In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government. All elections use proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) in constituencies returning three or more members, except that the presidential election and by-elections use the single-winner analogue of STV, elsewhere called instant-runoff voting or the alternative vote. Members of Seanad Éireann, the second house of the Oireachtas, are partly nominated, partly indirectly elected, and partly elected by graduates of particular universities.
The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities is composed of the members of the council, elected by universal franchise in local elections every five years from multi-seat local electoral areas using the single transferable vote. Many of the authorities' statutory functions are, however, the responsibility of ministerially appointed career officials termed Chief executives. The competencies of the city and county councils include planning, transport infrastructure, sanitary services, public safety and the provision of public libraries. Each local authority sends representatives to one of three Regional Assemblies.
The Mayor of Limerick is the head of the local government of the City and County of Limerick. It is a directly elected office with a five-year term. Following the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, John Moran was inaugurated as the first office-holder on 21 June 2024.
South Dublin County Council is the local authority of the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 to succeed the former Dublin County Council before its abolition on 1 January 1994 and one of four councils in County Dublin. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The county administration is headed by a chief executive, Daniel McLoughlin. The county town is Tallaght, with a civic centre at Monastery Road, Clondalkin. It serves a population of approximately 192,000.
The Local Government Reform Act 2014 is an act of the Oireachtas which provided for a major restructuring of local government in Ireland with effect from the 2014 local elections. It merged some first-tier county and city councils, abolished all second-tier town and borough councils, and created a new second tier of municipal districts covering rural as well as urban areas. It also provided for a plebiscite on whether to create a directly elected executive Mayor of the Dublin Metropolitan Area although this provision was not activated. The act was introduced as a bill on 15 October 2013 by Phil Hogan, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, and signed into law on 27 January 2014 by President Michael D. Higgins. Most of its provisions came into force on 1 June 2014.
Limerick City and County Council is the local authority of Limerick City and County in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections. It was formed by the merger of Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council under the provisions of the Local Government Reform Act 2014. As a city and county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The city and county administration is headed by a director general, Pat Daly. The administrative centre is City Hall, Limerick, with other civic offices at Dooradoyle. Following a plebiscite in 2019, Limerick became the first local authority in Ireland with a directly elected mayor in 2024, when John Moran was elected for a five-year term.
There have been several proposals for a directly elected mayor of the Dublin metropolitan area in Ireland. The area corresponds to County Dublin, and comprises four local authority areas, namely the city of Dublin and the counties of South Dublin, Fingal, and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. Currently, the elected councillors of each local authority area choose a chairperson or mayor annually from among their number as a ceremonial head with no extra powers. The chairperson of Dublin City Council is the Lord Mayor of Dublin, a ceremonial position separate from the proposed executive mayor. This is similar to the distinction between the ancient office of Lord Mayor of London and the office of Mayor of London established in 2000.
The 2019 Irish local elections were held in all local authorities in Ireland on Friday, 24 May 2019, on the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election and a referendum easing restrictions on divorce. Each local government area is divided into local electoral areas (LEAs) where three to seven councillors are elected on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
An election to all 63 seats on Dublin City Council took place on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. Dublin was divided into 11 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
The Local Government Act 2019 is an Act of the Oireachtas which provided for the following:
An election to all 32 seats on Wicklow County Council took place on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Wicklow was divided into 6 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
An election to all 31 seats on Cork City Council was held in Cork city in Ireland on 24 May 2019 as part of that year's local elections. Councillors were elected from five local electoral areas (LEAs) on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). This election coincided with an increase in the city area. Several outgoing members of Cork County Council, based in areas transferred to the city, stood for election to the city council. As well as the extension of all LEAs into the former county area, the former LEA of North Central was abolished and its area divided between North West and North East.
An election to all 40 seats on Fingal County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of 2019 Irish local elections. Fingal was divided into 7 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of officeon the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
An election to all 40 seats on South Dublin County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. South Dublin was divided into 7 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
An election to all 18 seats on Longford County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Longford was divided into 3 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
An election to all 40 seats on Meath County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. County Meath was divided into 6 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
An election to all 32 seats on Waterford City and County Council was held on 24 May 2019 as part of the 2019 Irish local elections. The City and County of Waterford was divided into 6 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
Rabharta, previously An Rabharta Glas – Green Left, is a minor Irish political party, launched on 5 June 2021 as a split from the Green Party. At launch, it had two councillors, who had previously been elected as Green Party members — Lorna Bogue, on Cork City Council, and Liam Sinclair, on South Dublin County Council. As of June 2024, it has no elected representation. Its outlook has been described as "eco-socialist".
Elections to all 40 seats on Limerick City and County Council and to the directly elected mayor of Limerick were held in June 2024 as part of the 2024 Irish local elections. Limerick City and County is divided into 6 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect 40 councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). Limerick is the first local authority in Ireland to have directly elected mayor, following a plebiscite held at the previous council election.
An election to all 63 seats on Dublin City Council was held on 7 June 2024 as part of the 2024 Irish local elections. Dublin is divided into 11 local electoral areas (LEAs) to elect councillors for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).
