This article is from page 4 of the 2006-05-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
PRESSURE is mounting on Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to declare his candidate strategy in Clare for the next General Election in the wake of last week’s highly controversial selection convention.
With Fine Gael riding high in the national polls, The Clare People can reveal that Mr Kenny has been advised to, “sort out the mess in Clare” and so avoid an embarrassing split between grassroot members of the local organisation.
A speedy resolution to the impasse in Clare has been held up as crucial in a damage limitation exercise by Fine Gael headquarters to ward off a public conflict, which could affect the party’s chances of returning to Government.
Councillors Madeleine TaylorQuinn and Joe Carey are holding their ground on their respective desires to contest the election, amid speculation that a deal could be brokered between the two.
According to party insiders, Mr Kenny will offer Councillor TaylorQuinn a nomination to contest the Dáil election as promised before she contested the 2004 European election, and Joe Carey will be teed up for a seat in the Seanad.
The best case scenario for Councillor Carey would be the carrot of a Taoiseach’s nomination to the Seanad if Mr Kenny gets power. Failing that, Mr Kenny would commit to being in the frontline of Councillor Carey’s Seanad campaign around the country.
Councillor Carey refused to be drawn on such speculation, but in a statement said, “I have sought a meeting with Mr Frank Flannery, director of elections, to discuss the outcome of the Clare convention. I will not be making any further comment until after this meeting”.
Meanwhile, the fallout to the highly charged selection convention continues, with one Fine Gael source telling The Clare People this week that, “Joe Carey didn’t win a nomination because he broke the party whip in a vote on Cahercon Pier”.
In January, Councillor Carey abstained from a crucial vote on whether the pier should be listed as a protected structure. Despite that his party colleagues voted in favour of the designation.
And, The Clare People has also learned that “grave concerns” about the procedures followed in the selection convention were raised at last Wednesday’s National Executive meeting of the party.
A Galway delegate broached the subject, which prompted an open debate on the controversy. Enda Kenny was not present at the meeting, but is expected to face questions at the next meeting of the Executive on June 10.
Meanwhile, North Clare Councillor Martin Conway said he expects that a candidate will be added to the ticket soon. “There will be a recommendation made to the party leader to add a candidate in the near future. I would be very disappointed and surprised if there wasn’t a recommendation made at the next [Executive] meeting,” he said.
In March, Deputy Kenny added Dr John Barton to the Fine Gael ticket in East Galway after he lost out in the convention to Deputy Paul Connaughton and Senator Ulick Burke.