Statement from Tánaiste on Dublin Central and Galway West bye-elections

“I want to thank the people who have voted for Fine Gael in these bye-elections. In both constituencies we ran two extremely strong candidates who were grounded in their communities and whose experienced mattered to voters.

“Based on the tallies across the constituencies, more people have given their first preference vote to Fine Gael than any other political party. I sincerely thank people for that. But we look forward to the outcome of the counts in the hours ahead.

“I want to thank Ray McAdam and Séan Kyne – two excellent candidates, supported by a strong team of party activists on the ground in Dublin Central and Galway West, and the Fine Gael family from across the country.

“Thank you as well to the staff in the counting centres in both constituencies for their tireless work. Whatever the outcome in the hours ahead, today is another reminder of why Ireland is a great country with a strong and stable democracy, and we look forward to the results.”