Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said that despite the party's support falling from 22 per cent to 8 per cent the party had run a good campaign in the Dublin Bay South byelection with a good candidate and had been very united throughout.
The Green Party candidate Claire Byrne was eliminated on the ninth count with 2,985 votes.
Mr Ryan maintained the party would recover the percentage it lost in time for the next election and disagreed it was a bad day for the party.
He and director of elections Roderic O’Gorman both accepted they would have liked to have received more first preferences.
Mr O'Gorman said that Ivana Bacik had "gobbled up" some Green first preferences on the basis of a strong personal vote for her in the unique circumstances of a byelection.
Mr Ryan said: “Ivana got a huge personal vote. I don’t think that’s a reflection on our party or our candidate.”
He said the campaign had energised his party.
