In the 34th Irish Parliament, a female speaker has been elected for the first time in 105 years since the establishment of the House of Representatives, signaling a potential shift towards conservatism in the next government.
Verona Murphy, an independent member, was elected as the speaker at a critical moment when the formation of the new government was pending. Her personal background has drawn significant attention, as her political career mirrors her life experiences: dropping out of school at 16 to work, obtaining a law degree at 35, and becoming the highest-earning female in politics at the age of 53.
On December 18th, 174 newly elected members held their inaugural meeting and conducted a secret ballot. After three rounds of voting, Murphy defeated three opponents, including the former speaker Seán Ó Fearghaíl, with 89 votes to become the speaker of the 34th House of Representatives.
It is widely believed that Murphy’s election signifies an alliance between independent members and the two major traditional political parties to form a coalition government over the next five years.
In the general election on November 29th, no party secured the majority of parliamentary seats needed to govern. The previous coalition parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, won 48 and 38 seats respectively. Even if they were to join forces again, they would still be two seats short of the required 88-seat majority. The focus now is on who will become the third party in the government.
The largest opposition party, Sinn Féin, won 39 seats. Due to significant ideological differences, both the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have ruled out forming an alliance with Sinn Féin.
During the inaugural meeting of the House of Representatives on December 18th, Sinn Féin nominated their leader, Mary Lou McDonald, to become the new prime minister, but the resolution was rejected by a vote of 110 to 44.
Negotiations between the two major parties and the Labour Party and the Social Democrats are still ongoing. The chances of forming an alliance with these two left-wing parties are not viewed favorably by analysts.
Independent members are also being courted as potential partners. Among them, a loose alliance of nine rural conservative-leaning elected members is considered the best choice for a third-party coalition partner. Murphy was the candidate nominated by this alliance for the position of speaker. Before the vote on the 18th, leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil expressed their support for Murphy to become the new speaker. According to the local media, The Irish Times, sources say that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will expedite coalition negotiations in 2025 in hopes of finalizing a coalition agreement with independent members by the parliament’s reopening on January 22nd.
Current Prime Minister Harris formally submitted his resignation at the presidential palace on the 18th. However, he will continue as prime minister until the coalition negotiations are completed and the next prime minister is appointed. The cabinet will also remain in place during this transition.
Murphy has only been in politics for five years but her career has been marked by drama. She was elected as an independent member in the 2020 election.
In a previous by-election in November 2019, Murphy was the candidate for Fine Gael. However, due to her comments on illegal immigrants, she was swiftly abandoned by the party. Murphy had claimed in an interview with RTE in late November 2019 that some asylum seekers should “deprogram” themselves to integrate into Irish society, as some of them “could be infiltrated by ISIS.” ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is designated as a terrorist organization by multiple countries.
Murphy’s remarks quickly drew criticism from the media and politicians. She issued two apologies within 24 hours for her “very bad choice of words,” but was ultimately abandoned by Fine Gael. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil politicians strongly criticized Murphy at the time, accusing her of promoting racism. Varadkar publicly stated that choosing Murphy was a “mistake” and expressed regret over his decision.
In response to the backlash, Murphy stated in an interview that she apologized to those offended. She maintained that she was not a racist and blamed the media for distorting her words. She clarified that she did not aim to reduce immigration but rather to prevent illegal immigration.
After parting ways with Fine Gael, Murphy continued to uphold her straightforward style. Over the past five years, she has often made headlines for criticizing the leaders of the ruling parties or cabinet ministers. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic in November 2021, the then Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly, accused Murphy of spreading “false information” about vaccines, as she criticized the authorities in parliament for “making the unvaccinated the scapegoat,” citing recent studies that indicated vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals were equally capable of spreading the virus. Murphy later clarified in the media that she was not “anti-vaccine” and had received the vaccine herself but believed that the choice to vaccinate should be personal.
In the 2024 general election, Murphy won a landslide victory in her hometown with a 21.6% support rate in the first count.
As the speaker, Murphy will not participate in debates or votes in the next parliament unless to break a tie, which is a rare occurrence. The speaker is the sole judge responsible for maintaining order in the parliament and plays a crucial role in setting the parliamentary agenda behind the scenes.
The speaker must remain impartial. To ensure this, the constitution stipulates that the speaker cannot run as a candidate in the next election and will automatically be reelected in their representative constituency unless the speaker chooses to retire.
From dropping out of school at 16 to being a truck driver, to being elected as the first female speaker at 53, Murphy’s personal experiences outside of her political career are equally noteworthy.
Murphy was born in a small town in County Wexford in southeastern Ireland and has 10 siblings. At 16, she dropped out of school to work in England, juggling daytime shifts at a car factory with evening shifts at McDonald’s. She returned to Ireland at 18 and bought her first refrigerated truck three years later.
Murphy received training as a beautician and an electrician and also worked for a lawyer. Her decision to pursue a law degree was influenced by her part-time work at a law firm for eight years. This choice was challenging for her as she had to restart her studies while raising her daughter alone. However, she managed to pass her high school exams and obtained a law degree at the age of 35 in 2010.
She co-owned a transport company with a partner and was elected as the chair of the Irish Road Haulage Association in 2015, becoming the second woman to hold the position since the union’s establishment in 1973.
Now, Murphy’s new position allows her to earn an annual salary of up to €255,000, second only to the president in Irish politics. This includes a basic salary of €114,000 as a member of parliament and an additional €141,000 as the speaker. Her salary surpasses that of the deputy prime minister (€225,000) and even exceeds that of the prime minister (€243,000).