Tag Archives: Sinn Féin

HEATED exchanges characterised the first stage of a private members Dáil motion last night (October 4), urging government to scrap the proposed 10% levy on concrete products. The charge was outlined in Budget 2023 as a means of raising funds to support the revised scheme for homeowners, including those in Clare, with defective concrete blocks.  The proposal has been widely criticised by sectors including construction and farming, as well as action groups for pyrite and mica homeowners. In Clare, Dr Martina Cleary, founder of the local action group slammed the levy, saying it was letting the real culprits in the pyrite scandal off the hook.  This week Sinn Féin tabled a motion aiming to have the levy scrapped. Tuesday night’s debate was chaired by Deputy Joe Carey, in his capacity as Acting Chairperson.  Ahead of the vote on Wednesday night, Sinn Féin Councillor Donna McGettigan urged all Clare TDs to back the motion.  The Shannon representative described the plans as …

A SUGGESTION last week from Sinn Féin’s transport spokesman Darren O’Rourke that Shannon staff be transferred to Dublin Airport to help deal with the crisis saw him heavily criticised in Clare. Responding on Tuesday, he said his suggestion (and in the Dáil the Transport Minister indicated attempts had been made to do exactly what Mr O’Rourke suggested) had been slammed in Clare for political reasons. “I thought it was mischief making and those who were critical were doing so for political reasons. They know very well that they are in the parties that have overseen a totally lopsided aviation policy. “All of the dominance of Dublin Airport is directly as a result of their policies, not because of Sinn Féin’s policy. “They know too that the suggestion was made in the context of a national embarrassment, a national emergency, it was made in the context of a number of suggestions, everything on the table. “That was the position we adopted …

SHANNON County Councillor Donna McGettigan has been returned unopposed to the Sinn Féín Ard Comahirle, following the party’s Munster AGM. She said the party hopes to decide next month on a strategy for Clare in the next general election. It is the third year in a row that Councillor McGettigan has been selected to represent party members in Munster on the party’s administrative body. There are around 30 people on the Ard Comhairle, with four elected from each province along with executive members. Speaking about the role of the Ard Comhairle, Councillor McGettigan said, “It’s mostly policy making and then the overseeing of the party as a whole. Our policies come through Ard Fheis, from the grassroots up.” Sinn Féin is the party performing best in opinion polls and she claimed it is more in tune with the times than its rivals. “We are on the rise and it’s time now for change. We are always hearing from people about …

SINN Féin councillor Donna McGettigan has said that the rancorous departure of Violet Anne Wynne from the party is unfortunate, while she says she herself has not considered a future Dáil bid. On Tuesday, she said efforts had been made to deal with all issues raised by the woman who caused a major upset by taking a seat in the 2020 general election. “Any issue that we were made aware of, we tried locally and nationally to resolve them. It’s just very unfortunate that they couldn’t be resolved and Violet Anne felt she had to leave the party. “I’m not going to get into the tit for tat, the he said she said, because it’s not going to help her and it’s not going to help us either. Unfortunately she’s gone, the seat is gone and what we’re going to do going forward is hit the ground running. “On our social media you’d have seen we’ve been out, we’ve delivered …

It was draining to be in such a messy situation the Kilrush TD tells Owen Ryan LESS than three weeks after the birth of her sixth child, Violet Anne Wynne’s resignation from Sinn Féin has focused negative attention on the country’s most rapidly growing party. In an interview with the Clare Champion Ms Wynne said that the party in this county is divided, that she wasn’t supported around her pregnancy, that the internal problems were preventing her delivering for the constituency and that Mary Lou McDonald never contacted her after the birth of her daughter or after she quit the party. She is going to continue representing Clare as an independent TD, and says it is very likely she will contest the next general election. Ms Wynne caused a stunning upset when she took a seat in the 2020 general election, but just before the poll it came to light that she owed some €12,000 in rent arrears. She says …

WHILE Shannon Airport has faced numerous crises over the last 20 years, one of its steady sources of revenue has been the ongoing business provided by the US military. How clearly this military use meant the alignment of Ireland with US policies has been hotly debated, with many protestors arguing it has left Ireland implicated in numerous human rights abuses, while successive Governments have argued neutrality is not compromised. Every Government that has allowed the US military use has been led by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, but as time goes by it looks like that may not happen after the next election, with opinion polls showing Sinn Féin are likely to be the biggest party. The party is a staunch critic of the US military use of the airport, and while other parties have raised concerns before entering Government, if Sinn Féin does enter government it is very likely to be as the senior rather than junior party …

A PLAQUE has been erected at the bandstand in the Town Park, in memory of the late Mike McKee. Mr McKee was a member of the Shannon Town Council for many years, while in 2014 he was the first Sinn Féin representative elected to Clare Council Council since the 1970s. While he retained his seat in 2019, he was seriously ill by the time of the election and died that November. Donna McGettigan was co-opted onto the Council in his place, and she said the plaque honouring Mike is a very suitable gesture. “It was proposed by PJ Ryan, just before I came onto the Council, he proposed naming the bandstand after Mike, which was very appropriate considering Mike was involved with music. “Mike worked hard with his Council colleagues to get that park going, so it’s very fitting.” Due to Covid restrictions only a small number of people attending the unveiling of the plaque, but she said it went …

WITH an opinion poll last week showing Sinn Féin at 35%, way ahead of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who are both on 20%, it is clear that the party are still increasing their popularity, following their success in last year’s general election. When Violet Anne Wynne took a seat in Clare in early 2020 it was a huge shock, but really only reflected the national picture, where the party were picking up numerous seats that had looked beyond them. The party has one seat on Clare County Council, now held by Donna McGettigan who was co-opted to replace the late Mike McKee, and she said she was pleased with the direction the party is going in. “These polls are very, very encouraging and it shows we are doing the right things. We’re actually out on the ground, we don’t just call at election time, we are working very hard and we’re getting to the issues that mean something to …