Election Diary 15.05.09
It is my intention to have another interview with a candidate up in the next couple of days. After I sent out a call to a number of the County Councillors and County Council hopefuls, I got just one response. I am also interested to know if there would any interest in me trying to get interviews with Connaught-Ulster candidates, seeing as those immediately north of the City boundary will be voting in that constituency.
Anyway, a short one today.
- A poll to be released in the Irish Times later today shows that the last seat in Ireland south will be a three way dogfight between Kathy Sinnott, Toireasa Ferris, and Alan Kelly. Brian Crowley looks to retain his seat in the constituency.
- They say all politics is local, and it is a local problem which Sinn Fein’s Tom Colopy wants to raise the profile of. A large concrete slab in a green area in Garryowen appears to have become a magnet for anti-social behaviour, and he would like to see the Council remove it.
- The Greens yesterday launched their campaign manifesto and website. Details below the fold.
Uneditedpress releases are below the fold
Sinn Fein (Local) Received 0958 hrs
Tom Collopy, the Sinn Féin local election candidate for East Ward, has called for the removal of the concrete slab on the green area in Garryowen which he claims is a relic of the past and has no useful function.
Collopy said: “Members of the local community have spoken to me about the need for the removal of a concrete slab which lies on a green space in Garryowen. This slab really is a relic of the past and now is simply a magnet which attracts anti-social elements to the detriment of the local community. This slab in the green area seems to serve no useful purpose, but, rather acts as a place of gathering for large numbers of youths.”
Collopy added: “Anti social behaviour and the congregating of youths in areas has become a key concern for the people of the area. The area has sporadically been littered with drink cans and general waste. What is needed is not a concrete slab in the centre of a green but more amenities for the local youths. The general Garryowen area suffers from more than its fair share of anti-social behaviour and unfortunately has little facilities for the youth in the area.”
The Sinn Fein candidate advised: “I have written to the City Manager urging the removal of the slab. If the City Council is unwilling to remove it, then, I feel the council owes an explanation to the local people as to what function if any this lump of concrete serves in the present age.”
Green Party (Local and Europe) Received 1159 hrs
The Minister John Gormley today launched ‘Building Better Communities,’ the Green Party’s manifesto for the local elections and the party’s campaign website: http://vote.greenparty.ie.
Minister Gormley was accompanied by councillors Tom Kivlehan (Ballybrack), Gene Feighrey (Dún Laoghaire) and David Healy (Howth-Malahide), who helped to draft the manifesto. The Green Party leader said: “All eight members of the Green parliamentary party in Oireachtas Éireann as started their political career as local councillors. We have all seen how much can be achieved on local authorities and we have cut our teeth in county and city council chambers. On June 5th, people in nearly 100 constituencies, from Skibereen to Inishowen, from Tuam to Tramore, will have the opportunity to vote green. We have an inspiring group of candidates running this year – young and old, seasoned and first-timers – which is as diverse and inclusive as the population of modern Ireland.
“The work of local councillors is of vital importance to democracy in Ireland. It is my intention that the White Paper on Local Government Reform will enhance the roll of local democracy, and help to engage citizens in the decision making process. I will be publishing the White Paper after the Commission on Taxation reports and sets out the options for the funding of local government, which will be a major challenge as we go forward.
“Our manifesto sets out a bold vision for stronger local economies and better planned, closer and greener communities,” he said.
Among the steps that Green councillors will take are:
Providing low cost incubator spaces for new businesses; establishing cost savings forums to provide information on energy efficiency and waste management; promoting local authority forums to create green jobs; making tele-working sites available in council buildings; promoting eco-tourism; increasing green spaces, tree cover and urban forests; requiring cost-benefit analysis on new transport projects; restricting development on flood plains, and near aquifers, SPAs and SACs; introducing safe routes to school and better cycling facilities; providing low-cost community facilities for young people; making better provision for primary healthcare centres; improving waste management plans; making public buildings more energy efficient; and providing local authority land for allotments and community gardens.
For the first time the full version of the Party’s manifesto is only published online, with links to relevant information sources and over 250 action points that Green councillors will pursue over the next five year. An abridged printed edition of the document contains contextual material and 20 examples of where green councillors have already implemented policies in their communities.
Factsheet: Green Party local election candidates
| Total | Female | Male | |
| City/County Council candidates | 78 | 21 | 57 |
| Borough/Town Council candidates | 48 | 15 | 33 |
| Total | 126 | 36 | 90 |
| Total candidates (including those running in town and county council elections) | 99 | 29 | 70 |
- Female candidates as a percentage of total green candidates: 29%
- Percentage of female county councillors elected in 2004: 16%
- First time candidates: 45%
- Average age of green candidate: 41.4
- Youngest candidate: 19
- Oldest candidate: 62
- Number of immigrant candidates: 8
- Immigrant candidates as a percentage of total green candidates: 8%
- Non Irish citizens as a percentage of the general population: 8.5% (2006, excluding UK citizens)
- Nationalities of all green candidates: Irish, Nigerian, Lithuanian, Zimbabwean, British, Russian, American
Online information
Number of candidates with:
Facebook accounts: 32
Twitter accounts: 12
Websites or Blogs: More than 20
Green party:
YouTube video views: 44,500
Twitter followers: 474