FORMER minister Ivan Yates has accused Fine Gael HQ of making a massive gaffe by not adding Councillor Ted Leddy to the ticket in Dublin West.
The exit of former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has left a gaping hole in the rapidly growing Dublin constituency.
But FG party chiefs decided to leave Leo’s 2020 running mate, Senator Emer Currie, as its standard bearer in Dublin West, rather than adding the popular councillor to the ticket.
The move has been branded a mistake by Ivan Yates, who told The Irish Sun: “Ted Leddy was in my opinion, a more viable candidate than Senator Emer Curry.
“Fine Gael have made a real mistake in a five-seater constituency, by not running both candidates.”
Ivan added: “Ted Leddy is a proven vote getter and would have been a great addition to the ticket. Fine Gael, should in a Dublin five-seater, be able to get two out of five seats.
“By simply running one candidate they (FG HQ) are trying to protect her position rather than act in the best interest of the party by getting two seats.
“It’s a mistake by party HQ, Ted Leddy should have been added.”
With Dublin West being bumped up to five seats in the general election, it was widely expected that Fine Gael were going to run two candidates.
However, Emer, who served as Varadkar’s running mate in the 2020 general election in the constituency, will now look to hold onto the seat.
Emer will be aiming to retain the seat held by her father between 1989 and 2002.
Prior to her 2020 election to the Seanad, Emer served as a councillor for Castleknock.
The daughter of the late Northern Ireland civil rights leader and one-time Fine Gael presidential candidate Austin Currie, she has campaigned on the issue of childcare provision in the constituency.
Given an extra seat due to its growing population, Dublin West includes leafy suburbs, such as Castleknock, and areas of disadvantage in parts of Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart, and Ongar.
Big issues include housing, infrastructure, schools and childcare places.
Last week Ivan, hosting podcast Paths to Power with Matt Cooper, blasted Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch chances of landing a seat in Dublin Central.
Ivan told us: “He would be would be no addition to Dail Eireann. His candidacy is not credible and at the end of the day the good people of Dublin Central, other than a small particular area, won’t back him.”
Quizzed if he thought Hutch would lose his deposit, Ivan replied: “The bar is very low for him losing his deposit, and he probably invested some of his ill gotten gains in his campaign, so anything is possible.
“I think the media fascination with him (Hutch) isn’t justified relative to his realistic chances of election.”
