Whose replacing MEP's and local councillors?

panda100

Apologies If this has already been discussed on another thread.

I'm just wondering who is replacing the MEP's and councillers who have recently been elected to the dail.

I know Ruth Coppinger is replacing Joe Higgins, but who is replacing Alan Kelly? And who is replacing the numerous Councillor positions now vacated by the new TD's.Will there be by-elections?

Thanks.

Corsendonk

panda100 wrote: »

Apologies If this has already been discussed on another thread.

I'm just wondering who is replacing the MEP's and councillers who have recently been elected to the dail.

I know Paul Murphy is replacing Joe Higgins, but who is replacing Alan Kelly? And who is replacing the numerous Councillor positions now vacated by the new TD's.Will there be by-elections?

Thanks.

Really? I thought Ruth Coppinger was next after Clare Daly.

mikemac

Alan Kelly is being replaced by Phil Prendergast from Tipp South

Corsendonk

Some of the Dublin replacements, I haven't heard who is replacing Clare Daly in Fingal, Anthony Lavin is replacing Alan Farrell on Fingal for FG.

Evening Herald

By Cormac Murphy


Saturday March 12 2011

THESE are some of the city's new councillors who will be taking the places of successful General Election candidates.

Some 17 councillors across Dublin city and county are being co-opted on to the capital's local authorities to fill the shoes of recently elected TDs.

Dublin City Council has seen the biggest upheaval, with nine new councillors.

Among them is 26-year-old Clontarf woman Jane Horgan-Jones, who is taking over from Aodhan O'Riordain in Dublin North Central.

Ms Horgan-Jones, a Labour Youth activist and trained barrister, became involved with the party while a student at UCD.

She admitted she was a "little daunted" by the prospect of taking her place on the council but it was "very exciting and a huge opportunity" for her.

Ms Horgan-Jones said the party had been active in anti-head shops, save the bus routes in Marino and flooding campaigns.

Another replacement councillor is father-of-two Brian McDowell from Donaghmede who is being co-opted onto Sean Kenny's Labour seat. Ex-councillor Paddy McCartan (FG) will be taking over from Eoghan Murphy in Dublin South East, having lost his council seat to the newly elected TD at the 2009 local elections.

Mr McCartan will be joined in the constituency by Gerry Ashe, who is taking over from Kevin Humphreys.

Ms Ashe, the party's constituency council chairwoman, is the elder sister of Labour councillor Dermot Lacey. Mr Lacey told the Herald he believed it would be the first time a brother and sister had sat on the council at the same time.

On South Dublin County Council, Emer Higgins (FG) will replace Derek Keating, while her party colleague Patricia Stewart will be taking over Mary Mitchell O'Connor's Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council seat.

Sinn Fein's Maire Devine will be taking over from Sean Crowe on SDCC and Anthony Connaughton, also SF, will take up Dessie Ellis' seat on DCC.

I found this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056201526

Perhaps thread merge is needed?

panda100

Interesting stuff. I recognise a good few of the names from my UCD days Very surprised to see Jane Horgan Jones involved in anti head shop campaigns.

Tbh, I think those who got the most votes after those that were elected should take over the positions, or by -elections should be held.

Lockstep

Chris Bond has been coopted for Eamonn Maloney (Labour) for Tallaght South.

Corsendonk

panda100 wrote: »

Interesting stuff. I recognise a good few of the names from my UCD days Very surprised to see Jane Horgan Jones involved in anti head shop campaigns.

Tbh, I think those who got the most votes after those that were elected should take over the positions, or by -elections should be held.

Just on a follow up to the replacement of Alan Farrell who incidentally is a poster on this site in the past, the Evening Herald(i know its a rag) was running a story today that he tried to start his own Dynasty and co-opt his wife but the local party stepped in.

Lockstep

Labour have selection conventions where the local branch vote for who is to be co-opted, AFAIK, FG have the same.

Corsendonk

Lockstep wrote: »

Labour have selection conventions where the local branch vote for who is to be co-opted, AFAIK, FG have the same.

Seems so but from this story seems he tried to change that

Irish Independent March 14th 2011

A NEW government TD has been thwarted in his efforts to get his wife elected to his vacant council seat.

Fine Gael's Alan Farrell left a spot on Fingal County Council when he took a second seat for Fine Gael in the four-seat Dublin North constituency in last month's general election.

Mr Farrell was seen as an outside bet to win a seat. But strong vote management by his running mate -- Fine Gael deputy leader and new Health Minister James Reilly -- pushed him over the line.

His council berth, which can be worth around €30,000 a year in payments and expenses, was to be filled in advance of the first meeting of the council this evening.

Immediately after the general election count, Mr Farrell said his replacement was a matter for party members but claimed he had somebody with "authority and ability" in mind to fill the position.

The selection convention took place last week and Mr Farrell proposed his wife, Emma Doyle, to fill his seat.

Ms Doyle, a barrister by profession, worked on Mr Farrell's general election campaign and on previous local election campaigns.

In his proposal speech, it is understood he highlighted his wife's abilities as a barrister and said that she had been an inspiration to him.

Message

However, some members of the local organisation thought it wouldn't send out the right message if Ms Doyle was put forward uncontested.

Brian Murphy, chairman of the Fine Gael national executive and also a Malahide native, nominated Anthony Lavin, a long-term party activist, and he won out at the convention, which was held in the Grand Hotel in Malahide last Thursday.

Mr Farrell, a former mayor of Fingal County Council, declined to comment and a Fine Gael spokesperson said he "wasn't available to talk to the media at all" yesterday.

Since the abolition of the dual mandate in 2004, councillors who make it to the Dail after running in a general election have to be replaced on the local authority by a substitute.

It is left up to the party to decide how to fill the council seat but it must stay with the party the councillor was originally elected from.

Political parties have become more wary about allowing family members replace TDs on councils and also about allowing TDs to hire family members as parliamentary assistants.

Labour has told its TDs not to put family members in their council seats or to hire them in Leinster House.

Fianna Fail, which only has four council seats to fill, is dictating from headquarters who is to fill the seats and sources say family members will not be allowed.

But Fine Gael leaves it up to individual organisations locally, and allows them to vote on it at party conventions.

Local Fine Gael sources were surprised by Mr Farrell's move and said it sent out the wrong kind of signal at a time when people are looking for the political system to reform itself.

"I don't buy this that family members can't be allowed take the seat," one Fine Gael source told the Irish Independent.

"You could have a very strong candidate being passed over. But there was a feeling that this wouldn't look right and most of the people there backed the other candidate."

Pineapple stu

Only a few days in the job and already tried to pull a fast one FG/FF any diffrence?

Corsendonk

panda100 wrote: »

Apologies If this has already been discussed on another thread.

I'm just wondering who is replacing the MEP's and councillers who have recently been elected to the dail.

I know Ruth Coppinger is replacing Joe Higgins, but who is replacing Alan Kelly? And who is replacing the numerous Councillor positions now vacated by the new TD's.Will there be by-elections?

Thanks.

Ruth Coppinger brother has been chosen to replace Clare Daly on Fingal CC, nice to see nepotism exists in the far left too.

PomBear

Frank Fahy (Not the FF one) has been chosen to replace Brian Walsh(FG).

Nuala Nolan has replaced Derek Nolan(Lab).

Both Galway West.

Lockstep

PomBear wrote: »

Nuala Nolan has replaced Derek Nolan(Lab).

No relation :P

panda100

Corsendonk wrote: »

Ruth Coppinger brother has been chosen to replace Clare Daly on Fingal CC, nice to see nepotism exists in the far left too.

Are you sure? First I've heared of it. i used to be involved in the SP and If Ruths's brother did take Clare Dalys seat its not due to family ties, but because he's a committed, hard-working memeber of the party.

Corsendonk

panda100 wrote: »

Are you sure? First I've heared of it. i used to be involved in the SP and If Ruths's brother did take Clare Dalys seat its not due to family ties, but because he's a committed, hard-working memeber of the party.

Yes it was in the local Fingal Independent. Very poor piece of journalism indeed, it just talked about his athletics background and mentioned he was the "brother" numerous times rather than his political background as a qualification for the job of cllr.

PomBear

Caoimhe Sloan replaces Peadar Toibin on Navan Town Council