Country
Countries A-Z
Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Éire
Note: Parliamentary elections to the Dáil held May 26 returned Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his Fianna Fáil-led government to power, netting a loss of only 3 seats for the governing party. The new coalition will include the Progressive Democrats (PD) and the Greens, with the latter holding the energy and environment portfolios. General election results were as follows: Fianna Fáil, 41.6 percent, 78 seats; Fine Gael, 27.3 percent, 51 seats; Labour Party, 10.1 percent, 20 seats; Green Party, 4.7 percent, 6 seats; Sinn Féin, 6.9 percent, 4 seats; Progressive Democrats, 2.7 percent, 2 seats; Independent candidates, 6.6 percent, 5 seats.
Political Status: Independent state since 1921; under republican constitution effective December 29, 1937.
Area: 27,136 sq. mi. (70,283 sq. km.).
Population: 3,917,203 (2002C); 4,102,000 (2005E).