Meath and Kildare North byelections: the last hurrahs before voters go the polls tomorrow.
Fianna Fáil
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday he believed his party had suffered in North Kildare due to the short campaign for tomorrow's byelection. However, he refused to concede defeat in the case of Fianna Fáil candidate Áine Brady.
"We have campaigned extremely hard . . . We have worked the Kildare constituency inside out. I personally would have liked a bit longer."
Mr Ahern was speaking in Drumcondra early yesterday, where he met Ms Brady and Meath byelection candidate Shane Cassells for breakfast.
Rejecting suggestions that Fianna Fáil had given up in North Kildare, Mr Ahern said: "An enormous part of our organisation has worked with Áine Brady. We are out to win both [constituencies]. We are political activists. We fight campaigns to win. Our record in byelections, as I readily admit, isn't great. So we've worked harder this time."
Ms Brady, who hasn't fared well in opinion polls, said she remained "quietly confident". Her optimism mirrored betting with Paddy Power bookmakers, which had her installed joint-favourite with Catherine Murphy (Ind) last night at odds of 13/8 - down from 7/1 last Sunday.
Mr Cassells downplayed the findings of a Meath Chronicle opinion poll published yesterday, giving him a poll-topping 36.7 per cent of first preferences.
"The poll is an indication of the good feeling we are getting but it's only a snapshot. I wouldn't be getting carried away," he said. - Joe Humphreys
Fine Gael
Former taoiseach John Bruton, now EU ambassador in Washington, has called on voters in Meath not "to weaken" Fine Gael's numbers in the Dáil.
Speaking from the US, Mr Bruton, who represented the constituency from 1969 until last year, implicitly called on voters not to support Sinn Féin candidate Joe Reilly.
Mr Bruton did not take part in the byelection, though his wife, Finola, and children campaigned for Shane McEntee.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny insisted yesterday his party could win in Meath, and Kildare North where Cllr Darren Scully is carrying the party's standard.
"Fine Gael can win both of these elections. Voter turnout on the day and the transfers between parties will ultimately decide who takes both seats," he said.
Fine Gael is furious about an opinion poll in the Meath Chronicle that predicted Mr McEntee would win just 20 per cent of the first preference vote.
Mr Kenny accused the paper of incompetence. "And I want to be able to go to the Meath Chronicle next week and show them that it was wrong by bringing along the new deputy."
Privately FG is furious at the paper's decision to run the poll. In 2002 it won 27 per cent of the vote, down 10 per cent. Mr McEntee said he would win "36-37 per cent of the first preference vote. We are going to head the poll".
Calling for a FG/Labour voting pact, Mr Kenny said: "A tight transfer arrangement on the day will ensure that the Opposition parties deliver the strongest message possible to Government. The message is that the current Government has been in power too long and the people in both counties have waited long enough for important services in health, education and transport." - Mark Hennessy
Labour Party
Paddy MacNamara had the best chance to stop Fianna Fáil winning Kildare North, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said. "I am very optimistic and I am not an optimistic person," Mr Rabbitte said during Labour's final campaign press conference.
Urging the rejection of Fianna Fáil's Áine Brady, Mr Rabbitte said: "They had the Minister for Finance in this constituency. If he can't sort out the problems in the constituency then how will a Fianna Fáil backbencher be able to address them," he said.
Urging Labour and Fine Gael voters to heed calls for a voting pact, he said: "I would make a last-minute appeal for the best possible transfers.
"There was a shift in Government policy after the drubbing that they took in the local elections. If people want to see meaningful progress, they should elect the most capable Opposition."
Mr MacNamara said: "It is clear from the reception I have received from people in Kildare North that they are fed up with the Government's failure to deliver on some basic quality-of- life issues.
"They are fed up with the Government's erstwhile refusal to insist that developers do not leave housing estates unfinished at a time when inadequate provision of affordable housing causes extreme distress and frustration."
The Government's decision in the Dáil this week not to oppose a Labour Private Members' Bill that would force builders to finish off estates was just political cynicism, said Mr Rabbitte.
"I suspect that support is for cosmetic reasons and will disappear once the byelections are out of the way. The unhealthy nexus that exists between FF and builders has aggravated the problem," he said.
Labour's candidate in Meath, Dominic Hannigan, said voters "do not need another lapdog on the Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats backbenches to compound their litany of eight years of failed policies". He was buoyed by the results of the Meath Chronicle opinion poll which claimed Labour's vote in the county had tripled. - Mark Hennessy
Green Party
Green leader Trevor Sargent has asked his party supporters to continue their voting preferences against the Government, but disagreed with the suggestion that the party was unlikely to take either seat. JJ Power is running for the Greens in Kildare North and Fergal O'Byrne is contesting the Meath seat.
At the party's final press conference before polling day in Meath and Kildare North, Mr Sargent said: "I'm not going to try and read the mind of the public and take it for granted."
While declining to specify what anti-Government candidates should be backed by Green voters in their transfers, Mr Sargent said they should judge according to policies.
Mr Power said he was campaigning against traffic congestion and for improving social infrastructure, tackling petty crime and increasing funding for home-help services for the elderly.
He criticised the absence of facilities for young people in new housing estates.
Mr O'Byrne said there were three Government TDs in Meath and urged voters not to give Fianna Fáil a fourth seat in the constituency.
Mr O'Byrne and the Greens are opposed to the routing of the M3 through the Tara archeological complex. They also oppose the incinerator project at Carranstown, near Duleek. - Arthur Beesley
PDs
Tánaiste and PD leader Mary Harney has predicted that her party's two candidates will be in contention "to the finish" in the byelections. Kate Walsh is running for the PDs in Kildare North, while Sirena Campbell is contesting the Meath seat.
Senator Walsh's credentials as a community activist were unparalleled, the Tánaiste said, while Ms Campbell's youthful enthusiasm and hunger for change were impacting well with voters. - Arthur Beesley
Independent
Kildare Independent councillor Catherine Murphy said the stud-fee tax exemption was "just one of 33 no-questions-asked tax breaks introduced over the years to featherbed backers of the main political parties".
Speaking in Straffan yesterday she said: "Until this year, there was no requirement for stud farm owners to declare income arising from fees." Although "we have no idea how much this tax break costs the Exchequer", she said, "estimates range from €3 million to €30 million per annum.
"Could you imagine the howls of outrage if a Government Minister proposed a social programme but stated they could not estimate the cost?"
VOTER INFORMATION: Polling stations in Meath and Kildare North will open at 7am tomorrow and stay open until 10pm. The registered
voting numbers in the counties have risen by 20 per cent in just three years. Voters are reminded that they must bring some form of identification with them, which can range from driving licence to passport to employment ID card. Alternatively, they may also use a cheque book or credit card, as long as they also have proof that they live in the constituency.