Paschal denies losing his touch after Josepha loss

Donohoe’s pick Madigan came last out of three

PASCHAL Donohoe has insisted he has not lost his political touch after a disastrous showing from his preferred Fine Gael candidate for Europe, Josepha Madigan.

Ms Madigan, a junior education minister and TD for Rathdown in south Dublin, was widely expected by members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party to win the nomination to represent the party in the Dublin constituency for the upcoming European parliamentary elections.

But she came third in a three-horse race at the Fine Gael election convention at Dublin City University on Sunday evening.

‘I was happy to support her candidacy’

Former social protection minister Regina Doherty, the Fine Gael leader in the Seanad, claimed first place, while Senator Barry Ward finished second. The result has caused some disquiet within the Fine Gael ranks, with some questioning Mr Donohoe’s backing of Ms Madigan.

Asked yesterday if he had lost his touch with local politics, given his focus on European and international matters, Mr Donohoe said: ‘God, not at all, I’ve known Josepha for a very long time and I was happy to support her candidacy.’

He added: ‘Moments of conventions are always, you know, very difficult within parties. Last night, we were very lucky to have so many different candidates going forward, all of whom are capable of becoming an MEP for Dublin. I look forward to supporting them very strongly. In terms of my own local work, I was only out canvassing on Friday afternoon... And I continue with that work every week.’

Mr Donohoe said that Taoiseach and Fine Gael party leader Leo Varadkar took a ‘studiously careful and appropriately neutral stance’ on the campaign.

Asked if it was ‘embarrassing’ that a junior minister from south

Dublin who had significant backing from senior party figures had only come third, Mr Donohoe said: ‘What we have emerging from the convention last night is an excellent candidate with Regina Doherty, that I’m very confident will be capable of winning a seat for Fine Gael in Dublin.

‘We had a really good convention, it was heavily contested.

There were really good contributions from the candidates and we have a great candidate in Regina.’

However sources in the parliamentary party said that there was a view that Ms Madigan was the choice of party HQ ahead of Ms Doherty, and that this had annoyed the members.

‘I thought it was an ill-fitting choice to have Paschal second her,’ one source said. They added: ‘It looked like headquarters wanted Josepha to win it and that’s why Paschal jumped on board. That was disloyal I think to a woman [Ms Doherty] who has worked hard as a senator and prior to that as a cabinet member. I am not sure that would have gone down well with the membership. ‘I looked at her [Ms Madigan] and thought “who is advising her on this campaign?”’

There was also a view within the party that Junior Enterprise Minister Neale Richmond’s endorsement of his constituency colleague Ms Madigan also did not go down well. ‘Sure he wanted her off the pitch,’ one figure said.