Connolly made his comments to the Sunday Tribune this weekend after it emerged the Dublin-based barrister Hugh Mohan, who was expected to stand for Fianna Fail in the constituency, is now extremely unlikely to get the party nomination.

While Fianna Fail has remained tight-lipped about the nomination, senior party sources have said privately that it is very unlikely that Mohan will be a candidate in the forthcoming election.

Connolly, who was elected as an independent on a Monaghan hospital ticket in 2004, openly backed Fianna Fail when it appeared that the government may have collapsed after the recent 'Bertiegate' fiasco.

The Sunday Tribune has learned that Connolly has been contacted by a government minister in recent weeks to sound out exactly what his demands for Monaghan hospital are.

"I will not accept any promise from Fianna Fail as they have openly broken a public promise about providing a Cat scanner for Monaghan hospital, " explained Connolly.

"I will have to be given a castiron guarantee on the future of the hospital before I consider standing for Fianna Fail. I won't accept any promise or any waffle. If I do get that guarantee, then I will go back to my supporters to seek their opinions and advice."

A possible Fianna Fail nomination is set to top the agenda when Connolly holds a meeting with his canvassing team and supporters on Thursday night in Monaghan.

A spokeswoman for Fianna Fail, said, "The Monaghan nomination is still with the National Constituency Committee and we will be making a decision shortly but no decision has been made yet."

Meanwhile, speculation is rife in Monaghan this weekend that an independent Fianna Fail candidate may also go forward to seek a Dail seat.

The move is thought to have grown from disquiet among local Fianna Fail delegates that party headquarters are willing to nominate a "parachute candidate", as Hugh Mohan lives in Dublin.