COUNCIL PROFILE: WEXFORD:AN 85 per cent increase in unemployment and anger over the proposed transfer of services from Wexford General Hospital to Waterford are key issues facing candidates battling for the 21 seats of Wexford County Council.
Fine Gael is pushing hard to better a strong performance in the 2004 local elections, while Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and a number of Independent candidates will be scrapping to hold their ground.
In 2004, Fine Gael outpolled its rivals in Wexford, taking seven seats.
However, an unlikely pact with Fianna Fáil, which increased its seat tally to seven when Cllr Jimmy Fleming joined from Sinn Féin, has seen the parties share control of the council ever since.
Wexford has long been an unpredictable battleground, highlighted in 2004, when no councillor reached quota on the first count, with only 10 of those eventually elected hitting the target.
To open matters further, the growth of Gorey sees it rise from a four- to a five-seat electoral area, with candidates in New Ross now competing for just four positions.
With seven seats available, Wexford is the largest electoral area.
Fianna Fáil has selected former TD and county hurling manager Tony Dempsey to defend its current seat, which was co-opted to restaurateur Fergie Kehoe when Lisa McDonald was appointed to the Seanad in 2007.
Mr Dempsey is expected to poll well in the area, as are experienced Independents Paudge Reck and Leo Carthy. Cllr Pat Codd (FG) is fancied to retain his seat, but party colleagues Cllr Anna Fenlon and Jim Moore may have to square off for a second Fine Gael seat.
Cllrs Maurice Roche (SF) and Ted Howlin (Lab) are regarded as strong contenders for the area’s remaining seats.
The loss of a seat in the New Ross area may hit the hopes of Cllr John Dwyer (SF), as transfers become crucial in meeting an increased quota.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil sources believe their parties will share the area’s four seats, with Cllr Denis Kennedy and Cllr Larry O’Brien (FG), and Cllr Jimmy Curtis and Michael Sheehan (both FF) fancied.
Fianna Fáil faces an uphill battle to retain its two seats in the Enniscorthy area following the announcement that council cathaoirleach Peter Byrne will not participate.
Cllr Barbara Ann Murphy (FF) is considered capable of holding her ground, as are sitting Independent Seán Doyle and Fine Gael duo Kathleen Codd-Nolan and Oliver Walsh, paving the way for a potential scrap between Patrick Kavanagh (FG) and Bernadette Walsh (FF) for the final seat.
Fine Gael sources in Gorey say the party is confident of atoning for a “kamikaze” campaign in 2004, which saw its five candidates take 45 per cent of the vote but only one seat.
Former Wexford GAA star John Hegarty leads a streamlined Fine Gael charge, alongside Ellen Lynch and Cllr Michael Kinsella, who replaced 2004 poll-topper Michael D’Arcy jnr when he was elected to the Dáil in 2007.
Sitting Independent Declan McPartlin is fancied to hold his ground, as is Cllr Jimmy Fleming (FF). The long-serving Cllr Lorcan Allen (FF) should also be in contention, but is expected to face a hard battle to prevent Fine Gael gaining a third seat in the area.
HOW THE PARTIES STAND
(Outgoing)
FF7
FG7
Lab1
SF2
Others4
