Political Developments, 2019
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01 Political Developments.qxp_Admin 68-1 26/02/2020 13:07 Page 1 Administration, vol. 68, no. 1 (2020), pp. 1–13 doi: 10.2478/admin-2020-0001 Political developments, 2019 David Hugh Moore Department of Political Science, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland European Parliament election On 24 May 2019 Ireland voted in the ninth European Parliament elections. As a result of Brexit, the European Parliament was reorganised and the number of MEPs was reduced from 751 to 705. The twenty-seven remaining UK seats were reallocated to other member states. Ireland received an additional two seats, bringing the country’s total number of seats up to thirteen. The same constituencies as in 2014 were used with only minor border changes. Two constituencies received an additional MEP. Dublin moved from a three-seat to a four-seat constituency while Ireland South went from a four- to a five-seat constituency. The Midlands North-West constituency stayed the same with four seats. Given that the UK had not actually left the EU when the elections were held, the two additional MEPs were ineligible to take their seats until the UK had officially left the EU. In order to be eligible to compete in European elections, a prospective candidate must fulfil one of the following criteria: be nominated by a registered political party; have declarations from sixty people willing to support their candidacy; or pay a deposit of €1,800. These requirements are deemed relatively simple to meet and as such helped contribute towards a record number of candidates running for MEP in the state. In total, fifty-nine candidates ran for election: nineteen were located in Dublin, twenty-three in Ireland South, and seventeen in Midlands North-West. Of the eleven incumbent MEPs, 1 01 Political Developments.qxp_Admin 68-1 26/02/2020 13:07 Page 2 2 DAVID HUGH MOORE seven sought re-election. Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes, Fianna Fáil’s Brian Crowley, and independents Marian Harkin and Nessa Childers did not seek re-election. Most of the party candidates were either sitting or former MEPs, TDs or local county councillors. Fine Gael ran former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh in Midlands North-West, former leader of Northern Ireland’s Social Democratic and Labour Party Mark Durkan in Dublin, and former Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald also in Dublin. In addition to the party candidates, there were a sizeable number of independents. High-profile independents included Independents 4 Change TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly, incumbent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, former presidential election candidate Peter Casey and Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, daughter of President Michael D. Higgins (see Duggan, 2019). Fine Gael won five seats, with 29.6 per cent of the vote. This was followed by Fianna Fáil (16.5 per cent), the Green Party (11.7 per cent) and Independents 4 Change (7.4 per cent), who all won two seats. Labour (3.1 per cent), Solidarity/People Before Profit (2.3 per cent) and the Social Democrats (1.2 per cent) all failed to win seats. A total of 16.8 per cent of the electorate voted for independent candidates, with a return of one seat in the form of Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan (see Johnson, forthcoming). Local elections On the same day as the European Parliament elections, the local elections were held. These elections marked the 120th anniversary of Ireland’s first local elections in 1899, following the passing of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. Many local authorities celebrated the anniversary, with the Minister for Local Government and Electoral Reform, John Paul Phelan, TD, launching a department- funded visual exhibition of the history of Irish local government in the Customs House. The year 2019 also represented the twentieth anniversary of the constitutional amendment passed in 1999 to safe - guard the holding of local elections on a five-year basis. Elections took place for three city councils, two city and county councils, and twenty-six county councils. There were also local plebiscites in Cork City, Limerick and Waterford on the introduction of a directly elected mayor. The elections failed to rouse much public interest, with a turnout of just 50.2 per cent, the joint lowest in the state’s history. As is usual in local elections, the election was fought on 01 Political Developments.qxp_Admin 68-1 26/02/2020 13:07 Page 3 Political developments, 2019 3 a mixture of local and national issues. Fianna Fáil maintained its position as the largest party in Irish local government with 26.9 per cent of first-preference votes translating into 279 seats. This represented an increase of 12 seats. Having lost 105 seats in the 2014 local elections, Fine Gael were hoping for a strong showing. However, they only gained 20 seats, increasing their total from 235 to 255. Nonetheless, they had reversed the pattern of parties losing seats while in government. Sinn Féin had been the big winners in the 2014 election with 159 seats, notably controlling Dublin City Council. However, they lost 78 seats, with their total falling to 81. The Labour Party increased its share of seats by 6, from 51 to 57. The Green Party were perhaps the story of the election, increasing their number of seats fourfold from 12 to 49. Independent candidates, who generally do better in local elections, received 22.4 per cent of the vote, translating into 198 seats. The Social Democrats and Solidarity/People Before Profit won 19 and 11 seats, respectively. Campaigning for the plebiscites was lacklustre, characterised by a dearth of information and public confusion. The proposal was narrowly defeated in Cork City and Waterford; conversely, it passed in Limerick, where a mayoral election is expected to take place in 2021 (see Quinlivan, forthcoming). Divorce Referendum On 6 July 2016 Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan introduced a private members’ bill that proposed halving the length of time that couples had to wait prior to seeking a divorce. In April 2017 the government agreed to adopt the proposal and it was sent to the Oireachtas Select Committee on Justice and Equality. While the bill had received government support, it was one of several referendums intended to liberalise Ireland’s Constitution that the government wished to bring to the people. Further, it was deemed to be a low-priority referendum, especially with the government’s desire to hold a referendum on the repeal of the Eight Amendment to the Constitution, regarding abortion (see Moore, 2019). In January 2019 the Cabinet approved the holding of a referendum to amend Articles 41.3.2 and 41.3.3 of the Constitution. The date for the referendum was set for 24 May to coincide with the local and European Parliament elections. On 26 March the formal wording of the referendum was announced. The referendum would allow for the recognition of 01 Political Developments.qxp_Admin 68-1 26/02/2020 13:07 Page 4 4 DAVID HUGH MOORE foreign divorces and would eliminate any language relating to a minimum separation term for divorcing couples. The government also published a draft bill to replace existing legislation should the referendum pass. The bill would impose a two-year mandatory separation period (a reduction from four years). In April the final version of the bill on the Thirty-Eight Amendment to the Constitution passed both the Dáil and the Seanad. The referendum was ultimately passed by a majority of 82.1 per cent in favour to 17.9 per cent against, with 2.3 per cent spoiled/invalid votes. While there was variation across urban and rural regions the amendment was overwhelmingly approved across the state. The highest ‘No’ vote was in Monaghan, where just under 25 per cent of voters opposed the amendment (see Keenan, forthcoming). In October the Family Law Act, 2019, which would recognise foreign divorces and reduce the separation period for divorcing couples, passed both houses of the Oireachtas and was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins. This bill also included a provision to recognise UK divorces in the event of a no-deal Brexit. By-elections One implication of the European Parliament elections was that four of the newly elected MEPs were, at the time of the election, TDs. These were Fine Gael TD and former Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald of the Dublin Mid-West constituency, Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher of the Cork North-Central constituency, and independents Clare Daly and Mick Wallace from the Dublin Fingal and Wexford constituencies, respectively. Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2011, the writ for such by-elections must be issued within six months of the vacancy. On 7 November 2019, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy, TD, brought the writ before the Dáil for by-elections to be held in the four constituencies on 29 November (see McGee, 2019). On the week of the writ going before the Dáil, thirty-two candidates had already declared their intentions to compete in the elections. This figure would rise to forty-six by the 18 November deadline for candidate nominations. Going into the election, Fianna Fáil were the slight favourite in three of the four constituencies. In the build-up to polling day, Verona Murphy, Fine Gael’s candidate in the Wexford constituency, aroused controversy following comments relating to asylum seekers. While discussing the direct 01 Political Developments.qxp_Admin 68-1 26/02/2020 13:07 Page 5 Political developments, 2019 5 provision system, Murphy, the former leader of the Road Haulage Association, was quoted as having said: These people are coming from such war-torn countries that they have to be deprogrammed, for the want of a better word, but through support services.