Waterford County Council: 1979 Local Election
| Party | Seats | Votes | Share | Candidates | Constituencies | |||||
| Fianna Fáil |  | 12 | (-1) | 4902 | 43.6% | (-6.6%) | 16 | (-2) | 4 | |
| Fine Gael |  | 7 | (+1) | 5533 | 49.2% | (+19.6%) | 9 | (-8) | 3 | (-1) |
| Labour Party |  | 1 | (-1) | 782 | 6.9% | (-3.1%) | 3 | (-3) | 2 | (-2) |
| Independent |  | 0 | (-2) | 37 | 0.3% | (-8.9%) | 1 | (-6) | 1 | (-2) |