Senator warns FF after losing out

Fianna Fáil's national constituency committee has been accused of "losing the plot" in its strategy of trying to secure a third seat in Clare in next year's general election.

Senator Brendan Daly made the charge yesterday after he lost out at Fianna Fáil's Clare selection convention on Monday in Ennis.

Delegates voted for Senator Timmy Dooley and Minister for State Tony Killeen to run for the party.

Last Thursday the party's national constituency committee, chaired by Finance Minister Brian Cowen, ruled that two candidates, and not three as originally intended, be selected at convention, with a third to be added by party headquarters later.

However, the move resulted in newcomer Senator Timmy Dooley topping the poll with 170 votes from a poll of 440.

Mr Killeen said yesterday: "There was a lot of anger from what is seen by a lot of delegates as interference by Dublin in the business of the county in selecting people."

Mr Killeen was elected on the third count having secured 122 first preferences, with Senator Daly receiving 105 votes and Cllr Pat Hayes receiving 43 votes.

Speaking yesterday after the convention, Senator Daly said that if the committee "had a strategy to win additional seats in Clare, they have certainly lost the plot on this one".

The west Clare-based Senator said: "It has now left a sizeable part of Clare without a representative on the ticket, and the result of that in my view is that we will be handing a second seat to Fine Gael if the party does not deal with that."

First elected to the Dáil in 1973, he said: "There was a very violent reaction from delegates to the committee's move. It is a bad start for the committee, and now they have to look at the result and see where they go from here."

He confirmed he had received soundings from party officials to go on the ticket.

"It is something that I will consider, and I will do whatever is in the best interests of the party."

However he added: "I feel that my prospects of securing a seat have been damaged by what took place on Monday night."

At the count Mr Hayes, in a reference to the move by the national constituency committee to reduce the number to be selected from three to two, told delegates: "What happened last week caused great concern and there was a reaction to it."

First elected to the Seanad in 2002, Senator Dooley yesterday backed moves to add Senator Daly to the party "ticket".

He said: "If there is any sanity amongst the committee that make these decisions, and I'm sure there is, Brendan Daly will be on the ticket very, very shortly."

Mr Killeen told delegates that the previous time he was beaten at convention he was subsequently added to the ticket and topped the poll in the 1992 general election.

In next year's general election Fianna Fáil will be seeking to add a third seat to the two occupied by Mr Killeen and Minister Síle de Valera who is retiring.