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GOVERNMENT MINISTERS MARY Mitchell O’Connor and Regina Doherty have lost their seats.
Mitchell O’Connor, the Minister for Higher Education, was eliminated on the eighth count in Dún Laoghaire. Her running mate, the relative unknown Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, did win a seat in the four-seat constituency.
There had been significant concern that Fine Gael would lose a seat in the affluent constituency, however early tallies had suggested that Mitchell O’Connor might be safe.
Mitchell was first elected in 2011 and has been Minister for Higher Education since 2017. Under her watch, colleges have been critical of the lack of state funding for higher education, although Mitchell O’Connor focused heavily on gender equality and consent on campuses.
Before this, she was Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
Doherty, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, has also been defeated in Meath East.
She was first elected to the Dáil in 2011.
Her running mate, the Minister for European Affairs Helen McEntee, will now take the seat for Fine Gael.
The loss of Doherty and Mitchell O’Connor brings the loss of government ministers so far to three.
Doherty attracted attention during the election campaign for her comment that “no one reads manifestos”.
More significantly, she also faced considerable scrutiny over the Public Services Card, which she famously described as “not compulsory but mandatory”.
Dublin
In Dublin West, Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger was defeated on the sixth count.
There had been concerns ahead of the election that the Socialist Party TD could lose her seat.
First elected to the Dáil in a by-election in 2014, Coppinger had been a fierce critic of the government and a staunch advocate for women’s rights.
Ruth Coppinger told Newstalk this evening that she was “extremely disappointed” to lose her seat, as she had been a socialist voice in the Dáil, raising issues like workers’ and women’s rights.
She said it was an “extremely difficult” and “quite diverse” constituency, but said Solidarity-PBP would discuss possible government formation with all the parties.
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Good riddance to Regina
@G.M Lockjoy: And may we never have to hear your voice or see your face again. Turn the lights out luv and don’t forget your coat. See ya
@Ann Reddin: ***see HER face again.
@Ann Reddin: I don’t mean your voice or face lol
@Mick Andrews: inane comment.
Good news
@P Quinn: a pity about Ruth Coppinger
@P Quinn: no it isnt..delighted shes gone
@P Quinn: no
@P Quinn: she had to go she didn’t want equality she wanted equality of outcome no matter the life choice, sounds nice from a sound bite perspective but life isn’t black and white like that.
@Celia Murphy: no
@P Quinn: its all a matter of your perspective … personally while it’s tough gig for each TD to lose their seat , but I for one won’t be shedding any tears for Ruth Coppinger.
She and the other small parties today found out that it doesn’t pay to be so fragmented PBP is effectively 3 micro parties Solidarity , PBP and Rise …they will get rolled over on, as will the SOC Dems and Greens by the Sinn Fein Juggernaut …
Yes FG took some hits but not Ministers who screwed up namely Harris, Murphy and Creed , they are all going to back in 33rd Dail )
..and perhaps there may the odd casualty for FF …. but at the end of the day , FG & FF will 43% which is technically enough for a Dail majority.
But this will not happen assuming FF Ard Dheis approve the Coalition with SF .
@P Quinn: I may not have agreed with coppinger on many accounts, but she was an extremely hard worker and always challenged the status quo. IMO, she was a great asset to the Dail
@XvSv: Regarding Murphy’s re-election. I live in Dublin Bay South which has a tiny minority of working class people. The constituence is made up of the wealthiest areas in this country, namely Ballsbridge, Rathgar, Merrion, as well as very middle class areas, Donnybrook, Terenure and Sandymount. Chris Andrews did very well given this constituency. My polling station was very busy when I voted yesterday, at 5pm. I had to wait for a polling booth and the teller told me that she couldn’t remember the last time our polling station was so busy.
@Anne Marie Devlin: If wanted large American tech companies nationalised she was your woman.
@Clanrickard: What?
Now perhaps they will listen.
Mister Varadkar should have spent more time looking out his window instead of looking in his mirror.
They only have themselves to blame.
The people who get up early in the morning will not lose a lot of sleep at Regina or Mary losing their seats as they never connected with us as they were the elite and privileged who looked down on the squeezed middle…hopefully what follows will take note…
As a resident of ratoath best news I could of hoped for bye bye Regina
Good riddance to Doherty..
@Thomas O Connor: best result so far for me. What an arrogant fool she is. Between water charges originally, and the PSC card recently she typified FG arrogance and she grated on me more than most. Off to the dole queue with her. Coppinger is also good news imo. I didn’t vote for PBP as a result of her over the years, but now I’ll look at them with fresh eyes.
@Perlum Sprite: I did a happy dance when I heard that Gobby Coppinger lost her seat. I cannot abide that woman. She wants to be Clare Daley, but she’s as far from CD as you can get.
Christmas arrived early this year
Regina Doherty biggest casualty so far
She looks shocked
@Dave Stewart: she always did!
@Dave Stewart: In fairness, she always looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights…startled, like everything she was told was a big shock. Anyway, she won’t be missed by the vast majority of people in this country.
Don’t worry they will be made senators soon. What a country
@Grahame Greene: If Kate O’Connell is not returned, she will be made a senator. One of her sisters was going to run for the seanad, but she wanted to see how Kate got on, just in case she NEEDED the post. Have you ever heard the like, the entitled attitude of these people is disgusting
So delighted! Mary Mitchell o Connor had young lads going around delivering her leaflets, but they ended up harassing my elderly mother in her garden looking for cigarettes.
Great news.
Delighted Regina has been rejected by the electorate. She is an obnoxious person.
@Vincent O’Halloran: oh, do you know her personally?
@Paul Lanigan: I do , and she’s a smug over bearing person. I’m sorry, but glad she got taught a lesson.
Good result
Regina, good riddance
Bye bye
What about Zappone? Is she gone yet?
Her inflated travel expenses must surely have been noticed by the voters by now.
She was paid a huge salary but had to take us for more,
@Al Fresco: yeah, she’s toast. Not a moment too soon. She would have had the children of this country in permanent childcare in no time were she nor stopped.
Childcare was an issue for only 3% of voters according to IT exit poll.
Changing times I say, it looks like Hello Mary loo.
@Ann Morris Doolan: Mary Lou!! She’s not a toilet lol
Great news that Regina Doc lost her seat, what a hateful person, at least she will get the dole, and with Sinn Feín she will get the pension at 65, so a long good bye to her
@Jimmy Mac: hateful? How, please give examples…
Hilarious MMoC brings in a feminist centric “game changing” policy to have guaranteed women only professors at third level…..
Then she promptly gets dumped by ‘the sisters’
@Paul Lanigan: Eaten Bread is soon forgotten….
GOOD
Great news that Regina Doc lost her seat, what a hateful person, at least she will get the dole, and with Sinn Feín she will get the pension at 65, so a long good bye to her
SF were bound to do well as Micheál gave them huge air time
Put Regina on the jobpath scheme another scam.
More of this please, tell us who is gone, not who is still hanging around.
@Al Fresco: Shane Ross is gone thank god. That’s one smug feker we won’t miss.
Regina and Joan Burton are now prime candidates for jobs bridge
Interesting how the journal removed a couple of comments earlier on this thread, both sides balanced with genuine realistic concerns and comment… very old school. Journal you are dust.
@Trev Mooney: you obviously spend a lot of time on the journal where will you go now to spend your “time” spewing
Suprisingly she didnt pul the Sinn fein death threats stunt in the politically corrupt independent this time round
Its the bonfire of the vanities
Ah well…. now where’s that new bog roll I bought?
I’m sure the OPW are delighted that lovely Mary won’t be demolishing the steps of Dail Plinth this year.
Ellis will be Minster for Defence and O’Snodaigh will be Minister for Justice.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/gardai-found-sf-posters-stun-gun-in-car-1.411391?mode=amp
Regina can always go on job- path if she has a Public Service Card ( not compulsory but mandatory) Shouldn’t be a problem.
Ross, Zapper, Regina Smug, MMOC, and that unsmiling Commie, Coppinger all gone, things are not all bad it’s a pity Weasel Harris and Posh Murphy didn’t join them
So many nasty comments about women that lost seats. Whatever you politics it not a good look to be misogynistic
@Marie Moynihan: Ah yes! Any criticism of a woman is misogyny. There are good reasons why people are glad to be rid of them and it has nothing to do with their sex.
@Marie Moynihan:
Plenty of men lost their seats also. Just have a read of the “lovely” comments about them. When women criticize men it’s called feminism, when its the other way around it’s called misogyny.
Micheal o Conner is as thick as a plank ,good riddance to bad rubbish
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