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Nessa Childers is the daughter of former president Erskine Childers. Nessa Childers Campaign

Nessa Childers will run in Dublin in effort to retain European Parliament seat

The former Labour MEP’s current Ireland East constituency is being abolished.

INDEPENDENT MEP NESSA Childers has opted to run in Dublin in an effort to retain her seat in the European Parliament.

The decision means that Childers will be challenging her former Labour Party colleague Emer Costello with three seats available in the capital.

Having quit Labour last year and with the constituency of Ireland East abolished, Childers faced a choice between running in Dublin or in the expanded four-seat Ireland South, which included parts of her current base.

Her decision to run in the capital is likely to pose challenge for Labour to retain the seat in a constituency where Fine Gael, whose favoured candidate Brian Hayes will announce later on Wednesday, is likely to take at least one seat.

Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick, Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan, Labour’s Costello, the Socialist Party’s Paul Murphy, the Greens’ Eamon Ryan, and high-profile independents, possibly including Peter Mathews, will be battling it out for the other two seats.

“Dublin needs a strong independent, who is prepared to challenge the old established party thinking,” Childers said in a statement announcing her candidacy.

“As an independent I can represent people without being stuck in the past, and stuck with the mistakes of the past – like the old establishment parties.”

She said that her decision to run in Dublin was influenced by her previous experience as a Green Party councillor on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council between 2004 and 2008.

Childers cited the impact of sitting MEP Marian Harkin and previously Pat Cox as examples of independents providing effective representation.

She said that one of the issues she will be campaigning on are “writing off the €34 billion bankers’ gambling debts debt unfairly foisted on citizens”.

Read: Junior Minister Brian Hayes is running for Europe

‘It’s not personal’: Senator challenging Phil Prendergast for Labour MEP nomination

Emer Costello: Single-party FG government would have implemented Greek-like austerity

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    Mute Paraic
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 2:12 PM

    Great news for Sligo and badly needed employment.

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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 3:09 PM

    excellent news for Sligo and its college of technology.

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    Mute John Flood
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 4:08 PM

    Great place to bring work. Good luck!

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    Mute Jaycee Laycee
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 2:16 PM

    Dear God no, we’re losing the war on plastic, drowning in the stuff aren’t we???

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    Mute Paraic
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 2:31 PM

    @Jaycee Laycee: Depends on what it’s used for. Could be medical device components for example.

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    Mute WoodlandBard
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 2:48 PM

    @Jaycee Laycee: Tough call, more plastic or good healthcare. Then there is a another question, does good healthcare help increase human population? Many say that reducing population is better education … but I’m rambling off topic now.

    Jobs for Sligo are good, just wishing it was another industry.

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 2:56 PM

    @WoodlandBard:
    Curious ……. What other industry might you regard as suitable for Sligo?
    We can’t all be artisan cheesmakers or wooden spoon carvers!

    35
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    Mute John
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 3:12 PM

    @WoodlandBard: I always see you bemoan the fact that there are no jobs in the west and now when jobs are announced you are moaning.typical.

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    Mute Michael Lynch
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 3:37 PM

    @Michael Kavanagh: Another micro brewery?

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    Mute Cathal
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 4:35 PM

    @Michael Lynch: Or a distillery?

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 5:13 PM

    @Michael Lynch:
    A 200 job brewery ain’t too micro!

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    Mute Margate
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 9:13 PM

    @Jaycee Laycee: feel free to decline such medical device intervention as may be necessary to save your life when/if such scenario may arise.

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    Mute Margate
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    Feb 22nd 2019, 9:17 PM

    Delighted for Sligo. Lovely, genuine folk, in an even nicer , beautiful location. Great to see it happen.

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