A major rally to formally launch the Local Elections 2014 campaign of Fianna Fáil’s Charleville based candidate, Ian Doyle will take place at Charleville G.A.A. Complex next Monday evening October 7th at 8pm.
The theme of the rally ‘Giving our community a voice on Cork County Council’ will feature keynote speakers, the Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin T.D. and Sr. Celestine, Charleville.
Mr. Doyle was recently selected as one of three Fianna Fail candidates to contest the newly configured Fermoy Electoral Area next May. “Due to the changes put in place by the boundary commission, we in the Charleville, Newtown Ballyhea division are now part of the Fermoy Electoral area and for this reason it is imperative that we have representation on Cork County Council. I am very pleased and honoured to have been nominated by Fianna Fáil to represent the area in the upcoming 2014 County Council elections. To achieve our voice on the Council, I will need the full support of all to reach the electable quota in this hotly contested area,” Mr. Doyle told the Vale Star this week.
Highlighting some of the important issues that he has identified as exercising the minds of the electorate at present, the Fianna Fail candidate said: “As we are all aware services are constantly under review and threat, so a place on the Council gives us the opportunity to have input into the funding and allocation of these essential services. Local authority housing provision is not currently matching the demand while upgrading of existing houses proceeds at too slow a pace, and due to financial pressures on families the need for this type of housing is all the greater – a local voice will ensure that the area’s needs are prioritised. The care sector is of the utmost importance in the Charleville Newtown Ballyhea area, being one of our major employers and once again funding is constantly cut back. The rates paid by these care facilities are a major financial burden for their Boards of Management. In order to ring fence the funding needed for these essential services to continue the great work that they do, our voice has to be heard at county level”.
After almost a month on the hustings Ian Doyle said “The business and industrial sectors also need a voice on the Council to address such concerns as planning, rates, tele-communications provision, footpaths, traffic manage-ment, road maintenance and street cleaning. These infrastructure improve-ments benefit existing businesses and make the area more attractive for future investment. We are privileged to have a very strong ethos of volunt-eering in our community, spanning all age ranges and activities, and again having a say on the Council will ensure that any available funding for these voluntary groups can be accessed.
The Charleville based candidate is very concerned about the future of the LEADER programme “Currently our area has benefitted to the tune of €18 million from LEADER funding administered at local level through Bally-houra Development. Going forward Minister Phil Hogan in his wisdom has decided that all future funding is to be admin-istered by councils. It is imperative that the Ballyhoura offices, staff and funding be maintained at local level as in the past so that programmes such as RDP (Rural Devel-opment Programme) and LCDP (Local Community Development Programme) are funded to support the needs of our community”.
Ian Doyle has served on various local and national committees, the Boards of Management of Ballyhoura Development and St. Mary’s Secondary School, he has had daily involve-ment with the Society of St. Vincent De Paul at local, regional and national level, Agricultural Show committees again at local and national level, Community Forum and Tidy Towns committee and is very well placed to know the needs of the broader locality and community. “This makes me the ideal candidate to promote those needs at Council level,” he insisted.
Married to Angie and with three young adult children Ian is fully aware of the challenges and pressures that people face every day and he hopes as a public representative that he will be in a position to highlight those concerns and ensure that they are debated at the appropriate level.
Concluding he said: “This is now our opportunity to have a voice on Cork County Council after the 2014 elections and I need your number 1 vote to make this a reality for all of us. Thank you”.
As this is public meeting , everybody is welcome.