Connacht Tribune
Hard to separate big guns – but small parties hold the key
World of Politics with Harry McGee – harrymcgee@gmail.com
AS unpalatable as some will find an election in early February, the reality is that all of the choices Leo Varadkar still possessed were fully spent by the time it came to early January. The chances of making it to May fell on simple arithmetic.
Since Dara Murphy’s departure, Fine Gael’s strength had been reduced to 47 TDs. With the Independence Alliance’s four TDs, and two Independent Deputies, Katherine Zappone and Sean Canney, that brought the numbers to 53.
If Fianna Fáil’s 44 Deputies all abstained that brought the number to 98. Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghaíl bought the number to 99.
At present there are 157 Deputies in Leinster House. There were three Independent TDs who supported the Government in crucial votes – Michael Lowry, Noel Grealish and Denis Naughten. That brought its strength to 56. And the combined opposition strength was then 55. That is how tight it was.
However, even that was not certain. The Government could no longer rely on Grealish or Naughten for every vote. Fianna Fáil’s John McGuinness, an awkward and negative politician, was threatening to vote against the Government in a no confidence vote.
Even if the Coalition survived a vote of no confidence in Simon Harris on February 5, the Dáil would be reduced to a parliamentary farce between now and Easter as Opposition parties and groups tabled as many no confidence motions as possible.
And so the writing was on the wall – and now that the starting gun has sounded, people will be thinking about policies and priorities and what parties or personalities closest to their own world view.
Fine Gael has been marginally ahead in most opinion polls for the past year but that means little. It’s only if one of the big parties opens a large gap, of if there is a measurable surge from a smaller party, that we sit up and taken notice.
What distinguished Ireland from other countries is our multi-seat constituencies and our transferable votes. That means a more even spread for parties but will always make it difficult for any one party, or small combination of parties, to form a government.
There will be 160 TDs in the new Dáíl, an increase of two, and one less constituency, with Laois and Offaly combined into one five-seater.
I’ve done a preliminary pass of all 39 constituencies and my initial calculation is it’s going to be very tight between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael with only one seat between them.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Connacht Tribune
Former GTC rebrands with aim of helping Irish companies across the region to grow internationally
Galway Technology Centre last week unveiled its a major rebrand and shift in direction, with the launch of its new vision and regional remit as Platform94 – with the lofty ambition of helping to create 505 direct and 323 indirect jobs over the next five years.
It is estimated that this will bring a Gross Added Value (GVA) of over €62.4 million to the regional economy, annually.
In addition, across the next 15 years – through connecting expanding technology companies globally – the organisation plans to generate 1,535 direct forms of employment and 982 indirect roles, resulting in an estimated GVA impact of over €190 million.
Unveiled at a ceremony in the Connacht Hotel last Wednesday, Platform94 will achieve this by moving beyond a physical location in Galway, supporting businesses across the West and delivering scaling expertise for firms in Mayo, Roscommon – and Galway.
The largest and longest established social enterprise centre for the technology sector in the West, GTC was founded in 1994 to meet the needs of an emerging cluster of ICT companies outside the capital.
Platform94 will build on this legacy, empowering Irish businesses to scale globally whilst creating employment opportunities regionally, nationally and internationally.
Platform94 is owned by Galway Chamber and WestBIC and supported by Enterprise Ireland, and at its launch, it set out the platform and conditions for regional collaboration and robust growth across the West.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Galway’s growing population is becoming less religious and older, according to the findings of last year’s Census which were released this week.
The population has grown by almost 20,000 since 2016, with the 2022 Census which was carried out in April of last year reporting a more than 7% increase in numbers across city and county.
In the same period, the population has got older with the average age in the county increasing from 38.1 to 39.7; in the city, the average age jumped from 35.9 in 2016 to 37.4 in the latest figures.
The county’s population is growing at a faster rate than the city, up by 13,933 (7.8%) in six years; the city has added 5,746 (7.3%) to its numbers.
The growth in population has been attributed in Central Statistics Office (CSO) data to a mixture of ‘natural’ increases as a result of new births, and inward migration.
In Galway City, there were six births per 1,000 population and the same rate of inward migration.
In the county, inward migration represented a greater proportion of the increase at seven per 1,000 to six births per 1,000 people.
Religious beliefs nationwide showed significant change with the numbers identifying as Roman Catholic declining from 79% of the population in 2016 to 69% in 2022.
In County Galway, it remains dominant with 78.5% of the population calling themselves Catholics – 11.2% said they had no religion.
In the city, just over half of the population were self-identifying Catholics (56.2%) while 20.9% had no religion.
Get the comprehensive insight into the Census figures in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Mayo 2-13
Galway 1-10
By Ivan Smyth at Tuam Stadium
GALWAY minor footballers fell to Connacht final defeat as Mayo came from a point down at the break to prevail by six at Tuam Stadium on Friday evening.
Alan Glynn’s side kicked only 1-2 in the final period with Galway struggling to reach the heights they had shown throughout the round robin series. Even when they led 0-8 to 0-7 at the break, they had flattered to deceive against a wasteful Mayo outfit. The loss of Seán Walsh through injury was a monumental blow even if his replacement Stephen O’Grady was involved in three Galway scoring chances towards the end of the opening period.
Walsh’s presence and ability to win primary possession even when outnumbered was greatly missed. Galway weren’t able to enjoy the same dominance at centre field that they did in the round robin clash between these sides. Shay McGlinchey was also nursing a knock coming into this contest as the Galway captain kicked two early points but was understandably not at his scintillating best. Charlie Cox limped off late on with what appeared to be cramp.
It was an evening where simply everything went awry from a Galway perspective as corner back Vincent Gill was sent off in the 56th minute after picking up a second booking. The corner back tagged Tommy Lydon in the opening stages and received a yellow card for his second foul on the dangerous attacker in the 13th minute. Gill moved off Lydon and followed Darragh Beirne with decent success for the first half before moving back onto his original marker.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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