Low attendance costs Ferris his seat on regional authority

KERRY North Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris has lost his seat on the South West Regional Authority because he has not attended more than six meetings.

This information has been conveyed to Kerry County Council, of which Mr Ferris is also a member, by the authority’s director John McAleer.

Mr Ferris said yesterday he was unable to attend meetings of the authority because of his Dáil commitments.

He also said that he expected the abolition of the dual mandate to take effect earlier than it did and, in that way, Sinn Féin would have been able to nominate a successor much sooner.

Mr Ferris is shortly to resign his county council seat and his 23-year-old daughter, Toireasa Ní Fhearaiosa, is due to be co-opted to the council in his place.

She was nominated unopposed at a Sinn Féin convention during the weekend.

Ms Ní Fhearaiosa is a law graduate from University of Limerick, specialising in human rights.

In the 1999 elections, Mr Ferris polled impressively and was easily elected to the council with around 2,500 votes.

Since then, he has been consolidating his position, getting elected to Dáil Eireann, just over a year ago.

Sinn Fein has been developing a party network in Kerry North and has two members on Tralee Town Council and one member on Listowel Town Council.

Mr Ferris was one of Kerry’s seven representatives on the 27-member regional authority.