CW/KK's best politician??

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Anyone any thoughts or opinions on this??The TDs in question are

-John McGuinness FF
-MJ Nolan FF
-Liam Alyward FF
-Phil Hogan FG
- Seamas Pattison Labour (nearly retired I believe)

djpaul

mfitzy wrote:

Anyone any thoughts or opinions on this??The TDs in question are

-John McGuinness FF
-MJ Nolan FF
-Liam Alyward FF
-Phil Hogan FG
- Seamas Pattison Labour (nearly retired I believe)

John McGuinness FF: He's good and is about the best there is.:)

Liam Alyward FF: A waste of space! Useless!:mad:

Phil Hogan FG: not the worst of them, gentlemen phil.;)

Seamus Pattison Labour: A Legend!! he will be missed when retired.:(

Stephen

djpaul wrote:

John McGuinness FF: He's good and is about the best there is.:)

Pity about his party alignment.

road_high

djpaul wrote:

John McGuinness FF: He's good and is about the best there is.:)

Liam Alyward FF: A waste of space! Useless!:mad:

Phil Hogan FG: not the worst of them, gentlemen phil.;)

Seamus Pattison Labour: A Legend!! he will be missed when retired.:(

Yeah, that was mostly my opinion too.
Except for J McGuiness; I think he's v bad for the constituency.He doesn't get on well with senior govt ministers including the Taoiseach- how on earth is the constituency gona benefit us??

Liam Awlyward has been gone to be Leinster MEP so, his brother is running instead.He was OK for Kilkenny, but was abit quite and laidback

MJ Nolan is an non entity as far i'm concerned-don't even know what the man sound like- he really deserves to loose his seat next year. He got in by default with a poll on the CW Nationalist at the last election saying that Carlow was in danger no GOvt TD!When he got in then he didnt deliver so his game is up really.

Seamas Patterson- was great for KK in the past, but should really have retired last time and let someone younger in.

Phil Hogan- always found him v pleasant and puts the constituency first; Think i'll vote for him next time round; We haven't had a govt minister in 25 years and Phil is our only chance.

Nightwish

I dont have any respect for John McGuinness after the way he and the VFI cronies railroaded McDowells plans for café bars. I also dislike his party.

road_high

What was this he did?Sounds like him alright, don't undestand why people vote for the man and love him.He's really bad for KK though, evertihing we have is put there by local people.

He was obviusly protecting his own back as usual there, he has a pub right across from Nolan park GAA. I'm waiting for the day to hear him on KCLR radio giving out about drink sponsorship of GAA- he would ahve the gaul to do it you know.

Bards

mfitzy wrote:

Yeah, that was mostly my opinion too.
Except for J McGuiness; I think he's v bad for the constituency.He doesn't get on well with senior govt ministers including the Taoiseach- how on earth is the constituency gona benefit us??

Liam Awlyward has been gone to be Leinster MEP so, his brother is running instead.He was OK for Kilkenny, but was abit quite and laidback

MJ Nolan is an non entity as far i'm concerned-don't even know what the man sound like- he really deserves to loose his seat next year. He got in by default with a poll on the CW Nationalist at the last election saying that Carlow was in danger no GOvt TD!When he got in then he didnt deliver so his game is up really.

Seamas Patterson- was great for KK in the past, but should really have retired last time and let someone younger in.

Phil Hogan- always found him v pleasant and puts the constituency first; Think i'll vote for him next time round; We haven't had a govt minister in 25 years and Phil is our only chance.

You love to proclaim the M9 being started in two places and yet have the gaul to vote for the very person who wants to have it stopped. Why, becasue it bypasses Kilkenny. Isn't that want Motorways and bypasses are for to bypass towns and villages. Bearing in mind that there will be a link from Kilkenny onto the M9 I do not know what Phil Hogan's problem is.

Just bear this in mind when you put an X next to his name at the ballot box

road_high

Bards wrote:

You love to proclaim the M9 being started in two places and yet have the gaul to vote for the very person who wants to have it stopped. Why, becasue it bypasses Kilkenny. Isn't that want Motorways and bypasses are for to bypass towns and villages. Bearing in mind that there will be a link from Kilkenny onto the M9 I do not know what Phil Hogan's problem is.



Just bear this in mind when you put an X next to his name at the ballot box

Of course I welcome the N9- its the biggest and most important piece of infrastructure we have ever seen in the s east. I am 100% in favour of it and it is hugely significant for the region. I never read any where that P Hogan 'wanted it stopped'.He was merely asserting a fear that the road would be built too far away from KK (town or city I don't really care which) itself and thus would fail to reap the full benefits of such good infrastructure-
thats the message I got; not the melodramatic claim he 'wanted it stopped'.

I will have no problem voting for the opposition- I voted FF last time; why I don't know.We have had seemingly endless delays on all major projects under this administration both here in KK and nationally. Here's a list of such projects that were promised but not delivered on yet;
- the KK ring road extension; meant to be begin in 1998, only started last summer, after endless delays and postponements.
- New swimming pool again, all promises but no action
-The N9; in 2000 we heard it would be finished by 2007;construction only staring now.

Was in dublin yday, stuck on M50 for an hour, again more of the same inaction.Crazy. I could go on and on here.

And anyway, I have a much bigger problem with senior govt ministers wasting our hard earned taxes on e-voting machines that aren't electorally sound and awarding lucrative PR contracts to close personal friends; I 'm sure that will ring a few bells.

P.S. The official N9 sodturning in Carlow is today..

Nightwish

mfitzy wrote:

What was this he did?Sounds like him alright, don't undestand why people vote for the man and love him.He's really bad for KK though, evertihing we have is put there by local people.

He was obviusly protecting his own back as usual there, he has a pub right across from Nolan park GAA. I'm waiting for the day to hear him on KCLR radio giving out about drink sponsorship of GAA- he would ahve the gaul to do it you know.

It was John McGuinness who lead the revolt against the cafe bar propsal. He and a large number of FF backbenchers (with a large percentage of them being in the pub industry) pretty much shot down the idea of allowing cafe's to have licenses.

From The Irish Independent

Fionnan Sheahan

Political Correspondent

NEARLY 70 ministers, TDs and senators "ganged up" on Justice Minister Michael McDowell to kill his controversial cafe bars plan, the Irish Independent has learned.

Members of the Dail and Senate sent 252 pages of correspondence to the minister outlining the opposition of publicans and anti-alcohol groups to his proposals aimed at curtailing binge drinking.

Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan was particularly blatant in her objections. In a letter, written on Department of Agriculture notepaper, Ms Coughlan said that after meeting with vintners in her constituency, she believed there was "absolutely no support" for the cafe bars proposal.

The chairman of the Commission on Liquor Licensing, Gordon Holmes, said that self-interest and the influence of publicans over TDs had brought down the cafe bars plan.

"I would hope that sectoral interest would not overrule the public interest. On this occasion, I think it has," Mr Holmes said.

The episode casts doubt on the Government's commitment to dealing with the problems caused by alcohol abuse - including the carnage on our roads.

Arising out of a series of reports from two state-appointed bodies, some changes have been introduced, but where they have required confrontation with the drinks industry, the Government has backed down on a number of crucial occasions, including:

* Plans to bring in new laws to protect children and adolescents from the effects of alcohol advertising were quietly dropped recently following a campaign of lobbying against them.

* A key recommendation of a report by the Strategic Task Force on Liquor Licensing was, instead, watered down to become a voluntary code of practice.

* The introduction of random breath testing was another crucial recommendation by the Task Force but so far the Government has shied away from it.

The u-turns recently sparked an accusation by the National Youth Federation that the Government was "effectively undermining" its own Task Force. "Is an alcohol strategy really worth much if the minute the industry speaks up and objects, you drop key recommendations?" asked Michael McLoughlin, a director of central services with the Youth Federation.

"It appears that the drinks industry is now in control of the agenda. Every time young people gather we are treated to lectures from politicians about drinking and bad behaviour - yet this is the Government's response."

The idea for the cafe bars came from the Commission on Liquor Licensing. The theory was that mixing food with drink would cut down on the level of binge drinking - a crucial influence on road accidents - and the growth of superpubs, which have been accused of causing public order problems. Publicans took particular issue with the idea.

There are just under 10,000 pub licences in the country but the distribution is far from even. Donegal, where Mary Coughlan lives, currently has a pub for every 270 people, while in Dublin there's a pub for every 1,380 people. For the publicans, the cafe bars would not only have created increased competition, they would have reduced the value of a pub licence.

The introduction of cafe bars effectively had the potential to burst the pub licence bubble and leave the publicans just like the taxi drivers when their market was deregulated.

In her letter to Michael McDowell, acquired under the Freedom of Information Act, Ms Coughlan disputed the whole value of the proposal. She claims she was just passing on the views of the vintners. "I recently met with our local vintners and a number of issues were raised which I feel we will have to discuss in due course," she wrote.

"Regarding a cafe bar, there is absolutely no support for it here locally. It cannot be policed, even existing licences are not policed and there does not seem to be any enthusiasm for same."

The presence within the Fianna Fail ranks of a half dozen TDs and senators who either are publicans themselves or have an interest in the pub trade doesn't help the claims that the party is impartial.

The party seems to take the view that it is members with a knowledge of, or interest in, pubs that are best equipped to deal with them.

Pub politicians

The Fianna Fail Minister in charge of alcohol policy, Junior Health Minister Sean Power is a publican.

Laois-Offaly TD John Moloney, the chairman of a group within the parliamentary party drawing up a submission for Michael McDowell on the licensing laws, owns a pub.

One of the sternest critics of the proposal was Carlow-Kilkenny TD, John McGuinness, who owns the property where his brother runs a pub. Eddie Bohan, a senator since 1987, is a former President of the VFI and a former chairman of the Dublin Licensed Vintners.

Vintners' access to the Government throws doubt on its ability to deal comprehensively with alcohol abuse.

Mr McDowell is to press ahead with the Intoxicating Liquor Bill to streamline licensing laws. It will be interesting to see how far it goes.

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Local Fianna Fáil TD, John McGuinness

St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny is to see significant improvements to specialist health services with the development of a stroke unit at the hospital.

Local Fianna Fáil TD, John McGuinness confirmed the announcement following a parliamentary question to the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney TD on health services in the South-East.

‘This is part of several capital investments in services across hospitals in the region, also under this investment for health services in the region plans are heavily advanced for the provision of a new outpatients department at St Luke’s. This will be a positive move for Kilkenny, with an increase in the level and range of services available to communities across the county’.

‘We must continue as a Government to invest in the provision of the highest range and quality of health services for our communities in the county of Kilkenny, and across the country. I will be keeping in close contact with the Tánaiste and her Department officials to see the stroke unit and new outpatients unit at St Luke’s in place, and up and running as soon as possible for the benefit of all those on the ground across the county. This will remain high on my agenda’.

‘I will continue to lobby An Tánaiste, Mary Harney TD and Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen TD to ensure that St Luke’s receives continued financial investment, that will provide another positive boost for the provision of healthcare in county Kilkenny’, Deputy McGuinness concluded

Good man John, still pretending to deliver positively for the constituents.
Of course no mention of the abysmal A+E 'facilities' in the same hospital, promised a new one since the last election; of course it still hasn't been built yet...I could go on and on and on..

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Phelan welcomes educational facility at Waterford Regional Hospital and calls for a university for southeast region


30 May 2006


Kilkenny Fine Gael Senator John Paul Phelan has welcomed the announcement that capital funding of €4.6 million is to be made available for the establishment of an educational facility at Waterford Regional Hospital (WHR).

The Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Royal College of Surgeons in
Ireland (RCSI), in conjunction with Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH), announced the release of the funding for the development earlier this week. Senator Phelan said that the facility will do much to promote the southeast as a perfect venue for a university in the future.

He said 'the proposed facilities will feature a 204 seat Lecture Theatre, a large
Teaching/Seminar room, Tutorial and Reading Rooms for interactive teaching
and other administrative and ancillary services. In addition to the funding
announced as part of the HSE's 2006-2010 Capital Programme, matching funds
will be provided by the RCSI, as part of its partnership with WRH as an
officially designated teaching hospital. The new facility is designed to enhance the teaching of both undergraduate and postgraduate medical personnel within the HSE's acute southeast hospital network. It will facilitate the provision of training and
development opportunities for members of multidisciplinary teams and
professional staff.'

'I hope that this news will further highlight the suitability of the southeast for a university in the coming years. Waterford and Carlow have two out-standing third level educational facilities. We here in Kilkenny are constantly campaigning for same. I hope that the announcement of a further educational facility at Waterford Regional Hospital will accentuate how fitting it is that there be a third level educational facility with university status in this region,' said Senator Phelan.

'I also welcome the news on another level. I believe that the new educational facility at WRH will attract a very high standard of qualified medical personnel. This can only be a positive for the healthcare system in the southeast region. We already have many excellent medical people in the region and this new facility will encourage these highly qualified medical staff to remain in the area. I would hope that this will put WRH on the road to becoming a centre of excellence in its field in the future.

'In conclusion I wish to highlight the need for oncology services for WRH. Cancer sufferers are still travelling long distances every day to Dublin in order to avail of their treatment. There is no point in having a state-of-the-art educational hospital if our oncology patients still have to travel for hours on a weekly basis in order to receive life-saving treatment. I will be raising these issues in the Seanad in coming weeks while welcoming the news of the educational facility, however, I will also be highlighting the dire needs of these cancer patients in my area.'

KK4EVER

mfitzy wrote:

Yeah, that was mostly my opinion too.
Except for J McGuiness; I think he's v bad for the constituency.He doesn't get on well with senior govt ministers including the Taoiseach- how on earth is the constituency gona benefit us??

Liam Awlyward has been gone to be Leinster MEP so, his brother is running instead.He was OK for Kilkenny, but was abit quite and laidback

MJ Nolan is an non entity as far i'm concerned-don't even know what the man sound like- he really deserves to loose his seat next year. He got in by default with a poll on the CW Nationalist at the last election saying that Carlow was in danger no GOvt TD!When he got in then he didnt deliver so his game is up really.

Seamas Patterson- was great for KK in the past, but should really have retired last time and let someone younger in.

Phil Hogan- always found him v pleasant and puts the constituency first; Think i'll vote for him next time round; We haven't had a govt minister in 25 years and Phil is our only chance.

I've had dealings with a few of the candidates over the past year and I must say that they are all adequate candidates. Some of the things I would say about them include: John McGuinness tends to do a lot of talking about nothing, Aylward worked well when he felt like it, Hogan might be gruff but he gets things done. I haven't come across Nolan in Kilkenny but my sister lives in Carlow and she says he's the hardest working public rep she's come across.
I did a bit of work with Mary White a while back. She was always keen on getting publicity in papers etc. She seems like a shrewd operator but I don't think I'd trust her.
John Paul Phelan is a nice chap....no idea what he's like as a politician.

Bards

I see Phil Hogan has changed his tune and has put his full backing behind the M9... amazing what people power will do:D

road_high

Bards wrote:

I see Phil Hogan has changed his tune and has put his full backing behind the M9... amazing what people power will do:D

Yep saw that in his mainfesto. He wants to actually speed it up apparently!
It's the No.1 investment for KK over the coming years. It would be suicide not to support it imo

fricatus

mfitzy wrote:

...too far away from KK (town or city I don't really care which).

mfitzy, are all the Blaa crowd finally grinding you down?

Say it: "ci-ttee". Now, that wasn't hard, was it?

mfitzy wrote:

And anyway, I have a much bigger problem with senior govt ministers wasting our hard earned taxes on e-voting machines that aren't electorally sound and awarding lucrative PR contracts to close personal friends; I 'm sure that will ring a few bells.

Unless you're talking about Noel Dempsey, who if I recall correctly commissioned the e-voting project... the Dublin-based media has an intense dislike of Cullen, and it sort of annoys me when I hear the same lines being trotted out. Don't follow all the sheep mfitzy, remember that Cullen was responsible for keeping the N9 on the priority list.

And as for personal friends getting contracts, I don't defend it for a second, but they're all at it, and to single out one minister is unfair, and probably reveals a hidden agenda. I think his biggest sin in the eyes of the Dublin media/PR cabal is that he awarded a contract to someone outside their little Ranelagh-Donnybrook-Chapter One-Lillies-Renards-Sindo-SoCoDu circle.

mfitzy wrote:

P.S. The official N9 sodturning in Carlow is today..

Did that not happen like a year ago? They've moved half of Co Carlow at this point - seems a little late for a sod turning.

Bards

Fricatus.. most of this thread is from 2006.. yes a year ago now... In Fairness to Mfitzy he is one of the more sane cats I have come accross:D

fricatus

Bards wrote:

Fricatus.. most of this thread is from 2006.. yes a year ago now... In Fairness to Mfitzy he is one of the more sane cats I have come accross:D

Yes he is, and now I feel like a total dope! You know, you see a thread about politicians around election time and... naah! No excuse!

Nightwish

Just had a canvasser for Phil Hogan at the door. Kept him there for the best part of half an hour grilling him on the various issues that interest me.

Bards

fricatus wrote:

Yes he is, and now I feel like a total dope! You know, you see a thread about politicians around election time and... naah! No excuse!

Been there, have the T-Shirt:D

road_high

Guys I completely agree re M Cullen securing the N9. Had it been up to any of the KK/CW backbenchers I think we'd be waiting :rolleyes: Fair play to Cullen I say...The west have been at this for years, only right the s east should get some of the action for once!