Election 2016: Where three battleground Dublin constituencies will be won and lost
On Drivetime Pollster Sean Donnelly and Niamh Lyons, Political Editor of the Times.ie talked to John Murray about where three key Dublin constituencies will be won and lost.
In Dún Laoghaire the internal party battle in Fianna Fáil between Mary Hanafin and Cormac Devlin promises to be the most interesting sub-plot.
Dublin Rathdown has four sitting TDs for three places, with at least one of the high-profile group of Shane Ross, Alan Shatter, Alex White and Peter Mathews set to miss out.
Meanwhile Dublin South-West, described by Donnelly as "very much a left-wing constituency", will be one of the most competitive in the country, with at least 18 candidates already declared and Labour "under pressure" to keep even one of its two seats.
Fine Gael to stay 'on message' during campaign
Fine Gael will be keeping "on message" throughout what will be a "tightly controlled election campaign" in order to try to win over undecided voters, Pat Leahy, Political Editor of the Sunday Business Post, has said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that the buzz words are "safeguard the recovery" and "stability vs chaos".
He added that the party is moving towards the centre with more of a focus on investment in public services rather than tax cuts.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny is leaving the door open to doing a deal with Independents, including Michael Lowry, if necessary, he added.
'No garda station, no vote' campaign launched
The closure of 139 garda stations around the country is something Government candidates will have to account for on the doorsteps as a campaign called "No garda station, no vote" was launched at a rally in Stepaside, Co Dublin yesterday.
Former minister for justice and local TD Alan Shatter faced a hostile crowd as he defended the decision to close the stations which was made during his tenure.
On RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Justin McCarthy reported that the crowd also reacted angrily when Mr Shatter accused Independent Alliance TD Shane Ross of attempting to make the closure of the garda station a political issue.
"Don't do what Bertie Ahern did" says Fiach Kelly
The Fine Gael Ard Fheis took place at the weekend, with the closing speech from Taoiseach and party leader Enda Kenny described as 'boring' by some.
Speaking to RTÉ's Today With Sean O'Rourke, Irish Times Political Correspondent Fiach Kelly says the speech may have been lacklustre, but the message is that Fine Gael is the "steady" party who will keep the recovery going:
