Election Diary 14.05.09
Kathy gets to work on her dirty picture collection.
It’s been a day of election posters and dodgy photoshoots Here is a brief summary of what has been going down for the last 24 hours.
- You would be wrong if you thought Kathy Synnott discovered a new formula to halt the aging process. The face smiling down from the lamp postsis the same as the one that smiled down five years ago. Ms Synnott is re-using her posters from the 2004 election.
- Republican Sinn Fein have decided not to erect any posters, stating that they amount to nothing more than “visual polution.”
- Fustar puts John Cronin’s poster under the microscope in the latest in his series.
- Orla McLoughlan is calling on the young people of Ireland to get out and vote on June 5th.
Unedited press statements are below the fold
Republican Sinn Fein (Local) Received 0810 hrs
The people of County Limerick can play a role in dispatching the current coalition described as the most appalling Government since the foundation of the State, a local election candidate said today.
James Hickey from Ballylanders said that the Fianna Fail Green coalition has brought the country to
international ridicule and exploited the hard pressed PAYE sector.
This Government can only be described as the most appalling since the foundation of the State and it is time for a general election he said.
We have the spectacle of Ministers with three pensions while the Health Minister lectures the HSE about a missing 50 million euro and admonishes nurses for even contemplating industrial action.
The Health Minister tells nurses to be concerned with patient care rather than trade union issues but the fact
is only for the professionalism of the nurses the entire Health system would have collapsed totally years ago.
The HSE must be reformed and an entire layer of useless managers fired so that the money can be spent on real patient care. The HSE do not view patients as people – they are numbers reduced to clip boards. Yet the Minister can only criticise the nurses.
The people of Limerick can turn out in the upcoming local elections and show Fianna Fail that it is time too for change at national level.
Republican Sinn Fein (Local) Received 1545 hrs
A decision not to erect election posters in housing estates has been taken by the local officials of Republican Sinn Fein who say the act of postering is causing an eyesore and polluting the environment.
Director of Elections in Limerick South Joe Lynch from Beechgrove Avenue in Ballinacurra Weston said that the idea of curtailing posters had been discussed with local residents. It was felt that the visual pollution caused by the activity should be reduced.
Some inner city areas are so covered with posters for all political parties that it verges on a visual pollution eyesore he said.
The use of too many posters is also distracting for some motorists especially on roundabouts and in areas where there is high traffic density.
In addition very often these posters blow off the poles or posts holding them and this could lead to accidents. Taking all these factors into account we felt that it would be a far more valuable contribution to the environment to switch emphasis away from posters to individual circulation of our local election manifesto.
Our candidates Sean O’Neill in Limerick South, Seamus O’Suilleabhain in County Limerick and Mick The Quill
Ryan in Limerick North are featured in the special four page publication and copies are available from all the candidates.
In addition the manifesto is available on our website http://www.rsflimerick.com/
Independent (Europe) Received 1741 hrs
In a bid to reduce waste, Independent MEP for Munster Kathy Sinnott is reusing her posters from the 2004 election campaign.
Speaking from her constituency, Mrs. Sinnott said “After the election in 2004 I decided that I would reuse my election posters. I stored them away and asked my supporters to store any they had and although I used a few for other purposes, I saved most for this election campaign. So a few nights ago, me and a few volunteers got out the scrub brushes and soapy water and washed over 600 posters in one go.”
“This election I ordered a lot fewer posters with the intention of supplementing them with the recycled ones. Coming from a large family and having nine children of my own, I understand how important it is to reuse and not to let things go to waste. Growing up, once the older children out grew their clothes, these were handed down to the younger children. I have applied the same principle here. This is not going to save the world but every little helps,” commented Kathy Sinnott.
Labour Party (Local) 2324 hrs
Labour party candidate Orla McLoughlin is encouraging all young people to get out and vote in the forthcoming Local and European elections. Orla, who works for Southill School Completion Programme, believes that the country is undergoing dramatic change and young people are very worried about their future. “Many people in our generation have never felt the need to vote before. They felt total detached from politics, locally and nationally. Young people are only now making the link between their vote and their future”. Ms. McLoughlin is adding her support to her party’s policy of lowering the voting age to 16. “This would enable our schools to work on a voter education programme leading up to each elections, which will hopefully encourage those teenagers to vote and continue to vote into the future”.
Orla is appealing to young people to get out a vote, no matter who they vote for. “It’s not about me as a candidate or my party, it’s about my generation getting out and taking responsibility for their future by using the power of their vote. Only by voting can we make a change”, she added. Voting in the European and Local Elections takes place on Friday the 5th of June.