Coppinger on target to win Dublin West

Socialist Party candidate Ruth Coppinger is now firmly on target to win the by-election in Dublin West after the distribution of the vote of Fine Gael’s Eamonn Coughlan on the fourth count has further cemented her lead.

The Mulhuddart-based member of Fingal County Council is now almost 550 votes ahead of her nearest rival.

The elimination of Coughlan and the distribution of his almost 4,700 votes has also seen Fianna Fáil’s David McGuinness overtake the poll-topper after the first count, Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly, to second place.

McGuinness who finished in second place in the previous by-election in the constituency in 2011, seems set to stay in the race to the last count again, although he was only in third place on first preferences.

However, most observers believe he has little chance of making up the gap on Coppinger with the upcoming transfer of the 5,846 votes of independent candidate, David Hall.

The high-profile campaigner, known for his assistance to people in bank debt and mortgage arrears, expressed satisfaction with his performance in his first political outing.

“We’re not a big party but a small group of family and friends, neighbours and strangers who came together to give it a shot,” said Mr Hall.

He claimed it was the best ever performance by an independent candidate in the Dublin West constituency.

Mr Hall also said the results would encourage him to run again in the next Dáil election.