OUTGOING HOUSING MINISTER Eoghan Murphy has retained his seat in Dublin Bay South, despite failing to get the number of votes required to cross the line.

The Fine Gael TD was elected with 7,602 votes on the eighth count this afternoon, falling 317 votes short of the quota.

His victory came at the expense of his party colleague Kate O’Connell, who was eliminated on the same count with 6,270 votes after Sinn Féin’s Chris Andrews was elected with 8,797 votes.

Murphy was elected alongside Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan, who also failed to meet the quota but crossed the line following O’Connell’s elimination.

Speaking yesterday, Murphy defended his ministerial record despite overseeing rising homelessness and rent increases during his tenure.

He was asked whether his own performance as housing minister was part of the reason for Fine Gael’s vote decline, saying “of course housing and homelessness were major issue in the campaign because everyone cares about it”.

“We have to do more when it comes to getting people off the streets and into homes, but also to do more to help people out of the rent trap to buy their own home,” he said.

With reporting from Rónán Duffy.