The first debate in the 2019 Local Election Campaign has seen five of the Ennis area candidates going head to head on some of the issues affecting the county town and surrounding areas.
51 candidates in all have thrown their hat in the ring for this year’s local election in the hope of securing one of the 28 seats up for grabs.
And, in the first of Clare FM’s pre-election debates, ahead of polling day on May 24th, five of the fifteen Ennis candidates have been making their pitches on why they should be chosen to represent the county town at council level.
All five candidates were critical of the provision of health services here, in the wake of Sunday’s protest on the matter which was attended by hundreds of people.
Fine Gael’s Johnny Flynn claims poor management is to blame for the record trolley numbers at the region’s main hospital.
A decline in live register figures has been hailed by the government as evidence of an economic recovery, but while Sinn Féin’s Donna McGettigan says any improvement is welcome, she doesn’t believe the figures paint an accurate picture.
She says there are plenty of people who are out of work, but not counted, and she also feels small businesses aren’t getting enough support.
And Labour’s Seamus Ryan doesn’t believes there’s enough of a focus on the quality of jobs coming on stream in Ennis.
Limerick, Galway and Dublin have seen a boost in investment in high tech, high paid jobs, but he believes there has been somewhat of a reversal here, citing the planned closure of Roche.
First time Fianna Fáil candidate Mark Nestor believes Ennis needs to be marketed as a hub for major national and international festivals, to build on the success of two All Ireland Fleadhanna.
He’s also confirmed that the Fleadh Nua will take place over the June Bank Holiday weekend from 2020, which he believes will be a major boost to businesses in Ennis.
On housing, Independent Ann Norton believes not enough money has been provided by central government to allow the local authority grant mortgages for middle class workers.
She says that would help free up rented accommodation for those that need it the most.
Listen back to the debate in full here
The second installment of the Ennis debates gets underway tomorrow morning from 10 o’clock on Morning Focus, while the sole Ennistymon debate will air at 6 o’clock tomorrow evening.
