Michael Healy-Rae retained his seat in the Kerry constituency with a high number of first preference votes.

Healy-Rae is a well-known TD and character throughout rural Ireland and many see him as a champion of rural voters.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal ahead of the election, he insisted that beef farmers needed to get a better margin for their product and that beef factories had too much control stating that the “monopolies have to be broken up.”

“I want the opportunity to be a strong voice for our farmers,” he said.

“Everybody knows that I’m vocal on these issues and I’m continuously highlighting to government, since I first got elected, of what it means to be a small farmer, a middling size farmer and trying to survive in Ireland today.”

Election 2020: Michael Healy-Rae.

Many farmers on social media will be aware of some of his more flamboyant tweets during his election campaign, which sparked mass national interest.

He was present at a meeting of Kerry Beef Plan Movement in Castleisland mart and insisted that farmers needed to be paid more for their produce. Many in the farming community will now be looking to see what actions he takes to make good on his commitments.

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