Russell adds Healy Rae horsepower to local election race

THE competition for Council seats in next May’s local elections intensified this week as West Kerry man David Russell joined the contest Healy Rae political horsepower behind him.

The Dingle Electoral Area has just three seats on Kerry County Council and the candidates already vying for these are Cllr Michael O’Shea (FF) from Milltown/Castlemaine, Tommy Griffin (FG) from Keel, and Dingle men Cllr Seamus Cosaí Fitzgerald (FG), Breandán Fitzgerald (FF), and Robert Brosnan (SF). The entry into the contest of David Russell, from Coimín, Baile na nGall, means four of the six candidates are from West Kerry and this sets the scene for a fierce scramble to win local votes.

David, who has worked in construction in West Kerry for the past 20 years, has canvassed with Deputy Michael Healy Rae in recent years as well as helping at his local clinics, which gave him an insight into the kind of problems local people face. He told The Kerryman this week that he has been in discussions with Deputy Healy Rae since last July about the prospect of running in the forthcoming local elections but the final decision was only made in December.

Some of the issues he plans to focus on include the “lack of services” at West Kerry Community Hospital, the lack of both social and private housing in West Kerry, planning, parking and traffic management issues, the creation of more interest in the Irish language, rural regeneration, assisting smaller villages and towns to benefit more from The Wild Atlantic Way, the lack of public amenities especially for younger people, and the survival of small fishing and farming communities.

David, aged 39, said that if he wins a council seat he would work on local issues and be a ‘local link’ for Deputy Healy Rae. In turn, Deputy Healy Rae would deal with bigger issues that come above the level of the county council. “He will be my direct link to the Dáil,” he said.

Even though the presence of four West Kerry candidates in the May election is likely to split the local vote, David is confident that he will be able to turn strong Healy Rae support in West Kerry into votes on the ballot paper. “There’s a lot of work going into this [and] I wouldn’t be putting the time and money into it unless I thought I had a good chance,” he said.

As for the question of how he would manage to find time for the considerable workload of a councillor while also running a construction business, he was equally positive. “I’d manage alright – I don’t need much sleep,” he said.

West Kerry candidates in May’s local elections (clockwise from top left): Cllr Seamus Cosaí Fitzgerald, Breandán Fitzgerald, Robert Brosnan and David Russell.