LAST UPDATE | 3 hrs ago

THE GREEN PARTY is set to lose up to three-quarters of their Dáil seats, with leader Roderic O’Gorman saying the election has been “undoubtedly a disappointing result”.

The 2020 general election saw the Greens return to the Dáil with 12 TDs and become a coalition party.

However, tallies so far have been disappointing and leader Roderic O’Gorman expects his party to win only two or three seats.

O’Gorman told reporters that “it is clear the Green Party has not had a good day” and his own seat is in danger, with tallies showing O’Gorman narrowly ahead at the moment for the fifth seat in Dublin West. 

Elsewhere, Joe O’Brien in Dublin Fingal West has already conceded, and said it’s became clear that he’s lost his seat. 

“We got a mandate in 2020 to go into Government, and we did that,” said O’Gorman.

“But it is hard for a smaller party in Government, that has long been the history in Ireland.

“We hoped going into the election that we could buck that trend, but we haven’t been able to do that today.”

While O’Gorman predicted the Green Party could win two or three seats, former leader Eamon Ryan said it’s “going to be very difficult” to win even one seat.

Speaking to RTÉ, Ryan said it’s been “very disappointing for us” and while Ryan voiced hope that “we can still return some people to the Oireachtas”, he acknowledged that “it’s been a hard day for us”.

Ryan, who is not contesting the election, pointed to Róisín Garvey as having an “outside chance” of winning a seat.

However, Ryan said he was “proud” of the Green’s campaign and added that the party will “listen and learn and come back stronger”.

Ryan also said the Green Party took an “electoral hit” by being in Government but said it was “still the right thing to do”.

“I’m convinced the green transition will come and it will be good for the people of Ireland,” said Ryan.

Eamon Ryan has arrived at the RDS.

He says there is now a risk of the political system reading the Greens poor performance as a message not to go so strong on public transport or reducing emissions.

He warns that this would be the wrong direction for the country. pic.twitter.com/7G5WIXNK81

— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) November 30, 2024

And while he said smaller parties may think twice about entering into a coalition given the Green woes, he added: “The most important thing is to deliver what they are promising and I don’t think we can benefit by delaying action on climate, so I would still recommend parties who are able to do so to go into government.

“You can also have an honourable role in opposition, but if you have the ability to go into government and provide a stable government like we did, if you’re running for election, well then why wouldn’t you go in, even if it might harm you in the end.

“Our job is to work for the people and not just worry about our own personal electoral chances.”

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the Green Party made a “very positive contribution to government” and added that “good, constructive, positive policies came from the last government”.

Speaking to reporters in Cork, Martin said the last government had to “weather very significant external storms” such as the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine War.

“The Greens to their credit didn’t buckle over the four-and-a-half years. Being in government can be difficult for any political party,” said Martin.

“It is to the credit of the Greens that they went into government.

“We had challenges, we have different priorities of the three political parties, but this government went full term, and I think Ireland was the better for that.”

Green’s electoral chances

Party leader Roderic O’Gorman is facing a real fight to win the last seat in Dublin West, as is former minister Catherine Martin in Dublin Rathdown.

Ossian Smyth in Dun Laoghaire is also struggling, with tallies showing his first preference vote share almost halving when compared to 2020.

Joe O’Brien also looks set to lose his seat in Dublin Fingal West and has already conceded, and Malcolm Noonan is also on course to lose his seat in Carlow-Kilkenny, though he may benefit from transfers.

Neasa Hourigan is also unlikely to hold her seat in Dublin Central.

And in Dublin Bay South, it’s looking unlikely that Hazel Chu will reclaim the seat left by Eamon Ryan, who topped the poll in 2020 but is not contesting this election.

Although Eamon Ryan said Roisin Garvey has an “outside chance” in Clare, it’s looking difficult for her – she is currently tallying sixth in the four seater constituency.