This article is from page 9 of the 2006-05-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
CLARE TD James Breen has ruled out any alliance with his independent Dáil colleagues in the run up to the General Election.
The Kilnamona man told The Clare People, “I am an independent candidate and I am staying that way.”
He said he was happy with his power as an independent parliamentarian and was staying that way.
He said he had been preparing for the forthcoming General Election since he was first elected in 2002.
“Every Saturday I go door to door covering every village in Clare. I will continue to do that up to the close of the polls in the next General Election,” the former Fianna Fáil councillor said.
Ten independent TDs, along with 15 independent councillors, are proposing to set up a team to do battle with the bigger parties in the election. They predict this will put them in a stronger position, when the public go to the ballot boxes next year.
The alliance is already drawing up a “mini-manifesto” based around policies such as health, crime and education.
Believing independents will be in a strong position after the election, they hope to negotiate with other parties to form a government, should the balance of power allow it.
In the 2002 election, independents won 16 of the 166 Dáil seats, while 89 independents were successful in the 2004 council elections.