If Fine Gael win the next General Election, the party’s Galway West TD Pádraic McCormack could become the next Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann.
Dep McCormack is currently the chairperson of the FG parliamentary party and won much praise from FG TDs and senators for his role in handling last week’s party meeting where a confidence motion in Enda Kenny’s leadership was debated.
The meeting had the potential to be a fractious and bad tempered affair, but FG sources have said it “passed off without rancour and was non-contentious” and much of that was due to how Dep McCormack chaired and handled the meeting.
Dep McCormack’s display of ability during what could have been a stormy meetinhas seen his stock rise in the party and there is now talk that he could be offered the position of Ceann Comhairle, or Leas (deputy ) Ceann Comhairle should FG form part of the next Government.
This would be a major boost for Dep McCormack and one that could work in FG’s favour strategically. Any TD who is made Ceann Comhairle is automatically returned to the next Dáil and does not have to be re-elected.
This would mean that Dep McCormack would hold the seat also from 2017 to 2021 if he chose to remain in politics that long. FG would then have a secure seat in Galway West and could then concentrate on working to win (or hold onto ) a second seat from 2017 to 2021.
