Fianna Fail launches local election candidates
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| At last night's launch were Deputy Anne Rabbitte, Deputy Dara Calleary, Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin, and Kilcullen-based candidate Antoinette Buckley. |
She was speaking at the official launch of the Fianna Fail local election candidates' campaigns in Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge. Outlining her background in both Newbridge where she grew up, and Kilcullen where she has lived for the last 24 years, she said that if she is elected she will be a 'strong voice' at Council.
Her career has been substantially based in business and community, she said, and her priorities as a councillor would be based on both. 'Crippling' increases on commercial rates for small businesses, 'the backbone of our economy', a spike in crime and increase in anti-social behaviour due to 'political indifference' are both concerns her campaign team has encountered during canvassing in the last few weeks. Others include traffic congestion in Newbridge, and rail fares that are too high.
"If elected, my priorities will be infrastructure, development, better roads and paths, public transport in all areas, rural broadband and enterprise. I will also continue to work with community groups."
Her fellow Fianna Fail candidates for the Newbridge-Kilcullen electoral area, Cllr Murty Aspell, Noel Heavey, and Cllr Rob Power also spoke at the event, where Fianna Fail Director of Elections Dara Calleary and the party's European Parliament candidate Deputy Anne Rabbitte were guests.
Cllr Aspell noted his own Kilcullen background and his late father Paddy's 15 years on the Council, and said his priorities are more social and affordable housing, a new bridge for Newbridge where traffic is 'crazy', and dealing with Irish Rail on rail charges. "After 24 years of working with the Council, I know the corridors to go down, the people who will get the jobs done," he concluded.
Noel Heavey, who is also a first time candidate, reminded those present of his 45 years of working on community projects in Newbridge. "As a candidate for Fianna Fail I'm now finding myself in the thick of the battle instead of just a wingman, and it's an entirely different experience," he said, adding that his goals will be to rectify the 'glaring gap' of there being no youth facility in the town.
"This was a hot potato when I was active 20 years ago," he said, "and ten years ago in a cultural initiative it didn't happen either. Half of the town's young people are not involved in organised sports, and there is absolutely nothing in this huge town for them."
Cllr Rob Power reflected on the fact that for 47 of the last 50 years the people of Kildare had had a member of his family representing them. He recalled his grandfather, the late Paddy Power who had returned to the Council after being a TD and a Minister, telling him that he had most fondly remembered the Council because that was 'where you can really do things for people'.
"Something has changed there, though," he said. "It's not so easy to get the small things done for people. There's more centralised planning, more ministerial direction to councils, and I think that's wrong." He said local people need more support on local issues like planning, and suggested that the recent National Development Plan has not been 'sense-checked' at local level.
Candidates for the Athy and Kildare LEAs also spoke. The event was managed by Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin who said the party is 'incredibly proud' of the candidates who will be continuing the tradition of providing 'very fine locally elected politicians'.
Deputy Dara Calleary said he had been really struck by the 'enthusiasm and passion' of the candidates, and urged them to carry that through for the next six and a half weeks. "Whatever the outcome, just be sure at the end of the campaign you know you have left nothing on the pitch," he concluded.
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