Tag Archives: Fine Gael

By Owen Ryan MICHAEL Fleming, who served as Mayor of Shannon between the summers of 2012 and 2013 has announced he will be seeking election to Clare  County Council in next month’s local elections. Elected to the Town Council as a Fine Gael representative five years ago, he left the party subsequently. He will also be running as an independent in next month’s elections and he said that not being in a party will allow him to speak his mind to a greater extent. “As an independent I have more of an opportunity to voice my opinion. I worked hard for the people of the community and I intend to continue to be loyal to the people of the community.” When he spoke to The Clare Champion on Monday, he acknowledged that he has yet to start canvassing. “I haven’t really (started yet) because I only decided last Thursday that I decided I was going to run as an independent. …

CLARE  Senator, Martin Conway has said that the roll out of community courts across the country could revolutionise our justice system and would provide a local solution to local problems. Senator Conway’s comments coincide with a Private Members’ Motion on the subject tabled by him in the Seanad this Tuesday. “I will be using the time during my Private Members’ Motion in the Seanad to call on Minister Shatter to establish a community court in Dublin as a pilot project, with the hope that if successful, the model could be rolled out on a regional basis,” the Fine Seanad Spokesperson on Justice said. Continuing, he said, “I am convinced that we need to change how we deal with low-level crime at a local level. By placing the court at the heart of the community and approaching problems in their local context, community courts can offer a pragmatic approach that deals effectively with low level crime. “We need greater community engagement …

 By Peter O’Connell KILRUSH town councillor Ian Lynch is to switch his political allegiance from Fine Gael and stand in the West Clare area as an Independent candidate in the May election. He will join the battle for votes in the West Clare capital with his town council party colleague Marian McMahon Jones, who was added to the Fine Gael ticket after the November  convention. Sitting county councillors Gabriel Keating and Oliver Garry were selected at the Fine Gael convention to represent the party in the expanded west Clare constituency. Currently Kilrush is without a representative on Clare County Council for the first time in the local authority’s history. Councillor Lynch was elected to Kilrush Town Council, on the first count, in 2009 and says that he regrets not running for the county council five years ago. “Looking back this may have been a mistake because since the local elections in 2009 Kilrush town and the greater hinterland have been …

 CONFIRMATION from the HSE  that Section 39 organisations will be bound to disclose the salaries of their senior management staff from now on, has been welcomed by Clare senator Tony Mulcahy. “Over €812m  was provided to Section 39 organisations in 2012 and nearly 25% of the health budget is allocated to Section 38 and 39 organisations. There is increased scrutiny on how this money is spent. It is important that there is full transparency over how taxpayers’ money is being spent,” the Fine Gael senator said. “I am happy to learn that in accordance with the terms of the Service Level Agreement (SLA), which must be signed by all section 39 agencies receiving State funding, the salaries of all senior management must be disclosed,” he added.