Verona Murphy elected Republic of Ireland parliament's first female speaker

Verona Murphy has become the first female speaker of the Irish parliament as part of a deal to form a coalition government.

Ms Murphy, an independent TD for Wexford, defeated two Fianna Fail candidates and one from Sinn Fein to win the 255,000-euro-a-year position of Ceann Comhairle.

Her election is the first action taken by the new Dail which met for the first time on Wednesday.

Irish premier Simon Harris formally tendered his resignation to President Michael D Higgins earlier, as part of the formalities of a new Dail convening.

Mr Harris and the outgoing cabinet will remain in their roles as no party holds a majority and talks to form a government are ongoing.

As the Dail resumed, the names of 174 new TDs were read into the record before a vote was held on electing the Ceann Comhairle.

Independent TD for Wexford Ms Murphy emerged as the winner after reaching the quota of 87, and finished with a total of 89 votes.

She is the first woman to hold the role.

Ms Murphy was recommended by the Fine Gael and Fianna Fail leaders as part of negotiations to form a government.

The other three candidates for the role raised concerns about this process to elect a speaker, arguing it infringed on the primacy of the Dail.

Addressing TDs before her election, Ms Murphy said she would “uphold” principles of treating each member of the Dail equally.

“In order to ensure that every member is heard, this House must function smoothly and efficiently. Every member is equal, irrespective of their political persuasion, political party or grouping, every member has a mandate, and no one mandate is more important than the other.

“Much debate has been heard around the turnout in the recent election. In many constituencies, the turnout dropped below 50%.

“Large numbers of people in the electorate feel alienated from the political process. They feel politicians are removed from the reality of day-to-day life. They feel that this chamber is a talking shop that achieves nothing.

“It is incumbent on all of us to change that perception, to make the House more relevant to those that feel excluded.”

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