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Updated 10pm
FINE GAEL HAS formally selected Brian Hayes as its candidate to contest the European elections in Dublin with several ministers full of praise for the Dublin South West TD this evening.
Hayes, who was formally selected unopposed, took the opportunity to praise Taoiseach Enda Kenny, describing him “as the most successful Fine Gael leader ever”.
“He has united this party, and my God we’re a difficult bunch at times to unite. He has led by example and as far as I am concerned he stands head and shoulders over any other political leader in this country,” Hayes said this evening.
The junior minister took aim at Sinn Féin saying their aim was to create “maximum political chaos and failure” while he criticised Fianna Fáil’s record in Europe.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said of Hayes: “Brian Hayes is going to make a brilliant MEP. I like him.”
He half-jokingly referred to “some little tensions in the past” with the TD who voted against him during the attempted leadership heave in June 2010, but said such differences are “so far back in history they’re irrelevant”.
In a lengthy, passionate and rousing speech to party members in Dublin, Kenny repeatedly banged his fist on the lectern and offered praise to several ministers including Health Minister James Reilly saying “we will give you all the help you need.” He also joked that Leo Varadkar could run a 10k race in “I dunno, half-an-hour”
Pic: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
As well as the Taoiseach, several senior ministers attended the selection convention in a Dublin city centre hotel, including Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, Reilly, Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar and Environment Minister Phil Hogan.
Hogan (above left), who chaired the meeting, paid tribute to the outgoing Fine Gael MEP in Dublin, Gay Mitchell, who himself said he was “privileged” to serve ten years in the European Parliament having succeeded Mary Banotti, who was also in attendance.
In a speech to party members, Mitchell praised the European project, saying history will show that the EU “saw off” the financial crisis.
Prior to the selection, Senator Catherine Noone, who had been formally nominated, said that a two-candidate strategy “would have had a lot to offer the ticket and perhaps enhance and even broaden the Fine Gael appeal”, but she gave her backing to Hayes, wishing him “every success”.
Formally proposing Hayes, Reilly said that the junior minister’s commitment to the party had been “unwavering”.
The Minister said Hayes could persuade people in Europe “that Ireland is indeed the best small country in the world in which to do business”.
“Brian didn’t get in politics to make up the numbers. He’s always been passionate about serving our country,” Reilly said.
In his own speech, Hayes praised the outgoing Mitchell and Reilly who said “more than any minister in this government his is the hardest job”.
First published 9.18pm
Other candidates running for the European elections in Dublin include independent Nessa Childers, Mary Fitzpatrick for Fianna Fáil, Emer Costello for Labour, Paul Murphy for the Socialist Party, and Brid Smith for People Before Profit, Lynn Boylan for Sinn Féin, and Eamon Ryan for the Green Party.
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I wudnt send mcentee for a bag of chips, she’d make a bollix of it..
@Stiles: if she legalised drugs first then opened the clubs later, would make more sense.
@Buster Lawless: what drugs ?
@Stiles: are they not all closed bar coppers
@Stiles: Chips
Promising a previous promise ha ha, that’ll solve everything.
@Brian D’Arcy: and of course she’d promise this and the moon. Should have been expected.
That will give her party 5 more years to cook up excuses to explain why they did not deliver on any of their promises when the next bout of elections comes round the corner.
Who was the party who brought in early closure of nightclubs in the first place?
@F1rYnpWc: FF did in 2008. Why can’t you people google this basic info?
@F1rYnpWc: Fianna Fail, they also closed the off licences at 10pm under then justice minister Dermot Ahern, becausewe weredrinkingtoo much. Always good to have a bit of knowledge before discussing things
@Tired Jim: oh, thanks Jim for an intelligent comment (genuine appreciation).
Always good to (re)learn things when they are factually said [thumps up]
@Jerry LeFrog: you are more than welcome, anytime
@Tired Jim: Did his measures work Tim?
@Brian Hunt: Jim
@Brian Hunt: no, people just bought in bulk lol
What could go wrong?
Sure the rest of Europe is giving up on all hours open even spain nightclubs close at 4am.our government tries to do stuff axse ways
@giles wolohan: No they don’t. Where do people get this stuff from? We are a complete outlier in Europe closing way earlier than anywhere else. 2:30am. I am out quite regularly and tourists etc. don’t believe you when you tell them that’s a wrap. FG backbenchers saying there is no demand. Then what’s the problem? If there’s no demand premises just won’t stay open any longer. And also how would they know? When is the last time any of them were out in the city centre at the weekend?
I pinky-swear I’ll do it this time.
This is shortly one very poor minister. She has become extremely touchy and narky during this campaign a sign of someone completely out of their depth.
Yea right ….
With a few strokes of a pen, they can sign legislation, practically overnight, to keep you within 5km of your home, ban you from visiting your family, “cancel” Christmas and ban minorities (unvaxxed) from pubs and restaurants. Remember that. They can do a lot. But they don’t do it.
@FlipBip: … and ignored the expert opinions of virologists here on social media.
@Patrick Perill: yeah especially the ones saying that you take the vaccine you won’t get Covid. The loooooopera
@Mick O’K: Strange. I can’t remember anybody saying that. What I CAN remember is people saying that the symptoms would be greatly decreased, chances of hospitalisation would be greatly decreased and transmission rates would be reduced. But, no, I can’t remember any reputable source having said that I wouldn’t get Covid.
@Patrick Perill: could be worse. Remember that buying a substantial meal with your pint apparently kept you safe from COVID in the pubs. I’d love to meet the “expert” in government who came up with that
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: The president of America said it. But anyway, kinda drifting off topic here. Point is, they can do something quickly, when they want to.
@Ger Whelan: A perfect example of twisting a story! People sit in limited and well spaced numbers in a restuarant. People stand and mingle in much larger numbers in pubs. So Restuarants were allowed open. Cue publicans saying “But, but, but,………!”. So pubs which served meals to seated customers were allowed to open. But if you wish to believe that somebody said having a meal with your pint prevented the spread of Covid I won’t stop you.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: As far as I remember nobody could define what a substantial meal was so it opened the rule up to different interpretations, thus allowing it to be, let’s say manipulated so people could go on the piss. So really it was a daft idea.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: Anthony Fauci and Joe Biden said it Seán
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: and then it came out that the Covid vaccine did nothing to reduce transmission.
It’s like Christmas morning unwrapping pressies
Good luck finding staff to work that late. It’s hard enough to get staff as it is with the current opening hours.
Just get on with it you useless tw at.
Commenting before all the old men tell us it’s a bad idea
I was going to vote FG until I read this.
She is committed. Well that’s a good start!
Totally useless politician, a disaster at Justice Dept!
Like everything in this country they talk something to death, and then it never happens. Seriously five years for a relatively simple piece of legislation, and they still haven’t managed to get it over the line. Probably explains why we still don’t have a metro, and our health service is embarrassing.
and if you contest anything that would be hate speech ?
send her a message: don’t vote for her
I am looking forward to voting for FG in a fortnight’s time
@Tired Jim: will you get off comments forever if they win? I’ll vote for them too if you promise. Your friend Simon didn’t do great on caple st yest? That old boy put him firmly in his place, Simon came off as a grumpy boy taking his football elsewhere.
Micheal & Fianna Fail going to legalize drugs for all & Mc Entee going to have all night opening, what could go wrong. These people are beyond contempt with their failures & their lies.
Given cost of a taxi is due to rise in December & public transport is on it’s knees it’s not going to happen plus so many people have house parties since covid!
have your say