Conway prefers ‘slimmed-down Seanad’

CLARE’S newest senator, Martin Conway from Ennistymon, has reiterated his claim that Fine Gael “made a mistake” in not selecting him to run on the party ticket in the recent General Election.

Senator Conway expressed his delight at being elected to the Seanad on Friday but added that he still wants to see the second house reformed.
The Ennistymon man was elected on the public administration panel nominated by the People With Disabilities in Ireland (PWDI) group.
“There is absolutely no doubt about it. Fine Gael made a mistake and furthermore, the Fine Gael councillors throughout the country were of that mindset as well, given that they voted for me in such numbers. Throughout the country, there were a number of areas where it was felt that Fine Gael got the strategy wrong and Clare was one that was mentioned and that is something that did feature during my election campaign,” Senator Conway commented.
“Having said that, the Fine Gael and independent councillors around the country saw in me a candidate that could contribute in a different sense to Seanad debates, given my life experience of disability and given the fact that the Seanad is supposed to be a house that reflects minority interests.
“Fine Gael councillors had an added unique advantage in voting for me in the sense that I fulfilled the requirements of my panel to represent the voluntary disability sector. I am the first person to be elected to either house, as far as I am aware, with my disability and I have made my own bit of history in that regard,” he added, referring to the fact he is visually impaired.
“I ran a very strong campaign; I presented my case, my credentials and told my story with conviction. I had utter belief in my ability to attract votes from my peers across the country and that self-belief was justified given that I secured 86 first-preference votes and was comfortably elected in the end.
“It is a very significant victory given the fact none of my family were even involved in politics before and that I am the first of any of the generations of my family to get elected to the council or the Seanad,” Senator Conway stated.
The North Clare senator said he was “overjoyed” at his election but acknowledged that a referendum on the abolition of the Seanad is part of the current Programme for Government.
“I understand the abolition of the Seanad is part of an overall political reform that this country needs but personally, I would prefer to see a slimmed-down Seanad.
“It is part of the Programme for Government to abolish the Seanad, reduce the number of TDs by 20 and to completely reform the committee system and if the committee system was to be reformed, there would be an opportunity there to bring the various minority interests onto committees, which would emulate the work currently being done by the Seanad but that is at the very early stages. What I need to do now is concentrate on my brief and fulfil my mandate,” he concluded.
In his new role, Senator Conway says he plans to be a voice for West and North Clare, in particular in the Oireachtas, adding he hopes to have impact in particular in the areas of disability issues, job creation and tourism.
Senator Conway has been a member of Clare County Council since 2004.

Breege not running for council seat
THE wife of newly elected Senator Martin Conway has ruled herself out of contention for her husband’s council seat. Kildare woman Breege Hannify Conway is adamant she will not seek her husband’s seat on Clare County Council after he was elected to the Seanad on Friday. Since the abolition of the dual mandate, senators and TDs are no longer allowed to hold seats on local authorities.
Ms Hannify Conway said she is just as political as her husband and would be interested in being a councillor but not while her husband is in public office, unless the role of county councillor was unpaid.
“I’d be as political as Martin but I won’t put my name forward for the council. I am ruling myself out. The main reason I am not contesting for this co-option is that Martin and I have been against nepotism all our lives and I feel I would only be getting the seat as I am Martin’s wife. In order for us in Fine Gael to promote equality, then we should not be taking jobs for ourselves and having a ‘jobs for the boys’ situation,” Ms Hannify Conway told The Clare Champion.
“In the current economic climate, it is enough for the taxpayer to pay one of our salaries, not having to pay the two of us,” she went on.
“In an ideal world, I would love to be in politics but if he is in, then only one of us can do it so I am out. I mean this in the sense that if the council was a non-paying position I would consider it then but there is another issue too. I have my own independent views, which might not coincide with Martin’s views or Fine Gael’s view,” Ms Hannify Conway added.
Ms Hannify Conway is a member of Fine Gael, having met her husband through Young Fine Gael, while studying in University College Dublin.
“I suppose election to the council would be different because you would have your own mandate. It would not be like having a job and passing it on to a member of the family. As long as Martin is elected to public life, I am ruling myself out. I feel like we should be spreading roles of responsibility out among different people and if Martin retired or left politics, I would do it I think,” she stated.
“If you were an ordinary member of the party and you see Martin, who is a senator and then you see his wife coming along wanting his old job; that sort of thing always sickened me. It is not that I wouldn’t love the job, I would but I wouldn’t want it that way. It is personally something that has always got my goat, creating dynasties and politicians keeping everything for themselves and making family mafias,” Ms Hannify Conway said.
“If Martin joins Fianna Fáil or if he leaves politics, then I’ll go for the council,” she concluded.
President of Young Fine Gael, New Quay man Eric Keane has also ruled himself out contention for the vacant seat.
“I am working in Dublin for the next couple of months and my presidential term doesn’t end until February so it wouldn’t be right to do two things half-right, rather than do one of them properly,” the accountant commented.
However, Mr Keane did not rule out eventually running for a seat on Clare County Council.
“I would love to move back to Clare eventually but I am like any 24-year-old, I have to follow the work. I’ll take a job where I can get it,” he concluded.