Ff selects cassells for meath west

Cllr Shane Cassells of Navan was last night selected to contest the General Election for Fianna Fáil in the Meath West constituency.

The convention took place in the heart of the constituency, in Athboy's Darnley Lodge Hotel, where Cllr Cassells defeated Trim-based Cllr Ronan McKenna in a vote, after former councillor, Jenny McHugh, withdrew.

With 269 delegates voting, 160 of them are believed to have supported Cllr Cassells, and 109 voted for McKenna.

Addressing the convention afterwards, Cllr Cassells said:  “I am honoured to be chosen by the Fianna Fáil organisation to go forward and contest the General Election in Meath West.

“This is a tremendously important election for the whole country, and especially for Meath West, where people are continuing to struggle to get by on a daily basis. The most vulnerable in our community have had to bear the brunt of this government’s regressive cutback agenda. At the same time the government is talking up an economic recovery that people are simply not experiencing in their own lives.

“Fine Gael and Labour have no plan for the present and no vision for the future. Their sole focus is how to stay in Government. Fianna Fáil here in Meath West and across the country will be fighting hard in the coming year, demanding accountability for the broken promises and setting out our vision for a fairer future,' he added.