A surge in the number of TDs who also hold county and city council seats is one of outcomes of the general election.
Analysis by the General Council of County Councils indicates that 101 of the 166 members of the 29th Dáil also hold seats in county and city halls throughout the State. This is a rise of 22 on the 79 dual-mandate holders in the outgoing Dáil.
In the previous Dáil the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, tried to end the dual mandate by which one can sit on a council and in the legislature.
The 101 TDs who each receive a salary of at least €69,050 - the TDs' basic - will also be entitled to the councillors' stipend of just under €13,000.
"This surge in councillors who hold Dáil seats will make it more difficult for government to renew last year's attempt to ban TDs from holding a dual mandate," said Mr Liam Kenny, director of the General Council of Councils.
More than 40 of the first-time TDs hold council seats. "The importance of a strong local profile has always been a feature of Irish politics, but what is remarkable is that the modern breed of politicians seems to be even keener on having a local base," added Mr. Kenny.
Among high-profile councillors elected were the Dublin Lord Mayor, Mr Michael Mulcahy, and the Waterford County Mayor, Mr Ollie Wilkinson. Both had to relinquish their mayoral positions (but not their council seats) immediately on election.
All of the Green Party's four new TDs are councillors, as are three of the new Sinn Féin deputies.
