Cllr Dwyer was the unanimous choice of delegates from the entire Leinster area attending the selection convention held in the Ashdown Park Hotel in Gorey on Sunday.

Speaking after his selection John Dwyer said:

"It is a singular honour to be selected as a Sinn Féin candidate and I am delighted to be selected to contest the forthcoming EU election.

"Sinn Féin have a policy of critical engagement with Europe. We favour a union of mutual co-operation between sovereign states. However we are opposed to what many quite rightly see as an ever increasing trend towards the creation of an EU superstate.

"Our policy of critical engagement is about promoting a Europe with which all citizens can identify. To date the European project has largely been built over the heads of the people. Many of our people feel completely disconnected from the workings of the EU, many citizens do not even know who their own MEP's are. The rights of small farmers and fishermen have clearly not been protected and this has been a national scandal. All of this will certainly change when Sinn Féin MEPs enter the European Parliament after next Junes election.

"Sinn Féin is committed to building a Europe of Equals, rather than one that is controlled by large nations, powerful bureaucratic elites and multinational capital. We want to be part of a Europe run democratically from the lowest possible level, from the bottom to the top, not the reverse that is the case today.

"To attain such a Europe we will use all avenues at our disposal, from our grassroots activities to the floor of the European Parliament, to engage with European issues in such a way that the voice of democracy, equality and social justice is heard." ENDS

Sinn Féin will hold a press conference on Monday 8th December at 11am in Buswells Hotel, Molesworth Street Dublin, to launch its all Ireland team for next year's European Union elections. Sinn Féin will also set out the party's recommendations for positive initiatives during the Irish EU Presidency.