Fianna Fail top brass stated yesterday that they do not allow any polls, whether commissioned or not, to set their agenda when it comes to selecting candidates for elections.
The statement came a week after it was alleged that an FF poll recommended that the party opt for younger candidates in certain wards in the Galway city council elections next summer.
However the existence of the poll has been striongly denied by the party general secretary Sean Dorgan after enraged members at grassroots level were astounded to hear about the existence of such a poll.
Mr Dorgan said yesterday that the party did not commission or conduct a poll and that any speculation on the implications of its findings was without foundation.
He went on to deny that the findings of any poll play a part in the selection of their candidates.
"Fianna Fáil is approaching election planning and management in each of the 170 Local Electoral Areas in a careful, strategic and planned way.
"Needless to say, we do not allow such commentary to set, or influence, the task in hand!"
He said that people have to be wary of polls as more often than not, their motives are very often mischievous.
The Advertiser has learned that news about the alleged "poll" touched a nerve at a high level in the party and that the strong denial of its existence was issued for what have been described as "a variety of reasons".
This is believed to refer to a series of accusations within the party at local level regarding the motivation for the holding of the alleged poll and the leaking of the subsequent analysis of its findings.
The denial comes just days before the party encamps to Galway and takes over the Clayton Hotel for the think-tank meetings.
