Bacik elected in 'decisive swing' against Government

Labour Candidate Ivana Bacik celebrates with (left to right) her daughters Louis and Cyan, and her husband Alan Saul, after being declared the winner for the Dublin Bay South by-election. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar have denied the leadership of their respective parties is in question following Ivana Bacik’s stunning win in the Dublin Bay South by-election.

In what was seen as a decisive swing against the government, all three coalition party candidates performed worse than had been expected.

Fianna Fáil suffered its worst-ever by-election result, with its candidate Deirdre Conroy winning just 4.6% of the first preference vote.

The Fine Gael candidate James Geoghegan failed to top the poll as expected and was never in a position to catch Ms Bacik, while the Green Party candidate, Claire Byrne, won just 8% of the first preference vote.

Speaking in Cork, Mr Martin insisted that his authority over his party is intact and that he will lead his party into the next General Election.

“I intend to lead this Government. During the transition, I will become Tánaiste, and it is my intention to lead the party into the next General Election,” Mr Martin said.

Asked whether he was confident in his position as leader, he responded: "Absolutely. There is no issue."

He was speaking after his party’s Director of Elections for the by-election, Jim O’Callaghan refused to categorically support that position.

Mr O’Callaghan said the party “would have to think” about whether Mr Martin would lead the party come election time.

Speaking at the RDS count centre, Mr Varadkar rejected any suggestion of his resignation, insisting he will be “around for a little while yet”
Mr Varadkar said there had been "good and bad" elections under his leadership, adding that by-elections are notoriously difficult for any Government party to win.

Tánaiste and Leader of Fine Gael Leo Varadkar congratulates Labour candidate Senator Ivana Bacik on her performance. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

He denied that the result would have been different if Fine Gael had supported and encouraged former TD Kate O'Connell to run.

"Our candidate James Geoghegan held the Fine Gael vote in this constituency. He got as many votes or as big a share of the vote as Eoghan Murphy and Kate O'Connell combined, and that was his first time running for the Dáil," he said. Mr Varadkar added that Ms Bacik was a "really strong" candidate.

He said it would be up to Ms O'Connell to put her name forward for selection ahead of the next general election. 

The Tánaiste said he doesn't accept that Fine Gael is a cold house for women, but admitted that the party "need to listen to the electorate".

Ms Bacik defied her party’s extremely low national support levels to top the poll with 30.2% of the first preference vote.

It was clear from even before the first count that Mr Geoghegan would not be in a position to win the seat.

He won 26.2% of the first preference vote and was always likely to struggle to get the transfers required to catch Ms Bacik.

Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan performed well in her party’s working-class core areas, but her challenge faded early on as the more affluent areas of the constituency flocked to Ms Bacik.

Ivana Bacik defied her party’s extremely low national support levels to top the poll with 30.2% of the first preference vote.Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

There was some internal criticism with the Green Party over Claire Byrne’s “poor return” given the party spent a reported €18,000 on the campaign.

Gary Murphy, Professor of Law and Government at Dublin City University said the result can be seen as a “rejection of the Government”.

Speaking at the count, Ms Bacik said she was "absolutely over the moon" to have taken the seat in her home constituency.

The long-time Labour senator said that she had run a "positive, energetic" campaign that had focused on "a change in government policy - particularly in housing".

She said that there was a "mood for change" among her constituents.

Ms Bacik said that she was "overwhelmed at topping the poll". She said it was "a good day for the Labour Party and those who share Labour values”.

Her party leader Alan Kelly said that he is "immensely proud" of Ivana Bacik.

He said Ms Bacik "was the key" to the win, adding she is "an amazing candidate and an amazing person".