EU: NORTH WEST:FIANNA FÁIL North West European Parliament candidate Paschal Mooney has opposed the last-minute arrival of former MEP Pat "The Cope" Gallagher on the election ticket.
Mr Gallagher, who represents Donegal South West, is expected to declare for the race this morning, though he has given no confirmation that he will do so.
Mr Mooney, a former senator who lives in Co Leitrim, has become increasingly annoyed at being ignored in the race since outgoing FF MEP Seán Ó Neachtain withdrew two weeks ago.
Asked if he would welcome Mr Gallagher on to the ticket, Mr Mooney told Ocean FM: "No, I wouldn't, quite frankly. I would see it as a major problem because I'm in the northern part of the constituency and he is literally at my back door."
Speaking to The Irish Timesyesterday, however, Mr Mooney denied suggestions that he had threatened to quit if Mr Gallagher declared.
The deadline for nominations is midday today, though Fianna Fáil would have preferred its second candidate to be based out of Galway.
However, the party was unsuccessful in this effort as all of Galway's sitting Fianna Fáil TDs turned down requests to run while a succession of prominent local figures did likewise.
"We were told that we had to get somebody from Galway. They trawled the place to try and find someone. It was all about Galway.
"All of a sudden, we are looking at Donegal. Fine Gael doesn't have someone in Galway. Neither does Labour," Mr Mooney told The Irish Times.
Clearly unhappy, Mr Mooney said he had already canvassed voters for support in Mr Gallagher's Donegal constituency with Mr Gallagher's help.
Meanwhile, Mr Mooney criticised Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan for increasing rather than reducing the VAT rate in last year's budget.
Calling for it to be cut to 18 per cent, he said: "It is unacceptable that the Government are refusing to reduce the rate of VAT as part of an overall economic stimulus package for small and medium businesses. They must move to reduce the VAT rate immediately, as a lower rate has been proven to generate greater economic activity."
He added: "A higher tax take is not always the answer. To have more people at work is less of a drain on the exchequer . . . People want to keep their jobs. It's as simple as that," he said.