This article is from page 12 of the 2011-05-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
TAOISEACH Enda Kenny must reward Clare with “a post of significance” after the historic achievement of the Clare branch of the party in winning four seats in the Oireachtas.
Cllr Joe Arkins, who spearheaded Clare Fine Gael’s Seanad Éireann campaign among the party’s 14 members of Clare County Council, told The Clare People that “Clare cannot now be ignored by the party brains trust in Dublin”.
“In the absence of Clare getting a junior ministerial post after the General Election, Enda Kenny can now look at the county again. We have four Oireachtas members for the first time in the party’s history and we want that recognised by Government.
“It’s in the Taoiseach’s gift to do that. He has the scope to make one of Clare’s Oireachtas members the chair of an Oireachtas sub-committee. It’s the least the county deserves. The bank of talent is in Clare.
“Senator Martin Conway has a special insight into the area of disability, so to does Senator Tony Mulcahy. Both of them also have an involvement in small and medium enterprises. They could be rewarded with a post on sub-committees in these areas,” added Cllr Arkins.