Fianna Fβil can hope, at best, to secure only two out of the six Dβil seats in Kerry at the next general election. And it may be reduced to just one.
In Kerry North, the outgoing TDs are Mr Dick Spring, Labour, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, Fine Gael, and Mr Denis Foley, Fianna Fβil. Mr Spring and Mr Deenihan are seeking re-election, while Mr Foley is retiring at the end of the current Dβil. Mr Foley resigned from the parliamentary party after it was revealed he was the holder of an Ansbacher account.
The Fianna Fβil candidates are Mr Tom McEllistrim and Senator Dan Kiely. Mr Foley's daughter, Norma, failed to get a nomination.
In the last election, Fianna Fβil secured 26.31 per cent of the vote, which was 10.2 per cent below its previous lowest in 1992. The seat is now under threat from Sinn FΘin's Mr Martin Ferris, a former IRA prisoner who has been a member of delegations to Downing Street and Government Buildings.
In Kerry South, the sole Fianna Fβil TD, Mr John O'Donoghue, as well as the outgoing Independent, Mr Jackie Healy-Rae, and the Labour TD, Ms Breeda Moynihan-Cronin, are likely to be re-elected. Mr Healy-Rae ran as an Independent in 1997.
There is no prospect of him returning to the Fianna Failparty. Nor can he relied on to vote with Fianna Fβil in the next Dβil.