Fine Gael yesterday attacked the Government's record on health, which it plans to make the main issue of the Tipperary South by-election.
In the wake of the finding of yesterday's Irish Times/MRBI opinion poll of high public concern over the issue, the party leader launched a strong attack on the Government's record on health.
Campaigning began yesterday when the party's front bench held a meeting followed by a canvass of Clonmel. Mr Michael Noonan said the election should be "a referendum on the health service". He criticised the Government for fixing the election on the weekend of the Munster hurling final, in which Tipperary is involved.
"I would have thought that the Taoiseach and the Minister for the Environment, who are proposing a national stadium, would at least have known the date of the Munster final. It's no great secret, you know, that the Munster final is always the first Sunday in July," he said.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, announced on Friday the election would take place on June 30th.
The Fine Gael candidate, Senator Tom Hayes, said he expected a "tough election" but was looking forward to the challenge. He came a close second in last year's by-election to the independent candidate, Mr Seamus Healy. Ms Phil Prendergast, of the Workers' and Unemployed Action Group, is contesting the election this time, as are Fianna Fail councillor Mr Michael Maguire and Labour councillor Mr Denis Landy.
Asked if the election would be an early test of his Fine Gael leadership, Mr Noonan said every by-election was a test. Labour's spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus, welcomed the latest poll findings. She said it showed the Taoiseach was "totally out of touch with public opinion on this issue when just three weeks ago at the Ballymascanlon cabinet meeting he described our health services as `excellent'."
