Local Elections bring new parties, but will it mean new politics?

Seventy-nine candidates have put themselves forward to contest for 32 seats with Waterford City and County Council on Friday, June 7.

The seats are spread across six electoral areas: Dungarvan; Lismore; Portlaw - Kilmacthomas; Tramore - Waterford City West; Waterford City East and Waterford City South. 

In May 2019, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil won seven seats apiece, but each lost one compared to the previous election. The number of elected Independent councillors also declined from nine to six seats, however, the representatives topped the poll for first preference votes, beating Fine Gael by 458 votes.

Sinn Féin was the most consistent, retaining their six seats in 2019 and in this election will run 18 candidates.

Labour and Greens piqued the interest of voters as they increased their representation by three and two seats, respectively.

People Before Profit, Renua and Aontú also had candidates running in the previous election, however none of them received more than 332 votes.

Some of the interesting ones to watch in the upcoming election include Mary Roche as a Social Democrat candidate, Sinn Féin and The Irish People.

Mary Roche, a former Fianna Fáil councillor, resigned from the party in 2003 due to the party failing to fulfil promises made regarding radiotherapy for Waterford. Cllr Roche did continue to pursue her interest in local politics and in February 2020 was a co-optee for Independent Matt Shanahan as he was elected to the Dáil.

In another turn of events, Cllr Roche is no longer running as an Independent candidate, but has affiliated herself with the Social Democrats, which has also added Sinéad Ellen Griffin to the Waterford City South ticket. More interestingly, Social Democrats founder, Stephen Donnelly, did the opposite of Cllr Roche and is now the Minister for Health, with Fianna Fáil.

With locals left wondering if Government promises of a commercialised airport in Waterford are nothing more than empty, it could reflect in the votes for Sinn Féin Councillor Jim Griffin and Green Party Councillor Jody Power who hold positions on the Airport Board.

Government officials made their way to Waterford in November 2023 with exciting announcements and backing of the new investors interested in expanding Waterford Airport, however, since then, there has been no further commitment from Government, despite the Board submitting its business plan to the Department of Transport months ago. Minister Eamon Ryan didn't know it was in his office.

In addition to the people of Waterford being left deflated over the 15-year airport debacle, another issue on the lips of concerned voters is the housing crisis. Despite Waterford City and County Council being one of the best councils in the country for its housing department, voters are still concerned that housing issues aren’t being addressed quickly enough.

University Hospital Waterford and South East Technological University have Waterford people crying out for more funding from Government to better the services they provide to those not just across city and county, but the entire region.

Four new political parties will be running candidates in the local elections: Independent Ireland; Rabharta; The Irish People and Party for Animal Welfare.

Focusing on immigration, The Irish People party has shown a strong stance against refugees in its far-right wing politics, one of the few to emerge locally in Waterford politics. 

Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm on June 7, with all ballot boxes being delivered to SETU Arena for the count to begin on June 8.