Senior citizens are being lined up to contest next year's local elections after a campaign group applied for recognition as a political party in the Dail last week.

The Senior Solidarity Party is now recruiting members and candidates, who must be over 60 years of age to apply, to pressurise the Government on providing medical cards to all senior citizens.

Last night, chairman John Woulfe (70) from Malahide, Co Dublin, who is a retired builder, said candidates would be specifically targeting Fianna Fail and Green Party seats, after the controversial changes made to the medical cards structure in last month's Budget.

The group has already obtained the necessary 100 signatures to register as a party for the local elections.

"I'd thought of setting up a party before but when this medical card change happened, it just made me furious. That's when I thought, now I can do something," said Mr Woulfe.