Search Results for 'Fine Gael Party'

Speaking in advance of the Fine Gael FairCare public meeting to be held in Mullingar Park Hotel this Tuesday, March 30, local Senator Nicky McFadden said: “Over the past 10 years our health service has become a complete shambles with excessively long out-patient waiting lists and short notice operation cancellations just the tip of the iceberg.”

The Register of Interests of members of Dáil Éireann from January to the end of 2009 published this week shows that two Mayo TDs have no other sources of income, while Ballina TD Dara Calleary and Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony have rental incomes supporting their TD salary and the leader of the Fine Gael party Enda Kenny TD has been given memberships of three golf clubs.

The decision by George Lee to not only resign from his seat in Dáil Eireann but to resign from the Fine Gael party has thrown Enda Kenny’s leadership of the party into question. Deputy Kenny was to meet with the front bench of the opposition party this morning at 11am to discuss the fall out from the resignation of Lee.

Yet another Kilkenny councillor has announced his plans to retire from local politics.

There has been widespread surprise at the news that stalwart MEP Avril Doyle is not to run in this summer’s local elections.

“Perhaps I should have ran for the county council before when I was a bit younger, but I have enjoyed my four and a half years so far and I’m looking forward to seeing out the last few months.” With the official news breaking this week that Fine Gael party whip Paddy McGuinness would not be running for re-election, it brings to an end the public life for a second time of the popular County Monaghan native. McGuinness, who had stepped away from public life before after a number of terms on Castlebar Town Council, was tempted back into public life when Enda Kenny came calling before the last local elections. “I had come in to do a job last time around and I was very tempted to stay on, but I had made a decision before that I would be doing one term and I had to stick with it.” The job as McGuinness saw it was to help the party grow and bring them all together as one for the term of the council which, for the most part, he has done very successfully.

Low turnout in elections is usually blamed on apathy from the franchised youth in the country who don’t bother to make their way to the polls. Apart from those who will always have an interest or those raised in a dyed in the wool political household, getting the younger generation involved in politics is no easy task. Who is to blame? The political parities, the media, education or the politicians themselves. There is no easy answer to a complex question. But on the ground moves are being made by the political parties to capture the youth vote and generate interest in politics in the run up to next year’s elections.

Such is the degree of confidence that the young Carlow Kilkenny Fine Gael Senator John Paul Phelan has in his party leader. When speaking to the Kilkenny Advertiser/ Carlow First this week, Senator Phelan spokesperson on enterprise in the Seanad, said that he was extremely confident that the leader of Fine Gael “will be the next Taoiseach and he’ll be damn good too!”

The budget for 2009 has been passed by members of Kilkenny County Council but not without some ado.

There were some changes to our local authorities made last weekend following the elections - some self determined while others simply lost their seats.