The 2011 Irish general election took place on 25 February 2011 to elect the 166 members of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of Ireland's parliament, the Oireachtas. Held amid a sharp economic downturn and the eurozone crisis, the election swept Fianna Fáil from power on one of the largest swings in Europe since 1945 and resulted in a Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition with a record majority.
Traditionally Ireland's dominant party and in government since 1997, Fianna Fáil's support declined after the near-collapse of the banking sector in 2008. With the economy in a deep recession, Taoiseach Brian Cowen's Fianna Fáil–Green Party coalition passed four austerity budgets and became highly unpopular. The government collapsed following its application for an international bailout in late 2010, which saw the so-called Troika take control of state fiscal policy. Cowen resigned as Fianna Fáil leader days before the Dáil was dissolved.
Because of the EU–IMF bailout, the election was seen internationally as significant for the future of the euro. While a glut of outgoing TDs opted to retire, a record number of candidates stood. With Fianna Fáil polling at historic lows, the campaign became a contest between the main opposition parties. Labour under Eamon Gilmore had surged to first place in polls in 2010, precipitating a failed attempt by Fine Gael frontbenchers to remove Enda Kenny as their party leader. By 2011, however, Fine Gael had a clear lead, and surveys during the campaign put them close to an overall majority. Amid high unemployment and a vast budget deficit, each party attacked the other: Labour were branded a high-tax option while Fine Gael were accused of favouring brutal spending cuts.
The election saw Fianna Fáil slide to third place and lose more than two-thirds of its TDs, a record decline at a Dáil election. It was the party's worst-ever result by far; its vote collapsed with every social group and in every region. Three of the six sitting cabinet ministers who contested the election lost their seats, and the Green Party was wiped out entirely. Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin each won record seat totals, and an increased number of independents were elected. For the first time in its history, Fine Gael became the largest party. After it and Labour agreed a programme for government, Enda Kenny was elected Taoiseach by the 31st Dáil on 9 March 2011.
Background Economic crisis and Fianna Fáil decline In the twentieth century, Fianna Fáil was arguably the most successful political party in a European democracy. With a big-tent ethos focused on strong leadership, localism, and economic pragmatism, it had won the most seats at every election since 1932 and been in government for all but twenty-four years of its eight-decade existence. Bertie Ahern became party leader in 1994 and formed a coalition with the Progressive Democrats in 1997. During his first two terms as Taoiseach, Ahern presided over a booming economy, known as the Celtic Tiger; his governments pursued expansionary fiscal policies while overseeing rapid growth in the property sector and increased reliance on construction-related revenue. Ahern was the first Taoiseach to lead a coalition through multiple terms.
Despite voter fatigue after a decade in office, Fianna Fáil won the general election in May 2007 on a promise to keep the economy strong. It formed a coalition with the Green Party, the Progressive Democrats, and independents. The main opposition parties were Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Sinn Féin. Bertie Ahern was the first Taoiseach elected to three consecutive terms since Éamon de Valera. It was the first time the Green Party had entered government; Trevor Sargent stood down as party leader soon afterwards and was succeeded by John Gormley. Following disclosures at the Mahon Tribunal and controversy over his private financial affairs, Ahern resigned in April 2008; Brian Cowen replaced him as Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach the following month. Having lost three-quarters of their Dáil seats at the 2007 election, the Progressive Democrats disbanded in 2009, though former leader Mary Harney continued to serve in cabinet as an independent.
Amid a steep decline in property prices and a wider downturn in the economy, the near-collapse of Irish banks in 2008 shook the state to its foundations. In September, the government intervened to guarantee bank liabilities totalling €440billion, about ten times Ireland's existing national debt. Within weeks, as the coalition announced an early austerity budget, Fianna Fáil's polling declined to historic lows. Fine Gael became the largest party in local government at the 2009 elections, while the Green Party fell from eighteen seats on city and county councils to three. The same day, Fianna Fáil had a poor European Parliament election, losing its seat in Dublin for the first time ever. In opinion polls, the government's satisfaction rating barely exceeded 10 per cent. Across all surveys in 2009, Fine Gael averaged 33 per cent support; Fianna Fáil, 23 per cent; and Labour, 20 per cent.
Labour surge and Fine Gael leadership heave In opposition since 1997, Fine Gael and the Labour Party ran on a joint platform in 2007. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, in place since 2002, stayed on after gaining twenty seats at the election, despite criticism of his campaign from the media and some of his own TDs. Pat Rabbitte resigned as Labour leader in August 2007 and was replaced by Eamon Gilmore, who pledged to take the party out of the shadow of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
In June 2010, Labour reached 32 per cent in a poll for The Irish Times, putting them in the lead. Gilmore's personal popularity considerably outstripped Kenny's, and Labour was polling particularly well with middle-aged swing voters. The journalist Deaglán de Bréadún attributed the party's surge to its perceived success in forcing the resignation of John O'Donoghue as Ceann Comhairle after an expenses scandal.
After failing to declare confidence in Kenny during two TV appearances after the poll, Richard Bruton was sacked as Fine Gael deputy leader and finance spokesperson on 14 June. Bruton announced he would challenge for the party leadership and gained the support of most of the frontbench. Some in Bruton's camp expected Kenny to resign, but he vowed to fight on. Olivia Mitchell, a frontbencher who supported Bruton, told reporters that voters she spoke to could not imagine Kenny as Taoiseach. Nevertheless, Kenny won a vote of confidence from the parliamentary party later that week. His victory steadied Fine Gael, and by the beginning of 2011 the party had a commanding lead in polls again.
Troika arrival and government collapse Brian Cowen's government had sought to avoid the need for an international bailout, passing deep cuts to public spending and attempting to broaden the tax base. The coalition had withstood two no-confidence motions, the resignation of Willie O'Dea from the cabinet over a legal controversy, finance minister Brian Lenihan's pancreatic cancer diagnosis, and a September 2010 interview with RTÉ in which Cowen was alleged to have been hungover. John Downing, deputy government press secretary at the time, wrote in 2013 that Fine Gael politicians had told him it suited their party for Cowen to stay in office as long as possible, so he would be responsible for unpopular economic measures.
The coalition's numerical position in the Dáil had gradually deteriorated from the margin of twelve by which Cowen had been elected Taoiseach. By November 2010, the government had a majority of three, while three Dáil seats had been vacant for more than six months. The previous May, the government had blocked an attempt by Sinn Féin to hold a by-election in Donegal South-West because a likely defeat was seen as a threat to its stability. Sinn Féin senator Pearse Doherty took a successful High Court action against the decision. The vote took place on 25 November and Doherty won the seat, with the Fianna Fáil candidate in third.
Although a general election was not required until July 2012, events in November 2010 forced an early dissolution. The same week as the by-election in Donegal, after days of denials and secrecy, it emerged that the government was negotiating an €85billion bailout with the Eurogroup, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. In effect, the so-called Troika was now controlling Irish economic policy. The Irish Times said of Fianna Fáil in an editorial: "The Republican Party's ideals are in tatters now." The Green Party called for a general election to be held in January 2011, but said it would facilitate vital pre-dissolution measures, including the 2011 budget. Cowen accepted this proposal but did not set an election date.
Cowen's leadership of Fianna Fáil came into question following a further slump in polls to 14 per cent. Though he had intended to lead his party into the election, the Taoiseach faced a challenge from Micheál Martin, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 18 January 2011, Cowen won a vote of confidence from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party; Martin then resigned from the cabinet while pledging loyalty to the government. Cowen attempted a reshuffle two days later, but following the resignations of five ministers who planned to retire at the election, the Green Party – who regarded the move as a cynical attempt to improve Fianna Fáil's electoral prospects – announced it would not vote to appoint their replacements. A standoff developed between the two parties. In response, the Fianna Fáil junior minister Conor Lenihan called for Cowen to resign. Cowen stood down as Fianna Fáil leader on 22 January, saying he would remain Taoiseach until after the general election on 11 March. The Green Party ministers formally resigned from government the next day, leaving a Fianna Fáil caretaker ministry of seven, the constitutional minimum. Four days after Cowen's announcement, the Fianna Fáil leadership was won by Micheál Martin.
Following the threat of no-confidence motions from Fine Gael and Labour, the government brought forward the election date from 11 March to 25 February in exchange for expediting the Finance Bill. The 30th Dáil was dissolved by President Mary McAleese on 1 February 2011.
Electoral system
Under the Constitution of Ireland, once the Dáil was dissolved, an election had to take place within thirty days. The date was set for Friday 25 February and the first meeting of the 31st Dáil was scheduled for Wednesday 9 March. It was the first general election in February or in winter since 1987, and the first not to be held at a time of the outgoing Taoiseach's choosing since 1992.
Polls were open between 07:00 and 22:00 (WET). As usual, due to the possibility of adverse weather delaying the return of ballots, certain offshore islands voted earlier than the rest of the country. On Arranmore, Clare Island, Gola, Inishbiggle, Inishbofin (County Donegal), Inishfree, Inishturk and Tory Island, votes were cast on 23 February; the Aran Islands and Inishbofin (County Galway) went to the polls the following day.
Voting in general elections is not compulsory and turnout had increased in 2007 following a gradual decline since the 1980s. Across forty-three constituencies, 165 of the 166 seats in Dáil Éireann were up for election; the outgoing Ceann Comhairle (chairperson of the Dáil), Séamus Kirk, was returned automatically in Louth.