“Europe should not be taken for granted” says O’Brien after election results

Fianna Fáil Minister and director of elections Darragh O’Brien says that Europe “should not be taken for granted” as Ireland’s election season comes to an end.

Fianna Fáil are celebrating their best set of European results since 2004, getting 4 MEPs elected.

“Alongside the rest of the Fianna Fáil Party, I want to express my sincerest congratulations to Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Barry Andrews, Barry Cowen and Billy Kelleher,” he said.

 Barry Andrews won re-election for the party in Dublin and topped the poll in the process.

 The party narrowly lost out on winning 2 seats in Midlands-North-West, but secured 2 seats in Ireland South at the expense of Mick Wallace.

“As a party, we have now doubled our representation in the European Union and I know Barry Cowen and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú will augment and reinforce the work which Barry Andrews and Billy Kelleher have been doing over the past five years,” he said.

 The election of Cowen will now trigger a by-election, which must be held within the next 6 months.

With turnout in Ireland above 50% for this round of European elections, O’Brien said “Europe matters in the lives of our people.”

“It matters to the peace and prosperity of this island and to the rich opportunities, our people and businesses enjoy.”

“Europe is not something to be taken for granted, it is something to grow and to defend. The four Fianna Fáil Party representatives who have been elected will do just that,” he said.