Sinn Féin's Déise double? Greens' airport grief? The big Waterford election storylines explained
Vote counting for the Waterford Constituency will take place at SETU's Cork Road campus over the weekend. Photo: Joe Evans
With voters set to go to the polls tomorrow, these are some of the big storylines that will finally be answered!
In 2020, the Sinn Féin spokesperson for Health and Waterford TD David Cullinane received nearly 40% of the first preference vote, doubling the quota. Despite that incredible electoral performance, there were some regrets in their Parnell Square headquarters that they hadn't run two candidates.
Speaking to waterford-news.ie, Deputy Cullinane admitted that only running one candidate in Waterford was a "mistake", but that they wouldn't be making the same error this time out. Sinn Féin ran a record number of candidates across the country in the local elections, a move Leader Mary Lou McDonald would later admit "it is obvious now that we ran too many candidates”.
Sinn Féin are hoping that they have found the balance in this General Election.
In Waterford, while Deputy Cullinane is expected to be elected without any fuss, the fate of his party colleague Councillor Conor McGuinness is less clear. McGuinness is strategically positioning himself as a prospective TD for West Waterford and Dungarvan, seeking to attract a different sector of the Waterford vote as his party look to make up some of their poor polling performance in recent months.
Sinn Féin's performance in Waterford may not match their national form; Deputy Cullinane has a strong base of support and, even if his party underperform nationally, his electoral chances may not be seriously affected. One of the most vocal local councillors and a strong voice for the west of the county, Conor McGuinness will attract non-partisan support in his locality.
Regardless of the national picture Sinn Féin has reason to be hopeful of a Déise double.
The development and extension of Waterford Airport's runway has failed to take off and blame is being passed around like a hot potato.
Independent TD Matt Shanahan has spent the last four years loudly making the case for Waterford in the Dáil against a rotating cast of government ministers. The latest of which was Fianna Fáil Minister of State at the Department of Transport James Lawless who infamously labelled the airport as a 'pig in a poke'. This election will decide who the electorate ultimately blames for the lack of progress made.
Will it be Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh, whose now-former party leader Minister Eamon Ryan has been accused of being asleep at the wheel of the department? Or will voters blame Minister Lawless' party colleague Minister Mary Butler - who was quick to distance herself from the comments?
Senator John Cummins has never been quiet about his ambition to go right to the top of the Irish political ladder. His persistence in running for the position is certainly not in doubt. In 2020, contrary to Sinn Féin's form, Fine Gael likely suffered from running two separate candidates, with Councillor Damien Geoghegan splitting the vote with the current Senator.
This election cycle, Fine Gael has invested significantly into Cummins' campaign after he narrowly lost out to Ó Cathasaigh on transfers last time. The son of former Senator Maurice Cummins, John is seeking to go one step further than his father. His odds were already good but have likely improved since the controversy surrounding one of his biggest rivals, Independent Deputy Matt Shanahan, who has attracted significant criticism due to projecting an election message onto the side of the hospice ward at UHW.
