The nominations process for the general election closed at noon yesterday, with 466 candidates now in the field vying for 165 seats. The Ceann Comhairle is automatically returned to fill the 166th seat.
Fianna Fáil is fielding 106 candidates, followed by Fine Gael with 91 candidates. The Labour Party is running 50 candidates, while the Progressive Democrats is represented by 30 candidates. The Green Party is fielding candidates in all 43 constituencies and has two candidates in Dublin North, where party leader Trevor Sargent is accompanied by Joe Corr.
Sinn Féin has also greatly stepped up its campaign since the last general election, with candidates in all but three constituencies. It has two candidates in Dublin South.
Some 104 other candidates are running under a range of banners including the Workers Party, the Christian Solidarity Party and the Socialist Party. These three parties are registered as political parties and their candidates will be described as members of these parties on the ballot papers.
However, candidates representing groupings such as the People Before Profit Alliance, the Fathers' Rights Responsibilities Group and the Immigration Control Platform will appear on the ballot papers without their groups' names as these groups have not been registered as political parties.
The People Before Profit Alliance, which has close links with the Socialist Workers Party, has five candidates, while the recently formed Fathers' Rights Responsibilities group has eight candidates. It tried to register as a political party but the Registrar of Political Parties said it had applied too late as there had to be 21-day appeal period before registration could be validated. A group may register as a political party if it has more than 300 members, all over 18, with at least one-half registered to vote. However, this condition can be bypassed if the group already has a member in the Dáil or if it has a representative in the European Parliament.
The Immigration Control Platform, which has three candidates, said it did not register as a political party because it is not such a party. Its spokeswoman, Áine Ní Chonaill, said the group was a non-governmental organisation, standing on a single issue.
Two candidates, Colm Callanan of the Christian Solidarity Party and Independent candidate Noel O'Gara are running in a number of constituencies. Mr Callanan is running in Laois-Offaly and Longford-Westmeath. Mr O'Gara, who is seeking to abolish the planning laws, is also running in those two constituencies, as well as in Dublin South East and in Roscommon-South Leitrim.
Dublin South East has attracted the largest number of non-party candidates. They account for six out of 13 candidates. One of these is Esther Uzell, sister of Joseph Rafferty, who was killed in controversial circumstances. Ms Uzell has accused Sinn Féin of failing to co-operate with the investigation into her brother's death. Just two constituencies, Carlow-Kilkenny and Cork North West, have no Independent candidates.
Lecturer Denis Riordan is running as an Independent candidate in Limerick East. Before the last general election, he took an unsuccessful constitutional challenge to the requirement for a candidate to provide the names of 30 qualified "assentors" to his nomination.
The constituencies with the largest choice of candidates are Laois-Offaly and Dublin South Central. These are two five-seater constituencies and they both have 16 candidates to choose from.
