Constituency: Dublin West

Outgoing Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton (67) is the leader of the Labour Party. She was elected to the Dáil in 1992 for Dublin West having failed to secure in a seat in Dublin Central at the 1989 general election. She lost her seat in 1997 to Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party and took up a position on Dublin County Council in 1999. She was returned to the Dáil in 2002 and has retained her seat for the last 14 years. Following the resignation of Eamon Gilmore in 2014, she won the Labour Party leadership election, getting more than three quarters of the votes. Alongside Tánaiste and current Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton has held a number of junior minister portfolios throughout her political career. She has faced the blunt of criticism from anti-austerity protesters and has been involved in a number of high-profile demonstrations.

A sales and marketing manager, Clonsilla native Dermot Casey ran unsuccessfully as an Independent candidate in both Mulhuddart and Castleknock for Fingal County Council during the 2014 local elections. Graduate of Griffith College and the Digital Marketing Institute, this is his first-time running in a general election.

Deputy Mayor of Fingal County, Jack Chambers (25) was first elected as a councillor in 2014. His nomination as Fianna Fáil’s candidate for Dublin West led to the resignation of former party colleague and fellow councillor David McGuinness. The 25-year-old is among the youngest candidates in this year’s general election. Cllr Chambers lists improved healthcare and more local primary care as among his top priorities, and says that he also wants to ease the tax burden for the majority of people

Independent candidate TJ Clare (25) is a primary school teacher in the Blanchardstown area. He is calling for more resources for schools, saying that austerity has had a major impact on primary and secondary level education. An active campaigner against water charges, the young candidate wants to see more investment in social housing and the introduction of legalisation tying rental rates to inflation.

Anti-austerity campaigner Ruth Coppinger was elected to the Dáil after securing 5,977 first preference votes in the 2014 Dublin West by-election, which was caused by the resignation of independent TD Patrick Nulty. A member of the Socialist Party, she served as on Fingal County Council until being elected to the 31st Dáil as an Anti Austerity Alliance candidate. Currently she is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage & the Gaeltacht. On being elected, she called for a mass campaign of opposition to water charges.

Sinn Féin’s only candidate in Dublin West, Paul Donnelly (47) was co-opted on to Fingal County in 2008. He lost his seat in 2009 during the final count but was re-elected again during 2014 local elections. Prior to taking his seat, Cllr Donnelly ran for election both nationally and locally on a number of occasions. In his own words, he wants to see a Government committed to a fairer distribution of wealth, citing a progressive tax system as one of way of achieving this. Housing is also a priority for the Sinn Fein candidate.

David McGuinness (29) is a Fingal County councillor and former member of Fianna Fáil. First elected on the party’s local ticket in 2009, he resigned last year after he was not selected to contest Dublin West in the upcoming general election. He polled at 17.5 pc during the constituency’s by-election in 2015 and was only eliminated during the final round of counting. Running now on an Independent platform, Cllr McGuiness wants to abolish water charges, USC, and the property tax. He says these are having too high an impact on working-class families and young couples.

Senator Catherine Noone (39) is the Fine Gael Upper House Spokesperson on European affairs. First elected to Dublin City Council in 2009, she was elevated to the Seanad on the back of a Commercial and Industrial panel in 2011. This is her first time running in a general election. A practising solicitor, she is campaigning for lower taxes, a national plan to tackle obesity, and more employment opportunities for Dublin West.

A former lecturer at Waterford IT, Jo O'Brien is standing for Renua Ireland this general election. A first-time candidate, she is campaigning on reforming Ireland's tax system and introducing a flat-tax. For a number of years she worked abroad on a wide variety of computer software systems. A Cork-native by birth, she is the daughter of Patrick M. Quinlan, who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1957 to 1977.

Chairperson of the Green Party Roderic O’Gorman (34) has been a member of the Fingal County Council since 2014. A lecturer at Dublin City University, Dr O’Gorman supports subsidising childcare costs and wants to see the introduction of six months paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers. He also wants to see NAMA repurposed to provide sites for social and affordable housing. Cllr O’Gorman has contested a number of elections previously, having run in two general elections and two by-elections. He is one of a handful of 2016 general election candidates who are openly gay.

Outgoing Minister for Health Leo Varadkar (36) was elected to the Dáil in 2007 with just over 20 pc of the first preferences. In 2015 he became Ireland’s first openly gay Cabinet Minister and acted as a prominent advocate of same-sex marriage during the May referendum. A Young Fine Gael veteran he first contested the Fingal County Council elections in 1999 but was not elected. He was co-opted in 2003, and retained the seat during the 2004 local elections. Deputy Varadkar is a qualified medical doctor and has also served in the 31st Dáil as Minister for Transport, Sport and Tourism. He lists a particular interest in political and public sector reform, and has sought to expanded the role of parliamentary committees in the drafting of new policies and legislation.