Tag Archives: Martin Conway

Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway has criticised what he has described as a “disastrous” Fine Gael election campaign nationally, however, he said he is hopeful of a positive Clare result. He said he felt sympathy for Clare County Councillor Mary Howard who he said was “put on the back foot” by Fine Gael by putting her forward as a General Election candidate too late. Senator Conway said he believes he could have performed well and attracted a significant vote if he had been chosen and the North Clare and West Clare areas were left “wide open” for Dr Michael Harty and other candidates by deciding not to select him. He said he believes Fine Gael made a “big mistake” by not selecting him but he is relatively confident Fine Gael can claim two seats. “Nationally at the moment it has been a disastrous election for Fine Gael. Our message clearly hasn’t resonated with the people. You could be forgiven for …

A date has been set for the Fine Gael convention to select candidates to run for the General Election in Clare. The convention will take place on September 11 in Ennis, with the county’s two sitting TDs, Deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey, likely to receive the nod. Senators Tony Mulcahy and Martin Conway have both said they will seek the party’s nomination. Clare County Councillor Mary Howard may also seek to have her name put forward. Senator Mulcahy was on the ticket in the 2011 General Election but was not elected, while Senator Conway had expressed his desire to run for Fine Gael on that occasion but was not selected as a candidate. “In 2009, I topped polls in local elections with a significant surplus. I wasn’t running in the subsequent General Election, even though a senior cabinet minister living seven miles away from me had said he would not be running, so it left a vacuum. Fine Gael …

CLARE’S five Government Oireachtas members are divided over the possible implications of the decision to press ahead with the €1.4 billion sale of Aer Lingus to International Airlines Group (IAG). Furthermore, Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley has added a twist to the debate in claiming the Irish Government might have no option but to sue IAG if the Aer Lingus Heathrow slots are sold. Fianna Fáil said it will table a Private Notice Question in the Dáil on Thursday, in a bid to suspend the proposed vote to sell off the national stake in Aer Lingus. The move follows the emergence of a report prepared by aviation consultants Nyras for Aer Lingus, in which the company sets out a range of cost reductions across the airline, including a proposal to outsource part of aircraft maintenance to Eastern Europe. The Government is recommending the sale of the State’s 25.1% stake, worth €335million, in Aer Lingus to IAG and put a motion to …

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, has announced  she intends to proceed with the enactment of legislation to promote mediation as a viable, effective and efficient adjunct to court proceedings. “Following my Private Members’ motion on mediation in the Seanad today, which was supported by the majority of senators; I am delighted that the Minister for Justice has now committed to the enactment of the Mediation Bill in early course,” commented Senator Martin Conway. He continiued, “Mediation is voluntary process of conflict prevention and resolution that allows the parties an opportunity to address their issues in a confidential, private and safe environment. It improves communication, narrows outstanding issues, defuses emotions and defines area of agreement. Statistics from the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland show a success rate for mediation averaging 80%. “I am confident that dealing with disputes in this way will provide the parties in dispute with the best possible opportunity to resolve their issues in a fast …

CLARE Senator Martin Conway is calling for the criminalisation of domestic violence. Senator Conway, who is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, was speaking following the launch of the committee’s report on domestic and sexual violence. “The committee heard that violence, in a domestic context, is often treated differently to public assault, where public assault is treated more seriously. This is completely unacceptable and the State needs to ensure that, to the greatest possible extent, this crime should be treated as being as serious, if not more serious than, many other forms of criminal and common law assault,” he said. The committee’s report calls for a wider definition of domestic violence and seeks to have domestic abuse introduced into Irish law. The proposal envisages the use of specially trained and experienced judges in a ‘one family, one judge’ model, which would be complemented by the provision of specially trained support services aimed at assisting the …

Clare senator, Martin Conway, has urged the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald and the Acting Garda Commissioner, Noirin O’Sullivan, to consider the establishment of a website to keep victims informed about the status of their case. “Last year in the UK, Avon and Somerset police forces set up a website called TrackMyCrime, allowing people to follow the progress of their cases,” said the Fine Seanad Spokesperson on Justice, Disability and Equality. “TrackMyCrime allows victims of crime to access the progress of the investigation of their crime as well as contact the officer leading the investigation. The service is offered to victims of crime alongside all of our other methods of communication with notifications via email and/or text, alerting them to a message which they can securely access at a time and in a way that suits them.,” he explained. Senator Conway said the system automatically updates as police enter information on their computers, with emergency 999 call handlers …

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 Dan Danaher THE development of an Aldi outlet in Ennistymon would result in job losses in local shops, a local supermarket manager has claimed. Supervalu manager, Jackie Crowe told a public meeting organised by Ennistymon IFA it would take 15 people to run a new Aldi store, which wouldn’t result in any new jobs as they would simply be displaced from Supervalu and small shops in the locality. She insisted the population in the Ennistymon catchment area is not big enough to support a large discount store and existing shops in the locality. At the meeting, which took place two days ahead of the announcement of the mart being sold, Ms Crowe  revealed the local Supervalu store paid out €1.4m in wages last year to 70 staff, as well as €400,000 to small independent producers in North Clare. She told the meeting Supervalu paid out  €17,000 in sponsorship to local clubs and charities. Since Supervalu moved to Church Street five years …