Who should I vote for in the general election? A rundown of the main parties

The political parties have published their manifestos, the candidates have knocked on doors, and their leaders have taken part in a series of TV debates. Now it’s finally time for the people to have their say.

If you’re still undecided about how to use your vote, here’s a quick guide to the main parties, what they stand for, and the key policies that they’ve set out ahead of the general election.

Voting commences at 7am on Friday and continues until polls close at 10pm that night. Counts will begin across the country on Saturday morning.

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Fine Gael

Fine Gael was traditionally a socially conservative party of the centre-right, describing itself as the party of law and order, and priding itself on fiscal responsibility.

Since going into government following the economic crash in 2011, however, it’s shifted left of centre on many social issues, overseeing landmark referendums on marriage equality and abortion.

The party has led three successive governments over the past 13 years, and is likely to be seeking to form part of the next administration following Friday’s election, but has ruled out going into coalition with Sinn Féin.

Fine Gael had 35 seats in the last Dáil, having secured its lowest share of the national vote since 1948. The party will be hoping to secure at least 40 seats on Friday, but this task has been made more difficult by the fact that 18 of its outgoing TDs are not standing for re-election.

Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris during a rally at Trim Castle Hotel in Trim, Co Meath, ahead of the General Election on November 29. Picture date: Wednesday November 27, 2024.
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Leader

Simon Harris has been Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael for just seven months, having succeeded Leo Varadkar in April. The former health minister is Ireland’s youngest ever Taoiseach, aged 38.

He enjoyed a honeymoon period after coming to office, heralding a resurgence in the polls for Fine Gael before the election was called on November 8, which was referred to as the ‘Harris Hop’.

A bumpy campaign has seen the party fall in the opinion polls, however, allowing Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin to regain ground, leaving the general election on a knife-edge heading into Friday.

Betting odds

At the time of writing, Paddy Power has Fine Gael behind Fianna Fáil in the battle to get the most seats in the next Dáil with odds of 11/4. Accordingly, Harris is also second favourite behind Micheál Martin to be the next Taoiseach at 15/8.

Key policies

In its manifesto, Fine Gael says it will continue to reduce the Universal Social Charge (USC), although the party promised to abolish it prior to the 2016 election.

It also plans to invest €100 billion in capital projects across the country, and increase the thresholds for inheritance tax. A new ‘Acorn’ savings scheme will give families the opportunity to build a nest egg for newborn children, payable when they turn 18.

On housing, Fine Gael says it will build 300,000 homes by 2030 at a cost of €40 billion, for which it will use some of the Apple corporation tax windfall. Annually, it will also build 12,000 social homes, 2,500 new student bed places, and 9,000 affordable homes.

It plans to provide funding to recruit 6,000 new gardaí over five years, expand the Garda Reserve to 3,000, and build a new prison at Thornton Hall, as well as adding 1,500 more prison places in existing detention facilities.

In the area of health, free GP services would be extended to everyone under 18, the cost of prescription drugs would be decreased, and 5,000 new inpatient hospital beds would be opened by 2031.

Fianna Fáil

Historically the country’s ‘party of government’, centrist Fianna Fáil were in power for 61 of the 79 years prior to its spectacular electoral collapse following the economic crash in 2011.

Since then, it propped up Fine Gael in government as part of a confidence-and-supply deal in 2016, and entered full coalition with its Civil War rival in 2020.

It appears that the two parties are hoping to share power again in the next Dáil, as both have ruled out going into government with Sinn Féin.

Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin with Fianna Fail councillor Pat Kennedy (sitting) during his canvassing at Bridgewater Shopping Centre in Arklow, Co Wicklow, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the General Election on Friday. Picture date: Thursday November 28, 2024.
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Leader

There are few who can rival Micheál Martin’s experience, having first been elected to the Dáil in 1989, and having held cabinet portfolios including health, education, enterprise, and foreign affairs.

The 64-year-old became leader of Fianna Fáil in January 2011, assuming the difficult task of rebuilding a party that had been electorally annihilated following the economic crash.

He has seen support for his party hold steady around 20% in opinion polls, and he appears to be on course to become Taoiseach for a second time following the election of the next Dáil.

Betting odds

Fianna Fáil is currently 4/11 favourite to win the most seats in Friday’s election, and Micheál Martin is 4/9 favourite to be the next Taoiseach. The most likely composition of the next government, according to Paddy Power, is a tripartite coalition involving Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Labour at 5/2.

Key policies

Fianna Fáil wants to increase the entry point for the higher rate of income tax to €50,000, as well as halving the USC to 1.5%. Micheál Martin is said to be a fitness fanatic, and the party has promised to introduce a tax credit for gym membership if elected.

The party would increase the State Pension to €350, and boost other welfare payments by €12. It wants a 9% VAT rate on energy bills, and has pledged to cut childcare costs to €200 a month over the next five years.

On housing, the party says 60,000 houses will be built each year by 2030, and it promises to provide 10,000 affordable homes annually, along with at least 12,000 new social homes. It wants to double the renter’s tax credit, and extend the Help to Buy scheme until 2030.

Like Fine Gael, the party is promising thousands more gardaí and the introduction of bodycams and facial recognition. It also wants a dedicated policing unit to tackle antisocial behaviour on public transport. Drug possession for personal use would be decriminalised under a Fianna Fáil government.

In education, it wants to reduce class sizes to 19:1 and increase third-level grants, as well as introducing a €500 grant for mandatory work placement. Internet companies would be required to verify users’ ages.

On health, Fianna Fáil promises to reduce emergency department overcrowding by increasing the number of consultants in that area by 50%. It also says it will provide 4,000 more inpatient beds and 100 additional intensive care unit beds.

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left-wing nationalist party. Its first TD was elected in 1997 but it got its big break in 2011, when the party won 14 seats, one of whom was then-leader Gerry Adams.

It increased its representation in 2016 to 23, and was the most popular party in 2020, winning 24.5% of the votes. It was widely considered not to have run enough candidates to capitalise on this result, however, and won just 37 seats.

Mary Lou McDonald acknowledged the deficit in the party’s electoral strategy on that occasion, and undertook to learn lessons from it. Accordingly, the party is fielding more than 70 candidates this year, though opinion polls suggest that it will fail to reach the heights of 2020.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald speaking to the media outside Government Buildings, Dublin, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the General Election on Friday. Picture date: Thursday November 28, 2024.
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Leader

Mary Lou McDonald was the party’s best asset in 2020, and a host of hitherto unknown candidates were swept into the Dáil on her coattails. She has been less central to the current campaign, with commentators noting a scarcity of posters featuring her image, while her name was conspicuously absent from an opinion piece penned by Gerry Adams in recent weeks, which did refer to Michelle O’Neill.

She is considered to have performed well in the leaders’ debates, and the party has regained some recently lost ground as a result during the campaign.

Betting odds

Sinn Féin are third behind Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to the most seats in Friday’s election at 5/1, while Mary Lou McDonald is 6/1 to be the next Taoiseach. The party’s best chance of entering government, according to the bookies, is in coalition with Fianna Fáil, which is priced at 15/2.

Key policies

Big-spending Sinn Féin outlined a €31.9 billion capital investment plan in its manifesto, as well as promises to abolish the Local Property Tax and the USC on the first €45,000 of workers’ incomes.

Similar to Fine Gael, the party plans to deliver 300,000 new homes by 2029, including 75,000 social homes, 25,000 affordable rental properties, and 25,000 affordable homes.

However, it has run into some trouble with the details of this plan, as it proposed using land for affordable homes over which the state would retain ownership. It’s unclear whether banks would finance the development of such properties.

It also wants to hold a referendum to enshrine housing rights in the constitution, and would phase out the Help to Buy scheme.

In health, it promises 5,000 new hospital beds by 2031, and a universal, free healthcare system. Prescription fees would be abolished, and it proposes to employ GPs directly.

Childcare would cost just €10 a day under Sinn Féin, the party says, while college fees would be abolished, rent increases would be banned for three years, and carbon taxes would not be increased.

It also plans to reduce class sizes, increase higher-level grants, and deliver 100,000 new places on school transport.

Labour Party

The Labour Party is a centre-left party that has played an important part in government coalitions in the past. It shared power with Fianna Fáil after the so-called ‘Spring Tide’ of 1992, and was one of three parties involved in the subsequent Rainbow Coalition.

It became the second-largest party in the state in 2011 with 37 seats and entered coalition with Fine Gael, but lost all but seven of these in the following election, having been associated with unpopular austerity measures in the wake of the economic crash.

There was no sign of recovery in 2020, when it dropped further to six seats but, under the new leadership of Ivana Bacik, the party will be hopeful of increasing its contingent in the next Dáil.

Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD.
(Image: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos)

Leader

Ivana Bacik is the party’s third leader since the disastrous election of 2016. It has struggled to climb in the opinion polls and remains around 4% ahead of voting day. But, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael looking like they might struggle to gain a majority, Labour could be the kingmaker in subsequent government negotiations.

Betting odds

Paddy Power currently sees a coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour as the second-most-likely government after the election at 9/4.

Key policies

In accordance with its socialist traditions, Labour promises not to shrink the tax base and will instead prioritise investment in services. Instead of cutting USC, it wants to ringfence it for health investment.

It wants to build an average of 50,000 homes per annum over the next five years, and will do this by creating a state construction agency using €6 billion of the Apple tax money.

It promises a rent freeze, and will provide housing for key workers in the main cities by refurbishing vacant properties owned by the HSE.

It wants the introduction of a national living wage set at 60% of median hourly earnings, and wants to hire an extra 50,000 public servants over the next five years.

It promises a full year of parental leave and the creation of a state system of childcare, providing 30,000 places. There would be significant capital investment in these facilities.

Its climate policies foresee the introduction of an SUV tax, LUAS train systems in five cities, the elimination of VAT on bikes and heat pumps, and the imposition of a levy on electricity used by data centres.

Green Party

It looks like a case of deja vu for the Green Party. After a successful election in 2007, the party entered coalition government with Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fáil, along with the PDs and some independents. It lost every one of its seats in 2011.

In 2020, it enjoyed its best-ever result, winning 12 seats in the Dáil. This saw it return to government with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, and opinion polls suggest that it will once again face a struggle for its political survival.

Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman

Leader

Roderic O’Gorman only succeeded Eamon Ryan in July. He has wrestled with the tricky integration portfolio as minister at a time when immigration has been a hot-button issue, and now he faces another tough task as he leads the Greens into this election.

This is his first term in the Dáil, and the bookies suggest it could be his last, as he is currently priced at 4/6 – outside the seat places – in his constituency of Dublin West.

Betting odds

Paddy Power is offering odds of 2/1 on the Green Party not winning a single seat on Friday. Another of its ministers, Catherine Martin, is also looking like she will struggle in Dublin Rathdown, with odds of 4/6 available on her retaining her seat.

Key policies

The Green Party wants to spend €10 billion of the Apple money to fund a range of transport projects like Bus Connects, DART+, the Dublin Metrolink, and the extension of the Luas. It also promises to explore the possibility of a light rail system for Galway.

Public transport fares would be slashed by between 20% and 60% under the party’s plan.

It wants to spend €1.2 billion on retrofitting homes and €100 million on offshore windfarms and microgeneration projects, as well as pumping €300 million into a new biomethane industry.

It has plans for around 50,000 new homes per year, of which 15,000 would be affordable and 12,000 would be social housing. It wants a new junior minister for regional cities, and intends to allow renters to use the Help to Buy scheme to purchase their homes from their landlords.

The Greens are proposing to hold a citizens’ assembly to examine the possibility of introducing a four-day working week.

Its health policies include the continued expansion of the GP visit card, the enhancement of access to abortion services, and the removal of the current mandatory three-day waiting period for termination.

Its plans for education include mention of an ‘online university’, as well as the expansion of on-campus health services, including sexual healthcare.

The party also plans to lower the voting age to 16, and to extend the 40% gender quota to cabinet appointments to ensure greater gender equality in government.

Social Democrats

The left-wing party was founded in 2015 by three then-independent TDs: Catherine Murphy, Róisín Shortall, and Stephen Donnelly. Shortall and Murphy were previously members of the Labour Party.

Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns at Leinster House, Dublin.
(Image: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photo Agency, Dublin)

Leader

Holly Cairns took over as leader of the party in 2023 when Shortall and Murphy announced that they would step down as co-leaders of the party. The 35-year-old was first elected in 2020, and has had a somewhat curtailed role in this campaign as she was expecting the birth of her first child.

The party won six seats at the last election, but Shortall and Murphy have now retired. It currently enjoys around 6% support, according to the latest opinion poll.

Betting odds

Holly Cairns is expected to retain her seat in Cork South West, with Paddy Power offering odds of 4/9, making her second-favourite. The bookies seem to think the Social Democrats could have a say in the makeup of the next government, with odds of 10/1 on a coalition involving them, along with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Key policies

The party wants to provide 50,000 affordable homes, 25,000 affordable rental properties, and 70,000 social homes over the next five years. It also wants to use compulsory purchase orders to acquire land for housing developments.

It wants a three-year rent freeze and a ban on no-fault evictions.

In health, it wants to see a full cabinet minister for disability, and €1.1 billion in additional funding for the disability sector. The party also wants to use 10% of the health budget on mental health services.

Children aged between six and 18 would receive a €150 sport and cultural activity voucher under the Social Democrats. It wants to end the type of one-off payments popularised by the current government.

It wants more investment in services rather than tax cuts, as well as an increase in employers’ PRSI. It would introduce tax incentives for second-hand markets and repair shops.

Others

Aontú, which currently has only one TD, its leader Peadar Tóibín, will be hoping to increase its representation in the Dáil, with Sarah O’Reilly in Cavan-Monaghan and Paul Lawless in Mayo currently in contention for seats.

It has set out its stall as a party of the centre-right and gained much public attention as the only party that opposed the disastrous referendums on care and the family, which heralded the beginning of the end for Leo Varadkar.

Leader of Aontu, Peadar Toibin during the General Election leaders' debate at RTE studios in Montrose, Dublin

It’s socially conservative and its impressive leader has been one of the most prominent critics of public waste in recent weeks amid controversies surrounding spending on the Leinster House bike shed, the Department of Finance security hut, and Dublin Castle’s €70,000 curtains.

The party is on 4% nationally, but its prospects of increasing its number of TDs will be down to individual candidates vying for the last seat in a handful of key constituencies.

Independent Ireland was formed by three sitting independent TDs. They have since added former RTÉ correspondent Ciaran Mullooly to their ranks as an MEP, and are currently on 4% in the polls.

Friday looks set to be an Independents’ Day of sorts, with 14% of the electorate currently planning on supporting non-party candidates. They could have a crucial say in government formation talks in the coming weeks.

Left-wing People Before Profit had four TDs in the last Dáil, but Bríd Smith is retiring, leaving just Paul Murphy, Richard Boyd Barrett, and Gino Kenny. The latest opinion poll puts the grouping on 2%.

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