List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland

Ireland
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the Republic of Ireland
Constitution Amendments
Presidency President Michael D. Higgins Council of State Presidential Commission
Government Cabinet Taoiseach: Enda Kenny Tánaiste: Joan Burton Departments of State Minister of State Civil Service
Oireachtas Dáil Éireann Ceann Comhairle: Seán Barrett Seanad Éireann Cathaoirleach: Paddy Burke Opposition Leader: Micheál Martin
Judiciary Attorney General Courts Supreme Court Chief Justice: Susan Denham Court of Appeal President: Seán Ryan High Court President: Peter Kelly Special Criminal Court Circuit Court District Court
Elections Constituencies Political parties Recent elections General 2007 2011 2016 Presidential 1997 2004 2011 Local 2004 2009 2014 European 2004 2009 2014 By-elections
Divisions Counties Local government
Foreign relations Ireland–United Kingdom relations Politics of Northern Ireland
Other countries Atlas Politics portal

There are a number of political parties in Ireland, and coalition governments are common. The state is unusual as a developed nation in that politics is not primarily characterised by the left-right political divide. The two largest political parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, arose from a split in the original Sinn Féin party in the 1922–1923 Civil War, Fine Gael from the faction (Cumann na nGaedheal) that supported the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty and Fianna Fáil from the anti-Treaty faction. This enduring characteristic of the Irish party system is sometimes pejoratively referred to as "Civil War politics". The Labour Party was formed in 1912, and it has usually been the third party in parliamentary strength, though it is currently the second largest party in Dáil Éireann. In recent years, Sinn Féin has risen to prominence, surpassing the Labour Party in the 2014 local elections.

Political party registration is governed by the Electoral Acts, 1992 to 2012. The Register of Political Parties is maintained by the Houses of the Oireachtas.^[1] In order to be registered to contest national elections a party must have either at least one member in Dáil Éireann or the European Parliament, or 300 recorded members aged 18 or over. Parties that register only to contest elections in part of the state, in local elections or in elections to Údarás na Gaeltachta need only 100 recorded members aged 18 or over. In either case at least half of the recorded members must be on the register of electors.^[2]

Political parties with elected representation at a local, national or European level

Party details

1. ↑ More literally – Warriors of Fál, Fál being an ancient romantic name for Ireland.
2. ↑ Another common translation, though not literal, is Ourselves Alone.
3. ↑ The current party known as Sinn Féin broke from the party then known as Sinn Féin in 1970 and was initially commonly referred to as Provisional Sinn Féin.
4. ↑ For the first twenty years of its existence, the Green Party did not have a national leader. Trevor Sargent was elected as the first national leader in 2001.
5. ↑ The Workers' Party emerged as the majority faction from a split in Sinn Féin in 1970, becoming known as Official Sinn Féin. In the Republic of Ireland, it renamed itself as Sinn Féin The Workers' Party in 1977. In Northern Ireland, it continued with the Republican Clubs name used by Sinn Féin to escape a 1964 ban, and later as Workers Party Republican Clubs. Both sections adopted the current name in 1982.

Party representation

1. ↑ Sinn Féin also has 4 members of the UK House of Commons, 29 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 105 local councillors in Northern Ireland and 1 MEP representing Northern Ireland.
2. ↑ People Before Profit Alliance also has 1 local councillor in Northern Ireland.
3. ↑ The Green Party also has one member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and 4 local councillors in Northern Ireland.

Parties and groupings represented in the Oireachtas

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is the largest party in the Oireachtas, the second largest party in local government in Ireland and has the largest delegation of MEPs from Ireland. It was founded in 1933 by a merger of the Cumann na nGaedheal, which had supported the Treaty and formed the government between 1922 and 1932, the National Guard (popularly called the Blueshirts) and the small National Centre Party. It is a member of the centre-right European People's Party and is led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. It has been in government in the periods 1922–1932, 1948–1951, 1954–1957, 1973–1977, 1981–82, 1982–1987, 1994–1997, and 2011 to date. On each occasion, it was the leading party of a coalition with the Labour Party, and in three of those cases also with other smaller parties. At the 2011 general election, Fine Gael become the largest party in the Oireachtas with 36.1% of the vote.

Historically Fine Gael has been characterised as a centre-right party, supported by large farmers and businessmen, though this has not applied uniformly; for a period from the 1960s, for example, with the publication of the Just Society document, Fine Gael espoused some values of social democracy. During the 1980s, Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald advocated a liberal agenda in many areas of social reform. The current government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party proposed a successful referendum in support of marriage equality. Historically Fine Gael has tended to support fiscal restraint and law and order domestically while adopting a less nationalist position on Northern Ireland than Fianna Fáil. It generally has the most favourable stance of Irish parties towards the European Union and other international organisation.

Fine Gael has 66 TDs, 18 Senators, 4 MEPs and 234 councillors.

Labour Party

The Labour Party is a social democratic party, founded in 1912 as part of the trade union movement, with which it maintains organisational links. For most of the history of the state, it was the third largest party, though it is currently in second position in parliamentary strength. It has been in government in the periods 1922–1932, 1948–1951, 1954–1957, 1973–1977, 1981–82, 1982–1987, 1993–1994, 1994–1997, and since 2011. On each of those occasions, it was in coalition with Fine Gael, with the exception of the period 1993 to 1994, when it was in coalition with Fianna Fáil.

The Labour Party merged with the smaller Democratic Left party in 1999. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists and is led by Tánaiste Joan Burton.

The Labour Party has 33 TDs, 11 Senators and 50 councillors.

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil is the third largest party in the Oireachtas and has the largest number of city and county council seats. It has been in government more than any other party: 1932–48, 1951–54, 1957–1973, 1977–81, 1982, 1987–1994, and 1997–2011. On all occasions up to 1989, it was in a single-party government; on all occasions since then it was the leading party in a coalition government. It is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and is led by former minister Micheál Martin.

It was founded in 1926 by Éamon de Valera as a radical anti-Treaty party, drawing support from small farmers and urban workers but has since become a party of the establishment. It was first elected to power in 1932 on a constitutional republican platform, promising to destroy constitutional links with Britain and reduce poverty by creating employment. It oversaw much of the industrial development of the Republic and has consequently drawn support from all social classes, making it a classic populist party. Generally speaking, Fianna Fáil has taken more populist positions on economic and social matters than Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Their classic populist stance was highlighted during the years of Catholic dominance in Ireland before the mid-1980s and during the Celtic Tiger years when engaged in the high levels of public spending while deregulating and cutting taxes. Some argue that Fianna Fáil has traditionally been so successful as a political party as it seems to represent more of a national movement.

Bertie Ahern was the Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008 and negotiated numerous social partnership contracts, the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and an agreement among EU heads of government on the European Constitution. He was succeeded by Brian Cowen in May 2008, after resigning due to evidence from the Mahon Tribunal into payments and planning matters. Support for Fianna Fáil collapsed in the 2011 general election, which took place a few years into the financial crisis and soon after the government had sought a bailout from the troika of the IMF/EC/ECB. Fianna Fáil lost more than three-quarters of its seats, coming third behind Fine Gael and the Labour Party.

In September 2007, Fianna Fáil announced that they would organise politically in the north.

Fianna Fáil has 21 TDs, 12 Senators, one MEP and 262 councillors.^[5]

Sinn Féin

The name Sinn Féin has been used by a number of political organisations in Ireland since 1905, when first used by Arthur Griffith. Sinn Féin was the party of separatism before Irish independence, and broke through in the Westminster election of 1918, where it won 73 of the 105 Irish seats.

The modern-day Sinn Féin party emerged in 1970 after a split in the party, and was often distinguished as Provisional Sinn Féin. It was closely linked to the Provisional Irish Republican Army. It is led by Gerry Adams.

It was the only political party to have seats in the parliaments of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland until the Green Party organised on an island-wide basis. Since supporting the Peace Process Sinn Féin has seen a dramatic increase in support in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. It has emerged as the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly with 28 seats out of 108 and the fourth largest in the Republic of Ireland with 14 seats in the Dáil in the 2011 general election. With Fine Gael, it is one of only two parties in the Republic of Ireland with MEPs.

Sinn Féin's platform is primarily focused on achieving the reunification of Ireland and a large scale expansion of Ireland's social services (such as adopting a universal health care system and creating subsidised housing), reform of the tax system and support for small and co-operative businesses. Their political ideology mainly revolves around democratic socialism, Irish Republicanism, and civic nationalism.

Sinn Féin has 14 TDs, 3 Senators, 3 MEPs and 156 councillors in the Republic of Ireland.

Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit

The People Before Profit Alliance (PBP) was formed in 2005, primarily by members of the Socialist Workers Party. The Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) was formed in 2014, primarily by members of the Socialist Party. In October 2015, they formed a new alliance for electoral purposes as the Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit, but continue to organise separately. Both parties have shared platforms on abolishing water charges and the property tax along with tackling homelessness and the housing crisis. AAA-PBP have registered as a party with the view to winning over 2% of the public vote to entitle them to state funding and to return 7 TDs allowing them full speaking rights in the Dáil. The founding TDs have stated their aim to build a mass party of the left and ultimately help form a left-wing government.^[6]

Together they have 4 TDs (three from AAA/SP and one from PBP/SWP) and 28 councillors (14 from each of the AAA and the PBP).

Renua Ireland

Renua Ireland was founded in March 2015 with Lucinda Creighton as founding leader. Rejecting right-wing and left wing labels, Renua Ireland is associated with centre-right policy positions, including the implementation of a flat tax. While the founding parliamentary party all left Fine Gael over the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill the party has not taken a stance on the abortion issue. Rather they emphasise free voting for TDs on matters of conscience within a wider context of loosening the party whip and political reform.

Renua Ireland has 3 TDs, 1 Senator, and 5 councillors.

Social Democrats

The Social Democrats were founded in July 2015 by three independent TDs Stephen Donnelly, Catherine Murphy, and Róisín Shortall, who will share leadership of the party until after the next general election. The Social Democrats describe themselves as being centre-left and in favour of Scandinavian style public services along with promoting indigenous small and medium sized enterprise.

The Social Democrats have 3 TDs, 1 Senator and 4 councillors.

Workers and Unemployed Action

Workers and Unemployed Action (WUA) is a left-wing political organisation formed in 1985 by Séamus Healy in response to lack of employment and the economic situation in the South Tipperary area. Healy along with his brother Paddy Healy, were former members of the Trotskyist League for a Workers Republic. Healy was elected to Dáil Éireann as TD for Tipperary South at a by-election in 2000, holding the seat until 2007. He regained the seat at the 2011 general election. At the time of the 2011 election the WUA formed part of the United Left Alliance, but left in 2012.^[7][8] WUAG has one TD and one councillor.

Independent Alliance

The Independent Alliance was formed in March 2015. It is not a political party, nor does it intend to become one, and will not impose any whip except on confidence motions. There are 5 TDs, 2 senators, and over 15 councillors who members of the Independent Alliance.

Independent

As well as the political parties, Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament) has always had Independent TDs, who have played a continuous role in Irish politics and are sometimes called upon to support minority governments or governments with slim majorities. They are usually elected on left-wing platforms or on local issues alone. They are listed as Non-Party on election ballots.

There are 18 TDs, 14 senators, 3 Irish MEPs and almost 200 councillors who are independent.

Parties represented only on local authorities

Green Party

The Green Party was established in 1981 and is allied to the European Green Party. It won its first seat in the Dáil in 1989, and had continued representation there until 2011. The party advocates ecological and socially liberal policies. In 1994 and again in 1999, two of Ireland's 15 MEPs were from the Green party, but both seats were lost in 2004.

The Green Party of Northern Ireland voted in 2005 to become a region of the Irish Green Party making it the second party to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. It has Northern Ireland members on the Irish Green Party national executive.

In June 2007, the Green Party entered coalition government with Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. In January 2011 they left the coalition, and in the general election in February of that year, lost all of their Dáil seats.^[9]

The Green Party has 12 councillors.^[9]

Workers' Party

The Workers' Party is a Marxist–Leninist party allied with the international workers and communist parties. It emerged from the Irish republican movement and was a continuation of Sinn Féin that did not break away in 1970. It retained links with the Official IRA. It renamed itself Sinn Féin The Workers' Party in 1977, and adopted its current title in 1982. It is organised in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. During the 1980s it was a significant party on the political scene with 7 TDs elected in 1989 and 1 MEP. A special Ard Fheis (conference) in 1992 designed to re-constitute the party and remove links with the OIRA resulted in a formal split with the bulk of the parliamentary party and councillors leaving to form Democratic Left. Democratic Left voted to merge with the Labour Party in 1999. The Workers' Party has two councillors, Éilis Ryan on Dublin City Council and Ted Tynan on Cork City Council.

Republican Sinn Féin

Republican Sinn Féin were formed in 1986 by members of Sinn Féin who did not support the decision made at the party's ard fheis in that year to end its policy of abstentionism and to allow elected Sinn Féin TDs take their seats in Dáil Éireann.^[10] Its first leader was Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, who was a previous leader of Sinn Féin, and had been elected as an abstentionist TD in 1957.

They have one councillor, Tomás Ó Curraoin on Galway County Council. As they are not a registered party, he is officially an independent councillor.

Kerry Independent Alliance

The Kerry Independent Alliance (previously the South Kerry Independent Alliance) have one councillor on Kerry County Council. It is registered to contest elections for Dáil Éireann and in Killarney for local elections.

Other parties

Communist Party of Ireland

The Communist Party of Ireland was first founded in 1921, and re-founded in 1933; the current communist party originates from 1970, when the Communist Party of Northern Ireland joined with the Irish Workers' Party (not related to the current Workers Party). While a registered political party, it rarely stands candidates in elections, and remains quite small. It was historically quite influential in the trade union movement.

Socialist Party

The Socialist Party (initially known as Militant Labour) was formed in 1989 by members of the Militant Tendency who were expelled from the Labour Party. It was renamed the Socialist Party in 1996. It is a Marxist political party in the Trotskyist tradition and is organised in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Joe Higgins was its first member elected at national level. It was part of the United Left Alliance in the 2011 general election,^[7] along with the People Before Profit Alliance and the Workers and Unemployed Action Group, but that Alliance disintegrated over the course of the following Dáil term. Its councillors contested the 2014 local elections as part of the Anti-Austerity Alliance, and it is now part of the Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit. Three TDs are members of the Socialist Party. The party is affiliated to the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI). In 2014, it altered its registered name to Stop the Water Tax – Socialist Party.^[1][11]

Socialist Workers Party

The Socialist Workers Party was founded in 1971 as the Socialist Workers Movement by supporters of the International Socialists of Britain living in Ireland. It renamed itself the Socialist Workers Party in 1995. Since 2007, it has contested elections as part of the People Before Profit Alliance (PBP). The PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett and 12 PBP councillors are members of the Socialist Workers Party.

Other registered parties

• Catholic Democrats
• Direct Democracy Ireland
• éirígí
• Fís Nua
• Independents 4 Change
• Irish Democratic Party
• United People

Unregistered parties

Just as independent candidates, those standing for unregistered parties may choose either to be listed as "Non-Party", or to leave the section blank on the ballot paper.^[2]

• Anti-Austerity Alliance^[12]
• Identity Ireland
• Irish Republican Socialist Party
• Irish Socialist Network
• Letterkenny Residents Party
• People Before Profit Alliance^[13]
• Pirate Party Ireland
• Republican Sinn Féin
• Seniors Solidarity Party
• United Left

See also

• List of political parties by country

References