Poll defeats ends Collins’s career

INDEPENDENT candidate Kathy Sinnott won her battle with the big political guns yesterday by taking the third seat in the Euro South constituency.

She defeated veteran Fianna Fáil MEP Gerry Collins, who held the seat for 10 years and announced yesterday that he was retiring from politics.

His Fianna Fáil running mate, Brian Crowley, who topped the poll, took the first seat while Fine Gael's Simon Coveney won the second seat.

The disability-rights campaigner said she got her mandate from the ordinary and vulnerable people who supported her.

"It mattered to people that I had a track record of not shutting up, of not taking no for answer and that is how I got elected," Ms Sinnott said.

She added that the Government needs to listen when people say they don't want incineration, fluoridation, the Iraq war or a new EU constitution.

Ms Sinnott, who beat her rival, Mr Collins, by almost 33,000 votes, said she had no illusions about the challenges of the next five years when it came to improving the rights of the disabled.

"I want to thank God a lot of prayer has gone into this campaign and a lot of shoe leather I want to pay tribute to God," she added.

Her final vote was 120,600 just 468 votes short of the quota while Mr Collins' final vote was 87,658.

Mr Crowley said his victory was tinged with sadness because Gerry Collins had not held on to his seat.

Mr Crowley, who secured 125,539 first preference votes, blamed Fianna Fáil director of elections John O'Donoghue's electoral strategy for the loss of their second seat in the South.

Mr O'Donoghue defended the strategy yesterday, insisting it was the right one that gave the party over 40% of the vote in the South.

But Mr Collins was magnanimous in defeat and said he would not enter into any recriminations.

"I do not blame John O'Donoghue and I want to thank my director of elections who implemented scrupulously the directive given by the Taoiseach that is nothing but the truth and the whole truth that must be put on record," Mr Collins said.

The 65-year-old said it was a solace to him that he had achieved the second highest vote of a Fianna Fáil candidate in the country and he would continue his involvement with the party.

Fine Gael's Simon Coveney said his win was a huge endorsement of Enda Kenny as the party leader especially since FG had increased their share of the South vote from 17% to almost 25%.

"The result has given the 9,000 Fine Gael members in Munster a great boost and our people right across the country can hold their heads high with the results we have achieved," he said.

The election was a blow to Labour whose candidate Senator Brendan Ryan got 19,975 first preferences 2.2% fewer than the party achieved last time.