24/07/08
The Dublin West Green Party has selected Roderic O’Gorman to contest the Castleknock ward in next year’s Local Elections. O’Gorman was nominated at a selection convention held in St Mary’s Parish Hall, Clonsilla on Wednesday evening.
“I’m honoured to have been chosen to represent my party in the Local Elections. The Castleknock-Blanchardstown ward has changed quite a bit since I ran in 2004, with the loss of Clonsilla village and the addition of parts of Mountview, Blakestown and Mulhuddart village. The key issues that I will be focusing on will be proper planning in Dublin 15, the delivery of schools, investment in community facilities, particularly for young people and campaigning for improvements in transport such as extra buses and trains and traffic calming measures where these are necessary”, stated Roderic O’Gorman.
“I know that I’m going to have a real fight on my hands if I am going to take a seat in the Castleknock-Blanchardstown ward. I expect to be up against four sitting councillors and possibly other well known candidates. But I think I have an advantage in the amount of door-to-door canvassing that I have been doing over the last four years. Myself and my team never really stopped after the General Election. People in the area appreciate active local representatives and that’s the type of service that I will deliver if I’m elected as a councillor”.
“Dublin 15 has never had a Green Party member of Fingal County Council. This has put us at a disadvantage in influencing many of the big planning decisions that have been made in the area over recent years. Further, the Fingal County Development Plan will be up for review next year. I will be asking people to give me their No.1 vote so I can be in there, putting a Green perspective on these key decisions”.
“Obviously, this is the first election that I will be contesting as part of a party that is government. Myself and my local group have been canvassing door-to-door twice a week since March and the reaction has been extremely positive. The vast majority of people are pleased with the work that the Green ministers are undertaking in their departments, particularly the reforms that John Gormley is making to planning and environmental legislation. I’m looking forward to having a good debate with the residents of the Castleknock-Blanchardstown ward and the other candidates over the course of the next 11 months about the future development of the Dublin 15 area”, concluded Roderic O’Gorman.
Ends
Further Information
Roderic O’Gorman: 087 417 9777
rodericogorman@gmail.com
Editors Note
Roderic O’Gorman contested the 2004 local elections in the Castleknock ward, picking up 5.2% of the first preference vote. He was the Green Party candidate for Dublin West in last year’s General Election, wining 1,286 first preference votes. Originally from Mulhuddart, Roderic now lives in Blanchardstown village. A law graduate of Trinity College and the London School of Economics, he currently is a lecturer in Griffith College Dublin, teaching EU Law, Constitutional Law and Family Law.
