Wexford boundaries put shape on the Local Election

At long last we have the boundaries for each district in Wexford for next year’s local elections. Normally local elections evolve into a mini general election where the people use the ballot box to send a message to the government. They did this when I was elected and they did it when I was beaten.

At first glance it may well look as though the pattern may repeat itself. However think forward and perhaps that’s not the way it may turn out. We will have a Presidential election later this year. It is clear that Gerard Craughwell will get enough support among independents for a tilt at the Arás. If he runs you can rest assured that SF will not let him off on his own.

We’ll have a Presidential election this autumn. Presidential Elections are allocated a 60 day campaign. So at the start of September, we’ll know who may be nominated, by Halloween, we’ll know the result.

During that period we’ll have a budget. Could it be defeated and can a general election be constitutionally called during a presidential election campaign? So the budget will pass and then the Finance and Social Welfare Acts will give effect to the budget changes. That will take until Christmas.

But once we enter the new year, all bets are off. Fianna Fail will see themselves out of the Confidence and Supply Deal and any issue could and will trigger an election. So presuming there will be an election in March next year, bear in mind how long it can take to form a government.

Easter next year will be later than usual. Once Easter is over we are into Local and European Elections. With new ministers barely in their new jobs, there’ll be little for the electorate to give any new government a kicking over by the time the new boundaries come into play on polling day next year.

Or at least that’s what Fine Gael councillors reckon. This will be a local election which will favour incumbents for many reasons. Local elections will be about local issues. Any outgoing councillor will of course have the ear of officials and will have an enormous advantage in that election. There may well be an election weariness by the time the local elections come around so turn out may well be much lower than average.

And when you look at the boundaries it further reinforces the notion that the status quo will prevail. The decision to ring fence Wexford as one ward makes sense. However introducing Clongeen into the district makes no sense. Including the name of Kilmore in the entire district sounds peculiarly quaint.  This ward will be most hotly contested. 5 outgoing councillors will be joined by one councillor moving from New Ross district and Paul Codd, the son of the late Pat Codd, Mr Taghmon.  Something has to give.

Wexford will have 7 seats. Social media discussion of that ward will assure you that all 14 candidates will win. I’ve yet to see that happen in any election.

Gorey district has been taken apart in this redraw. The village of Ballycanew is familiar to most people from Wexford who take the direct road to Gorey. You’d hardly get back into 5^th gear having driven through the village before you decelerate once more to get onto the motorway. Bizarrely Bally canew and its hinterland are now considered part of Enniscorthy. Gorey has dropped to 6 seats which is just one seat more than Kilmore ward has been allocated.

Enniscorthy will comprise 2 wards with one centred on the town but also a coastal ward at Kilmuckridge. New Ross has also lost a seat as well as some territory to Wexford. Taghmon has returned to its rightful place in Wexford District. But the real downside for Wexford ward is that the 7 councillors it elects won't have officials ring fenced to work for the town but the 6 elected in Gorey District will have engineers and a dedicated secretariat. Why? Because Wexford will be a ward while Gorey will be a district.

So that’s the territory and the context of the redraw. What I can’t do now is predict the issues in each ward that will elect our next council. Let’s hope it as election that debates ideas and local issues. 2014 was all about candidates pretending they could reduce property charges, rates, and abolish water charges while giving a better service.  A weary public bought that populism. There’s no doubt that the electorate may not wish to punish those who won using this line, however let’s hope that some of the new councillors will hold them to account.