Health issue puts pressure on FF

Council profile: Wicklow County CouncilThe "swing" on Wicklow County Council in 1999 was effectively a one-seat gain for Fine Gael at Fianna Fáil's expense. The incoming council saw nine new faces in the chamber - but the party representation remained unruffled.

Labour gained a seat with the arrival of Liz McManus but ultimately lost another seat with the move of Baltinglass area councillor Tommy Cullen to the Independent benches.

Of the four Wicklow TDs who were formerly members of the council, only Fine Gael's Mr Billy Timmins is still a councillor. In recent weeks the Independent Party TD Ms Mildred Fox was replaced on the council by her brother, Mr Christopher Fox.

Councillor Ann Ferris has replaced Ms Liz McManus TD of Labour while the Minister of State Mr Dick Roche was replaced on his assuming office in 2002 by his wife, Mrs Eleanor Roche. The fourth Wicklow TD, Mr Joe Jacob, had previously been replaced on Wicklow County Council by his son Noel.

Throughout the county the health service and development issues have been reported by candidates as the main talking points. The possible downgrading of hospitals at Loughlinstown in south Co Dublin and Wexford have led to fears that medical services between Waterford and Dublin - a vast tranche of the south-east coast - would be inadequate.

The future of accident and emergency services and maternity services and development issues are core concerns with many voters.

In west Wicklow the Wicklow Pro-Planning group is fielding Ms Eileen Cullen who along with Glendalough- based Independent Mr Pat Casey is calling for more clarity on planning permission for rural housing.

Ms Cullen has complained that planning permission has been denied to some landowners around the Blessington Lakes and granted to others. Similarly, Mr Casey has complained that it can take up to two years to achieve planning permission even in areas zoned for building. Some candidates have also reported anger in west Wicklow over the number of illegal dumps, particularly in the Blessington area, although little of this seems directed at sitting councillors.

Meanwhile, the increase in residential development in Wicklow Town continues to be a significant issue. Much of the new housing has been aimed at those working in Dublin and road access has been extremely congested. While it is likely to be significantly improved with the opening next month of bypasses of Ashford and Rathnew, rail transport, particularly commuter transport, continues to be patchy and expensive. Many commuters see access as the key issue in the local elections.

In north Co Wicklow, development and access are again the biggest issues, with about 2,500 new homes currently being built in large schemes at Greystones, Kilcoole and Delgany.

A major new access road between the N11 and Greystones, which is designed to serve a 2,000-home estate and industrial park south of Greystones town, is under construction. However, the N11 interchange which connects with this road is still several years away and construction traffic in Greystones, Kilcoole and Delgany is consequently a significant issue.

In Bray the urban sprawl of the town means that while it is served by DART, it can take 30 minutes to access the DART station from the Southern Cross Road. The redevelopment of the Bray Golf Club site and the belated start on the "Florentine centre" in the centre of Bray are key issues here, as is the refurbishment of the seafront.

Fianna Fáil may lose up to two seats, coming under pressure from Sinn Féin in Bray and also in Arklow where Mr Adrian O'Reilly may take a seat. Fine Gael seems likely to retain its seats, while Labour may lose one after Cllr Cullen's move to the independent benches.

Mr John Deegan's Progressive Democrat machine may surprise people in South Wicklow, benefiting from a PD-IFA-Tom Parlon-inspired vote.

Also likely to poll strongly is the Green candidate, Ms Tess Enright.