With the Irish General Election 2024 done and dusted, questions now turn to when Ireland will form its new Government. Tanaiste Micheal Martin says a new Irish Government before Christmas is unlikely.

Ireland has proved a partial exception to the anti-incumbent mood in elections around the world. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, which have dominated Irish politics for a century, remain in the driving seat, though their combined share of the vote has declined to just over 40%.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been rewarded by voters who believe they have managed the economy well. Buoyed by strong corporation tax receipts, Ireland is running a budget surplus of at least €23 billion (£19 billion). As a result, all parties have committed to substantial increases in public expenditure, both current and capital.

However, no one party fielded enough candidates to win the majority in the Irish General Election 2024, paving the way for another coalition Government - the outgoing Dáil Éireann, elected in 2020, saw Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and The Green Party come together in a coalition.

LONDON — Ireland faces weeks of coalition talks before it gets a new government, as the country’s two major center-right parties work to form a stable administration. With all 174 legislative seats filled Monday after three days of counting election ballots,