General election race is on for south Mayo
The race is under way ahead of next year’s general election for the redrawn Galway West constituency.
Ciara Galvin
WITH a general election set to take place just under a year from now, the race for the redrawn constituency of Galway West is well underway.
Some 10,000 votes from the Ballinrobe area will now be added to the redrawn constituency, which has remained a five seater.
Just weeks on from the official opening of Fine Gael Deputy John O’Mahony’s new constituency office in Ballinrobe, rival Independent candidate Fidelma Healy Eames has entered the race for the new area and visited the town.
Following her visit to the south Mayo town, the Independent candidate has called on An Taoiseach and FΡilte Ireland to prioritise the creation of a business case to attract entrepreneurs to develop a hotel with leisure facilities in Ballinrobe.
“Following a series of meetings with local business people, community leaders and families in Ballinrobe, it struck me forcibly how frequently I heard about the need for a hotel with leisure facilities in Ballinrobe. I heard about staff having to go to either Claremorris, Castlebar or Tourmakeady for a social function,” said the senator.
She added that businesses looking to hold a conference struggle to find a venue of capacity locally, and that meeting with unemployed young people highlighted the lack of opportunities for jobs.
“A hotel in Ballinrobe would offer training and work opportunities for them too. I understand there were a number of previous proposals for a hotel in the area that had fallen through,” she noted.
Local business person and member of Ballinrobe’s Town Management Team Martin Murphy, agreed with the senator’s thoughts on the need for a hotel and leisure facilities for the town, but said it was one thing that a politician couldn’t deliver.
“This town needs one thing, a hotel. But it’s not a thing a politician can deliver. Most importantly now is to retain the jobs in Irish Pride, there’s 60 families depending on those jobs,” said Mr Murphy.
Senator Healy Eames said An Taoiseach Enda Kenny should take a special interest in Ballinrobe.
“An Taoiseach is well placed and has considerable opportunity to meet with entrepreneurs at home and abroad. It is time the Government prioritised Ballinrobe. Just because its located in South Mayo and due to be merged with Galway West after the next election, that’s no reason for it to be forgotten or left in limbo,” concluded the senator, adding that she will be keeping Ballinrobe ‘uppermost on my agenda’.
Fine Gael candidates joining Deputy O’Mahony on the ticket are outgoing Fine Gael TDs SeΡn Kyne and Brian Walsh and Senator Hildegarde Naughton. Fianna Fail’s ticket includes outgoing TD Éamon Ó’Cuív, former Galway county councillor John Connolly and the current Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Mary Hoade. Sinn Féin’s candidate for the area is Trevor Ó Clochartaigh. Labour’s candidate is sitting TD Derek Nolan.