Done and dusted in Kildare South

As the fallout from the election is still under consideration and even the final shape of the 32nd Dail is yet to be seen, writes Brian Byrne, it's not too early to extend congratulations to the successful candidates in Kildare South.

The constituency for the next Dail term will be served by an interesting mix of experience — long-serving Fianna Fail TD Sean O Fearghail, the now well-blooded Fine Gael's Martin Heydon, and newcomer to the Dail but certainly not to politics Fiona O'Loughlin for Fianna Fail.

A political break happened too, with the ending of Jack Wall's representation for Labour since he was first elected in 1997. Commiserations to his son Mark, who failed to take his place in a cataclysmic meltdown for that party, which has long had respected representation in Kildare going back through Joe Bermingham and William Norton.

Looking at the way the constituency voted, it's arguable that the Labour vote heavily decamped towards Sinn Fein, as both of those parties got an identical 11.6 percent of the first preferences. It will be very difficult for Labour to arrest that drift, given the strong organisational abilities of SF, and we can expect further growth from that party. The 10 percent garnered collectively by the Independent, Green and Renua candidates were, by their nature in this constituency, 'floating' voters.

Fiona O'Loughlin's success was due to her clear ability to connect with voters on the ground, along with the experience and canniness of her running mate on how to maximise votes within the party. Sean O Fearghaill has previous form in this expertise.

On a national level, it does seem that the famous 'borrowed' votes from Fianna Fail supporters the last time around were retrieved by their owners, and Fine Gael is back to 'normal' with maybe 50+ seats (TBC). It isn't the first time the party has been in something of an elliptical orbit — 70 seats in the November 1982 elections spinning down to just 31 in 2002, from which Enda Kenny rebuilt things to 51 in 2007 and that extraordinary, and arguably artificial 76 seats in 2011. If you look back over past Dails, the natural position of Fine Gael has been somewhere between 45-55 seats.

Anyway, all this is being pulled apart and reconstructed all over the country by people who know far more about it than me, so we'll see soon enough how it works out. Meantime, congratulations once again to our new set of Kildare South representatives to the next Dail.

Kildare South count completed

Martin Heydon FG (above with his family), Fiona O'Loughlin FF and Sean O Fearghaill FF have all been elected to the 32nd Dail.

Heydon topped the poll and was elected on the 4th count having achieved 10,321 votes, and the two Fianna Fail candidates were elected on the sixth count following the distribution of Mark Wall's votes, with totals of 8,974 and 8,220 respectively.

The Callaghan family from Naas are pictured at the count centre in support of Cllr Fiona O'Loughin.

(As your Editor is indisposed, the Diary is unable to bring you our usual full coverage from the count centre. Apologies. Pictures and information from the centre courtesy of Rose Barrett O'Donoghue.)

That's it — 63 percent final turnout

The polling stations in General Election 2016 have now closed

The final turnout in Kilcullen was 63 percent of people in the town registered to vote had cast their ballots by 10pm.

Through the day, at 8pm, 55 percent had voted. At 6pm, 40 percent had, with 29 percent at 3.30pm, and 17 percent at 12.30pm.

Crafty coffee morning with style for candidate

Two Hillcrest businesses are hosting a style and design Coffee Morning next week in support of Fianna Fail candidate for Kildare South Cllr Fiona O'Loughlin.

J&A Shabby Chic will provide the venue on Tuesday, kicking off at 10.30am and including free demonstrations of decoupage and chalk paint work, while neighbouring Secret Kloset Outlet will provide the style show.

Tea and coffee and scones, and a chance to meet the candidate. All welcome.

First out of the traps in Kilcullen

Martin Heydon's postering team were on the job very quickly this morning, as soon as Dail was dissolved.

The Diary caught up with Cllr Ivan Keatley and his neighbour Seamus Fahy getting one up on the strategic pole by the bridge, at 11am. By then they had already covered the southern approaches to the town.

No doubt Martin's won't be on its own for long.

The election is on Friday 26 February.

Candidate rocking for the young vote

A 'Rock the Vote' night to encourage young people to vote will be held in the Kildare Youth Theatre's Crooked House venue in Newbridge on Friday night.

Hosted by Fianna Fail candidate for Kildare South Cllr Fiona O'Loughlin, the event will feature Newbridge rock group The Fresco Future and is designed to encourage young people to register and claim their right to vote in the upcoming general election.

Kildare ladies GAA star Éadaoin Connolly be there. The Kildare Ladies Footballer of the Year says that running the country 'is like managing a winning team'. "You need the players, players who are committed and prepared to work hard and deliver the goods. So, have your say and start by joining ‘Rock the Vote’ on Friday next and register on the night!”

Forms for anyone who would like to be added to the Supplementary Register of Electors before the election will be available. "Please bring a form of ID so that your form can be validated by a Garda,” says Cllr O'Loughlin.

The gig runs from 8-10pm.

Demand in Kilcullen for social housing

A high number of representations from Kilcullen about the need for social housing here has caused Cllr Mark Wall to meet specifically with officials in Kildare County Council about the matter, writes Brian Byrne.

Cllr Wall, the Labour candidate in the upcoming general election for Kildare South, says the need in Kilcullen is 'urgent', and is reflected across Kildare South, especially in Kildare Town and Athy.

In a statement, he says the Council must get back to building housing stock itself, but in the meantime all other ways of providing social housing must be used.

In particular, Cllr Wall says that the voluntary housing sector may be an area where the Council can cooperate to provide housing. He has put down a motion asking whether the authority is in negotiations with any of these voluntary bodies to build houses in the area or indeed to further enter into lease agreements with them to secure social housing.

He says the Council needs to 'think outside the box' to find ways to provide family homes now.

The candidates are saying ...

This is planned to be an updating page on what our local candidates for Kildare South in the upcoming General Election are talking about. We'll see how it develops.

The candidates declared so far are Declan Crowe (I), Martin Heydon (FG). Fiona McLoughlin Healy (FG), Sean Ó Fearghaill (FF), Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Patricia Ryan (SF) and Mark Wall (LAB).

10 January 2016

Welcoming the offer of 2,860 training and further education course places for the Athy area by the Kildare Wicklow Education and Training Board, Labour Party candidate Cllr Mark Wall has called on the Government to ensure that those availing of this training maintain their payments and that the Government continue to develop incentives to employers to employ those from the Live Register. He noted that one of the courses to be developed and expanded will be the Traineeship Course for Construction Operatives, a very successful pilot scheme run in Athy where long term unemployed developed basic skill sets including obtaining the various Health and Safety Certificates and Construction Tickets to allow them become employable once more.

Cllr Fiona McLoughlin Healy, running for FG, has launched a 'Snow Wardens' project, asking volunteers willing to visit vulnerable people in their community during cold weather to get in touch with her. She hopes to build a panel of people who can provide a friendly face or bring supplies to those in need during the bad weather. Email fiona@fmcloughlinhealy.ie.

Cllr Fiona O'Loughlin, a Fianna Fail candidate, said that Athy would be a perfect centre to set up an an Apprenticeship Training Centre, a third level college targeting apprenticeships for the construction trades and cottage food industries. She noted that there's a shortfall particularly of plasterers and bricklayers, and that when the Government shut down FAS some years ago, there was no replacement apprenticeship scheme. In the food area, she said that the development of future foods and technologies will be a 'massive' industry.

Deputy Martin Heydon FG has noted that 595 new jobs were provided in Kildare by 174 Enterprise Ireland supported companies in the county. He said they are among 8,308 people now employed in the companies, representing over 2,400 additional new EI jobs in Kildare since this Government was elected. This proves that the Government's job strategy is working, he says.

Check the Draft Register of Electors

Kildare County Council has published the Draft Register of Electors and urges all with a vote to check it before 25 November.

It will form the basis for the 2016/17 Register of Electors which will come into effect on 15 February 2016.

The draft Register was published on 1 November 2015 and, as part of the public information campaign, is made available for examination at post offices, public libraries, Garda stations and local authority offices as well as online at checktheregister.ie up to 25 November.

If you are aged 18 or over you should check that your name and address are present and correctly registered. It is good practice to check the Register of Electors annually to ensure that you are registered and that your details are correct.

Any errors or omissions in the draft should be brought immediately to the attention of the Register of Electors Unit of Kildare County Council at 045 980201 or register@kildarecoco.ie.

If you forget to check, you may not have a vote in a poll that is important to you.

Heydon, McLoughlin Healy, to contest Kildare South

Deputy Martin Heydon and Cllr Fiona McLoughlin Healy will be contesting the next General Election in Kildare South on behalf of Fine Gael, writes Brian Byrne.

Deputy Heydon was one of four candidates who contested the selection convention in Hotel Keadeen on Tuesday night, including Cllr McLoughlin Healy, Cllr Mark Stafford and Ian Hennessy. The meeting was chaired by Deputy John Paul Phelan from Carlow/Kilkenny.

Deputy Heydon was proposed on the night by former party leader Alan Dukes and seconded by Athy member and local business woman Jo Coyle after being nominated by members from all Fine Gael branches in Kildare South. A Directive from Fine Gael HQ read out on the night stipulated that two candidates be selected, one of which was to be female.

Martin Heydon has many local connections, including being a past pupil of CPC. Fiona McLoughlin Healy is married to Kilcullen man Bernard Healy and was elected to Kildare County Council at the last local elections.