Cummins expects election on next count needing just 12 votes

Fine Gael candidate John Cummins said he expects to be elected on the next count. The Senator is currently sitting at 10,719 votes, falling just 12 votes short of the 10,731 vote quota.

Reacting to missing the quota by just 12 votes on round 8, Senator John Cummins laughed, "That's democracy in action," he said, "We have just seen the elimination of Marc Ó Cathasaigh there and I would like to commiserate with Marc. He always put a lot of work into his term in Dáil Éireann in the last four years."

Cummins is confident that the elimination of Ó Cathasaigh will give him enough transfers to reach the quota.

"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," he said.

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."

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

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