Ring voted hardest worker

Ring voted hardest worker

TD Perception
Daniel Carey

Michael Ring is overwhelmingly regarded as the hardest working TD in Mayo, according to The Mayo News/Millward Brown IMS constituency poll. That statistic in itself will be no surprise to political commentators, but the scale of the Westport man’s lead on the performance graph is quite startling. When asked which Mayo politicians have worked hard for the constituency, more than two in five people surveyed mentioned Ring’s name first, over twice as many endorsements as his nearest rival. A massive seven in ten regard him as one of the top three hardest workers.
The 41 per cent figure is almost double Ring’s projected first preference vote, and of course, this question in the poll was restricted to the five current TDs. Even so, it seems safe to surmise that the poll confirms a widely-held belief that even those who would not vote for Ring acknowledge his legendary appetite for attending to his constituents. However, his big lead on this key indicator – like his share of first preference votes – may be a double-edged sword for Fine Gael. If so much of their party support reflects Ring’s personal popularity, how can they convince loyalists to switch to O’Mahony or Mulherin?
Ring’s party leader Enda Kenny is in the unique position of garnering a lower figure on the performance graph than his projected first preference vote. Just one in seven believe he works hardest for the constituency, yet 19 per cent said he would get their number one vote. Kenny has spent much of the past five years on a nationwide tour to revamp Fine Gael’s fortunes, and his local ‘delivery rate’ may have suffered as a result. With his satisfaction rating as Opposition leader a healthy 63 per cent, however, it seems the people of Mayo are prepared to share their would-be Taoiseach with the rest of the country, for now at least.
Jerry Cowley polls a very respectable 16 per cent – more than twice as many people as say they will actually vote for him come election day. In addition, almost one in two regard him as among the three highest-performing Mayo TDs, putting him in second place on our ‘league table’. Given that he is expected to be in a dogfight for the final seat, this high esteem could be crucial in his bid to get second and third preferences.
Beverley Flynn gets the lowest percentage of first mentions in the work ethic stakes at 13 per cent. Her Independent status may hurt her ability to claim credit for Government initiatives. However, she is among the top three politicians listed by 41 per cent of those polled, and stands to benefit when quotas and eliminations are considered.
This part of the poll makes depressing reading for John Carty. The Knock man is regarded as the hardest-working TD by only 14 per cent of those surveyed, and just one in four have him in their top three. As the sole Government Deputy, he should be benefiting from any State-backed projects in the county, and indeed, his campaign slogan is ‘Carty delivers again for Mayo’. However, it seems a large part of the electorate beg to differ, though he is expected to be returned. It’s all to play for.