Westport Fine Gael councillor urges people of west Mayo to vote locally in General Election

A WESTPORT-based councillor has called on the people of west Mayo to vote locally in Friday's General Election and not risk losing a TD for the area.

Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn told the monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District yesterday (Monday) that people in the Westport area should vote tactically to ensure the area has a TD after the election on Friday.

His party colleague Kiera Keogh and Independent Ireland councillor Chris Maxwell are both candidates based in the Westport area who are contesting the General Election on Friday. Cllr Flynn told the meeting that people in the area should vote one or two for either Keogh or Cllr Maxwell.

“We have an election in a number of days and it is the first time since 1994 that there is a strong possibility we will no longer have a TD in west Mayo.

“I just want to wish Cllr Maxwell the best in the election and I want to wish Keira Keogh well. I am saying loud and clear to the people of west Mayo to vote one and two and I don't care if it's Chris or Keira or Keira and Chris but vote one and two and keep a TD in this area. We are in absolute dire need of it and I say that without hesitation. If we can get Cllr Maxwell or Keogh over the line we will have somebody to help us out,” he said.

Independent Ireland councillor Chris Maxwell is contesting the General Election

Michael Ring who has been a TD since he was elected in the old West Mayo constituency in 1994 will not contest this General Election after deciding to retire from active politics in June.

Cllr Flynn said that without a TD in the area it will be harder for local people to get help to deal with important issues that may affect them.

“Since I was elected in 1999 we have had a local TD and Michael Ring's office available to us. Since his office closed in the last couple of weeks I have had calls about medical cards and grants and passports and waiting lists which none of us are able to deal with because it is outside our remit. We already struggle as councillors to deal with local issues and these are national issues which we will potentially not have anyone locally to deal with,” he said.

Cllr Flynn had been tipped by many people to be a Fine Gael candidate to replace Ring but chose not to put his name forward and has supported Keogh's election bid. He also told the meeting that women should get behind other women who put their name forward in elections.

“I would make an appeal to the ladies on the council. If you look at the county council meeting 27 out of the 30 councillors are men. One of the most formidable councillors I encountered was Cllr Margaret Adams who was an absolute powerhouse who did amazing work for this area for 30 years. I say to the ladies of the parish that we can hold men responsible for lots of things but we don't dictate how they vote and they should consider that whatever females are on the ballot paper we should consider them. We need balance in politics and people from both sides of the divide. We need the right people in this county to represent us and that we have representation in the right places,” he said.