ALTHOUGH TAOISEACH SIMON Harris is still keeping us in the dark on a polling date, this hasn’t deterred the main political parties from gearing up their election machines.
The Journal caught up with each of the main parties to see how they are set.
Some, especially Fine Gael, are more prepared than others, but all of them have said they are in good shape and pretty much ready to go as soon as the starting gun is fired.
Fianna Fáil had 37 TDs elected during the last general election in 2020, joint highest with Sinn Féin.
The party ran 84 candidates, meaning they had a success rate of 44%.
This time around, the party currently has 66 candidates selected, but with the selection conventions of a couple of constituencies outstanding, they expect their total number of candidates to rise to above 70.
In terms of strategy, the party is running at least one candidate in each of the country’s 43 constituencies.
In most, it is a two candidate strategy. In a few, it is a single person running (Carlow, parts of Dublin, Sligo-Leitrim, Laois, Tipperary South, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow).
In two constituencies, they have gone all out with three candidates. Norma Foley will have two running mates in Kerry, while Cathal Crowe will be joined by the senator Timmy Dooley and county councillor Rita McInerney in Clare.
This election will be the first where women must make up 40% of all a party’s candidates (parties will be hit with a financial penalty if not).
Fianna Fáil is currently just below this at 39%, but a spokesperson for the party said they expect to be comfortably above this once all candidates are selected, making the point that a significant number of their first-time candidates are women.
At 25 years of age, Fianna Fáil’s youngest candidate is Albert Dolan. Dolan is currently the youngest Cathaoirleach in the history of Galway County Council.
Dolan and TD James O’Connor are Fianna Fáil’s only candidates under 30.
Last time around Fine Gael had 35 of its 82 candidates elected – a success rate of 43%.
The landscape has completely changed for the party since then, with 17 of its current 33 TDs not seeking re-election.
The party has a few selection conventions outstanding, but a spokesperson said they will “come close” to the 82 they ran in 2020.
Currently, 68 candidates are confirmed – 11 are not currently elected representatives, while 27 of the 68 are women.
In terms of the gender quota, this places Fine Gael just at 40%, but, like Fianna Fáil, a spokesperson said they are confident that they will be above this once all candidates are confirmed.
In most constituencies, Fine Gael is contesting just one or two candidates. They are going all in in Mayo however with four – the only party to take this approach in any constituency.
Fine Gael’s youngest candidate is county councillor Evie Sammon, aged 31. She will be contesting in the same Kildare North as the party’s oldest candidate, Bernard Durkan.
No candidates running for Fine Gael (yet?) are under the age of 30.
Last time around Sinn Féin had a success rate of 88% – with 37 of its 42 candidates winning Dáil seats.
Much has been said about the party’s electoral strategy and seeming inability to get the numbers right (after June’s local elections Mary Lou McDonald admitted that they ran too many candidates in some places), but this time around McDonald said it’s “third time lucky”.
The party will be fielding a candidate in every constituency, but no more than two in each. It’s understood that the only exception to this is Donegal, where the party might add a third candidate.
At the moment, over 50 candidates have been selected and once all are chosen the party expects to have approximately 65.
Like most others, a spokesperson for the party refused to put a figure on what a good day would be, instead they said they are hoping to build on their current number of TDs.
The spokesperson said they are currently just above the 40% gender quota and expect to have no problem building on that.
Sinn Féin’s youngest candidate, 26 year old Louis O’Hara is contesting a seat in Galway East. As of now, he is the party’s only candidate under the age of 30.
The mood appears to be mixed in the Green Party when it comes to how they may fare in the election.
Last time around the party had 12 of its 39 candidates elected, a success rate of 30% but a huge gain of 10 in the Dáil.
One party source said recently that they would be happy to hold on to six seats, but a party spokesperson said they are hopeful that the party might yet out do current polling.
“We’re not worried about opinion polls. Last time we were about the same percentage before the election but then once people started to become engaged in the weeks before things changed – that gives us a lot of confidence and hope,” the spokesperson said.
The Green Party do things a bit differently and instead of traditional selection conventions, each constituency’s grassroots members decide who they want to run. It’s the party’s longstanding policy to only one run candidate per constituency but to run someone in every constituency in the country.
At the moment, 35 candidates are confirmed leaving eight to go. 15 of the candidates are women (43%).
Two of the party’s candidates are in their 20s – Rob O’Donnell and Ruadháin Bonham.
At 22 years of age, Bonham is one of the youngest candidates set to contest the next election.
The Labour Party is hoping to build on its current six Dáil seats and is planning to run over 30 candidates, a similar number to 2020.
As it stands, 26 have been selected.
Last time around, it wasn’t the best year for Labour, with the party losing one of its Dáil seats. The party had a success rate of 19%, with 6 of its 31 candidates winning seats.
It is however optimistic that things will be better this time around. A spokesperson said they were “written off” in the recent locals and Europeans but in the end were happy with their lot.
The party is confident it will reach the 40% gender quota.
Its youngest candidate is county councillor Eoghan Kenny at 24 years of age. He is the party’s only candidate under the age of 30.
The Social Democrats will run 24 candidates, with most already selected.
Like others, a party spokesperson wouldn’t put a number on it but said they are hoping to build on its current six TDs.
Last time around, the Social Democrats ran 20 candidates with a success rate of 30%, going from three TDs to six.
In terms of the gender quota, 11 of the party’s 24 candidates are women (45%).
None of the Social Democrat candidates are aged under 30. The party’s youngest candidate is Ellen Murphy in Dublin West, aged 31.
A spokesperson for People Before Profit told The Journal they are “almost there” with their election preparations, with just one or two selection conventions outstanding.
The party is aiming to run one candidate in each of the 43 constituencies. It’s understood there are two constituencies where they may field two candidates.
The spokesperson said they have had “no difficulty” recruiting women and will be comfortable hitting the 40% quota.
When asked how many seats would make a good election day, the spokesperson responded: “We’ll be focusing on bringing an end to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in power. Eight seats would be a good day.”
People Before Profit are currently running five candidates under the age of 30. Zoe Laplaud is the yongest at 24.
Formed last year, this election will be the first for Independent Ireland.
With three TDs currently in the Dáil, party leader Michael Collins is hoping to build on that.
Ten candidates have been selected to date, four of whom are women. A spokesperon for the party told The Journal that they are still in active discussions with potential candidates and that they expect the final number to be in excess of 20.
Will this include Niall Boylan? It’s understood that this is unlikely.
“We’re in good shape. We know our candidates. Our strategy is to announce a candidate every couple of days in the work up [to the election being called],” the party spokesperson said, adding that they are working to a date in mid-November.
Of the candidates announced so far, none are under the age of 30. The spokesperson said however that there are some in the pipeline.
Peadar Tóibín is currently the sole Aontú TD in the Dáil.
The party has 34 candidates confirmed so far, with nine selection conventions outstanding – aiming to run someone in each constituency.
Tóibín is contemplating bringing in a running mate in his home turf of Meath West, but no one has yet been confirmed.
In his view, the party is in strong contention for seven or eight seats.
Aontú’s youngest candidate is Melissa Byrne at 25 years of age. Byrne cut her teeth in June’s local elections, just losing out on a seat in Newbridge.
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