ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
In Ireland, voters are heading to the polls today to elect a new parliament, which will eventually form a new government. The race has tightened in recent days, and Sinn Fein, a party with past links to Irish Republican Army militants, may have a path to power. NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab is in Dublin. Hey, Fatima.
FATIMA AL-KASSAB, BYLINE: Hi, Rob.
SCHMITZ: So, Fatima, what are the main issues for voters in Ireland?
AL-KASSAB: Really, it's been housing and the cost of living. Ireland is a very rich country. It's generated a huge income from corporation taxes. It's actually one of the wealthiest in Europe, but people don't really feel it. It's got one of the worst housing crises in the EU, and everyone I've talked to here, whatever their age or economic background, says that housing and the cost of living is key for them. Here's Una Mullally. She's economist at The Irish Times, and I spoke to her in Dublin.
UNA MULLALLY: Ireland's economy is doing well on paper. There's apparently billions to spend. People aren't seeing it in their services. They're not seeing it in public housing being built at the scale it needs to be built. They're not seeing it in hospital waiting lists reducing.
SCHMITZ: Wow. Billions to spend, but people are not seeing that in their services. So these are the issues. So who are the players?
AL-KASSAB: So you've got the two traditional parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. And they're two center-right parties, and they've governed Ireland either alone or in coalitions for more than a century. They've been in coalition together since 2020, along with the Greens. But in that 2020 election, another party actually won the most votes, but couldn't form a coalition. And that's Sinn Fein.
SCHMITZ: And that is the left-wing party that used to be the political wing of the IRA?
AL-KASSAB: That's right. The IRA, which is the Irish Republican Army. And they were actually designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the U.K. when they fought for Northern Ireland - which is part of the U.K. - to join the Republic of Ireland, this country. And that was known as The Troubles. Sinn Fein, the party, has made big gains in recent years, and it made historic gains in the last general election in 2020. But it remains to be seen whether they actually have a path to victory this time. But it's issues like housing that have helped Sinn Fein consolidate their place in mainstream Irish politics.
SCHMITZ: Now, of course, Sinn Fein has a long history in Irish politics. How has the party's role changed over the years?
AL-KASSAB: Yeah, it's had a makeover in recent years. It's got a new leader. She's the first leader not to be connected to The Troubles in Northern Ireland, and she's really been promising to fix the housing crisis. And that's helped them come neck and neck in the polls with the two traditional parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. But even if they win the most votes again, they still don't have a clear path to getting into government. They could cobble together a coalition with other smaller left-wing parties, but the most likely scenario is that the two traditional parties will renew their coalition and remain in power after the election today.
SCHMITZ: So when are we going to know the outcome?
AL-KASSAB: We'll get an exit poll tonight, and that will give us an idea of the vote share. Another thing to look out for - it has been quite wet and windy today, so I'll be watching to see if that affects things, and if it affects turnout. And then the counting begins tomorrow. It's a system of proportional representation. So that means it will take some time. And we might not get a proper sense of the results until Saturday afternoon. And then negotiations about who will form the next government probably won't begin until next week.
SCHMITZ: That's NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab in Dublin. Thanks, Fatima.
AL-KASSAB: Thanks, Rob. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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