Carroll MacNeill favourite to replace Maria Bailey

Party insiders are keen on Carroll MacNeill for Dún Laoghaire Fine Gael ticket

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and her husband Hugo MacNeill: the former Fine Gael adviser is favourite to stand for the party

Former Fine Gael lawyer and political adviser Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has emerged as the clear favourite to replace Maria Bailey on the Dún Laoghaire ticket.

Party insiders are keen that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar deals with the issue of whether to remove Bailey quickly, amid a perception that he failed to act convincingly when the controversy first broke last May.

This allowed the controversy to drag on all summer, with some party figures comparing ...