Cowen to seek to contest European election

Laois/Offaly Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen has announced that he is to seek to contest the next European election for this constituency.

Cowen's statement this morning comes in the wake of the reconfiguration of the Midlands/North West European constituency to include Offaly and Laois.

If selected to contest the European election, his departure from the general election race blows wide open both the Fianna Fáil ticket and the contest for the Dáil across the new three-seat Offaly constituency.

Cowen's statement this morning reads:

At a special meeting of the Fianna Fáil organisation in Offaly on Monday night, I notified my colleagues that I plan to put my name forward for selection as a candidate for the European Elections next June.

With the addition of Laois-Offaly into the Midlands-North-West constituency, I feel now is the right time for me to try and deliver for my constituency at a European level, having been a councillor for 20 years and a TD for 12 years.

I will be focused on the ongoing transition led by the EU towards sustainability across many sectors key to our success as an economy - food and farming, energy and enterprise, and making sure Irish views and interests are reflected in EU policies.

Reinstating a seat or seats in this constituency will be important for the party and I believe I can deliver that having successfully contested many elections with a strong network and family history of pro-European public service.

I am honoured at the support from the Fianna Fáil organisation, locally and nationally, for me to pursue the nomination and seek to win back a seat for Fianna Fáíl in the Midlands-North-West constituency.