Taoiseach Enda Kenny described Fine Gael candidate Helen McEntee's victory in the Meath East byelection as a "stupendous performance in the face of probably the most difficult economic circumstances our country has ever faced".
Speaking at the count centre in Ashbourne, Mr Kenny said he had never seen a byelection taking place in such challenging circumstances. The byelection was brought about by the death of Ms McEntee’s father Shane last December.
“To say I am delighted is an understatement. I really am proud of what Helen McEntee has achieved here . . . This is a vote by the people of Meath East, but this is not just a vote in respect of her late dad, Shane McEntee,” Mr Kenny said.
He described Ms McEntee as a formidable candidate in her own right.
Ms McEntee described her victory as “bittersweet” after she secured 9,356 first-preference votes, ending up with a total of 11,473 after transfers were distributed.
"You had faith in Dad and I'm just absolutely delighted you had faith in me . . . and if I'm half the TD that he was I'll be happy," she said. "Obviously we are here today because our darling Shane, Dad, isn't, so it's bittersweet."
Strong messages
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin paid tribute to Ms McEntee and the McEntee family. He said the people of Meath East had given very strong messages on the doorstep on the issues of property tax and child benefit cuts.
“If the people were volunteering anything on the doorstep it was a deep sense of betrayal in terms of the commitments that were made to them,” Mr Martin said.
The party’s candidate, Senator Thomas Byrne, said he was “delighted” with his vote. “That’s a huge increase for me . . . It’s the largest vote we’ve got in years. I’m really, really pleased with it and I wish Helen all the very best,” Mr Byrne said. He got 8,002 first preferences.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said he did not think Fine Gael could “take succour” from the vote given the circumstances in which the byelection took place. “We’re very, very, very satisfied with the vote that we took. This is the largest vote that we have ever taken in this constituency,” he said. The party’s candidate Darren O’Rourke got 3,165 first preferences.
He complained about the media presenting the byelection as a “two-horse race” between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
"We are the third party in this election. We came from a standing start. We introduced a person who no one outside of our own ranks knew. We fought a three-week campaign. We increased our vote by a very, very substantial amount and we're going to continue to build on that." Mr O'Rourke said he was committed to the constituency of Meath East and was looking forward to building on what had been achieved.
'Austerity fatigue'
Labour Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said people were suffering from "austerity fatigue". He said the byelection was fought on national issues. "People are disillusioned with the sheer duration of the crisis." He described Labour's candidate Eoin Holmes, who got 1,112 first preference votes, as the "outstanding candidate" in the contest.
Ben Gilroy of Direct Democracy Ireland (DDI), who beat the Labour candidate with 1,568 first preferences, said the feedback on the doorsteps had been very good. Some people refused to open the door because they thought the canvassers were debt collectors, he said.Mr Gilroy said the result put DDI "on the map".
