Colm Burke on FG performance

SPEAKING to The Echo Cork North Central TD Colm Burke said they are pleased with Fine Gael’s performance in the results of the early tallies.

“We’re very happy with North Central and with the North West ward which was always a challenge for us. Our candidate there Damien Boylan is doing very well. On the basis of tallies, he is going to be elected on the first count with a surplus. 

“This is a suberb recognition that he deserves for the work that he does for Blarney and into the whole North West ward. I think his hard work is rewarded.

“In the North East ward, Joe Kavanagh is going to get elected there. We’re going to hold our two seats.

“Sixty per cent of the Mallow area, for instance, my area, two of our candidates are going to get elected there on the first count.

“Likewise in Cobh and Carrigtwohill area, our two candidates there Anthony Barry and Sinead Shepperd are doing very well and are going to be elected.

However, he admitted there are challenges.

“We have a challenge in the Macroom area.

“We have three candidates there and we had three outgoing councillors. It is always a challenge [to get] three out of six and we may have a challenge there” “Overall, I’m happy with the results coming out of the constituency,” he said.

Asked if the results of the tallies of the local elections gave him a degree of confidence ahead of the general elections in the coming months, Deputy Burke said “absolutely”.

“If you look at the voting. The North East ward and the North West ward, the voting is higher than it was in the general election. It is a good result from our point of view.

“Again, it’s down to the hard work of the people who work as councillors and the people who work in my constituency office. I think I need to give recognition to them- they work hard.

“We have a very good electorate in north central – they know what the issues are and they very much able to come to us with a particular issue and we do our very best to get the solution to those issues.”