Readers' blog: What lies ahead after Áras election

So Michael D Higgins returns to the Áras with a strong mandate but a tarnished reputation. He will have to double down over the next seven years to ensure his legacy is not that of the Learjet president.

Peter Casey’s 21% represents a real shift. It indicates that the electorate and in particular those who “get up early in the morning” have had enough of the sense of entitlement of some elements in society. It is unfortunate for the Travelling community that the focus was on them, no doubt fuelled by six empty new houses in Tipperary. That situation was badly handled by the council. Those houses should have been handed over to the next six candidates on the housing list if the Travellers did not want them and then start again on a greenfield site for accommodation suitable for their needs.