Katherine Zappone has secured the final seat in Dublin South West after two days of recounts.

Zappone was informed of her victory by the returning officer late last night, reports The Independent.

“As I said at the beginning I really respect the democratic process… I can imagine that Anne-Marie Dermody is feeling the loss and I offer her my support,” she said.

“Politics is a tough game, even though I haven’t been in it very long.”

The 16th count on Saturday showed Ms Zappone ahead of Fine Gael’s Anne-Marie Dermody by some 152 votes but following two re-checks the gap narrowed to an estimated 120 votes.

Fine Gael’s legal adviser argued that this discrepancy undermined the integrity of the entire count, and demanded a further recount.