‘We’re ready’: How far along are the main parties in picking election candidates? [Video]

ALTHOUGH TAOISEACH SIMON Harris is still keeping us in the dark on a polling date, this hasn’t deterred the main political parties from gearing up their election machines. 

The Journal caught up with each of the main parties to see how they are set.

Some, especially Fine Gael, are more prepared than others, but all of them have said they are in good shape and pretty much ready to go as soon as the starting gun is fired. 

Fianna Fáil

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Fianna Fáil had 37 TDs elected during the last general election in 2020, joint highest with Sinn Féin. 

The party ran 84 candidates, meaning they had a success rate of 44%. 

This time around, the party currently has 66 candidates selected, but with the selection conventions of a couple of constituencies outstanding, they expect their total number of candidates to rise to above 70. 

In terms of strategy, the party is running …