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| Micheál Martin made taoiseach after parties back deal | Micheál Martin made taoiseach after parties back deal |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Micheál Martin has been elected taoiseach (Irish prime minister) at a special meeting of the Irish parliament in Dublin on Saturday. | |
| The 59-year-old Cork native has been the leader of the Fianna Fáil party since 2011. | |
| He will lead a three-party coalition consisting of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. | |
| It is the first time in history that former Civil War rivals Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have governed together. | |
| Mr Martin was elected by the Dáil (Irish parliament) in a special sitting on Saturday at the Convention Centre Dublin, rather than at Leinster House, due to Covid-19 physical distancing rules. | |
| During the vote, 93 members of the Dáil voted in favour of him taking the role, while 63 members voted against him. | |
| The Irish electorate went to the polls in a general election in February but no party received a majority. | |
| Coalition talks were then halted by the coronavirus pandemic. | Coalition talks were then halted by the coronavirus pandemic. |
| The two larger parties needed the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament (the Dáil). | The two larger parties needed the support of the Greens to have a working majority in the Irish parliament (the Dáil). |
| The party leaders and their negotiating teams reached agreement on a coalition deal earlier in June. | The party leaders and their negotiating teams reached agreement on a coalition deal earlier in June. |
| Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "Congratulations to Ireland on forming a new Government and to Micheal Martin TD on becoming Taoiseach. Ireland is our closest neighbour, good friend and ally on issues such as climate change, the global fight against Covid-19 and our shared values on human rights and democracy." | |
| Analysis: BBC News NI Dublin Correspondent, Shane Harrison | |
| Micheál Martin was the only Fianna Fáil leader in the party's history not to have served as taoiseach, but that changed today. | |
| He will hold the role for 30 months before handing over to Leo Varadkar, the Fine Gael leader. | |
| The two parties, both centrist, Fianna Fáil slightly to the left and Fine Gael to the right, have dominated the politics of the state since its foundation. | |
| Although there has been little to separate them policy-wise for decades, their decision to share power in government for the first time is historic. | |
| But it's also a political necessity for their leaders to keep Sinn Féin, the party that got the most votes in February's general election, away from government. | |
| Sinn Féin has accused the two of using the Greens as a "fig leaf" to disguise their denial of the electorate's demand for change. | |
| The three parties have five years to disprove those who claim the new coalition is simply a slightly greener version of business as usual in such areas as housing and dealing with climate change in a radical manner. | |
| A meeting between Mr Martin and Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers, Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill, is likely in the coming days. | |
| While there will be new faces, there will be some old problems to talk about such as Brexit and Covid-19. |