Constituency: Laois

If elected in this year’s general election, Fine Gael’s Thomasina Connell (33) will be the first ever female TD for Laois. Joining Minister Charlie Flanagan on the party’s ticket, this is Ms Connell’s first attempt at running for Dáil Éireann. A solicitor by profession, the 33-year-old says she wants to deliver on jobs for local communities, help working parents with childcare costs, and tackle rural crime.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election. The father-of-two from Mountmellick in County Laois retained his seat each election until losing it in 2002. Re-elected in 2007, he acted as Fine Gael’s spokesperson on and Justice, Equality and Defence until 2010 after which he spoke on the Front Bench on Children and Youth Affairs. He received his current minister role after Eamon Gilmore resigned as Labour Party leader. A qualified solicitor, Mr Flanagan is a strong advocate of rural Ireland, stressing the need to develop infrastructure in tandem with new housing projects in order to maintain local communities. His father, Oliver J. Flanagan TD, represented Laois-Offaly from 1943 to 1987.

The current Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Seán Fleming has been a TD for Laois-Offaly since 1997. Born in The Swan, County Laois in 1958, he served four years on Laois County Council until the abolishment of the dual mandate, whereby an acting TD could also hold a local council seat. An accountant, educated at University College Dublin, Deputy Fleming retain his seat at the 2002, 2007 and 2011 general elections. He was employed at a national level as the Financial Director of Fianna Fáil for a number of years. Currently he is a member of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee and the Finance and Public Expenditure Committee.

Secondary school teacher Sinead Moore (40) is the Green Party candidate for Laois. Her first time running in a general election, Ms Moore is campaigning on a platform of environmental and social justice. She wants to see a roll back on the cuts to services such as health, education, carers, childcare and transport. A green technology advocate, Ms Moore believes investment in energy efficiency is an opportunity to create local jobs.

Brian Stanley serves as Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Environment, Community and Local Government. Having previously unsuccessfully contested the 2002 and 2007 general elections, he was elected as TD for the Laois–Offaly constituency in 2011. Alongside his wife, he served as a member on the Laois County Council until taking his seat in Dáil Éireann. As a TD he has been active on issues including; job creation, planning, roads, housing, education, sport and recreational facilities and the environment. He supports the abolition of Irish Water and water charges, as per Sinn Féin policy, and by his own account, maintains direct involvement in the campaign for “Irish independence and all Ireland integration”.

Labour Senator John Whelan (54) narrowly missed out on a Dáil seat when he was selected as the party's candidate for the Laois–Offaly in the last general election. Receiving 7.8 pc of first preference votes, he was eliminated after a marathon session which saw 13 counts take place before the final candidates were elected. He became a member of the Seanad in 2011. Prior to this, Mr Whelan was a journalist for over 30 years.