1981 Irish general election

1981 Irish general election

← 1977 11 June 1981 Feb 1982 →
← outgoing members elected members →
166 seats in Dáil Éireann[a] 84 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.2% 0.1pp
First party Second party Third party   Labour Leader Charles Haughey Garret FitzGerald Frank Cluskey Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Leader since 7 December 1979 1977 1977 Leader's seat Dublin North-Central Dublin South-East Dublin South-Central (defeated) Last election 84 seats, 50.6% 43 seats, 30.5% 17 seats, 11.6% Seats before 83 45 15 Seats won 78[a] 65 15 Seat change 5 22 0 Percentage 45.3% 36.5% 9.9% Swing 5.3% 6.0% 1.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   AHB SLP Leader Anti H-Block Committee Tomás Mac Giolla Noël Browne Party Anti H-Block Sinn Féin The Workers' Party Socialist Labour Leader since N/A 1977 1981 Leader's seat N/A N/A Dublin North-Central Last election New 0 seats, 1.7% New Seats before 0 0 0 Seats won 2 1 1 Seat change New 1 New Percentage 2.5% 1.7% 0.4% Swing New New
Election results and first-preference votes in each constituency Number of seats gained by each party in each constituency
Taoiseach before election Charles Haughey Fianna Fáil Taoiseach after election Garret FitzGerald Fine Gael

The 1981 Irish general election to the 22nd Dáil was held on Thursday, 11 June, following the dissolution of the 21st Dáil on 21 May by President Patrick Hillery on the request of Taoiseach Charles Haughey. The general election took place in 41 Dáil constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas. The number of seats in the Dáil was increased by 18 from 148 under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1980.

The 22nd Dáil met at Leinster House on 30 June to nominate the Taoiseach for appointment by the president and to approve the appointment of a new government of Ireland. Garret FitzGerald was appointed Taoiseach, forming the 17th Government of Ireland, a minority coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party.

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