Labour's education spokesperson to contest general election

Education spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan has become one of the first Labour candidates chosen to contest the next general election, the party announced today.

The sitting Limerick East TD was selected as a Dáil candidate for the next election, which she predicted would be called in 2006, in the first count of a party convention last night.

She is one of the first two contestants to be picked by the party, which selected Harry Barrett to be Labour candidate for Mayo earlier this week.

Mr Barrett, a primary school teacher in Castlebar who has been active in the campaign to free the Rossport Five, will be contesting his first general election.

Speaking after being selected in last night’s convention, Ms O’Sullivan said Limerick East had little to show for having elected Government TDs Willie O’Dea, Tim O’Malley and Peter Power.

“I challenge our three Government team-members to point to anything substantial delivered for Limerick since they came to power in 1997,” she said.

“What is the use of having Senior Willie, Junior Tim, and back-row Peter, when we have so little to show for it?

“In contrast, when Labour was last in Government major projects like the Main Drainage, Shannon Navigation, the Regional Hospital extension and the Hunt Museum were implemented.

“Since then we are waiting for everything: Waiting for a tunnel, waiting for a rail link to Shannon Airport, waiting for breast screening, waiting for radiotherapy, which, to their absolute shame they could not deliver until their constituents raised the money to pay for it themselves,” she said.

Ms O’Sullivan also criticised the waste of taxpayers’ money, rising prices and growing inequality which she said everyone in the country had to put up with as a result of the Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats coalition.

The Education and Science spokeswoman was first elected to the Seanad in 1993, won the Dáil by-election for Limerick East in 1998 and was re-elected in 2002.

The party said selection conventions will continue over the next few months, with five candidates seeking the nomination for Dublin North on Thursday following the announcement by TD Seán Ryan that he will not be contesting the next election.