Irish general election, 1987

Irish general election, 1987

← Nov 1982 17 February 1987 1989 →
← outgoing members TDs elected →
165 of 166 seats in Dáil Éireann 83 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	73.3%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Charles Haughey Garret FitzGerald Desmond O'Malley Party Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Progressive Democrats Leader since 7 December 1979 1977 21 December 1985 Leader's seat Dublin North-Central Dublin South-East Limerick East Last election 75 seats, 45.2% 70 seats, 39.2% N/A Seats before 71 69 5 Seats won 81 51 14 Seat change 10 19 9 Popular vote 784,547 481,127 210,583 Percentage 44.2% 27.1% 11.9% Swing 1.0% 12.1% N/A   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Dick Spring Tomás Mac Giolla Jim Kemmy Party Labour Party Workers' Party Democratic Socialist Party Leader since November 1982 1977 1982 Leader's seat Kerry North Dublin West Limerick East Last election 16 seats, 9.4% 2 seats, 3.3% 0 Seats before 16 2 0 Seats won 12 4 1 Seat change 4 2 1 Popular vote 114,551 67,293 7,424 Percentage 6.5% 3.8% 0.4% Swing 2.9% 0.5%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the five biggest parties, and number of seats gained by smaller parties and independents.
Taoiseach before election Garret FitzGerald Fine Gael Subsequent Taoiseach Charles Haughey Fianna Fáil

Garret FitzGerald
Fine Gael

Charles Haughey
Fianna Fáil

The Irish general election of 1987 was held on 17 February 1987, four weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 20 January. The newly elected 166 members of the 25th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 10 March when a new Taoiseach and a Fianna Fáil minority government were appointed.

The general election took place in 41 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 166 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann.

The general election of 1987 was precipitated by the withdrawal of the Labour Party from the Fine Gael-led government on 20 January 1987. The reason was a disagreement over budget proposals. Rather than press on with the government's agenda, the Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, Garret FitzGerald, decided to dissolve the Dáil. An unusually long period of four weeks was set for the campaign. It was hoped that the electorate would warm to Fine Gael's budget proposals during the campaign.

Fianna Fáil's campaign involved a refusal to make any definite commitments; however they attempted to convince the electorate that the country would be better under Fianna Fáil. Charles Haughey's attitude towards Northern Ireland and the Anglo-Irish Agreement were both attacked. However, the campaign was mostly fought on economic issues.

The Labour Party decided against any pre-election pact, particularly with Fine Gael. The Progressive Democrats, founded only two years earlier, surpassed the Labour Party as the third-biggest political party in the Dáil. Although the majority of the party consisted of Fianna Fáil defectors, it mainly took seats from Fine Gael.