Cummins elected as Fine Gael sent back to Dáil

Fine Gael Candidate John Cummins has been elected on the 9th count with 11,159 votes, having received 440 transfers from the elimination of Green Party candidate Marc Ó Cathasaigh. The win returns Fine Gael to the Dáil after a four-year gap -  the longest since the formation of the state.

"I'm overwhelmed and humbled by the support that I have received from the people of Waterford. To get 10,400 first preferences, and all the twos and threes and fours that came after, I'm just so grateful to the people of Waterford for putting their faith in me to represent them for the next five years in the Dáil."

The new TD said he is "looking forward to the challenge" and "can't wait" to "sign the register to become an official TD for Waterford." 

"I have taken my representation [of Waterford] to the next level and am really looking forward to being able to work on the ground for people right across the city and county to deliver the much-needed projects for the city and county," he said. 

Deputy Cummins said he believes the "hard work on the ground" made the difference in this election compared with 2020 when Fine Gael narrowly missed out on taking the final seat in Waterford. 

"There has probably been an underestimation of the amount of work we were doing in our constituency offices in Waterford City and Dungarvan," he said.

His next steps, the newly-elected TD said, are to "celebrate tonight and to get some sleep tomorrow!"

The Senator fell just 12 votes short of election on the 8th count and was confident that he would secure the second seat during the next count.

"We have just seen the elimination of Marc Ó Cathasaigh there," he said to waterford-news.ie following the 8th count. "We've seen more than 12 votes going into the Pigeon boxes for us here. So we are definitely going to be over the line here on this count."

In 2020, Fine Gael failed to return a TD in Waterford for the first time since the death of Thaddeus Lynch caused a bye-election in 1966. The ensuing three years is the only period since then that Fine Gael did not have a TD from Waterford in Dáil Éireann.

The Senator said he was "very, very, very grateful" for the voters putting their trust in him, saying it is "humbling".

"That I got more than 10,400 people going into a ballot box, across the whole county, to put number one beside my name, as well as the twos, threes, and fours... I don't know what to say."

"It's so humbling and I'm so grateful."

Getting elected to the Dáil would mean that Cummins would go one step further than his father, former Fine Gael Senator Maurice Cummins, continuing the family legacy in politics he says will make being elected "a bit extra special".

"My Dad put so many years into politics, first elected in 1975 he contested a number of General Elections but was unsuccessful. It makes it a bit extra special to be able to get over the line, but I said it yesterday, it's all about the team."

Senator Cummins' Mother said she was "very proud of him" for the "hard work he had put in over the last 15 years."

"He's done a lot of work over the past 15 years," said former Senator Maurice Cummins, "but there's a lot more ahead of him!" 

Speaking to WLR FM, Former Senator Maurice Cummins said he believed his son is Ministerial material.   

Cummins said the work his team has put into canvassing for him has "clearly paid off".

"The first preference vote was way ahead of even our best expectations."