.
Mr Brian O Domhnaill (FF) (21) in Donegal became the youngest member to be elected. Mr Daithi Alcorn (FF), Mr Padraig O Dochartaigh (FG) and Mr Sean Baoill (Ind FF) were also elected.
Mayo's two seats went to Mr Tadhg O Cuinn (FF) and Mr Ian Mac Aindriu (FG), both from Belmullet, thereby leaving the smaller Mayo gaeltachta of Tourmakeady and Achill without a voice on the board.
Mr Cathal Seoighe, Independent, won the Co Meath seat, beating the firm favourite Mr Padraig Mac Donncha (Ind). In the small Waterford Gaeltacht of An Rinn, Mr Fiachra O Ceilleachair (Labour) was elected less than an hour after counting started.
In Cork, Mr Micheal O Scanaill (FG) held his seat, and Kerry's two seats went to Mr Breandan Mac Gearailt (FF) and Mr Seamus Cosai Mac Gearailt (FG).
This election sees the make-up of Udaras change as a number of initiatives introduced by Mr O Cuiv take effect. As well as the guarantee that each gaeltacht area, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Meath, will have at least one a seat, the Udaras board has been expanded from 13 members to 20.
The Minister will now nominate just three members, not seven as previously, a move he said addressed a "democratic deficit" under the old system. Udar as is also to have at least one and possibly two seats on county enterprise boards in Gaeltacht areas.
As the results came in yesterday, the ceannaire eolais of Udar as, Mr Padraig O hAolain, said the next five years would see the role of Udaras change greatly, to encompass more "social support projects". O'hAolain.
OhAolain said that He said the new board members would now face demands for improvements to the "social infrastructure".
While the agency had a tradition of attracting manufacturing and assembly firms, Mr O hAolain said the board recently supported day-care centres and nursing homes for the elderly, as well as investing more than £1 million in a "complex with a range of social facilities" at Lettermore in Co Galway.
"We are now finding, perhaps as a result of the Celtic Tiger, that young people will not stay in the area unless there is a high quality range of social supports almost as good as you would get in the city.
"The industrial base is buoyant but the future will see more investment in community arts facilities and entertainment related projects. These are issues emerging now and they will have to be faced up to fairly soon. The investment in these things will have to be fairly high."
Udaras, says said Mr O hAolain said Udaras would have to convince the exchequer to invest heavily, without the yardstick of success in numbers of jobs created.
"It is a matter of delivering an investment enterprise, where the logic of the investment is irrefutable but the successes of which can not be so easily defined," he said.