A FINE GAEL general election candidate says that she doesn’t want to be seen as a “whinger and a whiner” after she was left off her running mate’s leaflets.
Stephanie Regan was not mentioned on leaflets handed out by Jobs Minister Richard Bruton’s team in the Dublin Bay North constituency.
The leaflet does, however, mention the other Fine Gael candidate, Cllr Naoise O Muiri and Cllr Keith Redmond, who last week left the party for Renua.
Bruton lost the selection convention in his constituency in April and was later added to the ticket by party headquarters.
It had been expected that Bruton would be selected alongside Regan after members were directed to select one male and one female candidate in order to comply with new gender quota rules. However, he lost out to O Muiri.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Regan said that she was “more disappointed than annoyed” about the omission, but says that she doesn’t want to drag the issue out.
“To say that there is a row about it is an overstatement. I never said there was a row.
“It’s small beer, but it does happen. There’s no point in making a row about it.
“I was more disappointed than annoyed.”
Regan says that there has been some contact from Bruton’s office and that an explanation was offered. She added that she doesn’t believe that the omission was made because of her gender.
“We’re not operating in a way that women are better than men, but having men and women working together represents a more balanced perspective.
I don’t want to whip it up. I don’t think it was a gendered decision, but you have to use the literature with the team on it.
“Especially when up until the weekend we were possibly talking about a November election; One month or six weeks out, it’s not on.”
Bruton’s office has no responded to a request for comment.
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