The local elections of 2024 for Tipperary County Council will be an exciting showdown with seventy contenders vying for forty seats spread across its eight electoral districts. The political landscape offers some opportunities with six incumbent council members choosing not to run for re-election, a move many remaining and aspiring candidates hope to capitalise on. Some of the noteworthy figures bidding farewell to their political journey include Fine Gael’s Michael Fitzgerald, who has held his post for 45 years, Independents Hughie McGrath and John McGrath, Fine Gael’s Ger Darcy and Noel Coonan, and Fianna Fáil’s Seamus Hanafin.
The influence this could have on the future composition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party is yet unclear, despite them traditionally having an unspoken voting agreement in place. Out of all the contenders, twenty-two are independent candidates who, on a successful day, might potentially form a voting pact, possibly in coalition with Sinn Féin, who themselves are putting forward eleven nominees.
Top priorities within most electoral districts encompass affordable or social housing, pavement and road conditions, and most importantly in such a prevalently rural county, public transport.
An unglamorous facet of the work that successful nominees will be tasked with came to light in a recent local newspaper feature on raw sewage issues. Kevin O’Meara, the independent council member running for re-election in Carrick-on-Suir, highlighted an incident where an heavy downpour in Mullinahone and neighbouring areas resulted in sewage overflowing onto the road up to the school/GAA field, urging residents to exercise caution until Irish Water intervened.
Here is a breakdown of the seats per district: Cahir has 4, Carrick-on-Suir has 5, Cashel – Tipperary will elect 7 while Clonmel and Nenagh will have 6 and 5 respectively. Newport and Roscrea – Templemore will each look to fill four seats in their councils.
In the upcoming 2024 Elections, a myriad of constituencies will be in competition. These include well-known places such as Dublin, MNW, Ireland South, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, both Cork City and Cork County, DLR, and Donegal. Moreover, the elections will extend to Dublin City, Fingal, Galway City, Galway County, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, and Leitrim.
Further to this, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, and Sligo will also be participating in the elections. In the south, polls will be held in Dublin, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow. In Thurles, there are 5 seats up for grabs.
Voters throughout the EU and Ireland can make use of the Voter App for updates and insights. In addition to the Local elections, the European Election will also be in full swing. To stay informed, the public can tune into the Inside Politics Podcast or keep an eye on the latest political and public sentiment polls available. Don’t miss out on the complete coverage of both the Local and European Elections.