General Election Date, Election 2016, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail

General Election Date, Election 2016, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail

There are growing expectations among Government TDs and Senators that Taoiseach Enda Kenny will announce Friday 26th of February as the date of the election.

Mr Kenny is expected to divulge the date of the election to Tánaiste Joan Burton and ministerial colleagues tomorrow morning ahead of the Coalition’s final Cabinet meeting.

Gerry Adams TD with his Serial Rapist Brother Liam Adams

It remains uncertain if the Taoiseach will seek the dissolution of the Dáil tomorrow or Wednesday.

His colleagues said today they expect him to make the announcement in the Dáil before driving to Áras an Uachtaráin to make the formal request to President Michael D Higgins.

Minister for Agriculture and Defence Simon Coveney has said the Taoiseach has not shared his thinking on the election date with colleagues but that he expected him to disclose it tomorrow.

Sources close to the Government said the decision will definitely be made this week, with a polling date of either Thursday 25th February or Friday 26th February. The latter date is considered the most likely.

Holding the general election on a Thursday would run the risk of excluding many young voters from casting their preference, according to the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).

The organisation has urged Government not to hold the upcoming election on a Thursday following speculation that polling day could be moved forward.

With an announcement of a date by the Taoiseach said to be imminent, there has been mounting speculation that some within Fine Gael favour a Thursday election due to the likelihood that tens of thousands of potentially sympathetic voters will be leaving for London on Friday to follow the Ireland rugby team for its game against England that weekend.

Labour deputy leader Alan Kelly has publicly expressed his preference for a Friday vote amid suggestions that the question of a date is causing tension between the coalition partners.

NYCI president Ian Power said: “Excellent work was done in 2015, particularly leading up to the marriage equality referendum - and so far in 2016 - to get thousands of young people registered. A Thursday election would undermine this and prevent many from casting their vote.”

He said: “For the 2011 general election, the youth voter turnout was 62 per cent, up 12 per cent on 2002 levels. If we want to maintain and enhance youth turnout, we need to support it through Friday or weekend elections.

“There are up to 460,000 young people entitled to vote. A Friday vote would facilitate the large numbers that are away from home at college or for training or work, to return to vote.”

The organisation’s deputy director James Doorley added that it would be “disappointing” to see a Thursday vote.

“It would be disappointing if Government set Thursday as the polling day, as the majority of young people surveyed in the past have indicated that weekend polling was very important to encourage their participation,” he said.

Abortion, Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, Politics, fine gael, labour, sinn fein

Abortion, Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, Politics, fine gael, labour, sinn fein

Peadar Toibin TD has stood firm in his position to protect unborn children, however, his proposed Amendment, to remove the 'suicide clause', was voted down. This clause effectively leaves the determination of the unborn child's life or death in the hands of psychologists and psychiatrists, two 'professions' that has shown themselves time and again to be able to reach polar conclusions in relation to the same case.  

Minister of State Lucinda Creighton has renewed her call for abortion time limits to be introduced where a foetus is viable.

In an amendment that she is expected to vote against the Government on and lose the Fine Gael party whip and her job, Ms Creighton said she wanted to protect viable life and bring in limitations on when terminations could be carried out.

“It would actually allay the genuine concerns of many of our citizens,” she said during the report stage debate on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, which resumed this evening.

“We know that in the vast majority of jurisdictions around the world where there are abortion regimes in place, far more liberal regimes of the type I hope we never see in this country, they do still enforce gestationsal limits, term limits for carrying out abortions,” the Dublin South East TD said. “I think that this is the minimum our citizens deserve.”

Two two amendments are currently under discussion in the debate.

The session began hours after the High Court refused to grant an injunction aimed at stopping provisions of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill being voted into law.

Labour TD Roisin Shortall also introduced amendments on gestational time limits and said it was unacceptable that there were none in the Bill. She said concern about the issue had been raised by Master of the Rotunda Sam Coulter Smith but there was no serious attempt made to address those concerns.

Fianna Fail health spokesman Billy Kelleher said he would oppose legislation if he thought for a moment if he somehow though that a baby at 34 weeks would be taken from the womb and destroyed.

Mr Kelleher said that if they talked about gestational limits, “we are pitting the life of the woman against the life of the baby” and “that would be repugnant to me and to the Constitution”.

He said the overriding issue at stake was the real and substantial threat to the life of the woman. “We cannot intervene to terminate the pregnancy because it would be in conflict with the legislation if we put in gestational limits.”

Minister of State for Health Alex White said there was no answering Mr Kelleher’s point.

Fine Gael TD Peter Mathews, who has already lost the party whip on the legislation, supported term limits. He said termination at 12 weeks was just as repugnant as a termination later in pregnancy.

In response, Ms Creighton said it was putting a time limit on the destruction on the life of the unborn and a clear obligation and onus on the medical profession to save the life of the unborn.

Minister for Health James Reilly and Mr Mathews clashed at the start of the debate this evening.

Mr Mathews asked the Minister to define what the term “as far as practicable” meant in terms of the medical situations that could arise under it.

Dr Reilly replied that it was an acceptable legal term which was well understood. “It is not clear to me,” said Mr Mathews.

Dr Reilly replied: “That is fine; you are neither legal nor a doctor.”

Mr Mathews replied that he was “a citizen”.

Earlier, the Minister moved a series of amendments which, he said, gave clarity to the medical definition of terms “in good faith” and reasonable opinion” in the Bill.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said there should be trust in doctors, adding that the amendments were just a concession to certain people who wanted to hold back and frustrate the legislation’s purpose which was to allow for a termination where there was a threat to the woman’s life.

Over 100 of the 165 amendments to the Bill have yet to be debated during the Report stage.

The Dáil is due to adjourn the abortion debate by midnight regardless of whether or not it has been passed. Taoiseach Enda Kenny said this morning if the Bill can conclude today, “so much the better”.

So far, two votes have been taken but neither relate to the amendments proposing a “pathway to care” plan for pregnant women with suicidal intent tabled by Ms Creighton. She voted with the Government on those two amendments at 2am and at 5am.

The High Court ex parte application was made by Jane Murphy, with an addresss at Milltown, Dublin 14 this afternoon and is expected to appeal Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns’ refusal to the Supreme Court.

She was accompanied in court by former MEP Kathy Sinnott and Mark McCrystal. In intended proceedings against the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health and the Government, Ms Murphy sought injunctions “to prevent the respondents usurping the will of the Irish people on the day of Thursday 11th of July 2013”.

The application stated the intention was to prevent the Government including two provisions in the Bill currently before the Oireachtas and also to prevent the vote on that Bill.

Mr Justice Kearns said he was satisfied he had no jurisdiction to grant any such relief. This matter was before the legislature and the court, under the doctrine of the separation of powers, had no entitlement to deal with it. He did not believe the court, at this stage of the matter, had any entitlement to interfere.

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said this morning that if the President referred the Bill to the Supreme Court it would be “the right decision”. Many parts of the Bill would be challenged by people coming from different perspectives, he said. “If he refers it, it can just be either cleared or struck down once and for all with no further challenges. If he did I think that would be the right decision. But that’s entirely his prerogative not mine,” he told RTÉ Radio.

Earlier today Mr Kenny defended the late overnight sitting in the Dáil. He said there were “some very good contributions” and it was “no harm that it went to 5am”.

However, Fianna Fáil leader Michael Martin described the organisation of the overnight debate as “shambolic” and “lamentable”.

The Labour Party was thrown into disarray early this morning by the shock defection of its Clare TD Michael McNamara in a vote .

In dramatic scenes just before the debate on the Bill was adjourned, Mr McNamara voted against the Government on an amendment tabled by the technical group which called for abortions to be allowed in cases where there were fatal foetal abnormalities or inevitable miscarriages.

However, the party maintained later that Mr McNamara would not lose the whip as he had made a “genuine mistake” and had pressed the wrong button. Tánaiste and Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore was not in the Dáil for the vote as he is abroad on Government business.

Following the announcement yesterday by two Mayo TDs John O’Mahony and Michelle Mulherin that they would support the Bill, the other TD whose voting intentions were in doubt - John Paul Phelan of Carlow-Kilkenny - also confirmed to the Dáil at 1.30am that he too would be supporting the legislation despite having misgivings about the Bill.

His confirmation that he would support the Government - which was widely expected - has left a total of five Fine Gael TDs at odds with the party on this Bill. Besides Ms Creighton, the other TDs are Mr Mathews, Brian Walsh, Billy Timmins and Terence Flanagan.

The Labour Party had, until Mr McNamara’s vote, shown a strong party discipline and had consciously maintained a slightly background stance, because of the sensitivities of Fine Gael’s position.

The defection of Mr McNamara, even if Labour manages to repair its hand and reverse it, has damaged that show of unity and also dampened what was considered a successful effort by the Fine Gael leadership to contain its defections to a maximum of five TDs.

The debate on the report stage of the Bill commenced at 11.30am yesterday and continued for a cumulative total of 14 hours after the Taoiseach said he wished the Dáil to complete its deliberation of it by this morning. However, with no guillotine in place, Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe initially announced an extension until midnight, and then until 5am.

The Bill was scheduled to transfer to the Seanad today but that will not now happen until tomorrow at the earliest.

The first substantive vote - to reject an amendment tabled by Peadar Tóibín of Sinn Féin to remove the suicide clause in its entirety - was carried by 135 to 24 votes.

Many Independents voted with the Government but Maureen O’Sullivan, Michael Lowry, Michael Healy-Rae and Mattie McGrath voted against.

The vote was taken after more than eight hours of debate on a group of 38 amendments from a number of TDs, dealing with the suicide clause, where termination is permissible to avoid suicide.

Abortion Bill, Peadar Toibin TD, Sinn Fein, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail

Abortion Bill, Peadar Toibin TD, Sinn Fein, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail

Peadar Toibin TD has stood firm and voted against the second stage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, there was strong support for Mr Toibin in his home county:

“It is great to see a politican standing up for what he believes in rather than following the leadership like a sheep to the slaughter”, Mary (Navan).

“Shame on those TDs who voted for their big salaries rather than voting to protect innocent children”, John (Slane).

“I know TDs who are genuinely opposed to the Abortion Bill, and yet they voted for it, shame on them” Bernadette (Johnstown).

“This Bill is about murdering unborn children for convenience, it is shameful, while I might not vote for Peadar Toibin at the next election, I will never vote Fine Gael again”. Margaret (Kentstown).

“The saving of a life is a matter for the professionals on the day, this Bill allows for an abuse of our constitution to such an extent that an Irish child can be murdered on a whim, fair play to Peadar Toibin, he should be an indepenednet and get away from people like Gerry Adams who has no respect for human life” Marcus (Ashbourne).

Four Fine Gael TDs and a Sinn Fein TD have defied their party whip to vote against the second stage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.

The Government won the vote by 138 votes to 24. Fine Gael TDs Terence Flanagan, Peter Mathews, Billy Timmins and Brian Walsh voted against the Bill, as did Sinn Fein’s Peadar Toibin.

The Bill allows for abortion in Ireland in limited circumstances, including a risk to the life of the mother due to suicide.

Minister of State Lucinda voted for the second stage of the Bill. She indicated in her Dail speech yesterday that she hoped there would be substantive amendments to the legislation at committee stage, which begins this evening.

A number of Fianna Fail TDs voted against the legislation along with several independent TDs including Michael Healy Rae, Mattie McGrath, Michael Lowry and Noel Grealish.

The Bill is to go for a second reading before a Dáil subcommitte on health this evening.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny had faced the defection of several Fine Gael TDs with at least five of the party’s TDs expressing reservations about the Bill. Four members of the party had confirmed they would vote against it.

While there is no threat to the Government’s parliamentary majority, the effort over weeks to win over the doubters in Fine Gael is seen as a big test of Mr Kenny’s authority as party leader.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said Fine Gael members who voted against the Bill would lose the party whip.

The Taoiseach had “nailed his colours to the mast” on the issue and considered the Bill a very important piece of legislation, she told RTE radio this morning.

Under Fine Gael rules, TDs who lose the party whip must apply to a Fine Gael branch to run for election again for the party and this is subject to the approval of its national executive.

Only one TD - Denis Naughten of Roscommon - has defied the Fine Gael whip since Mr Kenny took power more than two years ago.

Dublin North East TD Terence Flanagan yesterday became the fourth Fine Gael TD to say he would vote against the abortion legislation, following Billy Timmins, Peter Mathews and Brian Walsh who had already confirmed their opposition.

In addition, Minister of State Lucinda Creighton and four other Fine Gael TDs - John Paul Phelan, Michelle Mulherin, John O’Mahony and James Bannon - all criticised the Bill during the opening Dáil debate on it yesterday. They did not say how they would vote, however.

The vote was scheduled for 5pm after Mr Kenny’s return from Strasbourg, where he addressed the European Parliament on Ireland’s EU presidency.

Mr Kenny issued a stern defence of the legislation in his own speech to the Dáil, saying it was not possible to remove the suicide clause. He also rejected demands for a time limit to be applied to when a termination can take place.

“To those who fear that this Bill is the first step towards a liberal abortion regime in Ireland, I say clearly that this extremely restrictive Bill is the only proposal that will be brought forward by this Government on this issue,” he said.

The Bill provides a legal framework for abortion in cases where there is a threat to life to the pregnant woman, including by suicide.

The Taoiseach’s remarks came only hours after Ms Creighton took issue with the suicide clause and the lack of term limits. The expectation in political circles is that she will vote for the legislation today to see whether the Government accepts substantive amendments in the next phase of the Dáil debate.

However, this is considered unlikely and it is expected she will vote against the Bill at the committee stage later this week. This would cost her both her membership of the Fine Gael parliamentary party and her Ministerial office.

Mr Phelan, TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, said it would be reasonable to expect a referendum on the subject.

Sunday Independent Opinion Poll, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, politics, Millward Brown Poll, Sinn Fein

Sunday Independent Opinion Poll, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, politics, Millward Brown Poll, Sinn Fein

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are hanging precariously close to each other from the latest Poll

A new opinion poll shows support for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is neck and neck at 27%.

The Millward Brown poll for tomorrow's Sunday Independent indicates a four point increase in support for Fine Gael.

Innocent Catholic Mother of Ten Children Murdered on the Orders of Gerry Adams TD?

This poll was carried out over 12 days finishing last Tuesday.

 979 adults around the country took part in the poll.

The proportion of undecided voters remains high, at 33%.

When undecided voters are excluded, support for Fine Gael is up four points since the last Sunday Independent poll a fortnight ago, at 27%.

Labour has dropped one point to 11% since the last poll, while Fianna Fáil is up one, to 27%, the same as Fine Gael.

Sinn Féin support is down two to 17%, with internal rumblings that Gerry Adams TD will soon step down as President. Adams has recently been accused in a Belfast Court of concealing the rape of his 4 year old niece and a court in the USA has just ordered the release of damming tapes that see former PIRA members accuse Gerry Adams TD of ordering the Murder and secret burial of innocent Catholic mother of ten young children Jean McConville. This at a time when Gerry Adams Snr was an active RUC Informer.

Independents and Others are down one to 18%.

Opinions on Government satisfaction were sought for the poll, with 74% saying that they were dissatisfied with how the Government is running the country.

18% have said that they are satisfied with how the country is run and 14% of those polled said that they believed that Labour should continue with current Government policy.

When questioned on their views of party leaders; 65% said that they were dissatisfied with Enda Kenny's leadership.

Up to 70% claimed that they were dissatisfied with Eamon Gilmore's leadership and 15% of those polled believe Mr Gilmore should remain as leader.

Micheál Martin's popularity slipped with 53% of people unhappy with him, up 47% from two weeks ago.

The opinion poll also focused on the banks and queried if the banks are acting fairly or not towards those with distressed mortgages.

72% said that they did not think that the banks were acting fairly.

16% said that they did not know and 12% said that they felt the banks were acting fairly.

On the issue of writing off debts owed to banks to allow people to remain in their homes; 49% felt that they should be written off, 34% said that they should not and 16% said that they did not know.

Meath east byelection, Helen mcentee, labour party, sinn fein, fine gael, fianna fail, politics

Meath east byelection, Helen mcentee, labour party, sinn fein, fine gael, fianna fail, politics

Like Sinn Fein the Labour Party need to rid themselves of the scourge of Grumpy Old Men feathering their nest while youthful politicians look into the obese.

The Irish Observer had predicted over one week ago that Helen McEntee would top the poll, Fianna Fail would be second and Labour would be wiped out. The reason for this prediction was simple, nobody expects a centre-right party such as Fine Gael to do anything other than centre right politics, that means strong fiscal balance coupled with decisive leadership. Labour on the other hand are expected to look after the people who elected them to do the right thing, that means looking after the interests of workers and the less well off. Thousands of people all over Ireland have personally signed letters from Eamon Gilmore prior to going into Coalition where he and other Labour leaders promised not to cut Rent Allowance and other hand to mouth necessities, Labour have abandoned their core supporters and they will pay a very heavy price. Good and decent TDs such as Dominic Hannigan will lose their seats because the leadership of the Labour Party are more concerned with comfortable Ministerial pensions for the rest of their days than they are with the career prospects of youthful politicians who can really make a difference in this country if given the chance.

Like Sinn Fein the Labour Party need to rid themselves of the scourge of Grumpy Old Men feathering their nest while youthful politicians look into the obese.

There was a considerable level of shock among members of the Labour parliamentary party at the outcome of the byelection in which the party’s candidate, Eoin Holmes, won less than 5 per cent of the vote. This compared to the 21 per cent taken by Labour in the constituency in the 2011 general election.

In contrast to Labour, Fianna Fáil enjoyed an encouraging result, with 32.5 per cent of the vote, far better than its 19 per cent showing in 2011.

One Labour Minister of State privately told colleagues yesterday that he had lost confidence in Eamon Gilmore’s leadership. Another TD, a backbencher who has been critical of the leader in the past, said the same mistakes had been made in the byelection that had been made in the general election.

“The people who devised the silly Tesco ad in the general election came up with a stupid leaflet insulting Enda Kenny in the final days of this campaign. The only conclusion is that there has to be a change of personnel if we are to have any chance of recovering,” said the Labour TD, who did not wish to be named.

The Labour leaflet, circulated on the final day of the campaign, portrayed Enda Kenny as being in the same category as Bertie Ahern and Gerry Adams. It provoked serious annoyance among Fine Gael Ministers.

Some Labour members of the Cabinet were also taken aback at the tone of the leaflet, which appeared to denigrate the Taoiseach and Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan.

‘Juvenile response’

“This was a juvenile response to a difficult situation which was created by the very same people in the Labour Party who tried to fight this byelection on issues like gay marriage rather than the economy,” said the backbench TD.

Mr Kenny last night described Helen McEntee’s victory as a “stupendous performance in the face of probably the most difficult economic circumstances our country has ever faced”.

Speaking at the count centre in Ashbourne, Mr Kenny said he had never seen a byelection taking place in such challenging circumstances. The byelection was brought about by the death of Ms McEntee’s father, Shane McEntee, last December.

“To say I am delighted is an understatement. I really am proud of what Helen McEntee has achieved here . . . This is a vote by the people of Meath East but this is not just a vote in respect of her late dad, Shane McEntee,” Mr Kenny said. He described Ms McEntee as a formidable candidate in her own right.

Ms McEntee described her victory as “bittersweet” after she secured 9,356 first-preference votes, ending up with a total of 11,473 after transfers had been distributed.

“You had faith in Dad and I’m just absolutely delighted you had faith in me . . . and if I’m half the TD that he was I’ll be happy,” she said.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin paid tribute to Ms McEntee and the McEntee family.

He said the people of Meath East had given very strong messages on the doorstep on property tax and child benefit cuts.

Meath East byelection, Results, turnout, Helen McEntee, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour, Sinn Fein

Meath East byelection, Results, turnout, Helen McEntee, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour, Sinn Fein

Fine Gael candidate Helen McEntee is over 6 per centage points ahead of Thomas Byrne after tallies of 86 per cent of boxes in the Meath East byelection.

The latest tallies show a poor result for Labour’s Eoin Holmes with just 4 per cent of the vote.

With 96 of 111 boxes open, cross-party tallymen put Ms McEntee at 39.34 per cent, Mr Byrne at 33.26 per cent , Sinn Fein candidate Darren O’Rourke at 12.48 per cent, Eoin Holmes of Labour 4.05 per cent and others ( including Ben Gilroy of Direct Democracy Ireland) at 10.62 per cent.

Minister for Communications and Labour TD Pat Rabbitte reacted to the Party’s very poor showing in the polls.

It seemed that Labour had “ taken the brunt of the negative reaction. Labour voters didn't come out. They are making a protest. We have to listen to what they're saying, but we inherited the biggest mess left to a government since 1922,” he told RTE radio.

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said he was “very satisfied” with the “substantial increase” in the vote for his Party.

“I wouldn't be surprised if we don't poll stronger when all boxes are opened,” he told RTE Radio

Vying for fourth place with Labour is Ben Gilroy of new party Direct Democracy Ireland, who is performing better than anticipated.

Mr Gilroy said it was an “extraordinary” result. “We are doing extremely well because most people never even heard of us...we are the dark horse,” he told RTE Radio.

Counting got underway at about 9am. Heavy snowfalls and unseasonally cold weather contributed to a low turnout for the Meath East byelection with fewer than 35 per cent of eligible constituents believed to have voted.

As polling stations closed at 9pm, some sources predicted the turnout would not be much more than 30 per cent. Fine Gael sources said the figure might be a little higher, closer to 40 per cent.

The last comparable election was the byelection held in the former constituency of Meath in 1995 where turnout was 41 per cent. That election was won by Shane McEntee, whose death last December created the vacancy in the three-seat constituency.

While voting levels for this byelection were not expected to be high, the overnight falls of snow which left some roads in the country in a hazardous condition led to exceptionally low turnout in the first two to three hours of polling. By mid-afternoon, the weather had brightened but polling stations were still reporting turnouts of 15 per cent cent or lower.

The low turnout means parties will be relying on their core vote. Fine Gael’s Helen McEntee, daughter of the late Mr McEntee, and Fianna Fáil’s Thomas Byrne are joint favourites with bookmakers. Sinn Féin’s Darren O’Rourke is also expected to increase his party’s share of the vote significantly.

Candidates:

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

Ben Gilroy (Direct Democracy Ireland)

Eoin Holmes (Labour)

Charlie Keddy (independent)

Mick Martin (Independent)

Séamus McDonagh (Workers Party);

Helen McEntee TD (Fine Gael)

Gearóid O’Brien (Independent);

Sean O Buachalla (Greens );

Darren O’Rourke (Sinn Fein)

Jim Tallon (Independent).

27/3/2013

Helen McEntee is expected to Top The Poll in the Meath East By-Election taking as much as a third of the vote with Fianna Fail following home in second place.

Voter turnout is low so far in the Meath East by-election. There are 11 candidates for the seat. Snow and weather conditions in general are impacting on early turnout, however, the evening is expected to see an overall turnout of approximately 45%. The fact that polls are closing two hours early is not expected to paly any significant role.

The general feeling talking to voters is that Helen McEntee has earned her stripes in the community and is an able politician. The poor taste of Fianna Fail being in power for 14 years remains and Byrne is not expected to surpass Helen McEntee.

One local said:

“Mc Entee is favourite 1/10 on and the rest have not left the stall”.

Some polling stations are reporting a turnout of just 3% with others reaching a high of close to 8%. The average seems to be around 5%.

In the southern half of the constituency turnout is lower than usual with the bad weather and later opening time for polling stations meaning many commuters did not vote before leaving for work.

It's expected there will be an increase in the number of voters through lunchtime and especially in the evening.

How big that rush actually is will depend on the weather and voter engagement in this by-election.

Polling stations remain open until 9pm with the counting of votes beginning 12 hours later.

Meath east byelection, enda Kenny, Helen mcentee, fine gael, sinn fein, finna fail, labour, Garda

Helen McEntee to take Gold as Kenny Roasted by local Garda

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was involved in a heated exchange with an off-duty garda over public sector pay cuts during a whistle-stop tour of the Meath East constituency yesterday.

The incident took place in a supermarket in Ratoath where the Taoiseach was canvassing with Fine Gael candidate Helen McEntee ahead of tomorrow's byelection to fill the seat left vacant by the death of her father Shane McEntee in December.

The garda, who did not disclose his name, expressed anger at Government plans to cut payments to frontline staff as part of the revised Croke Park agreement.

On the eve of polling, Ms McEntee remains the favourite to retain the seat for Fine Gael which won two of the three seats in the constituency in the last general election.

However, Fianna Fáil candidate Thomas Byrne has confidently predicted he can regain the seat he lost in 2011 when his party took only 19.6 per cent of the vote, compared to Fine Gael’s 40.9 per cent.

Similarly, Darren O’Rourke of Sinn Féin is confident his party’s support will rise significantly from the 8.9 per cent it received in 2011.

Much attention will focus on the performance of Labour candidate Eoin Holmes. If the junior Coalition party’s support drops into single digits from the 21 per cent it garnered in 2011, it is likely to put a strain on the authority of Labour leader and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore.

In yesterday’s supermarket confrontation, the garda, a father of three, told Mr Kenny that his shift work meant he often did not see his children when they were off school.

“I am entitled to an unsocial hours allowance,” he said, saying the €15.06 allowance currently being paid worked out at about €7 after tax.”

The debate between Mr Kenny and the garda lasted for almost 10 minutes and attracted the attention of dozens of shoppers.

The garda recounted how he had taken his sick daughter to Tallaght hospital on St Patrick’s Day where doctors, nurses, and catering and cleaning staff were all working.

“You are turning around and cutting their wages and taking other wages including my own which I feel I am entitled to,” he said. “It’s not my fault the economy collapses but I feel I’m being singled out,” he said.

Mr Kenny robustly defended Government policies saying “every public servant from the top down” had taken pay cuts. He criticised the Garda Representative Association for leaving the pay negotiations. “Fire officers and prison officers were all able to get a settlement and stay on the pitch,” he said.

On the overall situation, Mr Kenny referred to the public expenditure deficit which he described as very tough and challenging: “Do you think it’s going to sort itself out? You're a guard, which is a very important job. You’re an intelligent man. Who do you think will pay for the services?”

Both shook hands at the end with Mr Kenny praising the garda for fulfilling an important service in society, and the garda saying: “We will agree to disagree.”

Helen McEntee, Fine Gael, Meath East byelection, politics, meath east election

Helen McEntee will top the Poll in Meath-East by-election with Fianna Fail’s Byrne taking Silver ahead of Sinn Fein’s New kid on the Block O’Rourke who will take Bronze

Helen McEntee - Fine Gael
Fine Gael candidate Helen McEntee is contesting the seat her father held until he died last year. Ms McEntee completed a degree in Economics, Politics and Law in DCU and then went on to complete a masters in Media and Communication. Her biography describes her as having worked with her father in Meath East and in the Department of Agriculture, when he became Minister of State.

There are a total of 11 candidates for the Meath East by-electionn, which takes place on 27 March.
The death of Fine Gael TD and Minister of State Shane McEntee last December cast a pall over the constituency.

The popular deputy from Castletown was immersed in community life long before he was elected in a by-election in 2005.

His 26-year-old daughter Helen is one of the candidates seeking election when voters go to the polls next Wednesday.

Even though Fine Gael and Labour won a combined 62% of the vote in the 2011 General Election, a win for the Government is far from guaranteed.

The task facing Labour candidate Eoin Holmes seems particularly daunting as his party’s support is falling, according to the latest national opinion polls.

Indeed, those same polls suggest one clear thing; Fianna Fáil is now the party with the greatest momentum.

In Senator Thomas Byrne it has a candidate with a high profile who was returned to the Dáil once before in 2007.

Sinn Féin’s Darren O’Rourke is also expected to significantly increase his party’s vote in the constituency where they won 9% of the first preferences two years ago.

The remaining candidates will hope the unpopular Government's austerity measures translate into votes that could see someone from outside the big parties returned to Leinster House.

The polls will open on Wednesday from 8am to 9pm.

Senator Thomas Byrne – Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil candidate Thomas Byrne was elected to Dáil Éireann as a TD for Meath East in 2007, and lost his seat in the 2011 General Election. He was subsequently elected to the Seanad.

Ben Gilroy - DDI
Ben Gilroy, 50, is a candidate for Direct Democracy Ireland. An anti-austerity candidate, Mr Gilroy also helped found the group People For Economic Justice.
Cllr Eoin Holmes - Labour

Labour councillor Eoin Holmes has been on Meath County Council since 2007. His Labour biography describes him as working on transport, zoning and planning issues at local level. A film and TV producer, he also runs a small coffee shop business.

Charlie Keddy - Independent
Independent Charlie Keddy has been contesting local and general elections in Greystones and Wicklow since 1991. He says his reason for running in this by-election is solely anti-home and anti-water taxes.

Mick Martin – Independent
Independent candidate Mick Martin is from Slane and a financial services adviser. This is his first time to go before the electorate.

Seamus McDonagh – Workers' Party
Currently the chairman of the North Meath Campaign Against the Household and Water Taxes, Mr McDonagh is a native of Wilkinstown and lives in Kells. Mr McDonagh previously ran for election in 1987 and 2011.

Helen McEntee - Fine Gael
Fine Gael candidate Helen McEntee is contesting the seat her father held until he died last year. Ms McEntee completed a degree in Economics, Politics and Law in DCU and then went on to complete a masters in Media and Communication. Her biography describes her as having worked with her father in Meath East and in the Department of Agriculture, when he became Minister of State.

Gerard O'Brien - Independent
Independent candidate Gerard O'Brien is a psychiatric nurse from Navan. This is also his first time to go before the electorate.

Sean O Buachalla – Green Party
Green Party candidate 31-year-old Sean O Buachalla is a youth development officer for Conradh na Gaeilge. He ran unsuccessfully in 2007 and 2011, polling just over 3% and 1% of the vote respectively.

Darren O'Rourke – Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin candidate Darren O'Rourke is a policy adviser to his party’s health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. Born and raised in Kells, Mr O'Rourke now lives in Ashbourne. This is his first election.

Jim Tallon - Independent
Wicklow farmer Jim Tallon has contested 15 elections and by-elections since 1981. Mr Tallon has previously declared himself President of The Republic of Glastnost - his farm in Arklow.