# February 1982 Irish general election

The February 1982 Irish general election to the 23rd Dáil was held on Thursday, 18 February, three weeks after the dissolution of the 22nd Dáil on 27 January by President Patrick Hillery on the request of Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald on the defeat of the government's budget. The general election took place in 41 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas.
The 23rd Dáil met at Leinster House on 9 March to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Charles Haughey was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 18th government of Ireland, a minority single-party Fianna Fáil government.

## Background

The first general election of 1982 was caused by the sudden collapse of the Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition government when the budget was defeated. The Minister for Finance, John Bruton, attempted to put VAT on children's shoes. This measure was rejected by Jim Kemmy, a left-wing independent Teachta Dála, and Joe Sherlock of Sinn Féin The Workers' Party.

### Dissolution of the Dáil

On 27 January 1982 Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald sought an immediate dissolution of the Dáil following the collapse of his minority government. While FitzGerald met with President Patrick Hillery at Áras an Uachtaráin, several Fianna Fáil members (including party leader Charles Haughey and former Foreign Minister Brian Lenihan Snr) attempted to contact the president. Their aim was to persuade Hillery to deny the dissolution, which would have forced FitzGerald to resign and allowed the Dáil to nominate a new Taoiseach, paving the way for Haughey’s potential return to office.
The attempts to influence Hillery were unconstitutional, as the president is bound to act only on the advice of the Taoiseach in such matters and must otherwise act independently under the constitutional principle of "as a chomhairle féin" or "under his own counsel". Hillery, angered by the interference, rejected the overtures. Allegations later emerged that Haughey had threatened Hillery’s aide-de-camp, Captain Anthony Barber, after being denied access to the president.
Ultimately, Hillery upheld his constitutional obligations and granted FitzGerald the dissolution, triggering a general election campaign. In a protective gesture, Hillery ordered a note to be placed on Barber’s service record to shield him from potential retribution.

## Campaign

The campaign was dominated by economic issues, with all parties downplaying the necessity of spending cuts despite the country’s severe fiscal challenges. Fianna Fáil, under Charles Haughey, initially dismissed the need for austerity, presenting policies focused on increasing disposable income for families. Their message resonated with voters, earning headlines such as "FF’s family budget" in the Evening Echo on February 12. However, as the campaign progressed, the need for more realistic measures became evident, and Fianna Fáil pivoted towards policies resembling those already implemented by Fine Gael during its time in office. Garret FitzGerald, leading Fine Gael, criticised Fianna Fáil’s initial proposals as "myopic".

## Result

The election results revealed a closely fought contest. Although Fianna Fáil won the largest number of seats, securing 81 out of the 84 needed for a majority, the outcome was not decisive. The Evening Echo in Cork reflected the tight result with the headline "Trend to FF, but FG fight back".
Election to the 23rd Dáil – 18 February 1982 :
| Party | Party | Leader | Seats | ± | % of seats | First pref. votes | % FPv | ±% |
| | Fianna Fáil | Charles Haughey | 81 | +3 | 48.8 | 786,951 | 47.3 | +2.0 |
| | Fine Gael | Garret FitzGerald | 63 | –2 | 38.0 | 621,088 | 37.3 | +0.8 |
| | Labour | Michael O'Leary | 15 | 0 | 9.0 | 151,875 | 9.1 | –0.8 |
| | Sinn Féin The Workers' Party | Tomás Mac Giolla | 3 | +2 | 1.8 | 38,088 | 2.3 | +0.6 |
| | Sinn Féin | Ruairí Ó Brádaigh | 0 | New | 0 | 16,894 | 1.0 | – |
| | Irish Republican Socialist | | 0 | New | 0 | 2,716 | 0.2 | – |
| | Communist | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 462 | 0.0 | 0 |
| | Independent | N/A | 4 | 0 | 2.4 | 46,059 | 2.8 | –0.9 |
| Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | 14,367 | — | — |
| Total | Total | Total | 166 | 0 | 100 | 1,678,500 | 100 | — |
| Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | Electorate/Turnout | 2,275,450 | 73.8% | — |
Independents include Independent Fianna Fáil (11,732 votes, 1 seat).

### Voting summary

First preference vote
Fianna Fáil
47.26%
Fine Gael
37.30%
Labour
9.12%
Sinn Féin (Workers' Party)
2.29%
Sinn Féin
1.01%
Others
0.19%
Independent
2.77% :

### Seats summary

Dáil seats
Fianna Fáil
48.80%
Fine Gael
37.95%
Labour
9.04%
Sinn Féin (Workers' Party)
1.81%
Independent
2.41% :

## Government formation

Fianna Fáil emerged out of the election as the largest party and appeared most likely to form a government. However, internal divisions within the party threatened Charles Haughey’s bid for Taoiseach. Despite speculation about a potential leadership challenge by Desmond O'Malley, which ultimately failed to materialise, Haughey was confirmed as the party's nominee. To secure the necessary support for his return to office, Fianna Fáil struck a deal with socialist TD Tony Gregory, Independent Fianna Fáil TD Neil Blaney, and the three Sinn Féin The Workers' Party deputies, including Joe Sherlock. With this backing, Haughey was appointed Taoiseach, allowing Fianna Fáil to form a government, the 18th Government of Ireland.

## Dáil membership changes

The following changes took place as a result of the election:
* 7 outgoing TDs retired
* 1 vacant seat at election time
* 157 outgoing TDs stood for re-election (also John O'Connell, the outgoing Ceann Comhairle, who was automatically returned)
** 136 of those were re-elected
** 21 failed to be re-elected
* 29 successor TDs were elected
** 21 were elected for the first time
** 8 had previously been TDs
* There was 1 successor female TD, who replaced 4 outgoing; thus the total decreased by 3 to 8.
* There were changes in 26 of 41 constituencies
Where more than one change took place in a constituency the concept of successor is an approximation for presentation only.
| Constituency | Departing TD | Party | Party | Change | Comment | Successor TD | Party | Party |
| Carlow–Kilkenny | Tom Nolan | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | Gibbons: Former TD | Jim Gibbons | | Fianna Fáil |
| Cavan–Monaghan | Kieran Doherty | | Anti H-Block | Vacant | Leonard: Former TD | Jimmy Leonard | | Fianna Fáil |
| Clare | Madeline Taylor | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Donal Carey | | Fine Gael |
| Cork East | Carey Joyce | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Michael Ahern | | Fianna Fáil |
| Cork North-Central | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Cork North-West | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Cork South-Central | Hugh Coveney | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Jim Corr | | Fine Gael |
| Cork South-West | Flor Crowley | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | Walsh:Former TD | Joe Walsh | | Fianna Fáil |
| Donegal North-East | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Donegal South-West | James White | | Fine Gael | Retired | | Dinny McGinley | | Fine Gael |
| Dublin Central | Alice Glenn | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Tony Gregory | | Independent |
| Dublin North | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Dublin North-Central | Noël Browne | | Socialist Labour Party | Retired | | Richard Bruton | | Fine Gael |
| Dublin North-East | Liam Fitzgerald | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Ned Brennan | | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin North-East | Seán Loftus | | Independent | Lost seat | | Maurice Manning | | Fine Gael |
| Dublin North-West | Hugh Byrne | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Proinsias De Rossa | | Sinn Féin The Workers' Party |
| Dublin South | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Dublin South-Central | Fergus O'Brien | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | Cluskey:Former TD | Frank Cluskey | | Labour Party |
| Dublin South-East | Seán Moore | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | Quinn:Former TD | Ruairi Quinn | | Labour Party |
| Dublin South-East | Richie Ryan | | Fine Gael | Retired | | Alexis FitzGerald Jnr | | Fine Gael |
| Dublin South-West | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Dublin West | Eileen Lemass | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | Lawlor:Former TD | Liam Lawlor | | Fianna Fáil |
| Dún Laoghaire | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Galway East | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Galway West | Mark Killilea Jnr | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Frank Fahey | | Fianna Fáil |
| Kerry North | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Kerry South | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Kildare | Bernard Durkan | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Gerry Brady | | Fianna Fáil |
| Laois–Offaly | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Limerick East | Peadar Clohessy | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Willie O'Dea | | Fianna Fáil |
| Limerick West | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Longford–Westmeath | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Louth | Paddy Agnew | | Anti H-Block | Retired | | Thomas Bellew | | Fianna Fáil |
| Mayo East | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Mayo West | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes | No membership changes |
| Meath | Brendan Crinion | | Fianna Fáil | Retired | | Colm Hilliard | | Fianna Fáil |
| Meath | James Tully | | Labour Party | Retired | | Michael Lynch | | Fianna Fáil |
| Roscommon | John Connor | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Liam Naughten | | Fine Gael |
| Sligo–Leitrim | Joe McCartin | | Fine Gael | Lost seat | | Matt Brennan | | Fianna Fáil |
| Tipperary North | Michael Smith | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | Kennedy:Former TD | Michael O'Kennedy | | Fianna Fáil |
| Tipperary South | Carrie Acheson | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Seán Byrne | | Fianna Fáil |
| Waterford | Billy Kenneally | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Patrick Gallagher | | Sinn Féin The Workers' Party |
| Wexford | Brendan Corish | | Labour Party | Retired | Browne:Former TD | Seán Browne | | Fianna Fáil |
| Wicklow | Paudge Brennan | | Fianna Fáil | Lost seat | | Gemma Hussey | | Fine Gael |

## Seanad election

The Dáil election was followed by an election to the 16th Seanad.