A record number of women will form part of the new Dáil as gender quotas put more females on the ballot papers.

Pat Rabbitte, Michael Kitt, and Joe Higgins are among the political stalwarts who have taken the opportunity to bid farewell to the Dáil before stepping down.

Anti-establishment are now well placed to translate strong national support into major gains at the next general election, while Government parties face losses, says Adrian Kavanagh

Sinn Féin's topped the poll in the Dublin South West by-election, but faces a battle to win the seat with the Anti-Austerity-Alliance candidate just behind.

By-elections in Roscommon-South Leitrim and Dublin South-West will be held on Friday, October 10, the Government has announced.

I remember when August 15 was the turning point in summer. A last festival, both holiday and holy day. It was the end of the builders’ holidays (and for lots of other businesses that closed for the first two weeks in August, too).

Whoever takes over the reins as Labour leader will have his or her work cut out to reboot a party that has all but flatlined. But that is not the full story of what happened in the local and European elections.

Vulnerable children in Kildare and West Wicklow were at “significant risk” due to insufficient resources and a backlog in assessing cases, according to a new Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) inspection report.

Alex White’s legal and media experience should prove beneficial in his new portfolio in Health, writes Juno McEnroe

If the recommendations of the Constituency Commission are implemented in full, it could spell deep trouble for the following TDs:

IT WAS nice while it lasted.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said the country now needs a deal on its bank debt.

More than 20% of constituency boundaries will have to be changed based on latest population figures, it was claimed last night.

Eamon Maloney of Labour has been elected on the eighth and final count in Dublin South-West.

Sinn Féin's Sean Crowe has been elected in Dublin South-West.

Senior figures in the Fine Gael party have claimed they could be on course for single-party government.

Labour's Pat Rabbitte has been elected on the first count in Dublin South-West, with 12,867 votes. The quota was 9,393.

OUTREACH AWARD

Lisbon Treaty supporters and opponents clashed today trading insults and accusing one another of spreading lies to win votes in the looming referendum.

THE possibility of Fianna Fáil losing control of the Seanad and struggling to pass crucial government legislation was yesterday deemed feasible but unlikely by Fine Gael.

Pat Rabbitte appeared to concede that Bertie Ahern would become Taoiseach this afternoon as the Labour leader became his party's first Dáil member to be re-elected today.

TRY as he might, Pat Rabbitte could not put Cobh woman, Mary McNicholas, at ease.

The Offences Against the State Act must be wiped from the Irish statute books before Sinn Féin goes in government in the Republic, the party decided today.

A LITANY of ward closures, A&E overcrowding problems and appalling services for the elderly have been outlined by angry delegates attending the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) annual conference in Galway.

Of the seven constituencies whose votes have been tallied, the breakdown of votes follows.

Political Reporter