LOCAL ELECTIONS:THE RACE for 883 county and city council seats began officially yesterday with local authorities issuing their final lists of candidates yesterday afternoon.
The deadline for candidates seeking election to local authorities to submit their nomination papers passed at noon last Saturday. However, candidates had until noon yesterday to withdraw those nominations.
The final notice of poll, which details the candidates and their electoral wards or areas, was validated by each county and city council’s returning officer yesterday afternoon.
In the region of 1,800 candidates are competing for the 883 seats in 34 constituencies on June 5th.
Some 753 seats are available on the 29 county councils, while the remaining 130 seats are for the five city councils. Dublin City Council has the largest number of candidates, with 119 nominees for its 52 seats, followed by Cork County Council, where there are 101 candidates for its 48 seats.
Male candidates dominate the local election scene, with many women blaming late hours worked by councillors as being incompatible with raising a family. In most constituencies, council meetings are held in the evenings and can often last until 10pm.
One male council candidate highlighted the issue yesterday. Paul McAuliffe, a Fianna Fáil candidate for Dublin City Council, said there were too few female nominees for the local authority.
“The list highlights a chronic problem with local government representation – a lack of new blood and women entering politics.”
Of the 119 candidates, only 29 are women and two wards (Ballymun–Finglas and Donaghmede) have no women candidates at all. South West Inner City will be the only ward where voters can choose between an equal number of men and women.
Mr McAuliffe also believes that sitting councillors, who have access to council staff and services, have an unfair advantage over newcomers to politics. Some 46 of the current 52 Dublin councillors are running for re-election.
“The record shows that it is very difficult for new people, regardless of their suitability, to break into the political system . . . people don’t want the same faces they want new blood and new ideas,” he said.
In Donegal, a former Fine Gael councillor has said hostility to Fianna Fáil election candidates suggest a national government is “staring Ireland in the face”.
“Canvassers are listening to hostile and out of the ordinary anger mostly aimed at Government party candidates and the excuse that the economic crisis is global is wearing thin – nobody believes it anymore,” Independent Donegal councillor Jimmy Harte has said.
Mr Harte, whose father Paddy Harte was a Fine Gael minister, said Fianna Fáil faced “near political wipe out” in the local elections.
Despite assurances from Taoiseach Brian Cowen that there were no circumstances in which his resignation was required, a national government was “staring Ireland in the face”, Mr Harte said.
“Indications are that his Cabinet may soon cease to hold the confidence of the people and may be forced to stand down in favour of a national government based on proportional representation.”
Meanwhile, nominations for the two Dáil byelections in Dublin close at noon on May 21st. Candidates for the vacant Dublin South and Dublin Central seats will have until noon on May 22nd to withdraw their candidacy.
