Harney battles to rescue FF struggler Minister attacks Sinn Fein in crucial Euro dogfight

Mary Harney last night made a dramatic intervention in the European election campaign by pleading for support for Fianna Fail's struggling MEP Eoin Ryan and denouncing Sinn Fein.

Mr Ryan's endangered seat is seen as crucial to the continued status of Taoiseach Brian Cowen as Fianna Fail leader.

Launching a blistering attack on Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald, Ms Harney urged voters: "Don't shoot Dublin in the foot in your anger over national issues."

The Health Minister warned voters "not to let Sinn Fein through the pass".

Ms Harney's backing of Mr Ryan, ahead of Ms McDonald, came as Fine Gael managed to embroil itself in a damaging controversy over its relationship with Sinn Fein.

FG leader Enda Kenny was forced to slap down his chief electoral strategist for saying the party would go into power with Sinn Fein.

Mr Kenny insisted his director of elections Frank Flannery was expressing "personal opinions" and that the party's policy was not to go in with Sinn Fein. "I have no intention of revisiting that," the party leader said.

Mr Ryan is trailing in opinion polls and is locked in a three-way battle with Ms McDonald and the Socialist Party's Joe Higgins for the final seat in the capital.

The endorsement by the former PD leader and Tanaiste will be a welcome boost for Mr Ryan -- particularly among middle-class voters -- as Fianna Fail desperately pulls out all the stops to get him elected.

"We don't have the luxury of sending protest MEPs. We don't have the luxury of sending MEPs who just won't turn up, as Mary Lou McDonald hasn't done. We don't have the luxury of sending someone to wear the Green jersey alongside ex-communists," Ms Harney told the Irish Independent. Notably, Ms Harney is not calling for voters to back Fianna Fail across the board in all the European, local and by-elections and is focusing her endorsement on Mr Ryan personally.

The campaign enters its crunch closing days as Fianna Fail continues to languish in the polls, currently on just 21pc -- half its support in the 2007 general election.

Fine Gael and Labour are unchanged at 34pc and 18pc respectively; the Green Party is down to 4pc; Sinn Fein is on 10pc; and independents are on 13pc in the Red C survey in the 'Sunday Business Post' -- the last poll before Friday's elections.

Ms Harney is appealing to voters for Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell and Labour's Proinsias de Rossa to pass on their preference to Mr Ryan.

"I say to them, you can still have a great influence over the third seat, and therefore over the whole team to represent Dublin," she said.

Ms Harney started out her political career by running for Fianna Fail in the 1977 general election in Dublin South-East -- a constituency which Mr Ryan subsequently represented and where his daughter, Sarah Ryan, is running in the local elections.

The minister said next Friday's European elections were the most important ever for Dublin and Ireland and "it has never been more important" that Ireland should have the best team in Europe at all levels.

Ms Harney said Dublin will have just three MEPs among over 700, so has got to send people who have a track record of working hard for new jobs and new enterprise in Dublin.

"So it comes down to this: if elected, Eoin Ryan will work for Dublin; Mary Lou McDonald will work for Sinn Fein -- nothing else. That's what the track record of the last five years tells us. I believe the team of Mitchell, de Rossa and Ryan would ably represent all Dublin in the European Parliament," she said.

- Fionnan Sheahan