Abstract
This chapter reviews the record of the Fine Gael (FG)–Labour government elected in 2011.On the plus side was Ireland’s much improved economy with growth up and unemployment down, and its successful same-sex marriage referendum. Yet there were defeats in referendums on Oireachtas Inquiries and the abolition of the Senate. The local and European elections saw the government parties suffer serious losses, while Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féineach made significant gains. This forced a leadership change in Labour. Joan Burton replaced Éamon Gilmore, with a reshuffle among Labour’s cabinet ministers. Water charges led to huge protests. Both government parties lost deputies over a range of cuts to public expenditure and legislating for a very limited provision for legal abortion cost FG several more.
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Murphy, G. (2016). The Background to the Election. In: Gallagher, M., Marsh, M. (eds) How Ireland Voted 2016. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40889-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40889-7_1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40888-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40889-7
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