Cllr Ronan McManus to seek nomination to contest general election
Issued : Tuesday 7 September, 2010
Areas : wicklow
"I would first like to pay tribute to Liz McManus TD who has, in my opinion, been among the most vocal and most diligent representatives in the Oireachtas. She has been an inspiration to me personally and to other younger politicians in Wicklow and further afield." said Cllr. McManus
"I can confirm that I have submitted my name to the Labour Party for consideration as a candidate for the next general election."
"I feel that the next election will be a crossroads for the country as a whole and I know that I can make a positive contribution to the changes ahead. Over the past few years we have seen the disastrous consequences of FF/PD/Green economic policies and I think that it is high time that we had a fresh approach to how our country is run. "
"We became over-reliant on the financial and construction industries and have ignored the real core of our economy, our indigenous small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). These are the businesses that have been affected most by the economic catastrophe that has hit our country. These are the businesses that should be driving our economy forward in a real and sustainable way, and yet they are now are struggling to survive. The collapse of construction and the closure of many firms due to economic difficulties have led to 13,344 people now being on the live register in Co. Wicklow. This trend will not be reversed without decisive action by the government.
"This FF/Green government has a disastrous record on social housing and has done little to combat the housing crisis. The cuts in funding to our local authorities and the ban on new local authority housing being built have led to ever-increasing housing lists. The government is working under the assumption that all areas in Ireland can draw on a reserve of available housing in the form of "ghost-estates" that their policies helped create. This is not the case in Co. Wicklow and no special dispensation has been given for us to build the necessary additional housing."
"We have allowed a technological gap to open up between Ireland and other developed nations when it comes to telecommunications. Our outdated copper cable network is not up to the task of providing the quality high-speed internet access required by modern business. This is putting our companies at a competitive disadvantage and is discouraging foreign investment within Ireland."
"These, and other issues, will have to be addressed by the next government and I will work my hardest to ensure that the people in Co. Wicklow are represented by two Labour TDs." concluded Cllr. McManus
… ends …
Ronan McManus 087-6949232
Cllr 
