The leader of the Seanad, Mary O'Rourke, has written to Fianna Fáil general secretary Seán Dorgan calling on the party to hold a selection convention for the Longford-Westmeath constituency before the end of next month.
Mrs O'Rourke told The Irish Times she was concerned at the delay in the party setting a date for the convention, which she intends to contest, stating that it was party policy to have all candidates for the 2007 general election selected by December.
Her Oireachtas constituency colleague from Westmeath, Donie Cassidy, said he had no concerns about the timing of the convention and his primary political focus was Mullingar Hospital. The issue of selecting a convention date was one for party strategists, he said.
He acknowledged that his primary competition at the next general election was not from Opposition parties but from other Fianna Fáil candidates. It was a "political reality" that only two Fianna Fáil TDs would be elected in the Longford-Westmeath constituency, and that only one of them was likely to be from Westmeath.
Mr Cassidy said he had concerns about the length of the campaign candidates were expected to endure, with an election "at least a year and seven months away".
Mrs O'Rourke, who lost her seat to Mr Cassidy in 2002, said she was "as concerned as Deputy Cassidy is about Mullingar Hospital". "I want the position clarified to establish whether I will be a candidate at the next general election. I am concerned that headquarters will move on this by the end of November. It's party policy to have all conventions out of the way by Christmas," Mrs O'Rourke said.
Fianna Fáil Longford TD Peter Kelly is expected to be selected unopposed by the party to stand in the constituency, with two candidates selected from Westmeath in a separate selection process on the same night.