She is the only woman candidate but Ms Phil Prendergast is not playing the gender card in the Tipperary South by-election.
"Some women have come to the door and said they would support the woman candidate. And there's probably a percentage of people who would say we should have a gender balance in the Dail, but I'm not out there saying `I am a woman' because that's obvious," says the Workers and Unemployed Action Group representative. "I'm certainly not asking people to vote for me because I'm a woman."
Ms Prendergast prefers to rely on her track record as a member of Tipperary South County Council and Clonmel Corporation to win the support she needs to join her WUAG colleague, Mr Seamus Healy, in the the Dail.
As a midwife at St Joseph's Hospital in Clonmel for the past 17 years she is acutely aware of the health service problems which are the dominant issue of the campaign. "At any given time you could go into St Joseph's, and of course other hospitals, and find patients being nursed in beds on the corridor.
There is neither dignity nor meaning to that in a country that is awash with money." Among the many measures she is campaigning for are a breast-check facility in the constituency and Department of Health approval for a third obstetrician-gynaecologist in Clonmel.
The problems in Tipperary South began a number of years ago, she says, with a Government decision to close 50 beds in St Vincent's Hospital in Tipperary town. "That was a facility for people who needed hospital care but not acute care. We need those beds to be restored sooner rather than later because you not only have patients being nursed in corridors, but they are of mixed gender and that's an appalling scenario for patients and staff."
Opponents claim that while the WUAG can make noise about such issues, it is powerless to bring about change. Ms Prendergast disputes this, insisting Tipperary South has received more attention as a result of Mr Healy's election.
The Taoiseach, she claims, derided Mr Healy for making unemployment an issue during last year's campaign but acknowledged on a recent visit to Tipperary that the town had an unemployment problem. "That was a comedown and Seamus's election has proved that we can change the political agenda for south Tipperary," she said.
"People like Seamus Healy and myself can focus the minds and put pressure on the Government to start doing something about the issues that are really affecting people."
But is there any point in voters sending a second WUAG representative to the Dail? "Absolutely. As a political group we have made a difference and will continue to do so. Electing me would strengthen the representation we can give to south Tipperary."
The 41-year-old mother of two says she is delighted at the recognition she has received throughout the constituency, not just in the WUAG stronghold of Clonmel, where Mr Healy secured almost two-thirds of the vote a year ago.
"Seamus's election has increased the interest in how effective we are as a group and that has been noticeable wherever we go," she said.
She also frequently encounters women whose babies she delivered, prompting her to joke: "I'm only sorry they can't vote until they're 18." If she is elected, both she and Mr Healy will seek to retain their seats in the next general election. That might seem impossible to achieve but, says Mr Healy, the Nice referendum result "shows there's nothing set in stone - nothing. People who are prepared to work on the ground and represent people properly are going to get their reward at the end of the day."
Candidates
The by-election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death last year of Fine Gael deputy Theresa Ahearn, takes place on Saturday, June 30th. The candidates are: Ms Phil Prendergast (Ind), Mr Michael Maguire (FF), Mr Tom Hayes (FG) and Mr Denis Landy (Lab).