Mick Wallace shakes up Wexford constituency with last-minute confirmation of general election run

The former MEP, who lost his seat in Europe back in June, confirmed this morning that he will battle it out for one of four Wexford seats as the people go to the polls on November 29.

Speaking on South East Radio on Friday morning Mr Wallace said that it was a "difficult decision" to run and he admits "it will be difficult to get elected" in such a hotly contested constituency.

Wallace had been weighing up the decision for the past number of weeks, with his colleague and confidante Clare Daly having announced that she will contest the general election in Dublin Central three weeks ago.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of that announcement, the outspoken Wexford man said that he was "50/50" as to whether he would stake a claim for a sensational return to Leinster house himself.

At that stage, Mr Wallace noted that Wexford was a competitive field.

"If I stood, it would be tough enough here too," he said. "I think I could kind of take votes off everybody, rather than one person in particular.

"If I don't stand, James Browne and Verona Murphy are probably guaranteed a seat. James will probably still get elected anyway, even if I do go. Verona might have a bit more of a challenge. Then you'd have a situation of two independents looking to get elected in a four seater. It would be a first if that happened I'd say.

"But look, if I was running I wouldn't be worried about that end of things. It's always difficult to get elected in a four seater. I wouldn't be afraid that it will be too difficult or anything like that."

Wallace's emergence will certainly have put the cat among the pigeons in the Wexford constituency as the countdown to polling day marches on.

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