Members of the 30th Dáil and Ruairi Quinn (Lab). Following a vote, John O'Donoghue was elected to this position. The position of Taoiseach was contested by Bertie Ahern (FF) and Enda Kenny (FG). Following a vote Bertie Ahern was elected to this position, making it his third consecutive term in office. On 7 May 2008, Brian Cowen was elected Taoiseach in place of Ahern, who had resigned. Séamus Kirk was elected Ceann Comhairle on 13 October 2009 following the resignation of O'Donoghue. Government coalition parties are denoted by "●". This is a graphical comparison of party strengths in the 30th Dáil from January 2011, shortly
Elections in the Republic of Ireland establishes a lower maximum of five years. Elections are by single transferable vote (STV), with each constituency returning between three and five deputies, each called a "Teachta Dála" or TD. Since 1981, constituencies have been redrawn by an independent Constituency Commission after each census. Elections to the European Parliament are held simultaneously across Europe every five years. In Ireland, as for Dáil elections, STV is used in constituencies returning three to five members. Local elections are held on the same day as European elections. Local electoral areas (LEAs) return between six and ten councillors by STV. Until the Local Government