This article is from page 14 of the 2006-05-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
DEPUTY Pat Breen has called for a united front within Fine Gael as it gears up for the challenge of winning two Dáil seats in Clare for the first time since the 1989 General Election.
Deputy Breen made his comments to The Clare People in the wake of his poll-topping performance at the Fine Gael selection convention on Sunday evening. And he called on party headquarters to stick with a two-candidate strategy going into the general election campaign.
“There has to be a united front now. That is very important. I don’t know if they are going to add another candidate. I would urge that they take their time about this – we have to try and maximise our vote as much as possible. We will have a united front,” he said.
“The crowd at the convention shows that people are full of enthusiasm and support for the party. It was wonderful and this is the first obstacle surmounted in the race to get two seats in Clare. We mean business and the business is that we are going to get two seats in Clare. I’m confident we can do that with two candidates.
“Membership don’t like the adding of candidates. This is their day out. They are the bosses – most people feel that if we pick two candidates that we should leave it at that. However, I have no problem if they want to add another candidate. I will go along with that if it gets two seats for Fine Gael in Clare,” he added.
Deputy Breen put his poll-topping performance down to hard work on the canvass in recent weeks as well as his record as a TD for the past four years.
“I set it as a task to meet everyone in the organisation over the past six weeks. I felt it paid off at the convention and I also think that my work over the past four years in the Dáil paid off,” he said.
“I’m delighted at topping the poll, but it’s not about topping the poll. I’m delighted that people have that confidence and faith in me. I asked for that support and people rallied around me.”