A running mate for Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch in the upcoming by-election in Dublin Central is being considered in a bid to bolster his chances to win a seat in the Dáil in his second bid to become a TD in just over a year.
Hutch has yet to formally declare himself as a candidate in the race to try to secure the seat vacated by Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe but his election campaign is already in “full swing”, sources close to him have said.
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, a previously elected Fianna Fáil TD from the Dublin Central constituency, said he believed it will be difficult for any Independent candidate to win the seat.
“It would be very hard without the backing of a major political party for an Independent candidate to win the seat in this by-election,” Mr Ahern told the Sunday Independent.
The Sunday Independent’s Cónal Thomas and Ali Bracken discuss Hutch’s campaign here.
Credit to : Irish Independent