THE THREE MAIN political parties have approached mortgage arrears campaigner David Hall at what he says is a “junior level” about possibly running in the European elections next year.
The director of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, who has been a vocal campaigner on the mortgage arrears crisis, confirmed that he has been asked by people in Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour about his interest in politics and running in next year’s European elections.
But he cautioned that there has been “no formal request from anyone in any political party”.
“A number of of people have asked me at a junior level, nothing has been decided, no formal request has been made. So it’s a little bit premature,” Hall told TheJournal.ie this week.
The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that Fianna Fáil has asked Hall to consider running in the redrawn Dublin constituency. A spokesman for the party would not comment specifically on whether Hall has been approached.
The Fianna Fáil spokesperson said: “The Party is currently working on putting together a strong panel of candidates across the country for both local and European elections.
“Selection of candidates will be the responsibility of local organisations and we will not be commenting on potential candidacies ahead of selection conventions.”
Hall acknowledged his previous membership of Fianna Fáil but said he quit the party in the wake of the bank guarantee.
“I left after the bank guarantee debacle and would have had strong views and expressed those to Brian Lenihan who I still maintained a friendship with, I’ve known his family for many years,” he said.
He confirmed approaches at a junior level from members of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil but said there had been no approach from Sinn Féin.
Hall continued: “There is a huge amount to consider including the current work I am doing and I’ve two four-year-old girls as well. My number one objective is ensuring there is an appropriate voice for tackling the mortgage debt issue.”
The European constituency boundaries are being redrawn in the wake of Ireland’s number of MEPs being reduced from 12 to 11, meaning that the State will be divided into three constituencies.
Dublin could become a three-seater or else a five-seater including other counties along the east coast.
The Constituency Commission which has been working on the redraw is due to issue its report later today.
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