McHale calls for swift action to save Claremorris town centre

Fri, Apr 24, 2009

Claremorris Fianna Fáil candidate Gerard McHale has outlined four actions which Mayo County Council can take to ensure that Claremorris town centre does not further decline.

Mr McHale has called on the council to take swift action to stop local businesses from closing. “Over the last number of months a number of businesses around the town centre have closed down, and a number more are currently under severe pressure to stay in business. I am calling on Mayo County Council to take swift action to ensure the survival of our town centre, which is the heart of our community,” said Mr McHale.

Fáilte Ireland will not sink Killala ship plans, says Loftus

Fri, Apr 24, 2009

Fianna Fáil election candidate Michael Loftus has expressed disappointment at Fáilte Ireland’s difficulty with granting funding to Killala Bay’s artificial reef project, but states that this is “certainly not the end of the line” for the ambitious attraction.

Eddie Kimpwene to stand for Castlebar Town Council

Fri, Apr 24, 2009

The newest person to enter the race for one of the nine seats on Castlebar Town Council is Eddie Kimpwene. Eddie has lived in Castlebar for the past nine years and runs a recruitment agency in Thomas Street in the town. Kimpwene says he is standing for the election on a platform of hope and believes Castlebar should dwell on the positive issues in our time; to tackle the challenges and to work tirelessly to rebuild what we have lost and to build on the many great foundations that have been laid in Castlebar.

Government attacked for reneging on Castlebar-Belmullet funding

Fri, Apr 24, 2009

Independent councillor Michael Holmes has hit out at the Government for its decision to slash the €200,000 it had allocated for upgrading the Castlebar to Belmullet road. The funding was granted in February of this year under the Strategic Regional and Roads Grant scheme. However the decision to cut it was announced only a matter of weeks later, in the 2009 Budget.

Barrett wants council action on jobs

Fri, Apr 24, 2009

A Castlebar councillor will be calling for a sub-committee to be appointed by Castlebar Town Council to address the worsening unemployment situation in the county town. Labour’s Harry Barrett will ask that this sub-committee be supported to meet with potential employers and state agencies like the IDA, to promote Castlebar as a location for industry.

The politics of pain

Fri, Apr 17, 2009

Some political commentators have adjudged last week’s budget was a success because it avoided on-street protests. The October budget got pensioners and students out with placards. The February public sector income levy resulted in a large Dublin march. Politicians say the public response to the latest budget has been silence. This should be even more scary to Government backbenchers.

People before party?

Fri, Apr 17, 2009

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin, Greens, or Independent? Does it matter?

Minister Ó Cuív to launch Blackie Gavin election campaign

Fri, Apr 17, 2009

Fianna Fáil Minister Eamon Ó Cuív will be in Castlebar tonight (Friday evening April 17) to officially launch the election campaign of Mayo County Council and Castlebar Town Council election candidate Blackie Gavin. Cllr Gavin is contesting the Mayo County Council elections for the first time this year, having served on Castlebar Town Council since 1994.

Families count costs of Budget

Fri, Apr 10, 2009

Surely, one must have a degree of pity for poor Fianna Fáil councillors and candidates who will have to knock on doors and defend Tuesday’s Budget. Anger levels are already at breaking point and the Government’s decision to target parents rather than pensioners this time, will profoundly change the political landscape in Mayo for years to come.

Enda Kenny - Taoiseach apparent?

Fri, Apr 10, 2009

Is Enda Kenny Taoiseach material? His critics, especially those in Fianna Fáil, want to make his leadership the central issue in the next election. They perceive he is the Achilles’ heel of FG and believe voters will baulk at a change of government with him as leader.

Labour’s red rose set to bloom

Fri, Apr 03, 2009

Last weekend’s national Labour Party conference in Mullingar set out its platform for the forthcoming elections.

Giving people an alternative

Fri, Apr 03, 2009

With just over two months to go until the polls open and the public get to cast their ballot in the local elections, a new candidate has just entered the race in the Ballina area. This entrant has a long political history in his family and even counts a former Fianna Fáil TD as his uncle, so David Moffatt looks to have a lot going for him already. Except he’s not running on the Fianna Fáil ticket, he has embraced the red rose of Labour and will be his party’s only candidate in the highly competitive Ballina area. Moffatt himself has been involved in the Fianna Fáil party on a local level for a number of years, but his change of allegiance to the Labour party was brought about after Labour party leader Eamon Gilmore impressed him, according to the Crossmolina man. “I’ve been impressed by Eamon Gilmore’s positive message; jobs, his message of change and reform ties in with my thinking about what we need in politics now.”

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