NEWLY-ELECTED Donegal county councillor Frank McBrearty Jnr has signalled his intention to run for the Labour party in the by-election to replace former TD Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher.

Even though it has been speculated that the Donegal South West by-election to fill Gallagher's vacant seat may not take place until next year, McBrearty is urging the government to hold it in autumn as "the people of Donegal are under-represented in the Dáil with one less TD".

McBrearty, whose family were victims of a campaign of garda harassment that was investigated by the Morris tribunal, polled 1,466 first-preference votes on 5 June to win a council seat on his first electoral outing.

"If the government announces the by-election, I will put my hat into the ring to be nominated to run for the Labour party," he told the Sunday Tribune.

"The signals I am getting on the ground are that ordinary people want me to run for the Dáil. People are fed up with the style of politics in this county with just Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominating. There is no difference between them.

"So if the local Labour organisation wants me to run and the people of Donegal South West give me an indication they want me to run, I will go for it."

The people of Donegal "deserve to be represented on a par with the rest of the country", McBrearty argued.

"We are now one TD short and the people of Donegal deserve to have their voices heard in the Dáil," he said.

McBrearty and Martin Farren were the two Labour councillors elected to Donegal county council on 5 June.