Political blue bloods back for EU election
Fine Gael turns to Deasy, while Fianna Fáil lines up Andrews
THE scions of two political dynasties are being lined up to run in next year’s European elections for the two largest parties, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Fine Gael has asked Waterford TD John Deasy to consider running for it and Fianna Fáil has approached former minister Barry Andrews. Mr Deasy’s late father Austin was a Fine Gael minister and Andrews’s involvement in Fianna Fáil stretches back to the foundation of the party.
A number of steps have yet to be taken before the European election tickets are finalised, but it is understood that the two potential candidates have received their parties’ approaches positively.
Mr Deasy, 50, would be expected to run alongside sitting Fine Gael MEPs Deirdre Clune and Seán Kelly. Ms Clune, herself of the Fine Gael Barry dynasty, is based in Cork, the largest population centre in the Ireland South constituency. Mr Kelly is a Kerryman and former GAA president.
‘John Deasy could bring in an extra seat for FG’
A Fine Gael source told the Irish Mail on Sunday last night: ‘The party needs a candidate in the southeast sector of the large Munster constituency and John Deasy is the perfect person. The family name is respected in Waterford but also known nationally. He is a high-profile TD and could bring in an extra seat.’
Dungarvan-based Deasy was expected by many to be appointed to Cabinet by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last year and there was some surprise when he wasn’t.
However, he was appointed by the Taoiseach as Ireland’s special envoy to the US for the undocumented. Mr Deasy has had some success and has secured a deal for the undocumented with President Donald Trump’s administration.
He has established that there are fewer undocumented Irish – 10,000 – than had previously been believed. The undocumented Irish will be provided with visas as part of a deal, whereby US citizens will be given visas to retire in Ireland.
Mr Deasy has kept a low profile in the Dáil since last year as he has been working in the US. He was approached to run for Europe in 2014 but this did not happen for a variety of reasons.
Barry Andrews, 50, was appointed as MinInstitute ister for Children and Youth Affairs by the then incoming Taoiseach Brian Cowen in May 2008. He subsequently lost his seat in the Fianna Fáil meltdown of 2011.
He was elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 1999 and to Dáil Éireann in the 2002 general election, the same year as John Deasy.
Mr Andrews’s grandfather, Todd Andrews, fought in the War of Independence and went on to become a founder member of Fianna Fáil. His father, David Andrews, served as a TD from 1965 to 2002 and is a former foreign minister, while his late uncle, Niall Andrews, was a Fianna Fáil TD and MEP. After politics, Mr Andrews became CEO of Goal but resigned after a period of controversy at the aid agency. He is now director-general of the of International and European Affairs (IIEA), having replaced Tom Arnold at the policy research institute.
Mr Andrews would run in the Dublin constituency. It is not known how many candidates Fianna Fáil will run in Dublin, but it is possible that the party will go for two.
There are many imponderables to overcome before the two politicians are confirmed on the tickets.
Brexit will dictate how many seats Ireland has in the next European Parliament. When Britain leaves, there will be a number of extra seats to distribute across Europe and Ireland will get one more.
The timing of the next general election will also be a major influence. If it comes before the European elections, the political futures of a number of potential candidates will be made clearer.
If Fianna Fáil does not enter Government before next year’s European elections, then there is a possibility that some senior politicians from that party would consider running. If Barry Cowen, Billy Kelleher or Robert Troy were not ministers, the party might approach them to run.
Similarly, the political future of Fine Gael politicians will dictate the tickets in the European elections. It is not yet known whether Deirdre Clune will run for Europe again in Munster.
Brian Hayes may also decide to return to national politics, but all indications are that the Dublin MEP will run for another term.
Ireland will get an extra seat after Brexit