Billy Kelleher: Irish voters rejected ‘anti-migrant’ candidates and returned to centre

IRISH voters have rejected “populist, anti-migrant groupings” and moved back to the centre, an Irish MEP has said.

Billy Kelleher said that people considered alternatives to the coalition government parties and “rejected them resoundingly”.

There had been concern that a wave of rhetoric around immigration and climate change, seen across the EU, would be repeated in Ireland’s local and European elections on June 7.

But the coalition government parties – Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party – have performed better than expected based on early results.

Ireland’s electoral system of proportional representation means that a candidate must reach a quota to be elected, which involves several rounds of counting, and the transfer of eliminated candidates often deciding who wins the final seats.

Ireland’s MEPs will be the last in the European Parliament’s elections to be confirmed.

Mr Kelleher, who is expected to comfortably regain his seat along with Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly, said that his party leader and Ireland’s deputy premier Micheal Martin had contributed to his party’s electoral success.

With most of the 949 council seats filled, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have held steady at 23% of first preference votes, with main opposition party Sinn Fein behind on just 11%.

Of Ireland’s 14 MEPs, Fianna Fail are expected to increase their number of MEPs from two to three.

Speaking at the count centre at Nemo Rangers GAA Club in Cork, on Monday, Mr Kelleher said that Mr Martin’s leadership, the strength of the organisation and the “critical importance” of centrist politics were behind the party’s performance.

“The public looked at others and rejected them resoundingly, both in terms of the very populist anti-migrant groupings on the right, but equally Sinn Fein as well in terms of their simplistic views to complex problems.

“I think it was a very interesting election because there was a debate around the whole issue of the extremes on left and right and where the centre would reside in modern Irish politics.

“I think that was answered emphatically yesterday both in the local elections and also the European elections, where people looked at the alternatives and wanted to go back to the centre.” Mr Kelly and Mr Kelleher are expected to take the first two of five seats in the 10-county constituency of Ireland South, home to 1.2 million eligible voters.

Despite counting beginning on Sunday morning, the first count in the Ireland South constituency is not expected until between 1pm and 4pm on Monday, with a second count expected to redistribute the surplus votes of Mr Kelly.

There is doubt over whether there will be time for a third count on Monday.

Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara, who was vocal in his opposition to the two defeated March referenda, Sinn Féin TD Kathleen Funchion, and ex-Co Wexford TD Mick Wallace are the next strongest candidates.

Green Party MEP Grace O’Sullivan said on Sunday the prospect of holding on to her seat “feels like it’s slipping away” but she is not yet considered completely out of the race.