Independent politicians | |
|---|---|
| Dáil Éireann | 14 / 174 (8%) |
| Seanad Éireann | 13 / 60 (22%) |
| European Parliament | 2 / 14 (14%) |
| Local government | 190 / 949 (20%) |
Independent politicians contest elections without the support of a political party. They have played a continuous role in thepolitics of Ireland since its independence in 1922.
If a candidate is not the candidate of aregistered political party, they may be nominated for elections toDáil Éireann with the assent of 30 electors in theconstituency,[1] for elections to theEuropean Parliament with the assent of 60 electors in the constituency,[2] and for local elections with the assent of 15 electors in thelocal electoral area.[3] They may choose to have the designation non-party next to their name on the ballot paper.[4]
InSeanad elections andpresidential elections, candidates are not nominated by parties directly, and party labels do not appear on the ballot.[citation needed]
In the case ofminority governments, where the party or parties forming thegovernment do not have a majority in the Dáil, they will usually be dependent on independent TDs invotes of confidence or to pass thebudget. This can be by formal arrangement with the government.[citation needed]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(December 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In thefirst inter-party government (1948–1951),James Dillon served asMinister for Agriculture. He was an independent TD, having leftFine Gael in 1942 because he disagreed with the policy ofneutrality duringWorld War II. He rejoined Fine Gael in 1953 and became leader in 1959.
In 2009,Mary Harney continued asMinister for Health as an independent member of the government after the dissolution of theProgressive Democrats, and served until 2011.
After the2016 general election, 3 independent TDs were appointed to a minorityFine Gael–Independent government on 6 May 2016:Denis Naughten asMinister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment,Shane Ross asMinister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, andKatherine Zappone asMinister for Children and Youth Affairs. Ross was a member of theIndependent Alliance, and other members of the Independent Alliance were appointed asMinisters of State. Naughten resigned as minister on 11 October 2018. Ross and Zappone served until the appointment of a new government on 27 June 2020.
At the2024 local elections, independents won 178 of the 949 seats oncity and county councils.[citation needed]
Two independent MEPs represent Ireland in theEuropean Parliament:Luke 'Ming' Flanagan MEP forMidlands–North-West since2014, andMichael McNamara MEP forSouth since2024.[citation needed]
The currentpresident of IrelandCatherine Connolly was elected in2025 having been nominated by members of theOireachtas fromSinn Féin,Labour Party,Social Democrats,People Before Profit,Solidarity,Green Party,100% Redress, and independents.[5]
| Key for government column: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Independents participated in government | ||
| Minority government | ||
| Majority government | ||
| Election | FPv | % | Seats | % | ± | Dáil | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 (S. Ireland HoC) | Elected unopposed | 4 / 128 | 3.1 | New | 2nd | SF majority 3rd, 4th ministry | |
| 1922 | 48,638 | 7.8 | 9 / 128 | 7.0 |  5 | 3rd | PT SF/CnG minority 5th ministry, 1st executive |
| 1923 | 85,869 | 8.1 | 13 / 153 | 8.5 | 4 | 4th | CnG minority 2nd executive |
| June 1927 | 153,370 | 13.4 | 16 / 153 | 10.5 | 3 | 5th | CnG minority 3rd executive |
| Sep. 1927 | 92,959 | 7.9 | 12 / 153 | 7.8 |  4 | 6th | CnG–FP minority 4th, 5th executive |
| 1932 | 131,890 | 10.4 | 14 / 153 | 9.2 | 2 | 7th | FF minority 6th executive |
| 1933 | 68,882 | 5.0 | 9 / 153 | 5.9 | 5 | 8th | FF minority 7th executive |
| 1937 | 128,480 | 9.7 | 8 / 138 | 5.8 | 1 | 9th | FF minority 8th executive, 1st government |
| 1938 | 60,685 | 4.7 | 7 / 138 | 5.1 | 1 | 10th | FF majority 2nd government |
| 1943 | 116,024 | 8.7 | 11 / 138 | 8.0 | 4 | 11th | FF minority 3rd government |
| 1944 | 94,852 | 7.8 | 10 / 138 | 7.3 | 1 | 12th | FF majority 4th government |
| 1948 | 94,271 | 7.2 | 11 / 147 | 7.5 | 1 | 13th | FG–Lab–CnP–CnT– NL–MR–Ind majority 5th government |
| 1951 | 127,234 | 9.6 | 14 / 147 | 9.5 | 3 | 14th | FF minority 6th government |
| 1954 | 70,937 | 5.3 | 5 / 147 | 3.4 | 9 | 15th | FG–Lab–CnT minority 7th government |
| 1957 | 72,492 | 5.9 | 9 / 147 | 6.1 | 4 | 16th | FF majority 8th, 9th government |
| 1961 | 65,963 | 5.6 | 6 / 144 | 4.2 | 4 | 17th | FF minority 10th government |
| 1965 | 26,277 | 2.1 | 2 / 144 | 1.4 | 4 | 18th | FF majority 11th, 12th government |
| 1969 | 42,230 | 3.2 | 1 / 144 | 0.7 | 1 | 19th | FF majority 13th government |
| 1973 | 39,419 | 2.9 | 2 / 144 | 1.4 | 1 | 20th | FG–Lab majority 14th government |
| 1977 | 87,527 | 5.5 | 4 / 148 | 2.7 | 2 | 21st | FF majority 15th, 16th government |
| 1981 | 63,829 | 3.7 | 4 / 166 | 2.4 |  | 22nd | FG–Lab minority 17th government |
| Feb. 1982 | 46,059 | 2.8 | 4 / 166 | 2.4 | | 23rd | FF minority 18th government |
| Nov. 1982 | 38,735 | 2.3 | 3 / 166 | 1.8 | 1 | 24th | FG–Lab majority 19th government |
| 1987 | 70,843 | 4.0 | 3 / 166 | 1.8 | | 25th | FF minority 20th government |
| 1989 | 54,761 | 3.3 | 4 / 166 | 2.4 | 1 | 26th | FF–PD majority 21st, 22nd government |
| 1992 | 99,487 | 5.8 | 5 / 166 | 3.0 | 1 | 27th | FF–Lab majority 23rd government |
| FG–Lab–DL majority 24th government | |||||||
| 1997 | 123,102 | 7.9 | 6 / 166 | 3.6 | 1 | 28th | FF–PD minority 25th government |
| 2002 | 176,305 | 9.5 | 17 / 166 | 10.2 | 11 | 29th | FF–PD majority 26th government |
| 2007 | 106,429 | 5.2 | 5 / 166 | 3.0 | 12 | 30th | FF–GP–PD majority 27th, 28th government |
| FF–GP–Ind majority 28th government | |||||||
| 2011 | 269,703 | 12.1 | 14 / 166 | 8.4 | 9 | 31st | FG–Labsupermajority 29th government |
| 2016 | 338,215 | 15.9 | 19 / 158 | 12.0 | 5 | 32nd | FG–Ind minority 30th, 31st government |
| 2020 | 266,529 | 12.2 | 19 / 160 | 11.9 | | 33rd | FF–FG–GP majority 32nd, 33rd, 34th government |
| 2024 | 290,746 | 13.2 | 16 / 174 | 9.2 | 5 | 34th | FF–FG–Ind majority 35th government |