A Fine Gael candidate for Shannon Local Electoral Area who was eliminated on the ninth count has said the community in south-east Clare has been forgotten about by Clare County Council.
First time candidate, Val Gillane said he feels south-east Clare is being forgotten about at local level:
“I would love to see Clare County Council now wake up and come down and have a look at south-east Clare. South East Clare voted to stay in Clare. Please come down to us and now show us. We are completely forgotten about like we are between two boundaries. We are 2km from Limerick County Council and we are 40km from Clare County Council. We don’t have the representation. We don’t have the funding. We don’t have the back-up. We don’t have any of the basics…I am talking about communities and infrastructure. West of the Shannon Banks was built in 1966 like 1966 footpaths and 1966 lighting…”
“I would love to see a local office down there open again. We had it down there in the Westbury Centre and they didn’t leave it there long enough. They took it away.
“You have Clare County Council, UL, Limerick County Council, Waterways Ireland, the Office of Public Works and Shannon Development in a little square – major bodies and rich bodies but too many bodies. We need someone to step up and take control and represent us. The communities are really let down – it is really sorry to see…we are not getting it.
Nonetheless, he said he enjoyed the campaign. The 59-year-old who worked in retail for 36 years and retired two years ago felt it was great to get back out and meet and re-connect with everybody.
However, he said there were some great young candidates in the field like David Griffin (FF) and Rachel Hartigan (FF) who were difficult to compete against this time around.
Sharon Dolan D’Arcy covers West Clare news. After completing a masters in journalism at University of Galway, Sharon worked as a court reporter at the Sligo Weekender. She was also editor of the Athenry News and Views.