Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and councillor Sharon Tolan have been selected to represent Fine Gael in the Meath East constituency at the upcoming general election.
They were selected by party members at a convention in the City North Hotel, Gormanston, Co Meath on Monday evening.
The confirmation means Fine Gael has now chosen 36 general election candidates in 23 constituencies.
“This is fourth time the members of Fine Gael have placed their trust in me to contest a general election,” said Ms McEntee said in a statement.
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“It has been a real privilege to serve the people of Meath East in Dáil Éireann for the last 11 years.”
Ms McEntee is the only current Fine Gael TD in the three-seat constituency, which also has Sinn Féin’s Darren O’Rourke and Fianna Fáil’s Thomas Byrne. She received 18.34 per cent of first preference votes and was elected on the seventh count.
Ms Tolan welcomed the “all-female ticket” as demonstrating an “increasing female participation in politics”.
“Having topped the poll in the recent local elections, I have shown myself to be a proven vote getter and I believe Fine Gael can win two seats in this constituency,” she said.
Ms Tolan has been a councillor for 10 years and is currently cathaoirleach of Meath County Council.
In the last local elections, she took the first seat in Laytown/Bettystown area, receiving 1,782 first preference votes, exceeding the quota of 1,681.
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