Cllr Eamon Quinlan, who is seeking Fianna Fáil's nomination for the general election.

Cllr Quinlan, who represents the Tramore-Waterford City West Area, was elected to Waterford City & County Council last May.

Having been chairman of Waterford’s youth wing he rose to prominence when he became the first Waterford person to secure the role of President of Fianna Fáil’s national youth wing Ógra.

“I have a healthy amount of ambition both for Waterford and myself. If our City is to fulfil its potential we need to elect people who can become leaders in their party and thereby bring Waterford back into the decision making process at national level,” said Cllr Quinlan.

“I do not want to be a TD just to be in the Dáil and make up the numbers on the backbenches. I am saying to my local party members and to Waterford people as a whole that I am presenting myself to them as a driven, ethical, hardworking leader. The Fianna Fáil party in Waterford needs to present a young but very able candidate to the electorate, that can get in on the ground floor of one of the country’s main political parties and craft national policies with an eye to Waterford’s needs and untapped potential.”

He continued: “Fianna Fáil must offer new thinking that generates grounded initiatives in areas of health, education and reducing the cost of living. I would prioritise child care subsidies and the elimination of the prescription charges. In our City and County, our long term employment strategy should build on our ongoing successes in Pharma and ICT, to establish clusters of these industries and their associated service industries in Waterford. Both of these industries offer long term jobs to people of all ages and educational backgrounds.”

Cllr Quinlan is a former University of Limerick debating champion who served on the wider Irish teams at two European and two World debating championships.

His fellow Fianna Fáil party members Cllr Mary Butler and Cllr Jason Murphy have already announced their intention to seek the Fianna Fáil party nomination for the general election.

The Killmeaden based Councillor has said it is outrageous that no minutes were kept of high level meetings between former Minster Phil Hogan and the Chairperson of Bord Gáis when crucial decisions were made about Irish Water.

“I am appalled at the manner in which Minster Kelly last week attempted to shrug off this very serious revelation. It is extremely serious that no minuets were kept of meetings when vital decisions were made about Irish Water that would have a huge impact on Waterford taxpayers for decades to come,” said Cllr O ‘Leary.

“This is the latest evidence of the Government’s deliberate attempt to shroud Irish Water in secrecy from the outset. Very serious questions remain about the establishment of this hugely expensive and controversial Super Quango and we now learn that not only is the Government refusing to answer those questions , It actually went out of its way not to keep a record of meetings when crucial decisions were made on behalf of taxpayers.

“The Waterford taxpayers are paying dearly for the culture of secrecy at Irish Water. This is not about water conservation or the need to upgrade our water system. This is about the unnecessary decision made by Fine Gael and Labour to set up a hugely expensive super quango that operates with impunity and is not held accountable to the taxpayers who fund it.

He added: “I have now requested an urgent meeting with Minster Kelly and I am calling for an investigation into why minutes were not kept of the meetings between Minster Phil Hogan and Bord Gáis management in 20112. It is simply unacceptable that a series of decisions involving the establishment of Irish Water, who would run it and how it would be funded remain a secret. It flies in the face of every single promise made to voters in Waterford by Fine Gael and Labour about open and transparent Government.”

Cllr Mary Butler.

“There are a number of serious issues affecting the housing market at the moment including the lack of social housing with 90,000 people nationally on waiting lists and thousands of these are on waiting lists here in Waterford City and County. Spiralling rents due to under supply of housing units and high variable mortgage interest rates due to the dysfunctional nature of the banking system at the moment are also contributing factors,” she said.

Commenting on the impending publication of new rules on mortgage lending by the Central Bank Cllr Butler said: “Conditions for first time home buyers have deteriorated in recent times with the abolition of mortgage interest relief, a sharp rise in house prices and a decline in competition for new mortgage lending with increases in standard variable rates as a result I believe that the minimum deposit for residential home loans should be set at 10%/12% with any further consideration given to increasing this only after a detailed examination of the impact of this initial change. The fact is the new Central Bank rules must take account of both the social and economic needs of the country.”

She added: “There are clear steps the Government can take in order to bring greater cohesion to the housing sector, including increasing supply of housing. But we also need a stable supply of new suitable units which should include measures to assist couples or individuals who wish to trade down.”

Cllr Butler is also calling for the rent supplement to be reviewed as a matter of urgency.