No fallout from scandals on election canvass

If Fianna Fail is to suffer from tribunal fallout in the South Tipperary by-election, there was no evidence of it yesterday as the party's candidate, Mr Barry O'Brien, canvassed voters in Cashel.

The state of the pavements, local authority houses and myriad other local issues were raised as Mr O'Brien, accompanied by local councillor and former Minister of State Dr Sean McCarthy, toured residential areas near the town centre.

In an hour of canvassing, tribunals were not mentioned once. Not even Mr Liam Lawlor's resignation from the party, it seemed, was on anybody's mind.

"Sure, who else would I vote for?" was a typical comment from known Fianna Fail voters, encouraging Mr O'Brien to believe that, whatever else happens, the party's core vote is holding up. "I'm quite confident the Fianna Fail vote will be out on election day. I also think the people like to see a new candidate and are interested in giving a new fella' a chance."

Confident in the knowledge that the Fianna Fail vote is secure, Mr O'Brien insists he can get the transfers he needs to win and give the Government some breathing space in the Dail.

"The first time I contested an election was in the local elections last June. I succeeded in attracting transfers on that occasion and I have no reason to believe I won't do it this time."

Four miles away in Golden, Fine Gael Senator Tom Hayes was having an equally successful day. In his home town, nobody needed to be asked twice for a vote; with the exception, that is, of Ms Nora Edwards of Pearse Park, who had to be asked four times for the benefit of the RTE Prime Time camera crew.

The cameras were also on hand to record one supporter, Ms Patricia Browne (19), exclaim as the candidate approached: "Good man, Mr Hayes. You're the only straight man of the lot."

From there the Fine Gael entourage, which included the party leader, Mr John Bruton, headed to Clonmel, where Mr Hayes found a proverbial stick with which to beat the Government.

It's not only Kilkenny city, it appears, which is threatened with a loss of status in the Local Government Bill. Four towns, including Clonmel, are also to have their corporations replaced by town councils.

Launching a campaign "to protect Clonmel's civic dignity and tradition", Mr Hayes said the town would lose the distinction of being classified as a borough, "a totally unjustified attack on the town and its people."

The question of a voting pact between Fine Gael and Labour was on many minds, and Mr Bruton was not ruling one in or out. "We have in this Dail the best relationship with the Labour Party, I would say, that Fine Gael has ever had in opposition in my period in Dail Eireann and I would safely say in the last 50 years.

"The relationship at every level between the two parties is extremely good, but it is good because we both respect one another's freedom. A voting pact will only arise if both parties want it . . . it's a matter for assessment as we go on."