FF braced for voter backlash over lack of amenities

Council area profile/ Kildare: Politicians used to see Kildare as split between rural and urban areas. Now they talk instead of "old" and "new" Kildare, in recognition of the county's rapid development at the heart of Leinster's commuter belt.

The proliferation of new estates in towns like Naas, Celbridge and Athy has created a new electorate with few, if any, political affiliations, and that has the two main political parties particularly worried.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have controlled the council since the mid-1980s and are bracing themselves for a backlash from recent arrivals to the county who are dismayed at the dearth of public amenities in towns and villages.

A shortage of school places, the absence of sports and leisure facilities and the closure of a number of health units have created a palpable sense of anger with local government.

Jobs have flooded into the area, the latest of them announced this week at Intel's plant in Leixlip.

But infrastructure has lagged behind, creating public frustration over traffic gridlock and speeding on rural roads. This anger, combined with widespread unhappiness with the Government, has Fianna Fáil particularly anxious. Party activists have been asking whether a younger panel of candidates would fare better than the existing regime. The electoral strategy of running 18 candidates - three more than Fine Gael, and six more than Labour - has also been questioned, with the threat of an overly fragmented vote in a number of wards.

Particular embarrassment could arise in Celbridge where two candidates were selected at the party convention only for sitting councillor Geraldine Conway to be added to the ticket. Fianna Fáil's blushes may only be saved in the ward by the absence of Kathleen Walsh, a community activist who topped the poll in 1999 but has since moved to the Senate with the PDs.

In Clane, a similar dog-fight between Fianna Fáil candidates is expected after the declaration of former county councillor Liam Doyle with strong party support in Kilcock. Fianna Fáil took three of the four seats in Clane in 1999 but will be happy with just two on this occasion.

In Naas, there is the promise of several surprises with previous poll-topper, Independent councillor Tony Lawlor, stepping down out of what he describes as "frustration" with local democracy. His departure leaves the best part of a quota up for grabs, much of it expected to stay outside of the main political parties.

Sitting councillor Mary Glennon of the Kildare Planning Alliance is hoping to bring home her Independent running-mate Anthony Egan, a fellow campaigner against unregulated development in the county.

Fine Gael is also seeking to retain its two councillors in the five-seat ward. But it faces strong competition from Labour's Paddy McNamara, who lost out narrowly on a seat in 1999, and from the Green Party's J.J. Power.

A wild card in the contest is Tom Cross, a Sallins-based coach driver and community worker whose late declaration as an Independent is being seen locally as a major blow to Fianna Fáil. The Government party, which took only one seat in Naas in 1999, is unlikely to improve on that. If it loses the seat, currently held by co-opted councillor Willie Callaghan, it could be the sign of a nationwide meltdown for the party in the local elections.

The PDs have also been getting a tongue-lashing on Kildare's doorsteps over national issues. A sense of realism reflects their decision to run just three candidates in the county, with Michael Deely, a school principal who was co-opted onto the council last October, arguably having the best chance of winning a seat.

The Greens, who are running six candidates, have their best hope in Celbridge with Marie Percival. Of Sinn Féin's two candidates, Paddy Wright in Athy gives the party a possibility of a breakthrough. However, the three sitting councillors in the ward, one each for Labour and Fine Gael, and Fianna Fáil's Martin Miley, have strong claims for maintaining the status quo.