The Green Party leader, Mr Trevor Sargent, said yesterday that the party was now the third-largest in Dublin and the fourth-largest in Dáil Eireann.
The Greens' two outgoing TDs, Mr Sargent and Mr John Gormley, have been joined in the Dáil by Mr Dan Boyle (Cork South Central), Mr Ciaran Cuffe (Dun Laoghaire), Mr Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West) and Mr Eamon Ryan (Dublin South).
Mr Sargent said: "We have now trebled our representation from two to six TDs, making us the third-largest party in Dublin and the fourth-largest in the Dáil. Our strategy of internal restructuring, the targeting of seats and our highlighting of quality-of-life issues has been warmly welcomed by the electorate. We were better organised than we have ever been."
He said the party had targeted seven seats, getting the "right result" in six, while the party's deputy leader, Cllr Mary White, had narrowly missed out on a seat in Carlow-Kilkenny.
"Our strategy now will be to negotiate a deal for government if required to do so. We have always said that we would be prepared to support a government in return for the implementation of our policies, but we are also prepared to provide good and radical opposition.
"The voters should be aware that the last Dáil lacked a good opposition. The election of six Green TDs will radicalise the Dáil and make it a far more interesting place. We will remain tightly on the government's case.
"The Greens' successful election campaign is a major step towards greening the political agenda both inside and outside the Dáil. We ran 31 candidates in this election, and our next aim will be to work hard on the ground with community groups to increase our local authority representation across the country in 2004."