44 candidates declare for Europe

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has insisted he is “absolutely” secure in his post even if Fianna Fáil takes an expected hammering from voters in the elections.

Mr Cowen dismissed talk that a pounding in the European and local polls and a poor show in the two Dáil by-elections held on the same day would weaken his authority and threaten his position.

“As far as I’m concerned as democratically elected leader of the Government, the Government will continue,” he said.

“This is about the Fianna Fáil party contesting elections in what are difficult economic circumstances, but with more and more people realising this is the party with the capacity to make these decisions.

“Others talk about it, but aren’t prepared to support any decisions that are necessary,” he said while campaigning ahead of the June 5 showdown.

Nominations closed yesterday for the European elections, with 44 declared candidates for the 12 seats across four constituencies.

The constituencies are Dublin, East (Leinster minus Dublin, Longford and Westmeath), South (Munster minus Clare) and North West (which stretches from Clare to Donegal).

As expected, former junior minister Pat “The Cope” Gallagher declared for Fianna Fáil in North West yesterday morning, joining former senator Paschal Mooney on the party’s ticket.

Mr Mooney again expressed his irritation that Fianna Fáil had chosen to run a candidate whose Donegal base is so close to his own in Leitrim.

Fianna Fáil had been seeking a Galway-based candidate to avoid such problems and maximise its chances in the constituency, but failed to secure a prominent name. Rivals in North West were quick to paint Mr Gallagher as a candidate who had not wanted to run.

“Everybody knows that Pat is a decent man who didn’t want to run, doesn’t want to win, and has no interest in being an MEP,” claimed Libertas founder and North West candidate Declan Ganley. “He has been essentially bullied into this by Brian Cowen, who is more interested in protecting his party than looking after the country.”

Labour’s North West candidate Susan O’Keeffe claimed Fianna Fáil was “clearly in disarray” in the constituency, hence the “last-minute chaos”.

Meanwhile, the Green Party moved to reject potentially damaging claims made by Renault Ireland chairman and TV presenter Bill Cullen. Mr Cullen suggested in a weekend TV interview that the Greens had been responsible for a massive drop in car sales because of the car tax legislation they had introduced in Government.

But Green Senator Dan Boyle rejected the claim as “hysterical and wildly inaccurate”, saying: “The problems hitting the Irish motor trade are a product of the current world economic crisis. It is as simple as that.”