Quarter of Independent councillors want to form alliance, says Shane Ross

A quarter of the Independent councillors in the State have expressed interest in being involved with some form of electoral alliance ahead of the next general election, according to the non-party TD Shane Ross.

Mr Ross, a TD for Dublin South, wrote to all 193 non-aligned councillors in September with a view to ascertaining if there was interest in such a group being formed, or alternatively a new party.

Some 49 councillors replied with the overwhelming consensus being in favour of a group of Independents joining together under common principles ahead of the election.

In a follow-up letter sent yesterday, Mr Ross told councillors that the response had been hugely encouraging. He said he has met many councillors in recent weeks and intended to hold a meeting early in 2015 to get agreement.

Support

In the letter he refers to the support for a new alliance: “I have been keen to explore the possibilities that like-minded Independents should now combine to bring about a radical change in Irish politics.”

He says that a minority of Independent councillors sought a new political party, but were motivated by an ambition to send many more Independents back to the Dáil. He said that many of those councillors would be candidates in the next election.

"Recent events such as the Senate byelection debacle, the Irish Water fiasco and the political parties' chronic cronyism have energised Independents more than ever into uniting behind a common banner," wrote Mr Ross in his letter.

He also asserted: "Increasingly the electorate is seeing little difference between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour. "

While the Dublin South deputy is leading the initiative, he says that several of his colleagues on the technical group are fully aware of it and approve of it.

He has said that it is likely the existing TDs – comprised of at least seven – will form the nucleus of the new alliance if it is formed.

Permanent feature

Recent opinion polls, including

The Irish Times

Ipsos MRBI poll, has put support for Independents at a quarter of all voters. There is a growing acceptance among parliamentarians that a significant cohort of Independents will be a permanent feature of the Irish political landscape.

Some TDs and Senators are of the view that there may be as many as 35 Independent Deputies after the next election.

In the letter Mr Ross said he would continue to hold one-to-one meetings as he seeks support for this new alliance. “We have already identified a critical mass of independent TDs and councillors, easily enough to justify a meeting of all of us to plan the way forward in the new year.”