The make up of the new
Waterford Council was confirmed on Sunday afternoon when business man Eddie
Mulligan became the thirty-second member to be elected to the new body.
Waterford
City which had fifteen elected members and Waterford County Council which had
twenty-three members has been abolished and will be placed by a new single
body. The Dungarvan, Tramore and Lismore Town Councils have also been abolished
in line with other town councils around the country. Former members of Dungarvan
and Tramore Town Councils will be represented on the new council but no member
of the outgoing Lismore Town Council allowed their name to go forward for
election to the new body.
Sinn
Fein Councillor John Hearne was the first member elected to the new body. Hearne
who was co-opted onto Waterford City Council in 2011 after David Cullinane was
elected as a member of the Senate was elected for the Waterford South area
which covers Waterford city.
Of
the seventy-three that put their name forward for a place on the new council,
fourteen were women, five of whom were elected, one coming from each of the
five electorate areas.
Fianna
Fail Councillor Michael Joseph O’Ryan polled highest across the five electorate
areas. The Ballymacarbry based councillor who is the third generation of his
family to be elected to serve the people of Waterford in almost one hundred
years received 1,484 first preference votes in the Comeragh area which
stretches from Annestown in the East of the County to Ballymacarbry and
Ballinamult in the North West of the county.
Damien
Geoghegan and John Cummins both of the Fine Gael Party and who served as the
last Mayor of the County and City Councils respectfully were both re-elected.
Dungarvan
man Damien Geoghegan was the first to be elected in the newly formed
Dungarvan/Lismore area, topping the area pole with 1,337 first preference
votes, passing the quota of 1,312 votes needed to be elected.
Waterford
City man John Cummins who serves in the Waterford South district received 780
first preference votes and was elected to the new body on the tenth county
having passed the 1,032 quota with 1,089 votes.
Six
Councillors were elected on the first count. Michael Joseph O’Ryan and Liam
Brazil were elected in the Comeragh Area. In the Dungarvan area Damien Geoghegan
was elected after the first round of counting.
In
the Tramore/Waterford City West area no member of the new body were elected
after the first round of counting. Joe Conway was the first of the eighteen
names on the ballot paper in the area to be elected, after eight rounds of
counting.
In
Waterford City/East outgoing City Councillor Davy Daniels and out going County
Councillor Pat Fitzgerald were elected on the first count, while John Hearne
was elected in the first round of voting in Waterford South.
Fourteen
members of the new body were elected without reaching a quota.
In
the Comeragh area, Sean Power was just nine votes short of the quota after nine
counts but was elected along with Mary Butler.
In
the Dungarvan/Lismore area half the representatives were elected without
reaching the quota. Tom Cronin, Declan Doocey, Seamus O’Donnell and John Pratt
were all elected without reaching the set quota.
In
the Tramore/Waterford City West area, another four were elected without
reaching the quota, Blaze Hannigan, Joe Kelly, Lola O’Sullivan and Eamon
Quinlan.
In
Waterford City South Jason Murphy, Laurence ‘Cha’ O’Neill and Sean Reinhardt
were all elected without a quota while Eddie Mulligan in the Waterford
City/East area was the last elected councillor again failing to reach the
quota.
In
total nine non-party members will sit on the new council with Fianna Fail and
Fine Gael having eight members each, Sinn Fein have six members while John
Pratt will be the sole Labour member.
With
seventeen votes needed to form a majority grouping on the new council, the
various parties and non party members will be meeting in the coming days to
decide who will control the council.
Members
of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have already indicated that that they could come
together and work together over the next five years, but they would need one
more vote to form a majority.
Sinn
Fein was the bigger winners in Waterford as was the case throughout the
country. However, it remains to be seen if they will take part in controlling
the new council as not all parties and independents will be willing to share
control with them.
The
new council is made up of
Liam
Brazil Fine Gael Comeragh Area
Mary
Butler Fianna Fail Comeragh Area
Declan
Clune Sinn Fein Comeragh Area
John
O’Leary Fianna Fail Comeragh Area
Michael
J. O’Ryan Fianna Fail Comeragh Area
Sean
Power Fine Gael Comeragh Area
Tom
Cronin Fianna Fail Dungarvan/Lismore Area
Declan
Doocey Fine Gael Dungarvan/Lismore Area
Damien
Geoghegan Fine Gael Dungarvan/Lismore Area
Pat
Nugent Fine Gael Dungarvan/Lismore Area
Seamus
O’Donnell Non Party Dungarvan/Lismore Area
John
Pratt Labour Dungarvan/Lismore Area
James
Tobin Fianna Fail Dungarvan/Lismore Area
Siobhán
Whelan Sinn Fein Dungarvan/Lismore Area
Joe
Conway Non Party Tramore/Waterford West Area
Jim
Griffin Sinn Fein Tramore/Waterford West Area
Blaze
Hannigan Non Party Tramore/Waterford West Area
Joe
Kelly Non Party Tramore/Waterford West Area
Lola
O’Sullivan Fine Gael Tramore/Waterford West Area
Eamon
Quinlan Fianna Fail Tramore/Waterford West Area
John
Carey Fine Gael Waterford/East Area
Davy
Daniels Non Party Waterford/East Area
Pat
Fitzgerald Non Party Waterford/East Area
Eddie
Mulligan Non Party Waterford/East Area
Mary
Roche Non Party Waterford/East Area
Adam
Gary Wyse Fianna Fail Waterford/East Area
Breda
Brennan Sinn Fein Waterford South Area
John
Cummins Fine Gael Waterford South Area
John
Hearne Sinn Fein Waterford South Area
Jason
Murphy Fianna Fail Waterford South Area
Laurence
O’Neill Non Party Waterford South Area
Sean
Reinhardt Non Party Waterford South Area
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