The comeback: Is Alan Kelly poised for a triumphant return to Government?

With stiff competition throughout the country for Labour Party members vying for Dáil seats,  Alan Kelly may stand the best chance of them all in retaining his seat in Tipperary North.

Kelly was ousted as Labour leader in 2022 after receiving a vote of no confidence from his party colleagues. However, he is on the rise again and potentially in talks for a ministerial position if Labour makes it into the next Government coalition. 

From his low point two years ago, when he was criticised over how the party was polling under his leadership, he flipped the script and managed to help Labour gain two councillors in the Local Elections earlier this year which brought the party count in Tipperary to three members. This was certainly a significant win for the Tipperary man. 

As well as his Local Election success, he has been keeping a very high profile in the goings on of his local area. He has been extremely outspoken about both the situation in St Conlon’s nursing home in Nenagh, where people have expressed outrage over the use of the new facility as a step down for the overcrowded UHL and he has been very vocal about the overcrowding crisis in UHL itself.

Throughout the various debates that have been held in the lead up to the election, Kelly has undeniably been on the ball when it comes to knowing and understanding the issues of his electorate and there’s a good chance his efforts won’t be in vain as speculation would suggest that he is almost certain to take the second seat in Tipperary North after Michael Lowry’s near certain first place in polling.

The betting man would suggest that the next Government is going to look like a combination of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party forming a coalition. If that were to be the case, Alan Kelly would almost certainly be part of the new Government.