The KCLR Daily General Elections Debate: Candidates for Tipperary North / North West Kilkenny

Five more of the General Election hopefuls for Carlow Kilkenny have been outlining their stances on various issues.

The first last Tuesday featured Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere (Fianna Fáil), Michael Doyle (Fine Gael) and Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats) who were joined by Independents Tom Healy, Noel G Walsh and Luke O’Connor – listen back here – while the second last Thursday saw Malcolm Noonan (Greens), John McGuinness (Fianna Fáil), David Fitzgerald (Fine Gael), Adrienne Wallace (People Before Profit) and Natasha Newsome Drennan (Sinn Féin) – hear that here.

While tomorrow (Tuesday, 26th November) we’ll meet the remaining Carlow Kilkenny hopefuls.

Today, however, we look to the newly constructed constituency formed when a boundary tweak was made last year – it sees 13 electoral districts of north west Kilkenny now as part of Tipperary North.

Not everybody’s happy with the change – some are confused as to whether they vote in this new constituency or in Carlow Kilkenny (you can check here) – see below what some have to say and also from the hopefuls themselves.

Debate One from 11am to 12pm featured Phyll Bugler (Fine Gael), Dan Harty (Sinn Féin), Alan Kelly (Labour), Iva Pocock (Green Party) and Michael Smith (Fianna Fáil) as well as Independents Jim Ryan and Michael Lowry.

While Debate Two, which runs from 12pm to 1pm sees Ryan O’Meara (Fianna Fáil), Peter Madden (The Irish People), Evan Barry (Sinn Féin) with Independents Justin ‘Roundy’ Phelan and Liam Minehan.

We’ve had apologies from People Before Profit / Solidarity’s Diana O’Dwyer and Francis O’Toole of Aontú.

The Candidates

Each participant gets to sum up their General Election pitch;

Evan Barry (Sinn Féin)

Phyll Bugler (Fine Gael)

Dan Harty (Sinn Féin)

Alan Kelly (Labour)

Michael Lowry (Independent)

Peter Madden (The Irish People)

Liam Minehan (Independent)

Ryan O’Meara (Fianna Fáil)

Justin Roundy Phelan (Independent)

Iva Pocock (Green Party)

Jim Ryan (Independent)

Michael Smith (Fianna Fáil)

The Voter Issues;

KCLR News’ Edwina Grace has been touring Carlow and Kilkenny asking people what issues they feel should be priorities for those seeking a Dáil seat and what might sway their vote;