From Dáil disorder to presidential disaster: Irish politics in 2025, month by month
Eva Osborne
Each year brings fresh political scandals, figures, and fallouts, and 2025 was no exception.
From the chaotic Dáil row over speaking rights in January to a shambolic Fianna Fáil presidential election campaign in the latter half of the year, Irish politics rarely strayed far from the headlines.
Here is a month-by-month look at the stories that defined Irish politics in 2025.
January - Dáil chaos over speaking time
Following the general election at the end of November in 2024, Micheál Martin was elected Taoiseach and a new Cabinet was named in January of this year after a coalition deal was struck between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and several independents.
Martin's election was far from smooth, with repeated scenes of disorder in the Dáil, delaying the taoiseach nomination process.
Proceedings were disrupted several times over a row on opposition speaking time: specifically, whether Independents who helped negotiate the programme for government, but did not take ministerial roles, should be granted opposition slots.
The chaos led to the Ceann Comhairle repeatedly suspending and adjourning proceedings.
Before being formally appointed Taoiseach, Martin described the scenes as “a subversion of the Irish Constitution”.
February - Storm Éowyn fallout
Although Storm Éowyn hit Ireland in January, its political fallout stretched well into February, with thousands left without power for more than a week.
Around 25,000 customers remained without power on February 4th, 12 days after the storm hit.
Opposition parties accused the Government of being underprepared and slow to respond, particularly when it came to infrastructure resilience.
Fine Gael TD for Wicklow-Wexford, Brian Brennan, said the Government's response to the storm was "reactive rather than proactive", while Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said the State still lacked clear commitments on building long-term resilience into the country’s infrastructure.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said the Government was “missing in action” during the clean-up.
March - Laughing at the housing crisis || McGregor visits Trump
Taoiseach Micheál Martin met with US president Donald Trump in the White House in March for the annual St Patrick's Day visit.
The meeting drew criticism after Martin awkwardly laughed at a joke by Trump about Ireland’s housing crisis.
That controversy was quickly overshadowed by the appearance of Conor McGregor at the White House.
McGregor made a series of unfounded claims about immigration in the White House press briefing room before meeting with Mr Trump.
Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris quickly issued statements in which they said McGregor does not represent Irish people, and has no mandate to speak for the Irish public.
McGregor's visit to the White House came months after a civil jury found in favour of Nikita Hand, who sued him over alleged rape of her in a Dublin hotel. In November 2024, a High Court jury found Mr McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand and awarded her €250,000 damages.
Immigration then continued to be at the forefront of political debate in March, as Irish influencer Garran Noone deactivated his social media accounts following backlash over a video in which he discussed the topic.
He said he had been asked to discuss immigration by his followers after Conor McGregor's controversial White House meeting with Donald Trump.
A few days later, he reactivated his accounts and said that he was not anti-immigration and denounced the far-right and extremism. He also said people should be able to express their views on immigration.
April - Trump tariffs and immigration protests
Immigration dominated headlines in April too, as thousands participated in protests and counterprotests.
An anti-immigration march in Dublin city centre on April 26th, supported online by McGregor, prompted a heavy gardaí presence and major traffic disruption.
Public order units and mounted gardaí monitored both sides, with counter-protesters contained behind barriers outside the GPO on O’Connell Street.
Meanwhile, President Trump announced his tariff plans and the potential impacts they could have on Ireland.
At the start of the month, Trump announced 20 per cent tariffs on all EU imports into the US, with fears that the Irish food, drink and pharma sectors would be the most impacted.
This tariff talk would continue in the months that followed, as the EU weighed its response.
May - Housing dominates discussion
Housing remained a dominant theme, and as the summer approached, there was a particular focus on empty holiday homes.
The 2022 Census revealed a striking trend: holiday homes in the Republic increased by almost 8 per cent between 2016 and 2022, reaching nearly 67,000 properties nationwide.
This growth occurred against the backdrop of the State's well-documented housing shortage.
The Central Statistics Office defines these "holiday homes" as dwellings that remain unoccupied during the census but are used periodically, typically during the summer months.
Crucially, they are not classified as vacant homes, meaning they fall outside any policy interventions targeting empty properties.
June - Conor McGregor, Gaza and a viral put-down
Conor McGregor was again making headlines after deleting a tweet criticising an aid ship bound for Gaza, following a public clash with Irish actor Liam Cunningham on social media.
The Game of Thrones star was writing on X about Israel's seizure of the Freedom Flotilla, a Gaza activist boat carrying aid, when McGregor criticised Cunningham and his role in supporting the ship.
Cunningham's response went viral. He wrote: "Didn't know you could read and write Conor. Thought you used your hands to tap out."
Cunningham was referring to McGregor's UFC loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov, in which the Dubliner was forced to tap out. McGregor then deleted his post.
Away from politics, headlines in June were dominated by the devastating crash of a London-bound Air India plane, which killed more than 240 people.
July - Presidential election comes into view, Israel trade ban debated
The presidential election came into focus in July, and the names of potential candidates began to circulate. Of course, we had no clue what was to come (namely, Fianna Fáil's botched campaign with Jim Gavin).
Former justice minister Alan Shatter came under fire for comparing a ban on trade with Israeli settlements to the TV show Father Ted.
Mr Shatter opposed the Government’s draft law banning trade with Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands that have been deemed illegal by the UN’s top court.
He repeatedly described it as a “Father Ted” measure and compared it to Jews being targeted during the Second World War.
August - Solidarity with Palestinians causes trouble at festivals || Bertie Ahern for president?
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed he was considering running for president, amid support from within Fianna Fáil.
His prospects weren't helped by pop star CMAT whose song Euro-Country included the line: "All the big boys, all the Berties, all the envelopes, they hurt me."
Ahern had resigned from Fianna Fáil in 2012, following the publication of the Mahon Tribunal, which investigated allegations of corrupt payments to politicians regarding political decisions.
In 2023, Ahern was readmitted to the party. Ultimately, he did not run for the Irish presidency, and Jim Gavin was later selected as Fianna Fáil's presidential candidate.
In the midst of festival season, a string of bands pulled out of the Victorious music festival in Britain hours before they were due to perform after Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers claimed they were “cut off” for displaying a Palestinian flag.
The Last Dinner Party, Cliffords, and The Academic announced that they would no longer be performing at the Portsmouth music festival following the incident.
The organisers then issued an apology to the Mary Wallopers and pledged to make “a substantial donation to humanitarian relief efforts for the Palestinian people”.
September - Maria Steen's failed presidential election bid
Commentator Maria Steen failed to get onto the ballot for the presidential election, falling two short of the quota with 18 Oireachtas nominations.
Steen went on to deny that her late entry was a factor in her failed presidential bid, adding that she was waiting for a decision from Senator Michael McDowell.
In the aftermath of her unsuccessful campaign, she criticised the electoral system. She lashed out at what she called the "oppressive political consensus".
October - Budget 2026, President Catherine Connolly, and Jim Gavin's tenant
Catherine Connolly was deemed the next President of Ireland after a landslide victory against Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys.
However, the presidential election itself, especially at the start of the month, was overshadowed by Jim Gavin's decision to stop campaigning after reports arose regarding him allegedly owing money to a former tenant.
It was reported that a former tenant overpaid Mr Gavin €3,300 in rent that he failed to return since 2009.
The Irish Independent also reported that the former Dublin manager had failed to register the Smithfield property with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), as required under law since 2004.
Budget 2026 was announced in October, with a budget package consisting of €8.1 billion in public spending and €1.3 billion in taxation measures.
Minimum wage was increased by 65c an hour, and it was announced that the renters' tax credit is being extended to the end of 2028.
November - Sinn Féin expulsion and immirgration changes
A Sinn Féin party member was expelled after her partner was arrested as part of a Garda investigation into far-right extremism.
Sinn Féin’s national chairman Declan Kearney confirmed the partner of a female member of the party had been arrested as part of the Garda investigation into two alleged far-right extremists.
He said the party was informed that the home of a female party member and her partner had been raided, and the partner was then arrested.
Also in November, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan announced new immigration rules. They relate to asylum, citizenship, and family reunification.
Legislation will be required to implement many of these changes, and officials have said they have started to develop a bill.
However, the family reunification changes took immediate effect.
December - Jim Gavin x Fianna Fáil report
There were no shock revelations after the review into Fianna Fáil's presidential campaign was published, but Taoiseach Micheál Martin was described as "defensive" at the parliamentary party meeting following its publication.
Martin had criticised "inaccurate" commentary ahead of the publication of the report into the selection of Jim Gavin as the party's candidate.
The review found that the party had been asked about possible issues with a former tenant on several occasions before Gavin was officially selected as the Fianna Fáil candidate on September 9th.
The party's total spend on the presidential election was estimated to be as much as €400,000.
In the aftermath of the review publication, Martin said that the controversy over the presidential campaign of Jim Gavin had “dragged on for too long” and he rejected the suggestion that he should table a motion of confidence in himself.
“I don’t believe I need to do that,” he told RTÉ radio’s Today with David McCullagh show.
The presidential campaign had been a “major setback” and a “devastating outcome” for the party, he added. “I’m sorry this happened.” The wrong call had been made. “I take responsibility.”
