A by-election was held in the

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

Donegal South-West constituency in Ireland on Thursday 25 November 2010, following the election of Fianna Fáil TD Pat "the Cope" Gallagher to the European Parliament at the June 2009 election. Most voters cast their ballots on 25 November 2010; 754 voters on offshore islands ( Arranmore, Tory, Inishbofin, Gola, and Inishfree) were entitled to cast their ballots on 22 November. The government through a vote in Dáil Éireann decides when by-elections for seats in the lower house are called. Possessing a small majority in the Dáil, the government had delayed in calling this by-election. While there is no specific legal requirement on when to hold a by-election in Ireland, they are generally held within six months of a vacancy occurring. The 17-month gap between the seat becoming vacant and the writ being moved is the longest in the history of the state. Sinn Féin senator

Pearse Doherty Pearse Daniel Doherty (born 6 July 1977) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously a TD for the Donegal South-West constituency from 2010 to ...

was elected on the fourth count.

Legal challenge

Due to the delay in the Government holding the by-election, a number of attempts to force the by-election were carried out by the Opposition. On 4 May 2010, Sinn Féin attempted to force the holding of the by-election. The next day, the Government narrowly avoided a defeat in the motion calling for the by-election to be held immediately when two of their TDs accidentally voted with the opposition. On 12 July 2010, the High Court granted leave to Sinn Féin senator

for a judicial review into why the by-election was not being held. On 2 November 2010, the High Court ruled that there was an unreasonable delay in holding the by-election. In his ruling, High Court President Justice

Nicholas Kearns Nicholas Kearns (born 1946) is a retired Irish judge who served as President of the High Court from 2009 to 2015 and a Judge of the High Court from 1998 to 2015. He retired as President of the High Court on 19 December 2015. Early career K ...

described the delay as unprecedented and that the delay amounted to a breach of Doherty's constitutional rights. He declared that Section 30 (2) of the Electoral Act 1992 should be construed as requiring that a writ for a by-election be moved within a reasonable time of the vacancy arising. He further stated that: However, Justice Kearns did not order the Government to set a date for the by-election. The Government announced on 4 November 2010 that the by-election would be held on 25 November. They also stated that they would

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Campaign

The election campaign took place during an unprecedented crisis in state finances: *record falls in bond market rates for

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

debt. *a fact-finding visit by European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs,

Olli Rehn Olli Ilmari Rehn (; born 31 March 1962) is a Finnish economist and public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargem ...

to review the government budgetary plans. *a joint team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission and the European Central Bank arrived to begin discussions about international loan assistance for the state and the banks. *the Government put the finishing touches to the 2011 budget, expected to impose a set of stringent cuts as part of a four-year plan to reduce the government deficit from 13% of GDP to 3%. An opinion poll in the week prior to polling gave Pearse Doherty 40% of the first preference vote, with Fianna Fáil's Brian O'Domhnaill with 19%. On 22 November, Taoiseach Brian Cowen announced his intention to call a general election in early 2011, once the budget had been passed. Candidate Anne Sweeney unofficially withdrew on 23 November and advised voters to boycott the by-election, describing it as "a complete farce" given the likelihood of a proximate general election.

Result

Aftermath

CNN noted that support for the three left-leaning candidates, Pearse Doherty, Thomas Pringle and

Frank McBrearty, Jnr Frank McBrearty Jnr is an Irish politician and businessman, who has been a County Councillor on Donegal County Council since 2009. The son of Frank McBrearty Snr, McBrearty became known nationally as a result of the Morris Tribunal's ruling that ...

, added up to 60% of the poll. Doherty said that vote was a rejection of the interference of the IMF in Irish affairs and said he would be voting against the 2011 Budget on 7 December. After negotiations with left-wing Independent TDs

Finian McGrath Finian McGrath (born 9 April 1953) is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister of State for Disability Issues from 2016 to 2020. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2002 to 2020. Early and personal life Born in Tuam, C ...

and

Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...

, a

Technical Group In politics, a technical group or mixed group is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own. ...

was formed in the Dáil to give its members more speaking time. The Fianna Fáil vote dropped from 50% at the 2007 general election to 21% at this by-election. The government majority in the Dáil was reduced to two. The by-election served as a preview to the February 2011 general election, which resulted in a meltdown for the Fianna Fáil party. In July 2011 the new Fine Gael–Labour coalition introduced a bill, passed by the Oireachtas as the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011, among whose provisions was a maximum seat vacancy of six months before a Dáil by-election would be obligatory.;

References

External links