County small in size but big in issues

Council profile/Louth: It may be the smallest county in the country, but the issues dominating this election vary greatly across…

Council profile/Louth: It may be the smallest county in the country, but the issues dominating this election vary greatly across Louth. Health services feature in the north of the county, planning in mid-Louth and commuter and development issues in the Drogheda area.

While there is no clear issue uniting voters in the county, the two-seat majority Fianna Fáil has enjoyed on the council for most of the last five years is under threat.

The uncertain future of Louth County Hospital in Dundalk has proven to be a major issue in the Dundalk/Carlingford and Dundalk south electoral areas, which each elect six councillors.

These two areas have been Fianna Fáil strongholds, where the party took four and three seats respectively in 1999.

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In the Carlingford area, the party is under enormous pressure from Sinn Féin, which is particularly strong in this Border area. In 1999, Mr Arthur Morgan took the party's only council seat in this area. It is running three candidates this time in the hope of capitalising on the TD's popularity and the hospital issue.

In Dundalk south, sitting independent councillors, Dr Mary Grehan and Mr Martin Bellew, are expected to soak up much of the hospital protest vote. Dundalk south provides the PDs with their best chance of taking a seat on the council with Mr Jim Cousins, a sitting town councillor. Sinn Féin's Mr Kevin Meenan and Nigerian-born Independent Ms Benedicta Attoh are expected to poll well.

In the mid-Louth electoral area, planning issues have been to the fore around Dunleer, following a controversial rezoning of a swathe of land near the town for a major industrial development project.

With three Fianna Fáil and two Fine Gael councillors, both the PDs, who are running town councillor Mr Leonard Hatrick, and Sinn Féin, fielding Mr Pearse McGeough, have strong candidates.

Fine Gael may take a bounce from the fact that its European election candidate, Ms Máireád McGuinness, was born and reared in Ardee.

One of the candidates who could benefit from this is Fine Gael's Mr Gerard Crilly, a member of An Taisce, who also strongly opposed the proposals as being developer-led.

In the electoral areas of Drogheda east and west, commuter issues may decide the outcome of both polls.

As the region has seen a huge increase in population in the last five years, mainly commuters, transport and service issues dominate. Many commuters have yet to establish themselves fully in the community, and candidates therefore have limited name recognition.

In Drogheda west, Fianna Fáil will find it extremely difficult to hold on to the two seats it has in the four-seat area.

One of its councillors, former Drogheda mayor Mr Seán Collins, who has been involved in a controversy about the funding of a local historical group, resigned from the party earlier this year and is standing as an independent.

Mr Fergus O'Dowd TD took one seat for Fine Gael in 1999, and the party is pushing to take a second. Mr Gerald Nash is also seen as a strong contender for Labour. Sinn Féin's ambitions to take a seat in this area have been strongly upset by the decision of party stalwart Mr Ken Ó Héiligh to stand as an independent.