A Fianna Fáil general election candidate has accused members of her own party of staging a "campaign of dirty tricks" against her.
Limerick county councillor Noreen Ryan claims she was not invited to a recent meeting where the possibility of running a fourth candidate in the general election for Limerick East was discussed.
Cllr Ryan, who was selected to run in Limerick East alongside Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea and Peter Power TD, claims running a fourth candidate in the constituency would "damage the party campaign".
Cllr Ryan claimed that the letter to the Taoiseach, requesting that a fourth candidate be added to the ticket, was written after a meeting was held "behind closed doors" to which she was not invited.
She said she had now written to the Taoiseach asking that the Fianna Fáil national executive investigate the matter.
Fianna Fáil councillor Eddie Wade, who lost his Dáil seat in 2002, confirmed that a letter has been sent to the Taoiseach asking for his name to be added to the election ticket. He said the matter came up during a party meeting, which Cllr Ryan did not attend.