FIANNA FÁIL has selected two Ministers to contest Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in the forthcoming general election, despite deep misgivings in the party that the strategy could lead to a loss of both seats.
Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism Mary Hanafin and Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews were selected at a constituency convention last night as the party’s candidates for the four-seat constituency.
Both were elected in 2007 when it was a five-seater. But the collapse in support for Fianna Fáil since then and the reduction in the number of seats in the constituency has made it highly unlikely that both can be re-elected.
Over the past few months the Ministers have rejected overtures from party headquarters asking them to consider moving to the neighbouring Dublin South, which will have no outgoing TD in the election.
Mr Andrew lives in the Dún Laoghaire constituency which he has represented since 2002. His father David was a TD for the constituency from 1965 to 2002.
Ms Hanafin lives outside the constituency, in Rathgar, and came under pressure to move to Dublin South after the redrawing of the constituencies which saw the Foxrock-Leopardstown area moving from Dún Laoghaire.
Ms Hanafin and Mr Andrews resisted the pressure to move.
“We now have a nightmare scenario where we could lose both seats in Dún Laoghaire . . . and we could end up with none in Dublin South either as we do not have an outgoing TD,” said one long-time activist in Dún Laoghaire.
Another Fianna Fáil convention in Dublin South West selected Minister of State for Enterprise Conor Lenihan and Charlie O’Connor to run in the election.
A convention in Wicklow selected Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dick Roche and Cllr Pat Fitzgerald from Arklow as the party’s candidates.
Meanwhile, in Dublin South East a clash was averted in Fine Gael last night when one of the three candidates for the two available slots on the party ticket withdrew. Outgoing TD Lucinda Creighton and Cllr Eoghan Murphy were selected to run following the withdrawal of Colm MacEochaidh who contested the constituency for the party in 2002.
