McKenna faces ‘uphill battle’

FORMER Green MEP Patricia McKenna admitted she has an uphill battle to get elected as she launched her campaign for one of the three Dublin seats.

Ms McKenna, who is standing as an independent, became Ireland’s first Green Party MEP in 1994 when she was elected in Dublin, but was voted out five years later.

She said her self-funded campaign “would likely be the least expensive European campaign in the capital” but said that Dublin needed a distinct voice in Brussels.

“We have an independent voice in the West and in the South and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have one in Dublin as well,” she said.

Ms McKenna quit the Green Party after 25 years last month over its performance in Government as she accused it of “selling out” after entering into coalition with Fianna Fáil.