Collins is the leader of the party in Dáil Éireann, while O'Donoghue serves as general secretary. O'Donoghue told the Irish Examiner that he and Collins hoped to encourage members of the Rural Independents Group in the Dáil to join.[8] Both Collins and O'Donoghue had been members of the Rural Independents Group prior to founding the party.
On 1 May 2024, the general secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) Eddie Punch, who earlier in the year said that he would run as an independent candidate at the European election, announced he had joined Independent Ireland and would be running in the South constituency.[21] Also in May 2024, John Cassin of the Carlow County Council and Joe Bonner of the Meath County Council announced they would run as Independent Ireland candidates in the 2024 local elections.[22]
In the European election, Independent Ireland's three candidates received 108,685 first-preference votes, coming fourth behind Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin. Ciaran Mullooly was elected in Midlands–North-West, with Niall Boylan coming fifth on the last count in the four-seat Dublin constituency.[23][24] In the local elections, the party ranked seventh in first-preference votes, with 51,562 votes, and elected 23 of its 61 candidates. The party elected six councillors to Galway County Council and four councillors to the Cork County Council, and became the third largest party on both councils. Of its thirteen incumbents, eleven were re-elected.
Ciaran Mullooly, Independent Ireland's sole member of the European Parliament, joined the liberal Renew Europeparliamentary group.[25] Mullooly identifies as a centrist and has distanced himself from the more hardline stances of some party colleagues.[26][27][28] Independent Ireland had previously taken part in a December 2023 conference organized by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).[29] Mullooly's decision to join Renew was criticized by fellow candidate Niall Boylan, who stated he would have joined the ECR if elected,[30] and by conservative commentator John McGuirk, who argued that Mullooly joining Renew was a "betrayal" of voters' trust.[31] Party chairwoman Elaine Mullally subsequently resigned her position, claiming Independent Ireland no longer aligned with her values.[1][32]
Policies
Independent Ireland has been described as right-wing and Eurosceptic,[2][3][4][25] though some of its officeholders have rejected the "right-wing" label, instead describing the party as centrist or "common sense".[33][34] In a July 2024 statement, Independent Ireland described itself as "centre-right".[35] The party has stated it does not operate a strict party whip system and allows its members freedom to speak and vote on key issues.[36]
Independent Ireland was the only party represented in the Dáil besides Aontú[37] to advocate a No/No vote in the March 2024 Irish constitutional referendums.[38] Collins has said that he's "against abortion. Full stop."[39] Collins and O'Donoghue were co-sponsors of a 2021 bill that would have required pain relief for foetuses being aborted. The Dáil overwhelmingly defeated the bill.[40] Collins and O'Donoghue have both been alleged to have questioned the efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19,[41][42] though both have since stated that they are not anti-vaccine and they have expressed a willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine.[43][44]
The party states that it is against "open borders", claiming open borders are allowed and promoted by profiteers at the expense of the taxpayer.[45] During the 2024 elections, a number of Independent Ireland candidates made statements that were described by opponents as anti-immigration and anti-asylum seeker.[26] The party has pledged to enact planning reform, establish emergency modular housing schemes, and eradicate the issue of families living in emergency accommodations.[45] It aims to reduce the cost of living by freezing and reforming the Carbon Tax. It also wishes to end the Property Tax and abolish the Universal Social Charge for people over the age of 65 to avoid taxation of pensions.[45]