Labour leadership plays down dire poll predictions

Senior Labour figures have played down opinion poll predictions that the party could lose all three of its European seats in Friday’s elections.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said there will be a “straightforward fight between [sitting MEP] Emer Costello and Fianna Fáil” for the third and final seat in the Dublin constituency in the European contest. The Fianna Fáil candidate is Mary Fitzpatrick.

The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll published yesterday predicted Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan and Brian Hayes of Fine Gael would take seats, with the Green Party’s Eamon Ryan also in contention for the third seat.

Mr Gilmore said an interesting feature of recent opinion polls was that a very large number of people had not yet decided how to vote on Friday.

“With one-third of the people yet to make up their minds how they’re going to vote we will certainly be drawing to people’s attention the choice they face on Friday,” he said.

“It’s a choice between voting for the party which got us into the crisis, Fianna Fáil, or voting for Emer Costello who represents the party that is getting us out of the crisis.”

Mr Gilmore said he believed the Labour Party had always been “transfer-friendly”.

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, deputy leader of the party, said while the latest opinion polls were “challenging” for Labour, there was “all to play for”. The party’s advantage was that it had recognisable candidates, she said.

She warned the “very hard-won recovery” would be put in peril by the kind of promises being put forward by some parties.

Impossible
Her party colleague, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn, said Labour was in the hunt for the last seat in two out of the three constituencies. The commentary on polls was misleadingbecause it was virtually impossible to predict the seats in a three-seat constituency with such a large number of candidates.

Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said he did not believe the electorate would forsake the Government parties on polling day.

“In 2011 we got more than 19 per cent of the vote; 81 per cent of people didn’t vote for us but we’re taking 81 per cent of the criticism,” he said. If all the people who criticise Labour had voted for the party it would have two overall majorities, he added.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said despite the opinion polls, Labour could “still surprise us on the day”.