Kenny: 'Govt cannot ignore will of the people'

Journalist-turned-politician George Lee topped a resounding victory for Fine Gael tonight with leader Enda Kenny declaring “this government cannot ignore the will of the people”.

The former RTÉ economics editor took the Dublin South seat on the first count - a feat not seen in a by-election since Taoiseach Brian Cowen was elected a TD in 1984.

Mr Lee won 27,768 first preference votes, polling well over 50% and clinching the seat from Fianna Fáil.

Fine Gael also toasted a landmark victory in the local elections, taking at least a third of the vote to become the largest party in the state for the first time.

Speaking after he was declared elected, Mr Lee said the country needed a change of Government.

“I think firstly we’ve got to change the Government,” the former broadcaster said.

“For me unfortunately I can’t follow the Government’s that there.

“I don’t think they’re capable of leading, I think they’ve lost the people’s trust, I think they are failing to face up to their responsibility for what has gone wrong.

“It is impossible to follow somebody you can’t trust because they will not live up to their responsibilities.”

Mr Lee said the Government could no longer hide.

The father of two has become increasingly high profile in recent years with his reporting of the demise of the economy.

But Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he did not believe the result was a verdict on the Government’s handling of the economy.

“I think it’s a verdict that the people of Dublin South have given in respect of this particular by-election and you know we’ve seen in the past Meath by-elections, Kildare by-elections where we didn’t win but came back subsequently,” Mr Cowen said in Tullamore.

“General elections are about electing governments, by-elections provide an opportunity to obviously elect the best candidates as people see it on the day but also a chance obviously to let the government know of people’s dissatisfaction at any given time.”

Earlier Mr Kenny said it was a spectacular victory for Mr Lee and the Fine Gael party.

“This is also a truly historic day for our party as the indications are now that Fine Gael will be the largest party with the largest vote in the history of our party since 1932,” he said.

“That is a truly spectacular and historic achievement.”

He added: “This Government cannot ignore the will of the people, cannot ignore this message”

Since he declared for the by-election early last month Mr Lee has been the front runner for the seat vacated by the death of former Government Minister Seamus Brennan, ahead of Labour’s Senator Alex White and Mr Brennan’s son Shay.

Mr White polled 10,294 votes to secure second place, with Shay Brennan coming in a close third with 9250.

Mr Lee arrived in the RDS Dublin count centre around an hour before the final declaration to be greeted by a massive crowd of supporters, clapping and cheering.

He said he was humbled and encouraged by the outpouring of support.

“I had no idea from the beginning how I would be received or what the reception would be, which is why I feel so humbled that it has happened like this,” he said.

During his victory speech Mr Lee thanked the people of Dublin South for their support and their vote.

“I can just promise them that I will carry on doing what I believe they expect me to do which is to fight their corner in more ways than one,” Mr Lee said.

“I am absolutely humbled that so many people, more than 50% of the electorate there, would give me their backing like that.”

He said he looked forward to the job and to life in the Dáil.

A UCD graduate with an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, Mr Lee won a Journalist of the Year award in 1998 for uncovering a major tax evasion and over-charging scandal in the National Irish Bank.

Before joining RTÉ, he previously worked as a senior economist at Riada Stockbrokers and as an economist with the Central Bank.

He recently presented a documentary on RTÉ about the economic downturn called 'How We Blew the Boom'.

Counting for the two Dáil by-elections got under way at 9am at the same time as counting of votes for 1,627 councillors for local authorities across the country.