With just two days to go until a general election, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has said he will have to fight for the “final seat” in his constituency, because the area where he did best in the last election has since been moved to a different district.
Following a review by the Electoral Commission last year, the area of Tallaght-Fettercairn, with a population of 11,335, was moved from the Dáil constituency of Dublin South-West to Dublin Mid-West.
The significance of this move is apparently on the mind of Dublin South-West TD Paul Murphy, who said that many of his constituents aren’t even aware that the change has occurred.
“Many people are JUST finding out about the constituency change while we’re canvassing on the door in #GE24,” Murphy wrote in a social media post earlier today.
“It means I’m in a ‘royal rumble’ for the final seat, after Fettercairn has moved (where I did best in last time).”
He added: “Vote #1 for Paul Murphy on Friday to #KeepPaulInTheDáil.”
Last year, when the decision to move Fettercairn was first recommended, Murphy said that the move was “unusual” and “unexpected”.
“This isn’t the case, but if the Electoral Commission’s job was to move 11,000 people out of Dublin South-West and make it as difficult as possible for Paul Murphy to get re-elected, this is what you would do,” Murphy said at the time.
Last time, in the 2020 General Election, Murphy received just 6.6% of the first preference votes (4,477 in total), but was the second TD in the five-seater constituency to take a seat, securing a quota on the 8th count at 12,311 votes on transfers. He was beaten only by Sinn Féin’s Seán Crowe (who got 20,077 and was elected on the first count).
However, some People Before Profit representatives have expressed apparent concern about Murphy’s chances of re-election, with the party’s local Tallaght Councillor Jess Spear saying that he is “in a real fight to defend a seat” in Dublin South West.
Earlier in the campaign, Murphy claimed that his “enemies” in the “establishment” were “wealthy, powerful and hateful people” who were trying to “silence” him and “take him out” at the election, appealing to the public for support in a social media video.
“[I’ve made] many enemies in the establishment: wealthy, powerful and hateful people who are spreading lies and misinformation to try to silence me and take me out at the next election,” he said previously.