Jerry Buttimer to be parachuted onto Fine Gael election ticket in Cork
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Chair of the Seanad Jerry Buttimer is expected to be parachuted onto the Fine Gael general election ticket in Cork South Central.
Councillors Shane O’Callaghan and Úna McCarthy have already been selected to run at the next general election after the departure of long-serving TD Simon Coveney.
However, it is understood that internal polling shows Mr Buttimer is performing well for the party.
It is now expected that he will be added to the ticket by HQ at a meeting of the Fine Gael executive council on Wednesday.
At the selection convention in July, local members reacted angrily over a “bullshit” party directive about candidate selection as Fine Gael sets out to retain the seat held by Mr Coveney for 26 years.
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About 300 party members met in a Cork city hotel for their first contested selection convention in the constituency for years.
Five candidates put their names forward, including Mr Buttimer.
However, Minister of State Jennifer Carroll MacNeill — who was chairing the meeting — opened an envelope and read a directive from party headquarters which stated that two candidates should be chosen and that one should be from the Carrigaline area.
It effectively meant that Carrigaline-based councillor Úna McCarthy, the only female candidate, would be added to the ticket, irrespective of how members voted.