Election return for Cora Harvey?

Speculation is growing that former Ballybofey county councillor, Cora Harvey, could be on the Sinn Féin ticket for the next general election.

The 44-year-old assistant director of nursing in the Donegal Mental Health Service would tick all the boxes as a candidate and it appears she could be ideally placed to help her party scoop up a major share of the votes in east Donegal.

The mother of two is not ruling herself in or out at the moment.

She is a member of a very unique club, one of only 12 women who have served as a councillor in Donegal

Ms Harvey began her tenure in September 2008 when she was coopted onto the local authority to replace outgoing councillor, Tony McDaid from Lifford. She contested her first and only election on June 5 the following year and successfully topped the poll in the Stranorlar Local Electoral Area with 2,226 first preference votes when she topped the poll going 278 votes over the quota needed. She served as chairperson in 2010-11 and proved very capable. She resigned from her post in November 2013 and was replaced by a party colleague, Cllr Gary Doherty from Castlefin. He held on to the seat in the subsequent 2014 local election.

Speculation has been mounting for some time now that Ms Harvey could emerge as the party's preferred candidate in its quest to win a third seat in Donegal.

The next general election will be held by March 2025 as the current 33rd Dáil must be dissolved by the president at the request of the Taoiseach no later than February 19 of that year. 

The reason for the growing interest in the next election is purely mathematical. The size of the Dáil will increase from 160 TDs at the next election. This will be the first review of constituencies carried out by the Electoral Commission established under the Electoral Reform Act 2022, where previously they had been carried out by a Constituency Commission.

The Commission is required to recommend a size of the Dáil of between 171 and 181 TDs. This range reflects the growth in the population of the state, and the requirement of Article 16.6.2° of the Constitution of Ireland that there be one TD elected for no less than every 20,000 of the population and no more than every 30,000.

The preliminary results of the 2022 census showed a population of over 5.1 million, which would require a minimum Dáil size of 171 TDs. This would be the largest number in the history of the State, surpassing the previous number of 166 TDs from 1981 to 2016.

The number of constituencies may also change, depending on the recommendations of the constituency review, which is due to be published in four months' time, on July 2. Is is expected that Donegal could be in line for an increase, especially if the nine electoral divisions of south Donegal from Ballintra to Bundoran are returned to the constituency. It is currently part of the Sligo-Leitrim area. 

As Sinn Féin is currently riding high in consecutive popularity/opinion polls, it seems natural they will want to capitalise on their huge vote in this county. Last time out Pearse Doherty (21,044) and Padraig Mac Lochlainn (13,891) swept the boards coming in on the first count with 34,935 or 45.1% of the 77,452 valid polls.

This is why attention is now turning to the possibility of a third Sinn Féin candidate. Other considerations such as a gender quota are also weighing heavily on both parties and voters.

Ms Harvey has neither ruled herself in nor out of the equation.

"The bottom line is, I don't know," she said.

She admitted she knew her name had been mentioned as a possible runner and that she has had some preliminary discussions with party members about the possibility of running but nothing has been written in stone.

When she retired from local politics almost ten years ago she did give a tacit acknowledgment that she might look at her options ten years down the line. She admits that this is the case

"I know in terms of geography and gender quota I am in a good position. It adds to the pluses but the bottom line for me personally is I don't know.

She explains she left politics for good reasons and these have not changed.

"I wanted to devote more time to my two children and that has not changed. I did not want to have any regrets about not being at home during their formative years. They might be older now but as time goes on you have other responsibilities.

Ms Harvey has been busy over the past decade. She completed a work-related Master's degree.

"I've been busy but in a different way. I have been able to choose what I wanted to do. In political life there are certain demands and expectations and you must meet them because you have put yourself in that position as a politician.

She adds she also had to take her career into consideration.

"I want to keep my options open I don't want to say yes or no as things could change. I'm also aware things are fragile in the country at the moment and there are an awful lot of demands and expectations. The party has good people to lead the country and I have 100% faith in Pearse [Doherty] and Mary Lou [McDonald]. I need to make the decision as to whether I am going to be part of that or continue to support from the sidelines," she says.