FF chooses novice politician to contest Dublin by-election
David McGuinness, 26, a member of Fingal County Council, was chosen last night after party leader Micheal Martin vowed to fight to retain the seat held by the late former minister for finance.
Mr McGuinness was first elected a councillor in 2009 to represent the Mulhuddart area. He ran in the general election as Mr Lenihan’s running mate in Dublin West, won 623 first preference votes and was eliminated on the second count.
He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and teaches at Lucan Community College.
Mr Martin told a party gathering in Tallaght that Fianna Fáil will give “one hell of a fight” in by-election. At the conclusion of the parliamentary party’s seminar, Mr Martin said Fianna Fáil was very conscious of the status of the party in Dublin, but also conscious of the legacy left by the late Brian Lenihan. He said the party would be putting “a lot of resources” into the by-election.
Earlier, in an address on the economy, Mr Martin said Ireland needs a “plan B” to deal with a possible Greek default.
He said the Coalition has failed to indicate how it would respond to such an event and has been standing back during the worst crisis to hit the euro.
“Is there any scenario planning? Does the Government have a plan, or a back-up plan, or a plan B in the event of default?” he asked.
“The Government needs to be very clear that they are planning proactively for a number of scenarios emerging in the coming weeks and coming months,” Mr Martin said.
He said it was “incredible” that Taoiseach Enda Kenny has not held a bilateral meeting with a eurozone leader since taking office.
He also hit out at Sinn Féin’s performance in opposition and in government in the North.
