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.

Meath East byelection, helen mcentee, shane mcentee, Thomas Byrne, Eoin Holmes; while Sinn Fein Darren O'Rourke.

Meath East byelection, helen mcentee, shane mcentee, Thomas Byrne, Eoin Holmes; while Sinn Fein Darren O'Rourke.

THE daughter of the late junior minister Shane McEntee says anonymous abuse directed towards her father cannot be blamed as the "sole factor" for his death.

In the first McEntee family interview since the former Meath East TD's passing, Helen (26), who is the Fine Gael candidate in the upcoming by-election in the constituency, said: "I can't really say what happened to dad or what made him do what he did, but you know, you can't just blame that entirely."

 

At Mr McEntee's funeral, his brother Gerry singled out "faceless cowards" who sent anonymous online messages, and also mentioned opposition politicians who criticised the junior agriculture minister over comments he made about respite care grant cuts.

But Ms McEntee says she bears no ill will towards those political opponents who criticised her father, saying: "That's politics. Sometimes he had a habit of putting his foot in it and not explaining things how he wanted to and, unfortunately, it came out wrong."

And she doesn't believe social media abuse and political criticism were the main factors in her dad's death.

"It is getting a bit nastier and people are getting a bit tougher with politicians but that's always been there and dad was involved in politics for seven or eight years. You know, you can't make that one sole factor.

There's always going to be a level of cynicism. That's never changed."

Sensitive

Ms McEntee, who worked as a parliamentary assistant for her father (left) and has a degree in economics, politics and law from Dublin City University (DCU) as well as a masters in journalism and media communications, said she decided to contest the by-election in the weeks after her father's death.

"I got a letter from somebody, a member down the country, saying that they'd help me and they'd come up and canvass for me if I decided to run. So I started thinking about it then and people started saying it to me.

Then it was a case that I had to start talking about it because nobody really wanted to. People were a bit sensitive with dad and they wanted to wait for the Month's Mind and things like that."

She had spoken to her father last year about running in the local elections in 2014, and possibly taking over his Dail seat in years to come.

And she says her mother Kathleen and wider family are fully behind her, adding the campaign is giving them something to focus on while they still deal with their grief and shock.

"Mum is apprehensive and I know people are saying why the hell would she go into it considering what happened dad. But you have to put that aside. My mum thinks I'd be mad not to but obviously she has concerns. Any mother would," she said.

"Mum won't be out knocking on doors, she won't be out canvassing and that's completely fine."

Ms McEntee says she wants to run as a candidate in her own right, but also to carry on her father's legacy.

She gets emotional when she thinks of her father, welling up when asked what her abiding memory of him is.

"God, there's loads. Somebody said he'd always bounce into a room. He'd fight with everybody but would never fall out with anybody. Yeah, just his energy and how much he loved everybody and he loved working for everybody and he would do anything for anybody. He had such a big heart, I can't really hone in on one."

Fianna Fail has selected Senator Thomas Byrne as its candidate;Labour has selected Slane councillor Eoin Holmes; while Sinn Fein is running Ashbourne-based councillor Darren O'Rourke.