Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis Speeches on I.D.A Ignoring Rural Counties and Cuts to Local Authorities roads budgets.

That this Ard Fheis condemns the I.D.A for ignoring rural counties and calls on the Minister to drop the spin and get people back to work.

My fellow soldiers of destiny as Vice-Chairman of Carlow Ogra C.D.C we are asking you to support motion 149 on the clar which reads. “That this Ard Fheis condemns the I.D.A for ignoring rural counties and calls on the Minister to drop the spin and get people back to work.” I mean no disrespect to my Dublin colleagues but there is more than one county in Ireland. Since the government has come into power in 2011 the number of I.D.A visits to the Carlow/ Kilkenny constituency is still in the single digits. I fully accept that it is the multi- national that decides where to locate but the I.D.A should do more to spread employment to rural areas. My fellow soldiers of destiny I ask you to support the motion. Thank You

That this Ard Fheis slams the government for savage cuts to many local authorities roads budgets.

My fellow soldiers of destiny as Carlow Ógra Leas Cathaoirleach I encourage you to support motion 79 on your clar which reads “that this Ard Fheis slams the government for savage cuts to many local authorities roads budgets.” In the Carlow/ Kilkenny constituency the road budgets for the two counties has been cut by a total of €1,000,000.00. It is hard to believe that we had four government T.D’’s and an environment minister in the constituency.  As a person who lives in the heart of rural  Carlow road structures are hugely important for economic prosperity and daily life, how can a family go to work or bring their children to school or how can businessperson   or farmers bring products to  market if the road structures is not of good quality  Delegates I ask you to support this motion.

My Fianna Fáil Story

I write this blog as I attend my first ever Fianna Fáil  Ard Fheis this coming weekend. I look forward to taking part in both the discussion and debates that will take place over the weekend.

I joined Ógra Fianna Fáil in September 2012 at the I.T Carlow Clubs and Societies day .In September 2012 the party was still reeling after the bruising election of February 2011, with a family tradition stepped in Fianna Fáil there was only one path I was ever going to take. Similarly too many other young people at that time I asked myself does Fianna Fáil  have a future in Irish politics? In March 2013 I got involved in my local cumann Ballytarsna, where I cut my political teeth through canvassing for party Cllrs Arthur Mc Donald and Fintan Phelan. My late grandfather Dan Jordan who joined the Carlow Fianna Fáil organisation in 1926 when the party was founded must have had similar doubts.  As result of the parties good showing in 2014 local elections those doubts are now a distant memory. Since that time I have joined my local senior party cumann, took part in party’s local election and By- elections campaigns, and attended two National Youth Conferences.  I also intend to campaign hard to get Bobby Alyward the Fianna Fáil Carlow/Kilkenny by- election candidate across the line in May.

An examination of how Fianna Fáil and Ógra Fianna Fáil use online Communications and P.R

Irish politicians have taken full advantage of online Communications and P.R. Many of them whether a County Councillor or T.D (Member of Parliament) has both a twitter and Facebook account. This allows them to inform and gather support from younger members of the electorate.  The main political partys   have embraced the benefits of online Communications and P.R. The majority of political party’s now have a website often with a link to social media.. In this blog I will examine

·         How   Ogra Fianna Fail uses online Communications and P.R

·         The benefits of online Communication and P.R to Irish politics

·         The role of websites as an online Communications and PR tool for Political Party’s

 

As a young person with a deep interest in politics. I have decided to write about Ogra Fianna Fail .This great political youth movement was founded in the mid-1970s and its founding member were all products of O Malleys revolution in education. It is worth mentioning that two former presidents of Ogra Fianna Fail went on to become leader of the senior party Bertie Ahern and Micheal Martin. Today Ogra Fianna Fail is a very different organisation and one that has embraced the many benefits associated with online Communications and P.R. I have mentioned in previous blogs  the importance of a website and how it acts as the central communications hub for an organisation. Since I have started blogging on the subject of online Communications and P.R I have researched many great websites. However the Ogra Fianna Fail website is the best I have seen so far. I was fascinated by this website not only because of its links to Facebook twitter and YouTube, but also its blogs facility  that allows members to highlight a policy issue. The website also enables you to see pictures of various Ogra events. Ogra Fianna Fail may have lost the battle but they are winning the online Communications and P.R war.  Here is a link to the website.

Websites play an increasingly significant role in any online Communications and P.R plan and especially that of a political party. As an individual who has an active interest in politics, I constantly look to the websites of the main political parties for the latest policy developments. However I must admit I am more partial to consult the Fianna Fail, than any other party. It is interesting how opposition like FF promotes more polices on their home websites than government parties. Perhaps one reason for this could be that the Fine Gael/ Labour coalition has more online P.R and Communications opportunity’s at their disposal. For example if the government wants to promote its health policy online they have the use of the Department of Health website. The point should also be made that in terms of media exposure journalist whether print or broadcast might be more likely to take notice of what a government department might say rather than an opposition party.