This article is from page 8 of the 2006-04-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
WITH promises of tax cuts and more public spending, the Progressive Democrats were in election mode at their conference in Limerick this weekend.
While the party’s strategists may be planning the campaign for the next election, they have yet to put forward a candidate to contest the election in Clare.
The PD’s most high-profile politician, former Clare County Councillor Mary Mannion, is unable to represent the county due to a change in the constituency boundary.
The PD area representative for Clare has vowed, however, to support and assist whatever candidate the party puts forward in the Banner County.
The Parteen woman, who spent 13 years as a councillor in Clare and also sat on the Mid-Western Health Board, is now within the Limerick East constituency, but has no plan to run for the neighbouring county.
It is believed the party is in negotiations with a number of candidates, but no definite decision will be made on a possible Clare candidate until after the party convention.
During the weekend’s conference, the PDs did not discourage voters from giving a second preference vote to Fianna Fáil, but issued a strong health warning against any pre-election policy pact.
Party delegates voted against any decision to enter a pact with their government pact with their party colleagues having suffered due to pre election deals in the past with both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
The party agreed to wait until the election campaign to decide whether to ask PD voters to pass their second preference to Fianna Fáil.
While the rest of the country concentrated on the party’s plans to cut income tax to 40 per cent and reducing the tax bill of the middle and lower income workers, Clare delegates paid special attention to one of the party’s guest speakers.
HSE chief executive Professor Brendan Drumm told delegates that he hoped the health issue would cease to be a political issue and not be used as a political football.
Following the conference, Ms Mannion told The Clare People that she felt secure about the future of Ennis General Hospital having heard Prof Drumm speak.