"WATCH this space." The confident candidate in the new constituency of Kildare North is Catherine Murphy of Democratic Left.
Ms Murphy, mother of two and national chairwoman of her party, argues that anything can happen in a new constituency within one of Europe's fastest-growing suburban areas. Even the political oracle, Fianna Fail's Charlie McCreevy, acknowledges that.
Though "seismic" might not be the word for it, Kildare's physical landscape has undergone a radical change in the last five years. The former five-seater constituency has been split into two three-seaters to represent a mushrooming population. The northern half bears the paw marks of the Celtic Tiger, with Intel and Hewlett Packard in Leixlip drawing in a large skilled workforce from the Pale and beyond.
The constituency is now very much suburbia, embracing towns like Naas, Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and Blessington.
Rezoning and waste management are two very live issues, according to Labour, the Progressive Democrats and Democratic Left. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael disagree. The North Kildare Alliance for Better Planning has hit out at the actions of a "Kildare Coalition" on the local authority, comprising Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats.
Over the past five years, the average population in the constituency's eight towns has increased by about 33 per cent, and there are plans to double - even treble and quadruple - that, with massive social and environmental costs.
Waste is not just an issue in the tidy town of Kill, where residents are continuing their legal action against the proposed dump approved by An Bord Pleanala.
What has been billed as one of Europe's largest tipheads and recycling plants may be located on the Meath-Kildare border, just beyond Maynooth. No planning application has as yet been lodged, but the impact could be "catastrophic", according to the Labour Party. It is yet another example of the need for a national waste management plan, according to Ms Murphy.
Education - specifically, a shortage of school space and accommodation - and infrastructural problems like water shortages are other issues raised on doorsteps. Lab our's Emmet Stagg is said to be "solid", due to a good constituency machine. The Fine Gael junior Minister, Bernard Durkan, is said to be the most vulnerable of the three current representatives, but his competitors are quick to say this might be a "rumour" to get his voters out.
Mr Durkan's running mate, Mary French, is a Naas primary teacher who has been vocal on the school issue; Mr McCreevy's is a Leixlip solicitor, Paul Kelly, who is not expected to pose too much of a challenge but will benefit from any transfers.
The Progressive Democrats' director of elections, Michael McCann, says there has been "resounding five-to-one support" for Mary Harney's plan for single mothers, whereas other parties have recorded protests about what is perceived as an attack on the independence of women.
Michael McCann's candidate Timmy Conway, is an accountant, former senator and leading Labour Party light who switched allegiances when Emmet Stagg's nomination was imposed just over a decade ago. He has targeted niches, like members of the Defence Forces both at home and abroad, and some 600 British residents now entitled to vote.
The Green Party's candidate, Sean English, is a Naas publican and county councillor who believes in a more relaxed approach to canvassing.
There is one certainty: Kildare North has a far more volatile electorate. Up to 50 per cent could be in the "floating" band, according to Charlie McCreevy.
