Independent politicians contest elections without the support of a political party. They have played a continuous role in the politics of Ireland since its independence in 1922.

Provision for independents in electoral law If a candidate is not the candidate of a registered political party, they may be nominated for elections to Dáil Éireann with the assent of 30 electors in the constituency, for elections to the European Parliament with the assent of 60 electors in the constituency, and for local elections with the assent of 15 electors in the local electoral area. They may choose to have the designation non-party next to their name on the ballot paper.

In Seanad elections and presidential elections, candidates are not nominated by parties directly, and party labels do not appear on the ballot.

Independents supporting governments In the case of minority governments, where the party or parties forming the government do not have a majority in the Dáil, they will usually be dependent on independent TDs in votes of confidence or to pass the budget. This can be by formal arrangement with the government.

Independent government ministers In the first inter-party government (1948–1951), James Dillon served as Minister for Agriculture. He was an independent TD, having left Fine Gael in 1942 because he disagreed with the policy of neutrality during World War II. He rejoined Fine Gael in 1953 and became leader in 1959.

In 2009, Mary Harney continued as Minister for Health as an independent member of the government after the dissolution of the Progressive Democrats, and served until 2011.

After the 2016 general election, three independent TDs were appointed to a minority Fine Gael–Independent government on 6 May 2016: Denis Naughten as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Shane Ross as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Katherine Zappone as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Ross was a member of the Independent Alliance, and other members of the Independent Alliance were appointed as Ministers 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. After the 2016 general election, three independent TDs were appointed to a minority Fine Gael–Independent government on 6 May 2016: Denis Naughten as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Shane Ross as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Katherine Zappone as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Ross was a member of the Independent Alliance, and other members of the Independent Alliance were appointed as Ministers 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. After the 2024 general election, five independent TDs were appointed as ministers of state in a majority Fianna Fáil–Fine Gael–Independent government. Noel Grealish, Seán Canney, Kevin "Boxer" Moran , Michael Healy-Rae and Marian Harkin were appointed to various junior ministries. Healy-Rae resigned as minister during a confidence vote on 15 April 2026.

Local government At the 2024 local elections, independents won 178 of the 949 seats on city and county councils.

European Parliament Two independent MEPs represent Ireland in the European Parliament. Luke 'Ming' Flanagan has been MEP for Midlands–North-West since 2014, and Michael McNamara has been MEP for South since 2024.

President of Ireland The current president of Ireland Catherine Connolly was elected in 2025 having been nominated by members of the Oireachtas from Sinn Féin, Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit, Solidarity, Green Party, 100% Redress, and independents.

Election results General elections Key for government column: Election % ± Seats % ± Dáil Government 1921 Elected unopposed 3.1 New 2nd 1922 48,638 7.8 – 7.0 5 3rd 1923 85,869 8.1 0.3 8.5 4 4th June 1927 153,370 13.4 5.3 10.5 3 5th Sep. 1927 92,959 7.9 5.5 7.8 4 6th 1932 131,890 10.4 2.5 9.2 2 7th 1933 68,882 5.0 5.4 5.9 5 8th 1937 128,480 9.7 4.7 5.8 1 9th 1938 60,685 4.7 5.0 5.1 1 10th 1943 116,024 8.7 4.0 8.0 4 11th 1944 94,852 7.8 0.9 7.3 1 12th 1948 94,271 7.2 0.6 7.5 1 13th 1951 127,234 9.6 2.4 9.5 3 14th 1954 70,937 5.3 4.3 3.4 9 15th 1957 72,492 5.9 0.6 6.1 4 16th 1961 65,963 5.6 0.3 4.2 3 17th 1965 26,277 2.1 3.5 1.4 4 18th 1969 42,230 3.2 1.1 0.7 1 19th 1973 39,419 2.9 0.3 1.4 1 20th 1977 87,527 5.5 2.6 2.7 2 21st 1981 63,829 3.7 1.8 2.4 22nd Feb. 1982 46,059 2.8 0.9 2.4 23rd Nov. 1982 38,735 2.3 0.5 1.8 1 24th 1987 70,843 4.0 1.7 1.8 25th 1989 54,761 3.3 0.7 2.4 1 26th 1992 99,487 5.8 2.5 3.0 1 27th 1997 123,102 7.9 2.1 3.6 1 28th 2002 176,305 9.5 1.6 10.2 11 29th 2007 106,429 5.2 4.3 3.0 12 30th 2011 269,703 12.1 6.9 8.4 9 31st 2016 338,215 15.9 3.8 12.0 5 32nd 2020 266,529 12.2 3.7 11.9 33rd 2024 290,746 13.2 1.0 9.2 3 34th

Presidential elections Election Nominee Alliance 1938Douglas Hyde Unopposed 1945 Patrick McCartan LabourClann na Talmhan 1952Seán T. O'Kelly Fianna FáilUnopposed No independent contested an election between 1959 and 1990 1997 Dana Rosemary Scallon rowspan=3 Derek Nally Overall 2004Mary McAleese Unopposed 2011 Seán Gallagher David Norris rowspan=4 Dana Rosemary Scallon Mary Davis Overall 2018Michael D. Higgins rowspan=6 Peter Casey Seán Gallagher Joan Freeman Gavin Duffy Overall 2025 Catherine Connolly

See also Independent politician Independent politicians in Australia

References

Further reading