Please note that this was originally published on QPol on 27 May 2016, and is available here. It is re-posted here with the permission of the author and editors.
Recent election results either side of the Irish border have resulted in significant structural changes to the parliaments in Dublin and Belfast.
In the Republic of Ireland, following protracted negotiations between the main parties and independent member groupings in the aftermath of the unprecedented (though not entirely unexpected) result of the Irish general election, outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny just about managed to hold onto office. In so doing he becomes the first leader in the 83-year history of his Fine Gael party to be in government for successive terms. But it comes at the price of considerably diminished authority and a number of Ministerial seats being granted to independent TDs as part of deal to ensure their support. His party was 30 seats short of a majority after the election, and securing executive office required a) the support of several independent members, and b) the consent of traditional opponent Fianna Fáil, to govern on a ‘confidence and supply’ basis for three years.