Averill Power considering whether to enter Fianna Fáil race to become MEP candidate

The Dublin Senator Averill Power is considering whether she will enter the race to become Fianna Fáil’s candidate in next year’s European Parliament elections.

Ms Power confirmed last night that she is giving serious thought to the possibility of being her party’s standard bearer in the capital, which is now a three-seat constituency.

“I am seriously considering it, but I have not reached a decision on whether I will go or not,” she said last night. “My focus has always been on my constituency of Dublin Bay North.”

The announcement by Ms Power that she may throw her hat in the ring suggests that the contest to become the Fianna Fáil candidate will be a vigorous one.

Tiernan Brady, a former party councillor and a senior official with the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, will formally launch his campaign to become the party candidate tomorrow night in the Ely Gallery under the slogan of "Tiernan for Dublin".

Two other prominent former parliamentarians are said to be interested in seeking the nomination. One is the former minister Mary Hanafin who lost her Dún Laoghaire seat in 2011. The other is former senator Geraldine Feeney, who is Offaly-born, but has been based both in Sligo and Dublin in more recent years.

Ms Power is expected to announce her decision in the next week.

Although Fianna Fáil has no TD in the capital at present, its improvement in poll ratings suggest the party has a relatively strong chance of winning a seat in Dublin.