FF to control de Valera county despite grumbling over health

Council area profile: De Valera county has been a Fianna Fáil stronghold since local elections began. For more than 70 years now, the party has had uninterrupted control of the county council - a record that looks set to be extended notwithstanding local grumbling over Government policy on health and regional development.

Earlier this year, in an internal party memo, Fianna Fáil's Tony Killeen TD blamed the failure of the Government to make progress on the Ennis by-pass and Ennis General Hospital as the chief reasons behind the party's losing its third seat in Clare in the 2002 general election.

Determined not to make the same electoral mistakes again, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, and the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, have been in Ennis in recent weeks to make commitments on the future of the hospital and to turn the first sod on the €200 million by-pass.

Mr Brennan has also visited Shannon Airport a number of times in an effort to reassure workers over the airport's future. Meanwhile, in an attempt to shore up the vote in rural areas, Fianna Fáil councillors have demonised An Taisce's role in the planning arena at recent council meetings.

But any belief that Mr Martin's promise last month to retain the A&E service at Ennis General would eliminate the Hanly report as an election issue has proven to be mistaken.

In the local press this week, the Ennis Hospital Development Committee has taken out a large advertisement, warning voters that the hospital's days are numbered, stating: "The Hanly report will damage your health - that is one promise the Government will keep."

Despite such ammunition, opposition parties are realistic about their chances of progress on June 11th. The most that can be hoped for is to pinch a few seats in the larger electoral areas. But wresting control from Fianna Fáil on the council is a tall order.

With 41 per cent of the vote, Fianna Fáil won 18 seats in 1999 but one of its councillors, Deputy James Breen (Ind), subsequently resigned from the party in 2002 to successfully run for the Dáil. His seat is located in the pivotal seven-seat Ennis electoral area.

Last time, Fianna Fáil won four of the seven seats but the last of these was taken by Bernard Hanrahan only after a recheck of the votes on the 13th count. The narrow loser on that occasion was Brian Meaney of the Greens, who is tipped to go one better this time, thereby giving his party its first seat on the council.

Fianna Fáil has settled for the prospect of taking just three seats in Ennis this time round. Anything less would be considered a disaster.

Fine Gael could gain a seat in Ennis through Tony Mulqueen whose cousin Anna once held a seat, and whose family have a strong political pedigree.

Fianna Fáil is also vulnerable to a protest vote in Shannon, where its two councillors Seán Hillery and veteran campaigner Pat McMahon are under fire over the Government's stance on the airport.

One of only three women on the 32-member council, Patricia McCarthy (Ind) topped the poll in Shannon in 1999 and is expected to be re-elected along with Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) and Cllr John Crowe (FG). Fine Gael is hoping to take a third seat in Shannon through Brendan Ryan. But even before the party captures any Fianna Fáil seats, it must first retain its nine seats in the chamber, having gained three in 1999.

And it will have to do it without the help of Pat Breen TD, who is not running, or Cllr Tony McMahon, who has opted to retire. Fianna Fáil is eyeing McMahon's seat as a possible gain in Killaloe. But Fine Gael is confident of holding off the challenge through either Batt Skehan or John McInerney.

The Labour Party poses little in the way of a challenge in the county, having not held a seat since 1993. It secured just 2.9 per cent of the vote in 1999, and is running just three candidates, the same number as Sinn Féin and two fewer than the Greens.

The Progressive Democrats did better with a 2 per cent share of the vote in 1999, getting Mary Mannion on to the council in Killaloe. She is the party's best chance of retaining a seat, while Murt Collins is an outside bet for a second PD seat in Kilrush.

In the six-seat Ennistymon electoral area, Fianna Fáil is expected to retain its four seats, albeit with a change of personnel, while in seven-seat Kilrush, Fine Gael believes Oliver Garry or Tim Donnellan will take the seat vacated by Breen.

Opinion polls indicate that despite local controversies, Fianna Fáil will extend its hegemony in the council, leaving it in a strong position in Clare for the next general election.