Visit to Louth
Posted on April 21, 2009
(Auto-publishing the press release, as I'm on the road in Louth right now!)
Nessa Childers, Labour Party MEP candidate in Ireland East (formerly Leinster) today visited Louth to meet with students, senior citizens and Labour’s local elections team.
Nessa visited Dundalk Institute of Technology this morning, and, accompanied by Labour Local Elections candidate for Dundalk, Frank O’Brien, met with DKIT Students’ Union President Luke McGahon to discuss the issue of Third Level Fees.Speaking at the DKIT Students’ Union offices, Nessa Childers said:
“Labour is proud to have introduced Free Fees at Third Level in 1997.It is in our national interest to ensure that everyone has access to education to the highest possible level.The jobs of the future, which will use technologies like those being developed at Dundalk IT’s Centre for Renewable Energy Research, will require us to have a high skills economy, and graduates are key to that.Recently, I met with Ruairi Quinn TD, the Finance Minister who introduced Free Fees, and I can confirm that Labour will fight tooth and nail against the Government’s cruel intentions to prevent people from accessing education.The Government must make its priorities clear.Those priorities should include the education of our young people.”
Nessa later visited Ardee, where she met with local Labour candidates Cllr Leonard Hatrick and Tom Minogue to discuss plans for the local election campaign.Speaking at Brian Muldoon’s Pub in the centre of Ardee, Nessa Childers said:
“Here in Ardee, as in the rest of Louth, Labour is getting a very strong response on the doorsteps.Recent opinion polls have shown that Labour is maintaining a very high level of support and that Eamon Gilmore is the most popular leader in the country.I know that in Ardee that will be reflected when Cllr Leonard Hatrick and Tom Minogue are both elected to the Town Council, and I firmly believe Cllr Hatrick will also make it onto Louth County Council.”
Nessa also met with Drogheda Active Retirement Association at St Peter’s Parish Centre in Drogheda.Speaking after the meeting, Nessa Childers said:
“Active Retirement Associations like the one here in Drogheda are a vital resource for the community.When times are tough for everyone, it’s important that there is a forum where people can come together for companionship and to work together for the betterment of the town.My father, President Erskine Childers, was particularly committed to helping older people help their communities.I’m delighted to see that this work is continuing today through the commitment of so many volunteers.”
Nessa finished off the day canvassing with Labour’s candidates in Drogheda, Cllr Paul Bell, Cllr Ged Nash, Linda Bell-Woods and Garreth Fitzpatrick, at Scotch Hall.
