Alan Kelly: Labour will be back as a force

Labour Party deputy leader Alan Kelly made it over the line on the seventh and last count in Tipperary without reaching the quota.

The environment minister endured a nervous night on Saturday as his fate lay in the balance, but transfers from his North Tipperary counterparts Seamus Morris (SF), Michael Smith (FF), and Jackie Cahill (FF), kept him ahead of the Fine Gael minister of state Tom Hayes throughout yesterday’s counts.

The latter was one of two Fine Gael TDs to lose their seats in Tipperary, along with Noel Coonan.