Search Results for 'Neil McNelis'

With 24 hours to polling day Labour teeters on the brink of collapse, Fianna Fáil on the edge of recovery, and Sinn Féin and Independents ready to make significant electoral breakthroughs.

With around two years to go before the next local elections, political parties will already be focusing on their representative candidates and their prospects of success in what is likely to be a highly formative election.

Galway is set to become the battleground for an internecine struggle over who will be elected chair of the Labour Party this month as both the party’s Galway TDs - Derek Nolan (Galway West) and Colm Keaveney (Galway East) are understood to be touting for support among their parliamentary colleagues.

“Get a mandate!” barked Labour party Rottweiler, Councillor Billy Cameron. This verbal was directed at Dette McLoughlin, the chair of Galway’s United Left Alliance. However as quick as you could say travel expenses, McLoughlin replied: “You have no mandate to implement a household tax, nor to rob the poor to help the rich. If you had any principles you would resign from the Labour Party!”

Any water charge introduced should be fair and not cause undue hardship, especially for those on very low incomes.

Fire and emergency services in Galway will be put at great risk following the €7 billion cut in funding announced in the Budget, according to Labour councillor Neil McNelis.

As we approach the first anniversary of this current council, Insider has been observing the workings of the largest party in City Hall, the Labour Party. Labour got a very strong endorsement from the people of Galway city in last year’s locals, returning with effectively six seats, if you include Independent Catherine Connolly.

When the results came in on Saturday it was clear that Ireland had raised high the Red flag, donned a blue shirt, kept a few Independents on side, and delivered the mother of all kickings to the Government parties. Well not quite everywhere. Typically Galway didn’t quite follow suit.

Not long after 9am on Saturday as the boxes were opened in Leisureland and the tallymen got to work, patterns began to emerge that would remain unaltered throughout the day. Galway was giving its backing to Labour, but it was not exactly punishing Fianna Fáil.

A personal, sideways, view of our new city councillors, who took their seats in City Hall on Monday.