Following the formation of the party in 2023, O'Donoghue told the Irish Examiner that he and Collins hoped to encourage members of the Rural Independents Group in the Dáil to join.
[18][19][20][21] On 5 April 2024, the party announced that former RTÉ correspondent Ciaran Mullooly would be standing for Independent Ireland in the 2024 European Parliament election in the Midlands–North-West constituency.
[24][25] On 22 April 2024, Ireland's Classic Hits Radio presenter Niall Boylan announced he would be running for the party in the 2024 European Parliament election in the Dublin constituency.
[28] In the European election, Independent Ireland's three candidates received 108,685 first-preference votes, coming fourth behind Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin.
Ciaran Mullooly, Independent Ireland's sole member of the European Parliament, joined the liberal Renew Europe parliamentary group on 3 July.
[33][34][35] Independent Ireland had previously taken part in a December 2023 conference organised by the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).
[citation needed] On 7 July, party chairwoman Elaine Mullally resigned her position, claiming Independent Ireland no longer aligned with her values.
[1][39] On 10 July, Independent Ireland put out a 2,500-word statement defending the decision, in which leader Michael Collins dismissed as "quite laughable" that, by joining Renew, the party would be "supporting silly stuff like men being allowed to use women’s public toilets and that we would be advocating car-free streets".
[44][45] Independent Ireland has stated it does not operate a strict party whip system and allows its members freedom to speak and vote on key issues.
It also wishes to end the Property Tax and abolish the Universal Social Charge for people over the age of 65 to avoid taxation of pensions.
A general election candidate for Dublin South-Central, Sutcliffe faced criticism from party leadership, who deemed his actions and public statements inconsistent with their commitment to law and order.