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RENUA LEADER JOHN Leahy has stepped down from the party, leaving Renua with no elected representatives.
Leahy was elected to Offaly County Council last month after topping the poll the Birr electoral area but the party failed to get another candidate elected elsewhere.
He told TheJournal.ie that this electoral performance was the reason for his decision to step down after almost three years as leader.
“My first big test was the local elections and I failed to return any councillor other than myself,” he said.
So I think from that point of view when you go into that big test and you failed to do it after giving everything I could possibly give, up and down the county with 27 candidates in the field and European candidates, and to only return myself, I think to be fair to party and for the party to grow it probably needs a different direction.
“I tried my best, I felt people wanted something different but it’s not what I was offering anyway,” he added.
Leahy says he informed the party’s board last night and that they accepted his resignation.
The councillor says that, under party rules, leadership candidates can put themselves forward if they are an elected representative. Seeing as there are none, Leahy says there is another provision that allows the party’s national board to take nominations for a new leader.
These nominations must then be approved by a certain number of board members before they can be put to the party’s membership. Leahy says it is his understanding that these nominees need not be elected representatives.
At the meeting of the Offaly County Council last week, Leahy supported Fianna Fáil on the council and he said today that this decision was because “to get something done you need be in a powerbase”.
“There is no point sitting looking and watching Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael coming through the door and they deciding what will be passed and not passed. If I can get into the decision-making room that’s where I want to be,” he said.
“I’m onto committees now that I want to be on that can make a difference…. I’ve no interest in being a hurler on the ditch,” he added.
Renua’s performance in the 2016 general election did not see the party return any TDs after founder Lucinda Creighton lost her Dáil seat, but the party secured enough votes to receive state funding.
Sipo records show that the party received funding of €218,744 in 2016 and €258,596 in 2017.
In the 2017 figures, the largest portion of Renua’s allocation went to General Administration (€88,618) and Policy Formulation (€65,444).
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Didn’t they only say just last week that we were doing fantastically well?
Cut the ESRI altogether….that should save a good few bob !!!!!!!!
Yeah, if we get rid of all the people saying we need to close the gap between governent spending and revenue then maybe it’ll all just go away.
The ESRI do not exactly have a credible record as economic advisors.
Yes if we cut the ERSI from the public purse maybe they might start getting it right in the world of sink or swim.
Yes daniel they did but that was last week :-)
its only an extra 400 million say it fast doesn’t sound much …
Down with that sorta thing
Careful now
How can u cut more and more and expect growth ,, it just doesnt make sense
What do you want us to do, follow the examples of Germany and Holland, who are still performing reasonably well and have low debt.
FG/FF will never do that, and their excellent track record of only bankrupting the state 4 times in 90 years is proof of that.
Absolutely nothing is being done at the moment for the domestic economy, indeed August has been the worst month to date for company insolvencies. The SME’s, the domestic economy are dying, but then again they are only with the rest of the little people and are well below the concern of FG/FF. Always have been, always will be.
What kind of salaries are ESRI academics on? Wasn’t it one of the cheerleaders of a ‘soft landing’? More calls for a tow from the Titanic.
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