Councillor vows to fight for FG nomination

A
FINE GAEL councillor in Dublin West believes she’ll have enough support to secure
the party’s nomination to contest the upcoming by- election in the
constituency.

There
is strong speculation that the poll to fill the seat of former Fianna Fáil Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will be held on October 27, along with the
presidential election and three referenda.

While
any TD can move a writ calling for the election to be held, it’s traditional
for the party which held the seat to make the call.

However,
Fianna Fail have yet to make their move and the polling date isn’t bound by new
legislation stipulating that a by-election must be held within six months of
vacancy as the late Deputy Lenihan passed away before it was signed into law.

Many
observers are tipping Mulhuddard councillor Kieran Dennision to secure the
Fine Gael nomination as he was the running mate of Transport Minister Leo
Varadkar in last February’s general election.

However,
Castleknock based councillor Eithne Loftus told Northside People that she’s
currently canvassing the support of party members and believes she’ll have enough
support to secure the nomination.

Loftus
unsuccessfully contested the general election in Dublin West in 1987 but it was
2007 before she finally became a political representative for Fine Gael when
she was co-opted onto Fingal County Council to fill the seat vacated by Leo
Varadkar.

However,
she went on to secure one of the highest votes of any Fine Gael councillor in
Dublin in 2009 when she was returned to the local authority with 3,028 first
preference votes, over 22 per cent of the total poll.

Unless
the party opts to parachute in a big name candidate, it’s likely that Cllr
Loftus will have to battle it out with Cllr Dennison at the party’s selection
convention for the Dublin West nomination. A spokesperson for the party said
no date had yet been set for a convention.

Cllr
Loftus received over 1,500 more votes than Dennison in the 2009 local elections
and she was quick to point out that she also beat her rival to second place at
the last selection convention for the party in the 2011 election.

“I
didn’t have the opportunity to run in the general election as Leo (Varadkar)
and myself were pulling from the same area because he is Castleknock as well,

?
she said.

“I felt that there was no point in two
candidates going for the same area.

“Now
is my opportunity. I took one of the highest votes in the local election. I got
well over 3,000 votes and got one of the highest Fine Gael votes in Dublin. I
beat Kieran Dennison quite handsomely in the last selection convention.

?

At
odds of 7/2, the bookmakers are giving Fine Gael only an outside chance of
winning a second seat in Dublin West and they maintain that Labour are 6/4 are
favourites to return a second TD to the Dáil, just ahead of Fianna fail at
15/8.

Despite
the odds, Cllr Loftus is confident Fine Gael can gain a second seat in the
constituency and believes that the party’s chances will be buoyed by the strong
performance of Dublin West TD and Transport Minister Leo Varadkar at cabinet
and constituency levels.

But
the main Government party’s chances of returning a second TD in Dublin West may
be hampered by public anger over cutbacks at Connolly Hospital in
Blanchardstown.

However,
Cllr Loftus who is a member of the HSE’s Dublin West Health Forum, is adamant
that the executive has not made any cuts at the hospital, saying it was strictly
a matter for hospital management to stay within its budget.

“There
have been no cutbacks in Connolly,

? she argued.

“What
has happened in Connolly is that they [hospital management] have been given a
budget and asked to work within it.

?

Cllr
Loftus also denied reports that the hospital’s A&E service is to be curtailed
or axed.

“I
am on the health forum for the area and when I asked that question [if the
hours of A&E would be cut] they said there would be absolutely no cutbacks
in the A&E,

? she said.

“As
one who has been in the A&E in Connolly hospital myself, I certainly would
not like to see the hours being cut but there could be efficiencies within the
A&E that could be looked at.

“That
is not for me to say but that is for hospital management and they have got
their budget.

?