This article is from page 16 of the 2007-04-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
CLARE’S four Fine Gael general election candidates are confident that between them they can bring home two seats for their party.
At the weekend’s Ard Fheis, Councillor Joe Carey raised the is- sue of Open Skies when he spoke on a motion on regional develop- eetoolm
He told a packed room that the present Government were using a “scattergun” approach to regional development.
“Did anyone ask Dell or any of the multinationals in the west whether they will stay in Ireland when Shannon no longer has year round daily flights to the US after Open Skies? This Government is giving no supports to Shannon,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cllr Pat Breen says that his party’s emphasis on health and law and order issues at the con- ference comes from the feedback from the electorate.
“Just look at Ennis General Hos- pital. We still don’t know whether were going to have a 24-hour A&E department. We’re told plan- ning permission has been lodged, but it’s obvious nothing is going to be done before the election.”
The Clare councillor added that he is “looking forward to the elec-
tion campaign” and said he is con- fident of Fine Gael taking two seats in Clare.
Cllr Tony Mulcahy said that he believes Fine Gael are now ready to provide “credible opposition” to the Fianna Fail/PD coalition.
Cllr Mulcahy also believes that Shannon is among the important issues in Clare and wants to see Shannon supported into a position where it can break away debt free.
“Once there is an agreement in place with the unions what is vital in securing European business is an early morning and late evening connection with Dublin. We need same day accessibility. I don’t see why Shannon could not avail of a re- gional grant for that route under the Public Service Orders funding.”
Madeleine Taylor Quinn said it was “a most energetic, enthusiastic and positive Ard Fheis”.
She added that Enda Kenny gave “a commitment by Fine Gael to bring our public services up to the standard of the economy, its lays out exactly what the people of Ire- land can expect from a Fine Gael Government”.
The Fine Gael leader believes it is time to end the era of broken prom- ises, and for politicians to step up to the line and take responsibility for their actions in Government.”