Fianna Fáil needs to select more young people and women as candidates ahead of the next local elections, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has told his party.
Mr Martin spoke of ramping up election preparations as he addressed more than 1,000 people gathered for the Cáirde Fáil dinner in Dublin on Saturday night.
Ahead of switching Coalition roles with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, the Fine Gael leader, in December, Mr Martin outlined his priorities for the next two and a half years in Government and how Fianna Fáil will “maximise our strength as a party”.
He said Fianna Fáil had in Government had taken on the challenges of health during the pandemic and housing during an unprecedented emergency and will use the rest of the lifetime of the Government to “complete the delivery” of the “ambitious” programme that was agreed.
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He set out the party’s strategy ahead of the Local and European elections due to be held in 2024.
Fianna Fáil ministers will begin undertaking a coordinated programme of constituency visits with at least three per month in the new year.
He said preparations for the local elections “start now” and “will be earlier and more comprehensive than ever before”.
Selection conventions are to begin immediately alongside work on how to maximise seats.
He said the 265 existing councillors will be supported in their work for re-election and there will also be work done on “how to support a new generation of councillors, especially where our current representation is weak.”
Mr Martin added: “Put simply, we need to select more young people and more women to stand for Fianna Fáil in these elections.”
The Taoiseach also promised greater engagement with members on policy areas it controls in Government.
He said there will be a national policy conference on each of Fianna Fáil’s Cabinet responsibilities starting with an event on agriculture in Westmeath.
Separate conferences will cover housing, health, education and the economy and there will also be one on the Shared Island initiative, Mr Martin’s project for fostering greater cooperation with organisations and communities in the North.
Mr Martin said: “One of the reasons why we have so often beaten expectations is that we are incredibly strong when we work together as an organisation to present our message and our people.
“That’s what we’re now going to focus our attention on. That’s our collective work and challenge.”
