MR George Jones has defended his inclusion as a Fine Gael candidate in Wicklow without going before the selection convention.
This follows complaints by one of the defeated candidates, the broadcaster and journalist Ms Ruth Buchanan, about the procedure used at the convention in Aughrim on Thursday.
In line with an instruction from the party's national executive, the convention added Mr Jones to the ticket after choosing two candidates.
They are Mr Billy Timmins, son of the retiring FG TD, Mr Godfrey Timmins, and Mr Tom Honan, an Arklow county councillor who was the party's candidate in the 1995 by-election.
Mr Jones had recently rejoined the party at the invitation of the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton.
He had left to join the Voice of Wicklow alliance with about 100 other members of the North Wicklow organisation in protest at the imposition of Ms Buchanan's husband, Senator Shane Ross, as a candidate in the 1992 election. Ms Buchanan, who finished third among six candidates, claimed the selection process had been handled "appallingly badly" and said "all of the candidates should have been chosen by the vote of the delegates."
Mr Jones said that it would not have been logical for him to contest a nomination, given that much of his support was made up of the members of the Voice of Wicklow alliance who had no vote at that meeting.
Mr Jones yesterday called on the Voice of Wicklow to disband and rejoin Fine Gael.
. Mr Michael Quinn (37) is to stand for the National Party of Mrs Nora Bennis in Carlow-Kilkenny at the upcoming general election. But the father of six will not be able to cast his vote for himself due to a constituency boundary revision.
Mr Quinn lives at Bigstone, Baltyraggen, Rathvilly, Co Carlow, an area which has been transferred under a boundary constituency revision into the Wicklow constituency.
Mr Quinn was an independent candidate for the Dublin Rathdown constituency in the November 1992 general election.
