Fine Gael to elect new council leader

THE most powerful party in the largest local authority in the country will go into conclave next Monday to elect a new leader.

Peter Kelly, the first openly gay county councillor in the country, has decided to stand down as Fine Gael leader in Cork County Council and is preparing to emigrate to New Zealand. The party holds 23 of the 48 council seats.

Two of the party’s stalwarts are set to contest the leadership, which will take place by secret ballot in County Hall next Monday. They are current deputy leader Kevin Murphy and businessman and auctioneer Michael Hegarty.

Mr Murphy, a 58-year-old married father-of-four, is the bookies’ favourite, but only by a short head, and with a few days of canvassing left, it could be a close contest.

Mr Murphy, who was co-opted onto the council in 1989 and elected under his own right three years later, narrowly lost out on a Senate seat at the last election.

Yesterday, he praised Mr Kelly as “a hard act to follow”. A member of the influential South-West Regional Authority, he said should he succeed in getting the leadership, he had three priorities.

“We have 14% of the country’s non-national roads, but yet we are third last on the list when it comes to funding per kilometre. We want to get up the ladder. We should be in the top 10 of the 26 counties for funding. Some of our roads are in an appalling state,” Mr Murphy said.

He said another priority was to create more social and affordable housing and he wants to see more infra-structural improvements and more industry created in rural areas of the county.

Mr Hegarty, a 45-year-old married father-of-four, was first elected to the local authority in June 1985. A member of the Port of Cork Authority, Mr Hegarty, who lives in Ladysbridge, is known as a major sports enthusiast whose particular love is GAA and greyhounds.

“I’ve been pressing the flesh a bit. I believe the contest will be very tight,” he said.

Should he be elected, said his main priority was to get a Government embargo lifted on recruitment of local authority staff.

“This is a big factor. It’s a major hindrance to the work we are trying to do.”

In addition, he said the council needed to get more money from central Government for important roads, sewerage and water projects.

Meanwhile, it was announced yesterday that the Fine Gael General Election selection convention for the Cork South Central constituency will take place on Wednesday, April 19, at the Rochestown Park Hotel at 8pm.

Three candidates have put their names forward. They are MEP Simon Coveney, Lord Mayor of Cork Deirdre Clune and Cork city councillor Jerry Buttimer. Party sources say it is possible that all three will be put on the ticket.