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JOE BEHAN, A former Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow resigned in 2008 in protest to the Budget.
However, in 2014, after a siesta from politics, he is throwing his hat back into the ring at the local elections as an independent candidate.
A teacher from Bray, he has long been involved in local politics, serving as a member of Bray Town Council and Wicklow County Council. But it was the day that he took his seat in Leinster House in 2007 that he described as the “happiest” time in his life.
However, Budget 2009 under the leadership of Taoiseach Brian Cowen, was something Behan could not stand with the party on.
Resignation
In his resignation letter to Cowen he said he was appalled at the Government’s decision to end the principle of universality of medical card provision for people over 70 years of age and at the indications from Government Ministers that the principle of universality of provision of other payments, like Child Benefit were also under threat.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie about his return to politics, he said that when he resigned his seat, he always knew that he would try again – “it’s just this time, I’m starting back at the beginning,” he said.
“I never lost the hunger for it. I have always enjoyed being a public representative. I like serving the people and doing what I can to help people in whatever issues they may have,” he said.
Speaking about his decision to resign from Fianna Fáil, he said it was “a very difficult decision to make,” adding, “when you have been in a party as long as I had, for over 23 years, it is not an easy decision”.
Medical cards for over 70s
Behan said that the Budget was “a step too far” stating that while many of his Wicklow colleagues might not have agreed with his resignation, he said it was the right decision for him, stating: ” The issue was too important to me”.
Behan said right up to when he gave in his resignation letter, members of the Fianna Fáil party were trying to change his mind.
He said:
I thought, there is no reason to entertain them on it, my mind was made up. I didn’t agree with the ending of universality principle for medical cards, I just couldn’t stand over that.I said it would damage the party, and although it may not have been the whole reason, I think that it is one of the main reasons they took such a hit in the elections.
I think older people who were traditionally Fianna Fáil voters lost trust in the party.
He said what he had feared that allowing the principle of universality for medical card holders over 70 be eroded would start something in motion.
“Bit by bit with this government have messed with the guidelines for those eligible for a medical card. I thought that once that was breached we were on a rocky road,” added Behan.
Independent
Following his resignation from Fianna Fáil he refused to join an independent technical group, which he said at the time was put forward so as to get speaking time in the chamber.
“Some people in the Dáil have had to do this recently, but I always maintained, and I said this to the Ceann Comhairle, that if you are voted in by the people and have a mandate, regardless of not being a member of a party, you should have a right to speak in the Dáil”, said Behan.
He stood for re-election for Wicklow in the 2011 general election, but lost his seat.
When asked if he would be tempted to return to Fianna Fáil he said, it had been over five years since he was in the party and that he is happy to be running as an independent candidate.
“I always had a good working relationship with Michael Martin, I had a lot of time for him and speaking as a teacher, I always thought he made a good Minister for Education and I like that he seems to be prioritising education in government now – but Fianna Fáil have their own priorities now, and I have mine,” he said.
“I have to win back the trust of the people. I want to serve again and start again, and I hope the people will trust in that and vote for me in May,” he said.
Thirty years in politics
Behan first ran for election in 1985 and has nearly 30 years in politics, from local councils right up to the Dáil. When asked if it was difficult to start at the beginning again he said:
I like being a public representative and I hope if I am elected to be able to work with my colleagues to bring about change.It might look like a back step, but I do enjoy it. Sometimes when you lose something you realise how much you valued it.
I am starting over and who knows where it might lead.
Behan said he would not rule out running for the Dáil again, stating, “if I was successful in the local elections, then the Dáil would not be something I would rule out,” he said, adding, “one step at a time though, right now I am focused on serving my constituency and the needs of the people, all I can hope for is that they vote for me this time round,” he said.
Behan was critical of the newly reformed local government stating that he thought it was a “retrograde” step that eroded democracy.
“In one foul swoop, four local authorities in Wicklow were wiped out” he said, stating that it is bad news for local business.
“Planning, housing and rates are all going to be decided at Wicklow County Council level now. There was more debate about the Seanad abolition than that of local government and I really feel there should have been a plebiscite on the issue, as it has huge repercussions – but it is the system we have to work with now,” he said.
Jobs
So what are the things he will push for if elected? Jobs, said Behan.
At one point in Bray, Dell, AO Smith and Pitman-Moore were all along just one stretch of road. On that road there were about 3,000 people in employment.That’s all been lost.
I don’t think the jobs issue in Wicklow is being discussed on any sort of level at Wicklow County Council and I don’t think enough is being done to target investment and to talk to people like the IDA – that is something I hope to work on.
In his resignation letter to Brian Cowen in 2011, Behan also cited the case of the death of the Bray firefighters, which has caused some controversy recently within Wicklow Council. He said in his letter that he had long called for an independent inquiry into the matter and a full-time fire service in Wicklow.
“I will continue to push for that in Wicklow if I am elected. I teach in the school across the road from Bray fire station, a building that was built in the 80s, with a view to have a full-time fire service, and I think it is high time we had one,” he said, adding, “it may seem like a pie in the sky idea but it is something I will fight for.”
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From what I have seem of Maria , regardless of her sexuality she doesn’t know much about politics
@Pl O’neill: I’d love to know who would have heard of these adds before FG’s intervention, didn’t appear on my FB. Like you her sexuality has little to do with it , David Norris has done a great service to this country, She is simply out of her Depth.
@The long walk home☘️: what did David Norris ever do bar collect his money?
FG complaint is incorrect.
There is no attack on her based on her sexuality.
In fact the website references her total lack of qualifications for the job and her lie about her business.
Well done Facebook
@ciar0: he mentions LGBT in every other sentence.
“Maria has made clear that her aims include to annoy those who, because of conservative beliefs, cannot approve of the homosexual lifestyle.”
“Maria has visited multiple schools promoting LGBT issues, and encouraging youth to question their beliefs and adopt new “values” with measures such as the raising of the LGBT flag outside the school.”
“Maria has declared herself to be a homosexual woman. She was in a relationship with another woman, TV producer Shauna Keogh, for some time after winning the Rose of Tralee. Last year, she stated that she was no longer with Shauna but was looking for somebody else.”
@Karen Wellington: and are these incorrect?
@ciar0: I suppose the third quote might be true but it’s also completely irrelevant. The rest is a smear campaign. There are plenty of great reasons not to vote for her, or FG (& FF) for that matter, her sexuality is not one of them.
@Karen Wellington: did I miss the bit where they said don’t vote for her because she is gay? A straight person could promote all those agendas and be canvassed agsinst for the same reason.
@SFNutters: the entire website say don’t vote for her and the reasons given include “The goal of most LGBT activists is that people would be coerced into accepting immorality as if it were morality and subsequently give up their own ability to distinguish between right and wrong.”
@Karen Wellington: where is the part that says don’t vote for her because she is gay…LGBT activists could be straight or gay or any of the other options.
@SFNutters: and yet he felt the need to mention that she’s ‘gay’ (inverted commas are Burkes addition, not mine) more than half a dozen times. If you can’t get your head around the circumlocution Burke’s using to obfuscate the vitriol in his rhetoric then good for you; you’re the better for not having understood his bile, but I’m not in a position to explain it to you as I have neither the patience or the necessary sna training.
@Karen Wellington: similar to Maria,Kate is also out of her depth.
Facebook should also name who published the advert so they can be taken to task on a public forum(media, print media)
@Garreth Mc Mahon: the person who paid for the ads is named in the facebook ad library just put in maria walsh and scroll down.
@Garreth Mc Mahon: Enoch Burke. He’s a headcase and he’s not ashamed to let people know it, he put his name on the website.
@Karen Wellington: anything to Enoch Powell??
@Bruce van der Gutschmitzer: Burke would not supported Powell’s stance on homosexuality (Powell is the moderate in this instance).
@steve white: I’ve yet to hear of a good Enoch or eunuch. Tough name to give a kid.
Can we ban her ads? Do you remember tamagotchi’s, black Jack’s and fruit salads? Me too, now that we’ve established we’re roughly the same age vote for me because I’m groovy and down with the 90′s kids…..The bang of desperation off of her is overpowering.
@Rachel O’ Meara: all of which might be true but it does not entitle someone to single her out and target her because of her sexuality.
@James Wallace: I wasn’t commenting on her sexuality just her crap campaigning abilities. I honestly couldn’t give a fiddlers if she’s gay.
@Rachel O’ Meara: but that’s the entire point of this thread: she was targeted and singled out because of her sexuality.
@James Wallace: It’s about the story yeah but it’s also about her and her campaign, just expressing my two cents on what I thought about it.
Mother off God she was destroying an chance if getting elected all on her own. Her only policy seemed to be attack Peter Casey. Is this an effort to drum up support out if sympathy for her.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: ask Enoch Burke that question. FG didn’t create the website, he did
@James Wallace: FG made an intervention with the hosts giving this oxygen
@James Wallace: Burke is an utter and complete bollix from a family of super religious nutjobs.
@The long walk home☘️: yes they did, but the initial targeting of her by Burke is the problem. People are choosing not to see this because of their hatred for FG
Facebook is right in this case. censorship for nothing poor poor fg
@Robert Phelan: do you think it’s ok for a person to be targeted solely on the grounds of their sexuality?
@James Wallace: oh she’ll get over it james.you know that saying”stick’s and stones will break my bones,but name’s will never hurt me”.
@Robert Phelan: so going after one candidate, chosen as a target because of her sexuality, is ok by you then? Just to clarify.
Next up, Ronert Phelan justifies bullying in the classroom and racism, because, you know sticks and stones etc
Being used to canvas late in the day ,is this spin?
@Cathal: No but I can imagine there are people out there dim enough to think that.
@Cathal: No, its a smear campaign against Maria Walsh.
I don’t even vote FG and I can see that
Facebook advertising does not have the power to influence elections. Maybe a few dozen would be swayed by what they saw on it. So pathetic to get all uppity over it.
@BreadBasketCase: any influence at all is unacceptable and we should always challenge it.
@BreadBasketCase: I work in advertising and Believe me it does. Facebook is a leisure platform, people don’t consume content on it with the same mental barriers up as when they read a news site. There’s a psychological lack of distrust due to the nature of the platform combining your personal lives (friends posts, cute pictures) with news and advertisements.
People don’t even realise they’re being fed pre-selected content. It’s what makes Facebook such a profitable platform to advertise on.
@BreadBasketCase: your missing the point that she is being targeted because of her sexuality, no other reason.
@Aisling: any influence? then all ads should be banned.
@SFNutters: I’m clearly referring to elections, that’s what this article is about.
@Aisling: so am I..if your going to ban ads that influence voters then all ads, leaflets, posters etc would be banned.
@SFNutters: start with the posters….
It is up this evening, I got it in my feed just now, and reported it as a scam anyway. Disingenuous scunners (and for once, I’m not talking about Fine Gael)
This has Leo all over it. She’s a flop and he knows it, time to wheel out the sympathy vote campaign. Wait till you see how many fools fall for it and land us another useless MEP
It’s all a publicity stunt.
She’s banging leo
Toxic
Having met Maria on couple occasions i believe politics wont be her game. FG have sucked her in for cheap publicity. On another note she in stunning when you meet her face to face. Tv presenting could be a career choice.
It’s a terrible state of things when Facebook are deemed the moral decision maker between two standpoints – able to advertise a gay woman and her policies or allow political attack for same
Hfyjjbh
Her appearance on The week in politics a few weeks back showed she has no place in irish politics. It’s amazing that you would seek political office and still be unable to answer the most basic of political questions!! Celebrity candidate if ever there was one. Seems nice enough though
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