Fine Gael has selected Taoiseach Simon Harris and councillor Edward Timmins to represent the party in the Wicklow constituency in the next general election.
A selection convention chaired by former taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Glenview Hotel in Greystones, Co Wicklow, on Friday brought the party’s number of candidates to 50 across 32 constituencies.
“To make sure we keep delivering for our people, we need Fine Gael to lead the next government and I want to lead the next government,” Mr Harris said in a statement afterwards.
“I want to thank the members for putting their trust in me once again, I promise I will continue to work tirelessly week in and week out to improve the lives of families and communities in Wicklow and across the country,”
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He said the people of Wicklow, “like people all over this country”, want to see hard work and delivery on the issues that matter to them.
In 2020, the party ran three candidates, including both Mr Timmins and Andrew Doyle – however, just Mr Harris was elected following the 15th count.
He received 12.29 per cent (8,765) of first preference votes, following Sinn Féin TD John Brady, the only candidate elected on the first count.
Mr Timmins, a Fine Gael member since the 1980s and a councillor in Wicklow since 2004, said it was an “enormous privilege” to be selected.
“I very much look forward to working with our Taoiseach Simon Harris to win two seats for Fine Gael in Wicklow,” he said.
Mr Timmins was eliminated following the 12th count of the 2020 general election, finishing with 5,813 votes against a quota of 11,887.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly of Fianna Fáil, Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats and Steven Matthews of the Green Party were also elected to the constituency in 2020.
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