THE Taoiseach has asked voters in the Dublin West by election to deliver a vote of confidence in the Government for its handling of peace process and economy.
Speaking on the election hustings in the constituency yesterday, Mr Bruton also predicted that it would be difficult for a Fianna Fail candidate without any track report of his own to win the by election on the strength of his family name. His remarks were a reference to the Fianna Fail candidate, Mr Brian Lenihan, who is seeking to fill the Dail vacancy created by the death of his father and former Tanaiste, Mr Brian Lenihan.
"In the end of the day, I expect it will be a two way battle between Fianna Fail and the rest and I have every confidence that the Fine Gael candidate, Tom Morrissey, will be the leading contender," the Taoiseach added.
According to a Fine Gael statement last night, Mr Bruton and his "large entourage of canvassers" created traffic jams in Lucan village. The Fine Gael TD Mr Jim Mitchell, who represented Dublin West until the last revision of constituency boundaries, predicted that Fianna Fail would not win the election.
Fianna Fail's surprise decision to insist on holding the Dublin West and Donegal North East by elections on April 2nd, seemed to have caught the party itself by surprise, Mr Mitchell said.
"With a week gone since the writ was moved, their campaign has been notoriously lacklustre," he added.
Meanwhile, the Labour candidate, Cllr Michael O'Donovan, accused Dublin Corporation of selling off "large banks of land" while neglecting many of the local authority estates within its responsibility.