That scenario is what has been motivating the current crop of independent TDs as they seek to ensure they are reelected to share in the largesse of a possible hung Dail. Yet, in an eagerness to end what will . . . come next summer . . . be five years of political irrelevance in national politics, the Independents are starting to act more like a fledgling political party.

The late Basil Chubb . . . for so long the doyen of Irish political scientists . . . suggested that there were two defining characteristics of genuine independent TDs.

They do not have the resources of any serious political party supporting their election campaign, and they do not take a party whip which restricts their voting intentions in Dail votes. On the latter point, many of the current crop of independents would not really qualify as genuine independents as they are members of the Technical Group which also includes Sinn Fein and the Greens. The alliance was formed to guarantee certain rights and privileges in the current Dail. More recently, a collection of independent TDs including Finian McGrath, Tony Gregory and Catherine Murphy have been seeking to strengthen their association. They have taken to issuing joint press releases and, last month, they endorsed the candidacy of an independent councillor in his quest for a Dail seat in Dublin Mid-West.

Independents are a rarity in the parliaments of most EU member states. Generally, there are more independents in Dail Eireann than in most other EU parliaments put together. The Irish electoral system aids the existence of small parties and non-party candidates. The number of independents winning seats has actually increased at each of the last three general elections. At the 2002 election, independent candidates won 11% of the vote and 13 seats. This translated into the highest number of independent TDs since 1951. The ranks of the independents have since been increased by the North Kildare by-election victory of Catherine Murphy and Beverley Flynn's departure from Fianna Fail. There was, however, also a loss with Liam Twomey's decision to join Fine Gael.

The success of independent TDs at the 2002 election was certainly helped by the apparent influence wielded by a handful of non-party TDs over the preceding five years. Bertie Ahern led a minority coalition government between 1997 and 2002.

To ensure he had a stable Dail majority, Ahern kept a number of independent TDs onside. A number of civil servants were assigned to look after the constituency needs of Jackie Healy-Rae, Mildred Fox, Tom Gildea and Harry Blaney. They had easy access to Government Buildings and also had an unpublished shopping list of demands that they wanted for their constituencies. In return for this attention, the quartet sided with Ahern's minority government in Dail votes.

What these four TDs actually achieved has always been difficult to quantify, but the perception that they extracted beneficial deals for their individual constituencies undoubtedly helped the cause of all independent candidates at the election in 2002. But the clear-cut outcome in 2002, with Ahern's government winning a Dail majority, knocked those independents well down in the pecking order of the national political agenda.

Despite this Dail majority, Ahern has been clever in remaining in contact with the independent TDs with connections to Fianna Fail. However, achieving a repeat of the 1997-2002 situation may be difficult, should the next general election throw up a scenario where a minority coalition is on offer. Enda Kenny will face the same difficulty, given the diverse interests of those seated on the independent benches, irrespective of their own desire to secure greater co-operation between themselves.

The current group of independent TDs can be put into three distinct categories . . . disaffected lefties, dissident Fianna Failers and local-issue candidates. The disaffected lefties include Tony Gregory, Finian McGrath, Seamus Healy and Catherine Murphy. The dissident Fianna Failers include Mildred Fox, Niall Blaney, James Breen, Paddy McHugh and Beverley Flynn. Those elected on local issues in 2002 include Paudge Connolly, Jerry Cowley, Liam Twomey and Marian Harkin.

This diverse collection of TDs have been out of the loop since the last election.

If some of them now want greater security, and have a desire to work within a more formal institutional environment, they would be better off dropping the Independent label altogether and joining one of the many political parties represented in Leinster House. Their only lifeline has to be political instability after the next election, and a political auction involving the leaders of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. It would be good for some Independent TDs, but what is less obvious is whether it would be good for the country.