Political composition of local government in the Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland is made up of 31 local authorities: 26 county councils, 3 city councils and 2 city and county councils.There is one directly elected mayor, the Mayor of Limerick. Apart from Limerick all other local councils must elect a leader from among themselves being known as a Mayor, Lord Mayor or Cathaoirleach (chairperson). Generally a coalition must be formed to elect this leader.^[1] In 4 councils, the leader rotates between the most powerful parties.^[2]

These councils are elected by universal suffrage using the single transferable vote every 5 years. The most recent of these elections was in 2024.^[3]

Councillors and control by party

Party	Councillors	In coalition	Councils led	Assisting
Fianna Fáil	248 / 949	22 / 27	20 / 27	2 / 27
Fine Gael	245 / 949	22 / 27	5 / 27	17 / 27
Sinn Féin	102 / 949	2 / 27	2 / 27
Labour	56 / 949	8 / 27		8 / 27
Social Democrats	35 / 949
Greens	23 / 949	4 / 27		4 / 27
Independent Ireland	23 / 949
PBP-Solidarity	13 / 949
Aontú	8 / 949
Wexford Ind. Alliance	5 / 34
100% Redress	4 / 949
Irish Freedom	1 / 949
National Party	1 / 949
Inds. 4 Change	1 / 949
Right to Change	1 / 949
Workers and Unemployed	1 / 949
Kerry Ind. Alliance	1 / 33
Independent Left	1 / 949
Republican Sinn Féin	1 / 949
Independents	178 / 949	12 / 27		12 / 27

Composition by Council

Leadership in Irish Councils since 2024   Fianna Fáil   Fine Gael   Sinn Féin

References

1. Citizensinformation.ie. "Local government". www.citizensinformation.ie. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
2. "Local government facts and figures: Ireland". LGiU. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
3. "Local council elections". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2024-12-07.