FF TDs told to inform party if not contesting next election

FIANNA FÁIL TDs not intending to contest the next general election in Dublin constituencies should inform the party immediately, according to an internal report prepared by two former ministers.

Gerard Collins and Chris Flood said candidates should be selected “using the traditional system” by October 1st this year. However, a “one member, one vote” selection process is proposed for the Dublin mayoral contest and future elections.

The report, entitled “Recommendations for Organisational Reform”, found “a weakened activist base and structures in the cities that require strengthening and modernisation” and included suggestions for Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

Preparing for the Dublin mayoral election is one of the key tasks to be given to a “Dublin reorganisation implementation group”, which should be established immediately as part of a strategy to counteract Fianna Fáil’s dwindling support in the capital.

All registered members in the Dublin area would have a right to vote in the selection of the party’s candidate. An electoral register of members should be devised for the process, “thereby creating the opportunity to clarify and quantify the actual extent of party membership . . . across the entire Dublin Euro constituency”.

While the report noted planning for 2014’s local elections should begin on September 1st, no mention was made of preparations for a Dublin South byelection. Seats also remain vacant in Donegal South-West and Waterford.

The report stated many of the party’s organisational difficulties had persisted for years and were exacerbated by the failure to fully implement previous recommendations on reform. The electoral consequences of this at local authority level had been “most unsatisfactory”.

Many of the party’s city-based cumainn no longer make a real contribution, the report noted, with some existing only to hold voting rights at candidate selection conventions. It recommended the party activist become the basic unit of the party.

“With the responsibility for candidate selection devolved to the individual activist under the one-member, one-vote system, there is no longer a need to secure the three delegate votes of each participating cumainn. The net effect of this should see an end to the phenomena of ‘paper cummain’.” For fundraising purposes, the report recommended individual members pay an annual membership fee of €75, preferably by direct debit. Names of possible contributors should be submitted to headquarters so they can be contacted by staff “enabled to accept debit and credit card details”. Each Dublin constituency should hold one fundraiser every year with proceeds going to headquarters.

In Waterford, a “proactive recruitment campaign” should take place. Cork North Central and Cork South Central have been instructed to plan constituency conferences for this autumn, while one should be held in Limerick early next year. Fianna Fáil members in Galway are advised “it is important to recognise the importance of the city in any candidate selection decision”.