Overview
- At its Galway conference, leader Michael Collins said he is speaking with “a little more than ten” councillors from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael about joining.
- The party reported 500 to 647 new members over two weeks and said its website briefly crashed during the fuel‑price protests.
- Leaders credited the fuel‑depot blockades and face‑to‑face outreach at protests with raising the party’s profile and driving sign‑ups.
- The party named councillor Noel Thomas for the Galway West by‑election and has not yet chosen a Dublin Central candidate.
- Independent Ireland, which holds four Dáil seats, one MEP and about 24 council seats, is running on housing, rural issues, immigration and opposition to the EU–Mercosur trade deal.