Fine Gael will be on an election footing when the Dáil returns in late September, the party’s TDs and Senators were told last night.
The party plans to have all its selection conventions completed by the beginning of October and a draft manifesto in place to enable Taoiseach Enda Kenny to call an election any time after the budget on October 14th.
Opinion in the party on the best date for the election is almost equally divided between November and February but the ultimate decision rests with Mr Kenny.
The Taoiseach told the parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday night that a lot of work remained to be done before the election and he warned TDs and Senators that the campaign would be very tough.
“He gave the strong impression that the election won’t happen until next year but he left the option open of pulling the plug before then,” said one TD.
The Fine Gael ardfheis is scheduled for January 22nd, which supports the spring election theory, but some TDs are reading more significance into the fact that the selection conventions will be completed in early autumn.
The parliamentary party was also briefed by the chairwoman of the election strategy committee, Frances Fitzgerald.
Women candidates
It followed a lengthy meeting of the committee earlier in the day which heard that selection conventions had been held in 24 out of the 40 constituencies and all but one would be complete by the end of September.
The committee was also told that the number of women candidates is still a concern but some last-minute additions were likely to bring the proportion up to 30 per cent.
The Dáil adjourns on Thursday for the summer recess and will resume on September 22nd, just three weeks before the budget.
Mr Kenny will today inform the new National Economic Dialogue that the Government intends a budget giveaway of not more than €1.5 billion in taxes and spending increases.
The Taoiseach will say that €1.5 billion is an absolute limit, even though the exchequer returns indicate that the Government has scope to go further.
“Despite a stronger than expected performance in tax receipts and the public finances since then, we remain committed to delivering a budget within these parameters,” he said.
