Irish General Election 2002 Irish Diaspora Irish Potato Famine

2 Overview

The Irish general election of 2002 entered the history books for six facts:

The re-election of the Fianna Fáil- Progressive Democrat government, the first occasion since 1969 when an Irish government won re-election;
The meltdown in Fine Gael support, which saw the main opposition party drop from 54 to 31 seats, lose all but two seats in Dublin, and several prominent members, including

Alan Dukes - Former Leader of Fine Gael.
Jim Mitchell - Deputy Leader of Fine Gael.
Nora Owen - Former Minister for Justice.
Austin Currie - Former Presidential Election candidate.
Jim Higgins - Former Chief Whip.
Alan Shatter - Member of the Fine Gael Front Bench.

The electoral success of Sinn Féin, which increased its seat number from 1 to 5.
The failure of the Irish Labour Party, contrary to all expectations, to increase its seat total.
The election of a large number of independent candidates to Dáil Éireann.
Being the first time electronic voting machines were used in an Irish election. They were used in two constituencies, Dublin West and Dublin North.

In the immediate aftermath of the election, Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan announced his resignation from the leadership. All other potential leaders having lost their seat, Enda Kenny was chosen as the new leader.

Later in the year, Ruairí Quinn stepped down as leader of the Labour Party. He was replaced by Pat Rabbitte.

The 2002 election results provide little comfort for those who would like to see an alternative government in the lifetime of this Dáil. The non-government parties are fragmented and have major policy differences, and Fianna Fail can continue in government (with the support of independent TDs) even if the Progressive Democrats withdraw.

Party	Leader	Seats	Loss/Gain	Dáil Seats (%)
Fianna Fáil	Bertie Ahern	81	+3	48.8
Fine Gael	Michael Noonan	31	-23	18.7
Labour	Ruairí Quinn	20	+0	12.0
Progressive DemocratsThe Progressive Democrats (in Irish An Pairti Daonlathach is a free market liberal party in the Republic of Ireland founded in 1985. It is a member of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Principles The PD's policies are based upon liberal econ	Mary HarneyMary Harney (born March 11, 1953) is a senior Irish politician. She was appointed to Seanad Eireann in 1977 and was elected to Dail Eireann in 1981. She has been the leader of the Progressive Democrats since 1993, Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Tra	8	+4	4.8
Independents	-	14	+7	8.4
Green PartyThe Irish Green Party (in Irish, An Comhaontas Glas was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981. It has succeeded in getting candidates elected to all levels of government; local, Dail and European Parliament. The Republic of Ireland has a system	Trevor SargentTrevor Sargent is an Irish politician. He was first elected as a deputy to the Dail in the 1993 general election, for the Irish Green Party. He became leader of the party in 2001. External link Sargent, Trevor.	6	+4	3.6
Sinn FéinSinn Fein (in the Irish language "ourselves" or "we ourselves"; not as sometimes incorrectly translated, "ourselves alone") is an Irish political party. Originally founded by Arthur Griffith as an Irish separatist monarchist party, in 1917 it moved to cam	Caoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghin O Caolain is an Irish politician, and is Sinn Fein's leader within the Dail. He was first elected to the Dail in the 1997 general election, and was Sinn Fein's first TD. He was joined after the 2002 general election by 4 other Sinn Fein deputie	5	+4	3.0
Socialist PartyAs of 2004, the Socialist Party is Ireland's newest political party. Formerly known as Militant Labour or Militant Tendency, it adopted the name The Socialist Party in 1996. The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist group, which is affiliated to the Committee f	Joe Higgins	1	+0	0.6

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Topics: Irish General Election 2002, Irish Diaspora, Irish Potato Famine...