There will be a total of 12 candidates in this year’s General Election in Laois following the decision of two new Independents to enter the race.
The deadline for submitting nomination papers closed at 12 noon today and candidates can withdraw by Monday if they do wish.
Pauline Flanagan, who contested the 2020 General Election for Fianna Fáil as Sean Fleming’s running mate, has declared that she will run on this occasion as an Independent.
She was an Independent candidate in the Portlaoise area in the recent Local Elections where her 389 first preference votes and was 10th of the 21 contenders on that occasion.
In the 2020 General Election she got 1,744 votes on the first count and was the 12th of 16 candidates.
Prior to that she had held a seat in Laois County Council when was Co-opted in 2018 to fill the vacancy left following the death of Fianna Fáil veteran Jerry Lodge.
“I’m delighted to announce that I have submitted my nomination as an independent candidate in Laois for the upcoming election on 29th November,” she posted on social media.
“I firmly believe we need professional, capable, strong public representatives for you all. I am humbly asking for your support.”
Ms Flanagan works as a lecturer is SETU Carlow and lives in Portlaoise.
“So after much though and consideration I have decided to run in the upcoming General Election,” said Jason Lynch from Portlaoise on social media, who lists his occupation as a paramedics.
“I have always had an interest in getting involved in politics, I am running as an independent as I feel this is how I can best represent the people of Laois.
“We have a whole generation currently locked out of home ownership and if things continue in the same manner generation after generation will also be continued to be locked out of it.“
In all there is now an equal divide of six men and six women in the race. Laois has never elected a female candidate to Dáil Éireann.
Additionally, there are now a record five independent candidates. There are two from Fianna Fáil and one each from Fine Gael, Sinn Fein, People Before Profit, the Green Party and Aontu.
This is only the second occasion that Laois is a constituency in its own right. From the 12 candidates Laois will elect three TDs. On the last occasion in 2016 that Laois was a constituency, there were just six candidates.
In 2020, when part of the Laois-Offaly five-seater, Brian Stanley, Sean Fleming (Fianna Fail) and Charlie Flanagan (Fine Gael) were elected.
Stanley has since left Sinn Fein and will run as an Independent while Charlie Flanagan has retired after a 37-year political career and the long-serving councillor Willie Aird is now Fine Gael’s candidate.
With nominations now closed it means that the full list of candidates, as they will appear on your ballot paper in alphabetical form is as follows:
- Willie Aird (Fine Gael)
- Mary Hand (Aontu)
- Pauline Flanagan (Independent)
- Sean Fleming (Fianna Fail)
- Jason Lynch (Independent)
- Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
- Aisling Moran (Independent)
- Ken Mooney (People Before Profit)
- Elaine Mullally (Independent)
- Rosie Palmer (Green Party)
- Austin Stack (Fianna Fail)
- Brian Stanley (Independent)
