Michael McCarthy elected to Senate

Cork county councillor and candidate for the General Election in Cork South West, Cllr. Michael McCarthy, has been elected to the Seanad on the Labour Panel. He is the only Labour Party candidate to have been elected on the Labour Panel.

The Dunmanway man, who is aged 25, came very close to winning a seat at the general election in Cork South West and polled a very substantial 3,442 votes. He hopes to use his election to the Seanad as a platform to launch his next general election campaign.

Responding to his election last week, Cllr. Mc-Carthy said that he hoped to bring a number of thoughts and ideas to Seanad debates and to cooperate with his party colleagues to pursue the Government on a number of issues.

“As one of the youngest members of the Seanad, I hope in particular to raise a number of issues of concern to young people. I also hope I can reflect the issues of concern in my own constituency of South West Cork, such as agriculture, the marine, infrastructure and tourism,” he said.

“I will particularly focus on the ongoing series of cutbacks in which the Government is currently engaged, most notably in the health service, road building and education. I would thereby hope to ensure that if and when I come again to contesting a general election I will be able to bring my experience of the Seanad to that campaign,” he said.