Ireland 1997 general election
What was the result of the 1997 general election in Ireland?
Fianna Fáil won 77 of 166 seats with 39.3% of the vote. 65.9% of registered voters cast a ballot.
Ireland- Held:
- Final result
- ParlGov, read 5 October 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Final results from ParlGov, read : Fianna Fáil won 77 of 166 seats with 39.3% of the vote; 65.9% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 2.6 points on 1992.
- Fianna Fáil 77 +9 seats 39.3% +0.2 points
- Fine Gael 54 +9 seats 27.9% +3.5 points
- Labour Party 17 −16 seats 10.4% −8.9 points
- Progressive Democrats 4 −6 seats 4.7% 0.0 points
- Green Party 2 +1 seat 2.8% +1.4 points
- Sinn Féin 1 +1 seat 2.5% +0.9 points
- Democratic Left 4 0 seats 2.5% −0.3 points
- National Party 0 1.1%
- Socialist Party 1 0.7%
- Seats won
- Change on the previous election at the right
- Share of the vote
- Share at the previous election
- Change in points at the right
Changes are against the Ireland 1992 general election, party by party.
- Fianna Fáil77
- Fine Gael54
- Labour Party17
- Independents6
- Democratic Left4
- Progressive Democrats4
- Green Party2
- Sinn Féin1
- Socialist Party1
Key numbers
39.3%
Share of the vote won by Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil won 77 of 166 seats. A majority needs 84.
+9 seats
Seats gained by Fianna Fáil
The largest gain in seats compared with 1992. Labour Party lost 16 seats.
65.9%
Voter turnout
Down 2.6 points on 1992.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | 77 | +9 | 39.3 | +0.2 | 703,682 |
| Fine Gael | 54 | +9 | 27.9 | +3.5 | 499,936 |
| Labour Party | 17 | −16 | 10.4 | −8.9 | 186,044 |
| Progressive Democrats | 4 | −6 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 83,765 |
| Green Party | 2 | +1 | 2.8 | +1.4 | 49,323 |
| Sinn Féin | 1 | +1 | 2.5 | +0.9 | 45,614 |
| Democratic Left | 4 | 0 | 2.5 | −0.3 | 44,901 |
| National Party | 0 | 1.1 | 19,077 | ||
| Socialist Party | 1 | 0.7 | 12,445 | ||
| Independents | 6 | +1 |
± is the change against the Ireland 1992 general election, party by party.
Votes by party
- Fianna Fáil 703,682
- Fine Gael 499,936
- Labour Party 186,044
- Progressive Democrats 83,765
- Green Party 49,323
- Sinn Féin 45,614
- Democratic Left 44,901
- National Party 19,077
- Socialist Party 12,445
- Independents
ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.
How many people voted?
65.9% of the 2,741,262 registered voters cast a ballot (1,806,932 ballots), down 2.6 points on 1992. 1,788,985 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout of this kind in our data, which begins in 1948.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- Fianna Fáil39.3% of votes46.4% of seats
- Fine Gael27.9% of votes32.5% of seats
- Labour Party10.4% of votes10.2% of seats
- Progressive Democrats4.7% of votes2.4% of seats
- Democratic Left2.5% of votes2.4% of seats
- Green Party2.8% of votes1.2% of seats
- Sinn Féin2.5% of votes0.6% of seats
- Socialist Party0.7% of votes0.6% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 6.9 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 4.0 by votes and 3.0 by seats; Fianna Fáil led Fine Gael by 11.4 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of