Election Biography: Sorcha O'Neill, Sinn Féin

This material is supplied by the candidate.

I am a very new addition to the election race, writes Sorcha O'Neill, the Sinn Fein candidate in the Naas Municipal Area for the elections to Kildare County Council. I am standing for the Kildare Local elections for Naas, Sallins, Bodenstown, Ballymore Eustace, Killashee, Killcullen, and Caragh areas.

I got into politics having been a voluntary citizen member and steering group member of the Constitutional Convention since 2012. This convention opened my eyes to the rights and power we as ordinary people have. It was an educational and enlightening experience where I had the opportunity to spend time with politicians from all parties.

I came to notice that Sinn Féin representatives always contributed to the process in making sure that each topic was approached in an inclusive and fair way, where others were quiet or interested in sound bites. I also came to realize that each of the outcomes and recommendations that the citizens and polictians had voted on were things that Sinn Féin had already been asking for years to be introduced. I was impressed in the level of detail and effort that their representatives in each topic that I did not see from other candidates.

What really drew me into the party was when I attended the Ard Fheis as a guest and I saw all the women involved, young and old, as candidates, policy makers, researchers etc. It was like a home from home. They were welcoming, inclusive and energized. I knew then this was the party for me. Sinn Féin has over 30 percent of female candidates running this year and no other party comes close. I am delighted to say that three of the seven candidates running in the Kildare local elections are female.

I intend to use my experience as a small national business to help others. Everyday I see businesses closing down and nothing is done to help them. As a business teacher for the ETB I will offer my experience and advice freely to anyone that needs it. If elected, my focus will be on job creation by supporting local businesses and upcoming projects as well as fighting for those who have been most hurt by austerity measures. I will be lobbying for Sinn Féin's policy of a fairer model of commercial rates for businesses.

I will of course be lobbying the lowest water rates possible and will continue to lobby for the abolishment of them entirely.

People seem to be surprised to see a business person running for Sinn Féin and I have gotten a few curious looks. I think there is a common misconception about Sinn Féin that if they got into power that there would be a risk to business and free enterprise or our policies might hurt our economy. When in fact the opposite is true. Sinn Féin has produced a comprehensive policy to assist SMEs and support up and start ups. Thus creating jobs and stimulating the local economy. We also have several initiatives to boost community work and services.

In addition, I would like to extend an invitation to anyone in the area interested in a cupla focail circle. Please get in touch as I hope to start an informal Irish Circle.

I look forward to opportunity to serve this community at our clinics. It's time to build a fairer Ireland.

For more information please visit www.sorchaoneill.ie or email sorchaoneillsf@gmail.com. Phone: 085 2000 600.

A Sinn Féin clinic will be held in the Hideout on Saturday 10th May at 3pm. All welcome/ Gach failte Roimh.

'Don't split Kilcullen vote'

Re comments by Orla O'Neill, I wonder if I am missing something? writes Dave Prendergast. Is Billy Hillis not our local candidate?

Surely he should be supported rather than seeking another candidate, which would then split the Kilcullen vote and thereby guarantee that Kilcullen would not have a councillor.

Meet the Candidate: James Lawless FF

Meeting James Lawless for the first time is a concentrated experience, writes Brian Byrne. He speaks quickly, and you get the sense of a man in a hurry to get places, and to get things said and done. But he listens too.

He's been doing a lot of that since he was first appointed a Fianna Fáil Local Area Representative two years ago. That's a title without power, but the Sallins man originally from north Wexford has been making the most of it to set himself up for this local political challenge.

"I decided from the beginning that I wasn't going to be the kind of person who just turns up at election time," he says. "I've really been canvassing for the last two years, knocking on doors in Sallins, Naas and Kill. Most people said it was good to see someone coming around, and it gives you an understanding of the issues in advance. You get several different viewpoints."

James says he has always been a 'doer', reckons it comes from his parents, who 'were always involved in things'. "My mother in particular was with the Parents Council, the Parish Council, the whole lot, so I grew up in that kind of ethos."

It wasn't a particularly political one, though James remembers his grandfather who was of staunch republican beliefs. "He passed away when I was a teenager, but I grew up with the stories, and the patriotism. I remember them as great stories, maybe because I always loved history."

When he went to TCD, his inclination to 'get stuck in' prompted involvement in the Students Union. And with politics, in particular Fianna Fáil. "It just seemed that the people who were doing things there were Fianna Fáil, so I formally joined the cumann eventually."

Qualifying, then a job, and a move to Sallins to set up home and family ('we found a train station with new houses nearby'). He took a step back from politics, but in a new estate there were the usual issues and it didn't take long for James to get stuck in again. "Some people sit on bar stools or in armchairs and complain. I've always been inclined to jump up from the chair and put my hand up." So he set up a residents committee, and one thing led to another. "I worked a lot with Fianna Fáil's Cllr Michael Fitzpatrick, but trying to get things sorted in my estate was a cross-party effort. We worked with any councillor who might be able to help, any party and no party."

It proved a frustrating process, and more than a decade later his estate is still trying to get Kildare County Council to take it in charge. "We're making progress, but slowly. This was one of the reasons I was prompted to go for a position where I can do things directly. It can be the case that in trying to get something done, you're beating at the door, and often the door is closed. I want to get through that door."

The process reconnected him with Fianna Fáil and he joined the local cumann and took officer and board positions. The collapse in the fortunes of the party he sees as an opportunity to rebuild. "A huge political price has been paid, but there's now the chance to recast the party to what it should be and could be. It's stepping up to the plate, not so much to restore what was there, but to create new ideas."

His political activity is all very time-hungry, especially for somebody with a full-time job. James's previous interests in hurling and fishing have been relegated by what he sees as a different 'hobby that has become my work'. He's not complaining, says it's just a reality that there are only so many hours in the day. "I do enjoy it, going to meetings, having a chat at the gates on issues, trying to follow them up and come back with a result. It's very satisfying."

His professional lawyer background can be useful in helping him see a bigger picture from all those chats. Patterns can emerge which are possibly best dealt with at national or Dail level. "Problem solving and spotting anomalies are part of what I do for a living. I can bring things to the attention of whoever needs to know, and it can be very rewarding to get the opportunity to help change the way things are done."

But this coming election is local, and does he think he has a good chance to make it onto Kildare County Council along with his electoral running mates Rob Power and sitting councillor Willie Callaghan? "It takes a lot of work to get elected, and it's a big area with around 40,000 people. But I've put in plenty of spadework, and a lot of people are saying that even though I'm new as a candidate, they already know me. We'll see."

If he makes it, it will be a learning experience for him as a new councillor. But it will also be so for everybody involved, experienced local representatives, officals and the newbies all together. The new Council system is a change that on a personal level he believes will rebalance the area at representational level. "Naas Town Council is being abolished, and I know some people will miss that. But I'm of the view that there were all sorts of anomalies created when you had two councils in the same area."

The issues for the next six weeks — he has taken the time off work to devote himself fully to the campaign — are a varied mix, but similar to what he has involved himself with for the past two years. The taking in charge of estates, small communities losing garda stations and, potentially, post offices. Supporting small businesses in towns and villages. Broadband, 'the water service of the 21st century'. And more.

The biggest issue just now, though, is to do his utmost to convince the people on the doorsteps to take a flyer on someone who can be cast as representing a new future in political representation. He's game for it. "It's a bit like the All-Ireland season just now," he muses as I take his picture for this piece. Then he's gone, a young man in a hurry to get things done.

'Keep looking and asking' for local candidate

The theme that Kilcullen will need its own councillor in the new Naas Municipal District was again raised by Orla O'Neill in the latest of her 'Election Watch' series in The Bridge Magazine, writes Brian Byrne.

Outlining the reasons why 'Kilcullen needs a voice', she underpins her argument with how it was difficult to get a copy of the upcoming Draft Kilcullen Local Area Plan in advance of a Kildare County Council meeting which voted to publish it in May.

She notes that there had been no response to the 'Election Watch' series from councillors or candidate councillors (though there is one in this issue from FF candidate Rob Power, which she wouldn't have known about in advance), and feels that getting one from local TD Martin Heydon (FG) was 'bizarre' and proved her point that someone from the town needs to stand for the Council.

"There are lots of articulate, passionate people involved in community and sporting activities who know the issues of the town," she concludes. "We need to keep looking and asking."

(Nominations close on Saturday 3 May at 12 noon.)

Sinn Fein announces candidate

Sinn Fein is running a candidate in the Naas area in the coming local election.

Sorcha O'Neill is new to the party. She served on the Constitutional Convention which recently made recommendations on aspects of the Constitution.

Sinn Fein is running six candidates in total in County Kildare.

Election biography: Jacinta O'Sullivan

I would like to introduce myself as one of the few female candidates
running in the upcoming Local Elections. My name is Jacinta O'Sullivan and I have been selected to run for Fine Gael in the Local Elections for the Naas and surrounding Electoral Area. Taking in Naas including areas of Kilcullen, Ballymore Eustace, Two Mile House, Caragh, Kill and Johnstown.

I live in Naas and work as an Office Supervisor in Enfer Labs. If elected I will endeavour to work hard on all local issues in Naas and the surrounding areas in the district as a whole. I have gained a wealth of experience dealing with constituent queries through my work in Anthony Lawlor TD's constituency office in Naas town. I am also very involved with Special Olympics being one of the founders of the Naas Special Olympics club serving many areas in Kildare and

I act as public relations officer for a Kildare organisation promoting suicide awareness and prevention. I am running for election because I want to enhance local government and to maintain, and improve on, services available in the Naas and surrounding areas. I have a strong commitment to my local area as proven through my voluntary work. If elected my objectives are

* To represent and assist the electorate of Naas and surrounding areas to the best of my ability in their dealings with local government;
* To promote and adopt policies that are in your best interests;
* To ensure the efficient use of resources available.

We have a great Fine Gael Team and my running mates are Billy Hillis, Fintan Brett, and Darren Scully.

This material was provided by the candidate.

Meet the Candidate: Darren Scully FG

In seven weeks' time, Darren Scully will almost be a shadow of his former self, writes Brian Byrne. Quite literally.

"I'll lose up to a stone and a half on the campaign," the Fine Gael candidate working to be re-elected to Kildare County Council says. It's a shoe-leather thing, walking the estates and giving the electorate a chance to actually talk to a councillor or a candidate to be one. "I've always said that politics is a contact sport. The only way to get people to support you is to meet them face to face. Look them in the eye and tell them what you're about.

"You can have all the internet campaigns you like, all the posters — which I think are a total waste of time anyhow — and all the leaflet drops, but this is the only way. Or have people who know me recommend me to their friends."

Darren Scully does have a Kilcullen connection. He went to school at CPC, which seems to be a College that turns out local and national politicians while not having any political ethos itself. But he has no political background, and says he originally got involved out of frustration. "I saw a lot of politicians who were themselves turning into civil servants. I have beliefs and ideologies, and I wanted to make a difference in my area, in my county. And I felt that I could do a much better job than people who were in politics at the time."

Doing it better can mean different things, but in Darren Scully's case it was sometimes being more vocal than some. Getting stuck in to lobbying officials to get things done for his area. Doing the best he could to push through 'a hundred reasons to say no rather than one reason to say yes' attitudes. "One of the things I found out about the public service when I was first elected was that if we had the same kind of systems in the private sector, we'd go broke very quickly."

He doesn't sit on the fence, believing that a politician who is all things to all men is 'about as useful as a chocolate fireguard'. "You can't achieve anything if you're trying to appease somebody, because life isn't like that. I know there are people who can't stand the sight of me and my opinions, but that's fine, that's politics. I never was after all the votes, I have my views and my opinions about the way things should be done."

He's ten years in the political business now, operating alongside his day job as a surveyor in the insurance industry for most of that time, and most recently while running his own business. "I've always said I'm not a career politician, and I never will be. But I'll keep on doing it while I'm enjoying it. You have to, in the pit of your stomach, really want to be doing this when people are ringing you up late at night and at weekends, but there's no better feeling in the world for me personally when you meet somebody who has a problem and you can help them."

Since first elected to Naas Town Council in 2004, and to Kildare County Council in 2009, Darren Scully has experienced the differences between working with small and large local authorities. He admits that the Town Council was nicer, probably because it was smaller and easier to get things done. But the new system of the Municipal Area is going to be an even bigger change.

"I don't think many people realise it yet, but the working week for the councillor is going to be much more intensive. There will be more coming down the track to deal with. Councillors are getting more powers, including a direct say in the budgets and the right to vote against candidates for the new position of chief executive that will replace the county manager system. But with those extra powers comes more responsibility."

The responsibility of the new chief executive changes too. Instead of the manager being accountable to the Department of the Environment, the CE will be accountable to the Council, effectively the 'board' of the county. "Along with bringing the work of the former County Enterprise Boards directly into the Council, working out of Arus Chill Dara, I think the citizens of the county are going to see better customer service, questions and answers will all travel through the same channel."

Darren Scully acknowledges that there's a very strong cynicism about politics out there, and he understands the reasons why that might be so. But after a decade on the inside, he's still positive about it. "I think most people in politics are in it for the right reasons, their hearts are in the right place, they want to serve their community and help out, and they want to make a difference.

"And for those who complain about it when you knock on their doors, I believe that democracy is the best system we have. Unless you want what's happening in the Ukraine, or communism or dictatorship, it's the best we've got. And the people have the ultimate power to change things through the ballot box."

Kilcullen being moved back to the new Naas Municipal Area, he firmly believes will be good for the town. "I never saw the reason in Kilcullen and Ballymore being lost to the Athy area, it makes more sense both geographically and economically to have them part of Naas. I think it is going to benefit Kilcullen greatly in being back. Even purely on a population basis, where the revenue stream from the property tax is going to be much greater."

That's another area where the local government reforms are going to have an impact. With some 85 percent of the tax being ring-fenced from 2016 to go back to the area it was collected, and constitute a significant portion of a Council's budget, councillors are going to have to be very professional about managing the 'enterprise' that the county is.

"I do think that the new system will give more equality of representation. I think it's going to encourage better use of taxpayers' money. It's going to take time to bed in, but I think that whoever is elected, if they drive on hard and push it, hold officials to account, it should benefit everybody."

Kilcullen voters who want to put Darren Scully in their lists won't really get the chance to meet him directly. As part of the strategy he and his three fellow FG candidates are operating, he'll leave the Kilcullen canvassing to Billy Hillis, who is better known in the area. "It's all about our team, not about the individuals, and I think we have the geographically best placed team to maximise our return."

But if you really want to look him in the eye and ask him what he stands for, you could catch him most Saturday mid-mornings when he comes to Nolans in Kilcullen for his meat.

Guess it was hard to break all his associations with the town when he graduated from CPC ...

Water rules cripple taking in charge

A glitch in the legislation to establish Irish Water means that housing estates waiting to be taken in charge by local authorities will have to wait much longer, according to a Fianna Fail candidate in the Naas Municipal Area, writes Brian Byrne.

James Lawless says that Kildare County Council and Naas Town Council have both told him they will not be proceeding with any more taking in charge of estates until the problem is sorted. It affects a number of estates in Kilcullen, including Cnoc na Greine and Hillcrest.

What has happened is that the Irish Water legislation makes that new authority responsible for all watercourses, drainage and sewer systems, including those in estates. But the Planning Acts require that when a local authority takes an estate in charge, it includes the water and sewerage infrastructure. However, now there's a 'lock' fixed on those, making it technically impossible for authorities like Kildare County Council to take over estates.

James Lawless has asked Fianna Fáil Environment spokesman Barry Cowen TD to raise this in the Dáil. The local candidate says it is a 'presumably unintended' consequence of legislation that wasn't fully thought through.

According to information provided in late 2012, local estates waiting to be taken in charge by KCC included Curragh Close, Castlemartin Manor, Cnoc Na Greine, Cnoc Na Greine Woods, Riverside Manor, Hill Crest and Lui Na Greine. In addition in Brannockstown the following were awaiting taking in charge — Ashleigh Wood, Moorhill Wood and Flemington South.

As far as James Lawless knows, only Lui na Greine has been taken in charge since then.

Billy Hillis campaign launch

Billy Hillis (second from right) with Alan Dukes, Fintan Brett and Jacinta O'Sullivan (candidates), and  Deputies Martin Heydon and Tony Lawlor.

To get the kind of ringing endorsements from a former Leader of the Fine Gael party and two of its sitting TDs that Billy Hillis received last night could go to any election candidate's head, writes Brian Byrne.

But Billy Hillis isn't that way, and that was the underscoring made by Alan Dukes as he launched Billy's campaign in The Stray Inn in Mile Mill. Describing his work as a councillor over three terms as 'exemplary', he noted Billy's respect for everybody's personality and opinion, 'whether they're Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein, Independents ... or something even worse than all those put together'.

"He has a straightforward dedication to everything that he does," the former FG Leader continued. "And that was shown even when he was seriously ill, he never missed a Council meeting. He was known on occasion to leave a meeting, go for his chemo treatment, and then come back to the meeting. That was one measure of his dedication."

He noted that the candidate 'never goes in for hyperbole', or the kind of inflated 'Armageddon' language too often observed in national politics. "Billy's approach is what we need in politics today, people prepared to look at the facts, examine the pros and cons, and then deal with the situation accordingly. Given the new responsibilities which councillors will have, I think that's more important than ever."

He concluded by emphasising that support for all four of the party's candidates in the Naas Area be sought in the canvassing. "That's the best chance we have of getting them in."

Deputy Martin Heydon of Kildare South said the areas around Kilcullen, Brannockstown, Two Mile House and Ballymore are 'absolutely crucial' in this election. "With the upgrading of the councils to have municipal powers, it is extremely important that candidates like Billy Hillis and his colleagues be returned to Kildare County Council to make the most of the new responsibilities."

As the Naas area straddles two Dail constituencies, Deputy Tony Lawlor was also there to support the candidate's launch. Noting that it was Billy who persuaded him to run for the Council in 2009 when the electoral area was changed, he said he would not be there last night as a TD for Kildare North otherwise. He promised the full availability of his constituency office to support the campaign of all four FG candidates in the municipal area.

For himself, Billy Hillis says he's running again partly because he just loves local politics, but also because he believes the Kilcullen/Ballymore sections of the electoral area must have a representative who lives in their locality. While new residents have changed the demographic of the area since he was last elected, he's confident that his traditional method of 'quietly meeting with everyone' will work to his advantage.

As for the new Council, he notes that the authority will now be responsible for raising most of its own funding, and thus will need to have members 'with backbone'. "When the responsibility is given back to the councillors, then they'll have to take responsibility for it. It's not going to be easy, and it's not going to be like when I was last in the Council Chair and members left meetings when awkward decisions had to be made, later claiming they wouldn't have voted for what went through."

He concluded by recounting what a 'wag' said to him after the party convention which appointed him to this campaign. "He said, 'you can't have done too much wrong while you were a councillor, because it took two TDs to replace you'."

Like all witticisms, it's the kernel of truth in them that makes them work.