For anyone unfamiliar with new housing minister James Browne TD and what approach he may take, he wrote this piece for local Wexford newspapers at the beginning of the year which may offer some insight into his thinking on housing 👇🏼 www.independent.ie/regionals/we...

No coincidence that Albert Dolan and Catherine Ardagh - both widely viewed as rising stars within FF - were chosen to nominate Mícheál Martin for Taoiseach. Looking back to 2016, Lisa Chambers and Thomas Byrne nominated Martin - both were appointed to the Fianna Fáil frontbench soon after.

The answer? Not long! Is the relationship between the Ceann Comhairle and the opposition irreparable? Difficult to see a route for the CC to gain the confidence of the Dáil after today’s open revolt.

Tús maith leath na hoibre!

Happy New Year to the League of Ireland!

This is excellent from @estwebber.bsky.social. I've long been fascinated by the presence of MPs with no discernible link to the constituencies which elect them. However, this piece notes that amongst those ranks are some of the most impactful, consequential MPs! www.politico.eu/article/brit...

Made this chart yesterday and can't stop thinking about it - how Brits plan to vote according to what they see as the top issues...

Really important read. "Climate change is making geopolitics less stable, which harms climate action. This will worsen climate change, meaning more geopolitical instability, and so on." theconversation.com/a-doom-loop-...

Lots of talk pre #GE24 about Fianna Fáil's relative electoral weakness in Dublin. I've looked at the numbers and compared the performance of the 3 largest parties' in Dublin to their respective national performances, using both share of the first preference vote and seat share as relevant metrics.

Now that both FF and FG have announced their teams for Programme for Government negotiations, it's interesting to look back at the respective teams for the previous two negotiations. What can we learn from the evolution of FF & FG government negotiation teams since 2016? #GE24

Some really impressive results for the SocDems today - particularly considering their greatest asset (Holly Cairns) was sidelined for much of the #GE24 campaign! Similarly, the Labour Party have quietly put in the groundwork and rebuilt support in many traditional heartlands.

Prof. Michael Gallagher of Trinity College Dublin providing an exhibition in electoral analysis on RTÉ Radio One. A true master of the art!

Quite happy with how these #GE24 projections have held up today. Revising some constituencies throughout the day, I think there’s a very real possibility that FF and FG will be able to reach/exceed the magic number of 88.

Count 1 from Meath West is in #GE24. Guirke and Tóibín safe, with an FF vs FG shootout for the final seat. Cllr Aisling Dempsey (FF) is Trim-based, and I expect her to stay ahead of FG Cllr. Linda Nelson Murray as both Cllr. Noel French (despite FG roots) and Cllr. Ronan Moore also represent Trim.

Michael MacNamara MEP makes a good point on RTÉ re: the centralisation of power within the Irish political system, and the relative weakness of local government here. #ge24

Went through each constituency and arrived at the following seat range projections. FF: 43-49 FG: 34-40 SF: 34-40 Inds: 19-26 Labour: 4-12 SocDems: 3-7 Greens: 1-5 II: 3-7 SolPBP: 2-6 Aontú: 1-3 Instinct tells me I’m overestimating FF - as I did in 2020 - but we’ll see.

If it's economics that drives voting in general elections, the question for Ireland today is whether it's microeconomics or macro. (See the NYT piece by @fotoole). These graphs quantify the contrast between rocketing aggregate employment growth and below peak average real earnings.

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Google is ready for #GE24! g.co/doodle/qhv4xbf

Listening to some discussion on fiscal policy throughout this election campaign, I decided to dig this book out and re-read it. Interesting counterfactual to consider what platform the PDs would put to the people in the current economic climate - and how that may differ from the existing parties.

Really enjoyed this authoritative account of the history of local elections in Ireland by @aodhquinlivan.bsky.social. Charting the development of the politics of local govt alongside many colourful stories from 125yrs of local elections, it offers a timely reminder that all politics is local!

A really valuable resource from @breakaway-ian.bsky.social for all the Ivan Yates / Barry Lenihan wannabes out there… Hours of fun - and some great insights into electoral geography as well!

@electionlit.bsky.social see below a full page ad in the local newspaper today ahead of the election funded by a climate-conscious concerned grandmother! Not sure I’ve come across this in previous elections.