A View from the Left

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Eamonn Gilmore only declared candidate for Labour leader
2007-08-29 16:18:00
This week the Irish Examiner published a letter I wrote regarding the future of the Labour Party following the resignation of Pat Rabbitte as leader. The debate that is currently ongoing both within and outside the party must act as a catalyst for much needed change within the party. In my opinion there has been too much emphasis on electoral strategy and not enough on organisation and policy. There is also a need for the party to establish itself firmly as a campaigning party and to become proactive rather than reactive on key issues. The letter as published by the Irish Examiner does not set out to answer all the questions but rather to contribute in some small way to the debate. I look forward to hearing the candidates for the leadership outline their vision for the party over the next couple of months . As things stand at the moment only Eamonn Gilmore has declared that he will be a candidate. However it is expected that others will declare by the weekend.
More About: Lead , Leader , Candidate

Pat Rabbitte resigns as leader of Labour Party
2007-08-23 16:44:00
It was announced today that Pat Rabbitte has resigned as leader of the Labour Party . Speaking at a press conference this afternoon Pat said that he felt that the beginning of the new Dail term was the right time to step down as Party Leader. Pat has served 5 years as Party Leader, a period that has seen an increase in the number of party councillors and senators however we failed to make the inroads that I believe that Pat Rabbitte's leadership deserved. I believe that the decision to resign today is an unselfish act by Pat Rabbitte who has put the interests of the Labour Party before any self interest. Pat is an excellent parliamentarian and remains an effective Dail representative on behalf of his constituents. He made it quite clear that he felt that by resigning now it would give the new leader plenty of time to organise the party ahead of the next local and European elections.All thoughts now turn to the election of the new party leader. The Labour Party constitution means th...

Cancer figures - a damning indictment
2007-08-22 10:27:00
Reports today that Ireland has one of the lowest cancer survival rates in Europe is a damning indictment on a government that has failed to prioritise cancer care in this country. In fact the failure of the government to provide breast cancer screening and cervical screening on a nationwide basis has contributed to the figures quoted in this new study. Labour Party spokesperson on Health Liz McManus has called for a revamp of the national cancer treatment plan following the publication of this report. Lets hope that the publication of these shocking figures will jolt the government into action on the implementation of the national cancer treatment plan.
More About: Cancer , Breast , Check , Figures

Crocodile tears being shed for Shannon - Heathrow flights
2007-08-20 00:35:00
Recent protestations by Ministers O'Cuiv and O'Dea regarding the decision by Aer Lingus to terminate flights from Shannon to Heathrow are nothing short of political opportunism. I am not surprised however to see government Ministers and politicians all running for cover following this latest decision by the board of Aer Lingus. Indeed words such as "rebellion and split" as reported in this article are not what you associate with one of the most conservative political parties in Ireland. So when I read of this latest "rebellion" in the cabinet on the Aer Lingus issue I take it with a pinch of salt. In the months preceding the privatisation of Aer Lingus the Labour Party repeatedly warned of the consequences of selling one of our national assets by this government. I don't take any great pleasure in saying "we told you so" when speaking of this latest debacle.
More About: Flights , Fianna Fail , Shannon Airport , Ears

Death of Spanish Civil War Veteran Moe Fishman
2007-08-09 15:42:00
Cllr Seamus Ryan, Michael O'Riordan, Jack Jones and Moe Fishmanat the unveiling of the memorial to the Waterford Volunteers who fought in defence of the Spanish Republic.I learned with great sadness today of the death of Spanish Civil War veteran Moe Fishman. Moe was one of those brave men and women who fought in defence of the Spanish Republic in the ranks of the International Brigade. I met Moe Fishman when he came to Waterford for the unveiling of the memorial to the eleven Waterford volunteers who went to Spain to fight against the Fascists. Also present on that memorable occasion in July 2004 were Spanish Civil War veterans Michael O'Riordan and Jack Jones. I believe that La Pasionaria, Dolores Ibarurri was referring to men like Moe Fishman when she said "You are history. You are legend."
More About: Veteran , Death

From Bush, Blair and Brown with thanks!!
2007-08-09 01:36:00
Recent reports that the US Military has lost track of 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to the Iraqi security forces is extremely worrying but not altogether surprising. In fact Iraq seems to be slipping into even greater chaos daily with horrific consequences. This was forecast by all of us who took part in the anti war marches a number of years ago. However Bush and Blair and now Brown all refused to listen to the millions who warned against them of the consequences of their actions. Now with over 650,000 Iraqi civilians dead it seems we are no nearer a permanent peaceful solution.Here in Ireland the government continues to play its part in the war on Iraq. The ongoing use of Shannon Airport by the US Military is a national scandal. The failure of the Green Party to address this issue in its programme for government with Fianna Fail will be to their eternal shame. The Labour Party has been consistent in its opposition to the use of Shannon for this purpose and calls f...
More About: Iraq War , George Bush , Tony Blair

Waterford City Community Challenge 2007
2007-08-03 18:07:00
Congratulations to the three successful projects in the Community Challenge 2007. Waterford City Council launched the 2007 Community Challenge Programme back in April with the aim of encouraging community based voluntary activity in Waterford City. The three successful groups announced recently were:1. St Paul's Scout Group for the creation of an urban garden for scout and community use and construction of storage facility for the scout group at the Scout Hall Lisduggan.2. Ballybeg Action Group for the design and creation of a remembrance garden at Ballybeg Park.3. Cork Road and Kingsmeadow Resident's Association for the development of the park area at Kingsmeadow Cork RoadAll of these groups are to be commended for their ongoing work in their communities. The scheme will finish in October and it is intended to have a presentation evening shortly after together with the selection and prize award for best project.Well done everybody!!
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Bertie rewards the faithful
2007-08-03 14:47:00
Taoiseach Berti e Ahearn has appointed his eleven nominees to the Seanad this morning. A quick look through the list shows that Bertie has suspringly rewarded people like Ivor Callely and John Ellis with an appointment to the Seanad. I would have thought that this was an opportunity to appoint a younger team to the Seanad. Obviously not.I was also surprised at the appointment of Sunday Independent columnist Eoghan Harris as one of the Taoiseach's nominees. Mr Harris has had links with a number of political parties over the years however his cringeworthy performance on the Late Late Show in the week prior to the General Election seems to have paid dividends. You may recall that Mr Harris sang the praises of the Taoiseach and implored the nation to vote for Bertie.All of this confirms the need for reform of the Seanad and in particular the way in which Senators are elected and appointed. Is it right that the Taoiseach appoints 11 Senators that have no mandate from anyone to sit ...
More About: Faithful , Rewards , Reward

Folk Legend Tommy Makem dies
2007-08-02 23:04:00
I was saddened today to hear of the death of folk singer Tommy Makem in his home in New Hampshire . Tommy will probably be best remembered for his singing with the Clancy Brothers and in particular Liam Clancy. I heard Tommy singing on many occasions usually with Liam Clancy and was always impressed with his ability to tell stories through the medium of song. I am sure he inspired many young folk singers to start singing. He will be sadly missed by all.
More About: Folk , Legend , Dies

National Hospital Hygiene Audit underway
2007-08-02 00:59:00
A third national hospital hygiene audit has now got under way and the results should be available by October, according to the Department of Health. The results of this audit will be eagerly awaited by all of us concerned with hygiene in our hospitals. One suggestion that has been made recently to improve hospital hygiene is that visitor hours should be curtailed. Why not fill in this months online poll on this site and let me know what you think about that suggestion.
More About: National , Hospital , Hygiene , Audit , Under

Waterford Peoples Park well worth a visit
2007-08-02 00:15:00
I visited Waterford Peoples Park yesterday to see for myself the improvements made. Waterford City Council has undertaken major improvements to the Park which when finished will see a new skateboard park and hard court area. This along with the children's play areas already in place will provide a wonderful recreation area for the people of Waterford and visitors to the city. Another new addition to the Park is the excellent Park Cafe which is situated in the old Park Lodge. Well worth a visit.
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BreastCheck delayed even further for Waterford?
2007-07-26 16:00:00
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of our ongoing campaign to bring Breast Check to Waterford . BreastCheck is the national breast cancer screening programme for women between the ages of 50 - 64. Currently the service is available only in certain parts of the country despite repeated broken promises by both BreastCheck and indeed the government that the service would be made available locally. The Labour Party in Waterford has been campaigning to make this service available to women in Waterford City and County for a number of years. As part of this campaign we collected over 4,000 signatures and here on this blog I collected another 700 signatures in an online petition. However it seems this campaign is going to have to go on a bit longer as once again it seems there will be further delays.I received an email this week from BreastCheck via the HSE stating that they are unable to provide a date for the roll out of the service to Waterford. This failure to provide the BreastCh...
More About: Cancer

Senate Election Count underway
2007-07-25 23:28:00
After a couple of weeks break I am returning this week to blogging. If a week is a long time in politics well then a fortnight must be an eternity. Certainly the last two weeks have seen a lot of activity with votes currently being counted in Seanad Election s. It looks like being a very successful Seanad Election for the Labour Party with Dominic Hannigan, Phil Prendergast, Alex White, Alan Kelly and Michael McCarthy all being successfully elected to the Senate . Count ing is still ongoing and we await the fate of Brendan Ryan on the Administrative Panel. A lot has been written and spoken about the need for reform of the Seanad however it seems that there is no appetite amongst the legislature to reform the upper house of the Oireachtas. In my opinion there is a strong argument for widening the electorate to include all citizens over 18 years of age. Why should only councillors and TD's elect our Senators? Or for that matter why should graduates of the NUI be allowed elect S...
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Nice work if you can get it
2007-07-06 00:30:00
The Dail began its summer break today and is not due to sit again until 26th September next. The government voted down the oppositions attempt to curtail the amount of holidays that our TD's enjoy. Once again the Green Party did a u-turn on their previous position of seeking a lengthier Dail sitting. However the cynic in me says that this is one vote that the opposition didn't mind losing. Enjoy the hols lads and lassies!!
More About: Government , Work , Nice

Have Your Say
2007-07-04 18:07:00
I am always interested to hear about your views on all issues from national policy to problems or issues in your local area. If you have any comments or queries on my Blog or any aspect of what I do as your local Councillor, you can contact me directly at 087 6805314 or alternatively by email at sryan1@ireland.com or call to my weekly Advice Centre in the Parish Rooms Lisduggan every Friday at 7pm. All are welcome

Waterford City Manager Conn Murray moves on
2007-07-03 17:54:00
Waterford City Manage r Conn Murray announced this week that he is to move on to a new position as County Manager with Louth County Council. Conn first came to Waterford City Council around 4 years ago and in that time he has certainly made a positive contribution to the development of the city. During his tenure as City Manager Waterford has certainly emerged to fulfill its role as Gateway of the South East. At last nights meeting of Waterford City Council members paid tribute to the work of Conn Murray.On a personal note while there were occasions on which I disagreed with Conn I would like to think we both shared the same vision and same aims for the development of the city. And even though we may have disagreed on certain issues his door was always open to me as a Councillor and by extension to the the people I represent.I wish Conn every success in his new position.
More About: Waterford

Chairperson of Area Committee
2007-07-03 17:41:00
Yesterday I was appointed chairperson of the Ward Three Area Comm ittee in Waterford City Council. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the other members of the committee for their unanimous support. The Area Committee system was first set up about two years ago by the Council as a forum for dealing with issues that are relating to each of the electoral areas in the city. During the past year we received delegations from a number of residents associations in the area including Cherrymount, Belvedere Manor, Norwood and Ashbourne Village. These groups took the opportunity to raise matters that were of concern to them. I look forward to the coming year as Chai rperson of the Ward Thee Area Committee and engaging with other resident and community groups in the Area
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New Labour Mayor of County Waterford
2007-07-01 21:12:00
Congratulations to new Labour Party Mayor of County Waterford Cllr Billy Kyne who was elected this week. Billy was first elected to Dungarvan UDC in 1979 and co-opted onto County Council two years later, retaining his seat on both local authorities at every election since. Billy, son of the late former TD Tom Kyne, has been elected Mayor for the fourth time, having previously chaired the local authority in 1988, '90 and '92, as well as Dungarvan Town Council on a number of occasions. I have no doubt that Billy will once again be an excellent Mayor of County Waterford. Congratulations Billy.

Historical Mayoral Election in Waterford
2007-06-25 23:38:00
I have just come from an historical meeting of Waterford City Council where we elected Cllr Mary O'Halloran as Mayor of Waterford City. Cllr O'Halloran of Fine Gael will now go down in history as the first female mayor of the city. It is amazing to think that in the long history of the city that haven't had a female mayor before now. She was supported tonight by her Fine Gael colleagues, Labour Party , Fianna Fail, Independents and Sinn Fein. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Mayor O'Halloran well in her new position and hope she enjoys her year in office.
More About: Election , Waterford City Council , Historical

Henry the master moves on
2007-06-23 16:57:00
No you haven't strayed onto a sporting Blog but as a lifelong Arsenal supporter I felt the need to comment on the news today that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is to move to Barcelona. Without a doubt Henry will be missed at Arsenal but I have faith in Arsene Wenger to find the right replacement. I have many memories of the great man but my most striking memory was the wonderful backheel he scored against Charlton at Highbury a couple of seasons ago. I was fortunate enough to be in Highbury for that game in fact I was just behind the goal and witnessed a wonderful performance from a great team and a great player. Enjoy ....
More About: Thierry Henry , Master

Co-location hospital in WRH not in the best interests of patients
2007-06-23 16:12:00
Interesting to read today that the Board of Tallaght Hospital has agreed to proceed with the colocation project which will see a private hospital built on the grounds of the public hospital at Tallaght. This policy which is being driven by the current FF/PD/Green government will only result in further strengthening the current two tier health system. The Labour Party remains consistent in its opposition to this policy of selling off public lands in our hospitals to private developers to allow for the building of private hospitals. This also applies to the proposal to build a private hospital on the grounds of our own Waterford Regional Hospital. We acknowledge that there are problems in our health system regarding bed capacity however this can be overcome by investing in public beds in our public hospitals inccluding Waterford Regional Hospital. In the words of Labour Party health spokesperson Liz McManus "The Labour Party remains absolutely opposed to policy of providing up to ...
More About: Health , Location , Patients

A View from the Left - one year on!!
2007-06-22 17:41:00
Today marks the first anniversary of the launch of "A View from the Left ." When I launched this blog a year ago I did not think I would be still posting to it a year later. But there you go, I suppose this blogging thing can be a bit addictive. Blogging is without a doubt becoming increasingly more popular as a means of communication amongst politicians and over the past year we have seen some new political blogs. Just looking back over the past year I noticed I have posted on a wide range of issues including the use of Shannon Airport by the US military, the general election, the campaign for a University of the South East to more local issues such as planning matters here in Waterford. All in all I have enjoyed publishing this blog and hope to keep it going for a while longer. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have taken the time to log on and post a comment.
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Love Ulster to march again - but why?
2007-06-22 11:14:00
I fail to understand the need for the proposed "Love Ulster" parade. It seems that the organisers of the parade are once again determined to bring their brand of marching to the streets of Dublin later this Summer. As someone who believes in the right of people to protest and indeed to march if they wish I am howeever at a loss to see the reasoning behind this particular gathering. You will recall that last February a similar march ended in rioting and looting in Dublin City Centre. Fourteen people, including six gardai, were injured in last year's riots, which resulted in large-scale looting as shop windows were smashed and ransacked. It must be said though that this was not carried out by the participants of the parade.The Love Ulster parade is organised by Families Acting for Innocent Relatives, a group representing Unionist victims of the troubles in the North. At a time when progress has been made regarding the successful setting up of a power sharing administration in the Nor...
More About: March , Marc

Alan Johnston 100 days in captivity
2007-06-20 21:22:00
Colleagues of BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston stopped work today to mark 100 days since he was kidnapped in Gaza. Since his abduction there have been worldwide appeals for his release. However to date these appeals seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Ironically it was Alan Johnston's reports from Gaza and the Middle East helped which helped inform us all of the the struggle for justice by the Palestinians. Journalists like Alan Johnston carry out a great service in reporting from areas of conflict across the world and on this the 100th day of his abduction I think it is important we all remember Alan Johnston and hope that he will released soon.
More About: Palestine , Days

Keep on Blogging
2007-06-20 20:32:00
The political blogosphere seems to have gone very quiet since the general election. In the run up to the election it seemed every candidate was posting on blogs or posting video messages for their constituents. As a result there existed a growing community of political bloggers. However it all seems to have gone very quiet with some notable exceptions such as Eric Byrne and Dominic Hannigan both long term Labour Party bloggers. Lets hope that this is only a temporary blip and that we will continue to see more and more politicians use blogging as a means of communication.
More About: Blogging , Blogg

Project 2014 launched today
2007-06-19 01:30:00
Waterford City Council launched its vision for the future of the city today. Project 2014 has been prepared by Waterford City Council in partnership with neighbouring local authorities and other stakeholders in the public and private sector. The visionary plan being put forward by Waterford City Council will see over ?2.4billion euro spent in the city over the next seven years. This plan will focus on developing the city in "quarters" such as the cultural quarter and the government quarter. But more than that it will also focus on quality of life issues in the city with improved and additional sporting and recreational facilities. Project 2014 will also see greater investment in public transport over the next 7 years. The roll out of the plan will be an exciting time for everyone in Waterford.
More About: Today , Waterford , Waterford City Council , Launched

Waterford point the way
2007-06-17 23:01:00
Waterford hurlers came out on top in an exciting Munster semi final today against Cork. This victory sets them up for a Munster Final meeting against either Tipperary or Limerick. Today's game lived up to all the pre match expectations and was a pulsating encounter from the start with Waterford coming out on top on a scoreline of Waterford 5 - 15 Cork 3 - 18. It could be a long hot Summer yet!!
More About: Hurling , Waterford , Point

Shannon Airport - First real test for Green Party
2007-06-12 13:40:00
On 15 February 2003 over 100,000 people marched through Dublin city centre to protest against the war on Iraq and against US military flights refuelling in Shannon Airport . I marched that day along with members of the Labour Party to express our disgust at this war. Also on that march were prominent members of the Green Party. Since the outbreak of the war the Green Party along with the Labour Party has been consistent in its condemnation of the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military and about the role of the United States in Iraq. Now it is time to back those words with action. There is a unique opportunity now for the Green Party to put their mark on the proposed new government and to ensure that the ending of the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military is part of their Programme for Government with Fianna Fail. Or will this be the first principle to be sacrificed in the quest for the ministerial merc!!
More About: Real , Test

One election over another begins
2007-06-11 15:23:00
This weekend the Labour Party selected its candidates for the Seanad elections. The successful candidates were chosen by the party National Executive Committee and are:Cultural and Educational Panel: Cllr. Alex White.Administrative Panel: Brendan Ryan.Industrial and Commercial Panel: Cllr. Dominic Hannigan.Agricultural Panel: Alan Kelly.Labour Panel (Two candidates): Cllr. Eric Byrne and Cllr. Phil Prendergast.I think you will agree that our candidates are both experienced and talented and would certainly make a good contribution to the Seanad. The Seanad election campaign is a difficult one and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our candidates the best of luck.
More About: Election , British Labour Party

Advice Centre Continues
2007-06-11 00:17:00
I continue to hold my weekly Advice Centre in St Paul's Meeting Rooms in Lisduggan every Friday night at 7pm. If you think I can be of assistance in any matter please call in to see me. In case you are not sure where St Paul's meeting rooms are you will find them located between the Credit Union and St Paul's National School in Lisduggan Waterford.
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