Fine Gael headhunts election prospects

Fine Gael has begun headhunting candidates for next year’s local elections after constituency party officials were told to prepare for an earlier-than-expected date.

Party headquarters have told councillors and those preparing to run that local and European elections are expected to be held in May 2014, a month earlier than expected.

Fine Gael general secretary Tom Curran and long-term party advisor Frank Flannery have begun holding interviews with prospective candidates.

A councillor who received recent orders from party headquarters explained: “A lot of people will have new territory and there’s plenty of extra seats in the east, while places in the west are losing seats, where it will be a tougher battle. You need to blood these candidates.”

A senior party source also confirmed Fine Gael is identifying female candidates for the local elections ahead of the introduction of a quota system in the next general election.

“We hope to identify women through the locals who’ll go on to run in the next general election,” said the party source.

In the last general election, only 86 women ran out of 480 candidates, with only 25 of those winning Dáil seats. New regulations will halve political parties’ election funding from the taxpayer unless 30% of their candidates are women.

Local and European elections are normally held in June. However, efforts are underway to co-ordinate elections across member states in May.

Ireland will lose one of its 12 MEP seats next year, to make space for Croatia when it joins the EU. Reports on redrawing boundaries for both the local and European elections will be completed later this year. Due to the earlier expected polling date next year and the fact that boundaries will be redrawn at such a late stage, party strategists want to identify and prepare prospective candidates now.

While councillor seat numbers will be increased in Dublin wards, there will also be rises in Wicklow, Wexford, Kildare, and Meath, as well as counties in Galway, Donegal, and Cork. Elsewhere, councillor seat numbers will fall in Roscommon, Leitrim and Sligo.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan is expected to receive a report on redrawing wards and local election areas at the end of April.