Fianna Fáil officially kicked off its election campaign today with the selection of its first two candidates.
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs Conor Lenihan and Charlie O’Connor TD, were selected unanimously by a convention in Tallaght. Their names will go down on ballot papers in the Dublin Southwest constituency.
Mr Lenihan was first elected in 1997, while Deputy O’Connor was elected in 2002.
The convention is the first of 41 that Fianna Fáil will be holding as part of preparations for the election. The majority of the conventions will be complete by the end of the year, but the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insists he will serve his full five years in office before a 2007 election.