An Taoiseach launches Fine Gael’s campaign for the Local Elections 2014

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, will today (Thursday) be joined by the Minister for the Environment and Fine Gael’s Director of Elections, Phil Hogan TD, and the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald TD, to launch Fine Gael’s campaign for the Local Elections 2014. Deputy Eoghan Murphy will chair the event.

The Party’s ‘Making the Recovery Local’ Manifesto for the Local Elections 2014 is also being launched at the event. (Read Manifesto here)

Fine Gael is fielding 468 candidates across 137 Local Electoral Areas in the upcoming Local Elections. Fine Gael has the highest number of female candidates of any party with 106 women making up 23% of the party ticket. 

The Fine Gael Local Election campaign is based on Three Steps to Local Recovery:

• · Creating local jobs and enterprise; 
• · Supporting households and families;
• · Empowering local communities.

The Taoiseach is conducting on a nationwide tour as part of Fine Gael’s campaign for the Local and European Elections, when he will traverse the country to meet with as many voters as possible between now and polling day on May 23 ^rd . 

Speaking at today’s launch, An Taoiseach said: ‘Fine Gael wants to make recovery local. While over 1,200 new jobs are being created every week, we realise that many of our people are still not seeing evidence of recovery in their daily lives. This year the Government is prioritising the domestic economy with new plans for tourism, construction and small business to ensure that economic recovery is felt in all parts of the country. Local Councillors will play a major role in making recovery local and to do this, Fine Gael candidates are committed to our Three Steps to Local Recovery’. 

“Firstly, Fine Gael candidates will support local businesses to create local jobs. To achieve this, Fine Gael Councillors will ensure that there will be no increase in commercial rates and that they will reduce rates where possible, as part of a ‘Jobs and Small Business Package’ in every Council budget. In addition, Fine Gael Councillors will increase funding and staff for the new nationwide network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) which have been set up to support local entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

“Secondly, Fine Gael candidates will support hard-pressed households and families. Fine Gael Councillors will not vote for an increase in the Local Property Tax rate and will cut the rate where circumstances allow. In the last election, Fine Gael promised to stop any further increases in income taxes on working families that were planned by Fianna Fáil. In Government, we delivered on that promise. As with your income taxes and the national finances, Fine Gael can be trusted to manage your local government finances and keep your Local Property Tax rate low. 

“Thirdly, Fine Gael candidates support empowering local communities by allowing the sale of social housing to tenants as part of the new, attractive tenant purchase scheme being developed by the Government. Fine Gael supports home ownership because it is good for community stability, individual empowerment and local employment. Fine Gael councillors will use the proceeds from the sales to reinvest in new social housing and, in doing so, free up resources for new investment in parks, playgrounds and other local facilities so that all the community can benefit. 

“At national level, we have put the country on the road to recovery. We are asking the people to give our local candidates the opportunity to make recovery local.”