Tag Archives: European elections

IN a first for any local authority, Clare County Council, together with The Clare Champion, will conduct a full live video broadcast of a local election count. The Clare Champion and Clare County Council are partnering up to produce this fully programmed live streaming broadcast, ensuring the public are kept up to date on events as they unfold from the count centre. Counting for the 2019 Local Elections will begin at Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday morning and continue into Sunday, after the county goes to the polls on Friday. Clare Champion editor Peter O’Connell said he is conscious that the way the general public consume news is changing and that, as a media organisation, it is important to adapt to meet that demand. “The print edition of The Clare Champion will always take priority for us but the way in which people consume media has altered radically and we want to ensure that we are at the forefront …

https://soundcloud.com/clarechampion/champion-report-local-election-special

The Referendum Commission has launched a nationwide campaign to encourage people to make sure they are registered to vote on the forthcoming referendum on the regulation of divorce. As part of that campaign it is encouraging people in Clare to check the register.  The referendum is taking place on Friday May 24, the same day as the European Parliament and Local Government Elections. The Referendum Commission will over the coming weeks be running TV, radio, online and social media advertising to urge people to check if they are registered at checktheregister.ie.  While the Commission’s remit covers the referendum only, being on the electoral register will allow you to vote in the referendum and the European and local elections. Chairperson of the Referendum Commission, Ms Justice Tara Burns said, “In order to vote, your name has to be on the register of electors for the address at which you normally live and checking if you are registered is really very simple, you …

FORMER Clare TD Michael McNamara’s bid to run for Labour in the upcoming European Elections ended in Cork last weekend, when the party selected Sheila Nunan. Reflecting on Wednesday, Mr McNamara said there had been signs that his bid would fall short. “It was disappointing but maybe not entirely surprising. It became apparent to me that I didn’t enjoy the support of parts of the party during the campaign. The chairman of the party, Jack O’Connor, is running in Wicklow, Brendan Howlin is obviously from Wexford and both of those counties are in the huge constituency that is Ireland South and they were there in numbers on the day. “There was also a good crowd from Cork. It was held in Cork and I don’t think I enjoyed the support of Cork either, frankly. But I was very appreciative of those who travelled from Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary to support me and also, the Clare Labour party for the …

The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has expressed disappointment that a Bill to extend the vote to young people aged 16 and 17 was stymied on Wednesday after the Seanad voted 29-21 in favour of an amendment to delay consideration of the Bill until December 2017. The National Youth Council represents organisations working with over 380,000 young people nationwide. James Doorley, NYCI deputy director said, “Democracy delayed is democracy denied and with this amendment the Government has kicked the can down the road on this issue yet again. The timing is particularly frustrating, as losing nine months will make it very difficult for any change in legislation to be in effect in time for the 2019 Local and European Elections.” The Electoral (Amendment) Voting at 16 Bill 2016, sponsored by Senators Warfield, Ruane and Mac Lochlainn, would have seen voting rights extended to young people aged 16 and 17 in local and European Elections. According to Mr Doorley this …

As the dust settles from the European Parliament elections, Sixmilebridge community activist, Richard Cahill said he was “extremely satisfied” with his final tally of 15,300 votes in thesouthern constituency before his elimination in the fifth count. Mr Cahill was very pleased with his showing in the constituency covering 10 counties in Munster and East Leinster, considering he had just over three and a half weeks to mount an election campaign. Before contesting the elections, Mr Cahill stated he wouldn’t have considered launching a Dáil bid. However, having “dipped his toes into democracy”, he is not ruling out contesting future elections. “I am tired now. It is not a time to be making decisions. I need to talk to my family as to how they feel about things. No doors are closed at this stage,” he said. Having completed a snapshot tally of the papers on Sunday morning, he said one-third of the ballot papers had him ticked, which amounted to …

VOTERS  in Clare have until next Tuesday evening to ensure they are listed on the Supplementary Register for the Local and European Elections. Application forms for the supplementary register can be downloaded from www.checktheregister.ie or can be obtained from Áras Contae an Chláir and at Clare County Council Local Area Offices. The local authority has also set up a freephone number, 1800 245426, to assist people with their queries. A council spokesperson stated, “The local and European elections will take place on Friday, May 23 and people who are eligible to vote, but who have not yet registered, have an opportunity between now and 5pm on May 6 to apply to be included on the supplementary register, which allows them to vote at the forthcoming elections.” Meanwhile, the council has confirmed that the count centre for both elections is Treacy’s West County Hotel in Ennis. Almost 64%, or 56,687, of County Clare’s 88,769 voters turned out to vote in the …

ANTI pylon campaigner and Ireland South Euro candidate, Kieran Hartley, has claimed that converting the ESB Moneypoint plant to a biomass-burning facility could secure jobs, help the environment and reduce the cost of imported American coal. “I know from leading the national anti-pylon and industrial wind turbine campaign that we need to take dramatic initiatives to avoid the building of thousands of giant pylons and windfarms across the country, while working to meet our commitments on sustainable energy,” he said. The European election candidate maintains that such a move would secure the future of Moneypoint as an integral part of the nations energy infrastructure and preserve jobs there. “A recent report by a leading UK energy expert Malcolm Brown showed how Ireland’s target of having 40 per cent of energy needs met by renewable sources by 2020 could be met in a single stroke if Moneypoint was converted from coal to biomass,” Kieran Hartley claimed. “This would save over €3 …