Labour unveil policies and candidates for Westport, Mayo and Europe!

Labour unveil policies and candidates for Westport, Mayo and Europe
 

The Labour party will unveil its town, county and Euro candidates and their policies at a special public meeting tonight (Tuesday April 21st) in the Wyatt Hotel in Westport at 7.30pm.

 

The Special guest will be Susan O'Keefe, the Labour Party candidate for the  North-West constituency for the forthcoming European Parliament Elections.  Susan is the journalist who broke the story on a World in Action programme on the Irish Beef Industry which led to the formation of a Tribunal of Inquiry.

 

Susan O'Keefe says her "core beliefs of equality and fairness have driven all the work I have done as a journalist. By joining the Labour Party I will be able to direct these values towards building a more honest political system which favours, not just the brave, but the weak, the poor and the old. I want to contribute to building a fairer Ireland and a fairer Europe where working together means just that."

 

Announcing Susan's candidacy for the European elections, Eamon Gilmore TD said "Susan O'Keeffe is a person of the highest integrity and remarkable courage with an outstanding record as a campaigning journalist."

Prior to the public meeting Susan O'Keefe will be meeting the people of Westport during the afternoon, when she will have the opportunity of listening to the views and opinions of the people of Mayo on the EU and it's importance and relevance to the further development of the West of Ireland.  

 

Labour's second candidate for Westport Town Council David Fallon will also outline Labour's Policies for Westport Town Council while Cllr Keith Martin will outline his priorities for the Westport Electoral Area.

 

According to Chair of the Westport Branch of the Labour Mr Sean Sammon, Labour's priorities are "Jobs, jobs, jobs."

 

www.thingscanonlygetbetter.ie

086 0691182

098 24852

Good Friday Clean up

Members of the Westport Branch of the Labour Party took part in the Good Friday Clean up with members taking to the Northwoods to give the area a spring clean.  In addition to litter they removed plastic and metal piping, scraps of metal and plastic.

Pictured Andrew Martin, John McDonell, David Fallon and Cllr Keith Martin

Join the Party, join the Labour Party!

Join the Labour Party

 

The Labour Party is hosting a recruitment evening in the Bakehouse Rooms of Henehan's Bar on Bridge Street tonight March 10^th at 8pm.  This is part of a nationwide recruitment drive by Party Leader Eamon Gilmore.

 

Membership of the party is open to all according to Chairman of the Mayo Labour Party,  Sean Sammon.  "The Labour Party is the hardest working party in Mayo and we are gearing up for the upcoming local elections and are looking forward to our Party Conference at the end of March.  The Labour Party, in Mayo and nationally, is going from strength to strength and we are now inviting those people in Mayo who want to make a difference to join us and help us get Mayo moving again.

 

"Anyone interested in joining the Labour is invited to come along tonight and have a chat and a cup of tea with us.  For more information on the Labour Party in Mayo call us on 098 24852 or visit www.labour.ie"

Right to read

Increased library opening hours, a literacy programme aimed at young parents and their children and council-backed homework clubs are just some of the measures being proposed by Labour's Cllr Keith Martin to tackle illiteracy and to promote reading in Mayo.  

Cllr Keith Martin, who is a Branch Librarian at Westport Library, is backing "The Right to Read campaign" which is directed towards education in the community and uses the resources of Local Authorities to back up vital literacy programmes like Homework Clubs, Home-Reading initiatives and Public Libraries.  The campaign is backed by the children's charity Barnardos, unions SIPTU, INTO, TUI, ASTI and the National Adult Literacy Agency.

Cllr Martin says "Children who go to primary school, must 'Learn to Read so that they Read to Learn' when they move up to secondary school.  According to the latest Census figures 19% of secondary students in Mayo drop out of school when they reach 15 or after their junior certificate. Many, but not all, do so because they have difficulty with reading and writing. 

"Nationally there are at least half a million adults that are functionally illiterate.  Many of these people are doomed to low incomes or long term unemployment, especially in the current economy.  We must work to eliminate illiteracy and to create an literate and confident society and workforce.  

"Also there are huge personal benefits to reading, for example reading stimulates the mind (unlike television), reading improves our vocabulary, concentration, focus and memory and allows us to develop our creativity.  In addition to this its great fun, whether its escapism in good novel or a DIY or cookery book to help us around the home.

Cllr Martin concludes "I am committed to implementing the Right to Read programme when I am elected to Mayo County Council.  We must make sure that no child or adult is left behind, we must also ensure that everyone learns to read, for education and for fun.  Libraries offer great value for money, with free membership for children up to 18 and a maximum annual membership cost of just €3.  For that you get to borrow five books, CDs, DVDs for free, free internet access and access to a huge amount of reference and support materials. The Right to Read campaign aims to highlight these opportunities and to promote literacy and the enjoyment of reading in Mayo."

CORE Initiatives

Increase library opening hours, especially in the evenings after school.
Ensure that all libraries publish community outreach plans and work with schools and community groups to maximise participation in library activities amongst all age groups.
Increase the number of activities in libraries to promote reading.
Expand the mobile library service.
Encourage literacy amongst young parents with the promotion of 'Baby Books Bundle' by the library service.
Encourage all Local Authorities to establish Right to Read Committees involving elected members and appropriate officers from council management.
'Family Learning through Football' courses (Sunderland F.C. model) encouraging positive parenting and family literacy through sport in association with sporting organisations run in council community centres.
A greater volume of multi-lingual textbooks in our library service.
A greater roll out of schemes like the 'Beano Comic Initiative' as sponsored by Dublin City Council across the country.

Formatted - Martin calls for lower voting age for EU and Locals

Cllr Keith Martin has welcomed the campaign "Vote at 16 – A New Age in Voting" by the National Youth Council of Ireland which calls for the voting age for local and European elections to be lowered to 16.

According to Cllr Martin "There are many issues affecting young people that need to be articulated. Who better to do so than young voters of 16 and 17?

"Now is the time to lower the age as 16 and 17 year-olds have a great deal of experience with the democratic process. The teenagers of this generation have far more knowledge of politics through programmes in secondary school and access to information via the internet. They are increasingly engaged in political and charity campaigns and they are heavily impacted on by decisions made at local and European level particularly in the area of education."

Cllr Martin says changing the voting age for local and European elections is simple as while the voting age of 18 for Dáil and Presidential elections in Ireland is provided for under the Constitution, there is no such restriction as far as local and European elections are concerned.

Already a number of countries have reduced the voting age to 17 such as East Timor and Indonesia. Others such as Brazil, Cuba, Nicaragua, the Isle of Man and the Netherlands have reduced the voting age to 16.

Cllr Martin says "There are many compelling reasons why we should lower the vote for example we now have an extremely well educated youth who are an economic power in their own right and people are maturing much earlier now than they were 50 years ago. Most young people are now in full time education at the age of 16 whereas most had left school at the age of 16 fifty years ago.

"Young people are constantly voting and enjoy voting in reality TV programmes, such as Big Brother, the X Factor and You're a Star.  However, they are unable to vote on the real issues that effect their lives.

"Local authorities make decisions on areas such as planning and zoning that will have a major impact on where these young people will live and work in the not-too-distant future, and their views and perspectives should be fully reflected by their democratically elected representatives.

"At a time when the lives of young people are being severely impacted by cutbacks in education, reductions in children's allowance and increases in college 'registration fees' - they deserve to have their voices heard."

"As somebody who became involved in politics long before he was eligible to vote I believe that we should be doing everything possible to make sure that young people become engaged in the democratic process and in civic life. Dropping the voting age would certainly be a step in the right direction in that regard."

086 0691182

Westport Labour

The first meeting of the Westport Branch in 2009 was  recently held in Henehan's Bake House Bar on Bridge St.

 

Top of the agenda was the upcoming 2009 elections and a discussion concerning the number of candidates to run for Westport Town Council was discussed.

 

As of yet the Westport Labour Party has not nominated anyone to contest the Town Council next year though it is likely that Keith Martin will seek to keep his seat on the council.  Keith Martin has already been nominated to contest a seat on Mayo County Council for the Westport Electoral Area.  It was resolved that the Branch will decide on the number of candidates to run for the Town Council at their April meeting.

 

The issue of a new clean water for Westport, Murrisk and Louisburgh was discussed and the issue of the delay over the Polluter Pays Principle was discussed with Cllr Keith Martin assuring the members that he was investigating the delay with all five stalled schemes in Mayo.

 

Branch Chairman Sean Sammon addressed the meeting saying the party is looking to field candidates in as many areas as possible next year saying Labour Party in Mayo was targeting seats throughout the county and in the three town council areas.

 

"From Achill to Ballina we are looking for people to come forward and join the party and for people to come forward and stand for the party in Mayo.  Labour has championed the retention of post offices, vital health services, community policing and affordable homes and we are never afraid to stand up for what we believe in."

 

Mr Sammon also said that members will have the chance to meet the Labour Party Leader Eamon Gilmore TD when he visits Castlebar on February 9th.

 

Anyone interested in joining the Labour Party in Mayo can contact Keith on 086 0691182 or visit their website http://www.mayolabour.blogspot.com/

 

At the end of the meeting a minute's silence was observed by the members to mark the tragic passing of Padraig Hughes over the Christmas, and to mark the untimely passing of Tony Naughton and Mattie Hopkins who had both given decades of service to the town.

Gilmore supports Westport Winter Fuel Appeal

(left to right)

 

Sean Sammon Chair Mayo Labour Party, Cathaoirleach Cllr Martin Keane, Eamon Gimore TD, Cllr Keith Martin, Tadgh McNally