SIMON KEEN TO TALK TO FRANCES AND MAIRÉAD
FRANCES Fitzgerald has refused to rule out a return to the Dáil, saying she would ‘take stock’ when her term as an MEP finishes in the coming month.
It comes as Simon Harris yesterday said he would be talking to both Ms Fitzgerald, an MEP, and Mairéad McGuinness, Ireland’s current commissioner, about the role they could play in the party into the future.
Fine Gael is currently facing an exodus of sitting TDs at the next election, with at least 11 confirming they would not be standing. There is further speculation over the futures of Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohoe, Bernard Durkan and Michael Ring.
Mr Harris is also said to have approached a number of retiring TDs and asked them to stand again in the general election in return for a junior ministry portfolio.
However, both Michael Ring and Fergus O’Dowd declined to take up a role as they could not commit to standing to be a TD again.
Ms Fitzgerald is standing down as an MEP and is said to be very close to Mr Harris, with the now Taoiseach once working for Ms Fitzgerald.
Ms McGuinness’s time as Ireland’s EU Commissioner is also coming to an end, with Fianna Fáil set to choose the next EU Commissioner.
Both are said to have ambitions to be Fine Gael’s next presidential nominee.
However, both would also be considered to be strong contenders for a Dáil seat if they choose to run.
Ms Fitzgerald told the Mail: ‘I will certainly have discussions with Simon about how I can contribute in the future.’ She said she would ‘take stock’ once her term as MEP ended and that she would ‘contribute in an ongoing basis to Fine Gael’.
‘Simon has taken over at a period when there is a short space between the local and even the general [election]. If it’s next year, it’s just under a year. It’s a challenging time for the party. So I will certainly want to play a role, but what the role is, it’s too early to say.’
When it was put to her that either of them standing for the party would be considered a ‘coup’ for Mr Harris, she said that she would not ‘overestimate’ the importance of either herself or Ms McGuinness.
Asked if she would prefer to be the ‘power behind the throne’ of Mr Harris, she said: ‘He doesn’t need any power behind the throne, he is well capable of independent decision-making. He is not high-bound by any conventions, by any civil servants, he is not high-bound by anyone.’
Asked if he would speak to Mairéad McGuinness or Frances Fitzgerald and ask them to stand at the next election, Mr Harris said: ‘I’d be very eager to talk with both about what role they wish to play in our country and in our party into the future. I haven’t had those conversations but I’m very open to having them.’
Sources in the Fine Gael party said that while they would both be very strong candidates there would be question marks about which constituencies they would stand in if they were to try and become a TD.
‘Frances is from Dublin Mid West, but we have Emer Higgins there, and she will retain that seat, we don’t need Frances. She could conceivably run in Dublin West if Leo doesn’t run again, but Emer Currie, you would think, would hold that seat,’ they said.
‘Frances is also is 74. She hasn’t said that she is retiring from politics, read into that what you will. I suspect she wants to run for president.’
‘It’s the same for Mairéad. She could run in Meath East or Louth. In Meath East you have Helen McEntee and Nina Carberry if she doesn’t win a seat as an MEP. And in Louth, you have John McGahon and I suspect Colm Markey,’ the source added.
‘A challenging time for FG’