announced his resignation as a Minister and as a TD on health grounds. Below I have included the 2007 General Election results for the Waterford Constituency. This is highly apposite as a by election must now be held in the Waterford Constituency to fill the seat vacated by Mr Cullen. As a Minister Mr Cullen worked tirelessly for the Waterford Constituency. It is sad to see Martin resign on health grounds. The official resignation will not take place until the Cabinet reshuffle takes place. I wish him well and hope he returns to good health soon. He is certainly a big loss to Waterford.
Statement from Martin Cullen TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism:
Dear Taoiseach,As you are aware, from our discussions in January, I have been suffering for some months now with a serious illness.
During this period I have carried out, as agreed with you, my ministerial duties in full and both your personal support and that of our colleagues in Government has been a great help.
I have always been a fighter and optimistic in both my personal and political life, however my consultant's advice is that my condition is deteriorating further and options for treatment and recovery are narrowing.
I am very proud to have represented the interests of the Waterford City and County and to have served in successive Fianna Fail led Governments across Finance (OPW); Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Transport, Social and Family Affairs and your appointment of me to Arts, Sport and Tourism.
As a result of my current medical condition and taking advice from my medical consultants it is with regret that I must now retire from public life.
In consequence of this, I wish to advise you, pursuant to Article 29(9) (2) of the Consitiution of my intention to resign from office as a member of the Government.
I request that this be effective by your recommending its acceptance by the President on a date of your choosing in the context of other matters relating to the Government which are under consideration by you.
Yours Sincerely,
Martin Cullen.
Waterford 2007
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | Martin Cullen | 11,438 | 23.1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Fine Gael | John Deasy | 7,554 | 15.3 | 2 | 9 | |
| Labour Party | Brian O'Shea | 5,610 | 11.3 | 3 | 10 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Brendan Kenneally | 5,624 | 11.4 | 4 | 11 | |
| Fianna Fáil | Ollie Wilkinson | 5,963 | 12.0 | |||
| Fine Gael | Paudie Coffey | 4,658 | 9.4 | |||
| Sinn Féin | David Cullinane | 3,327 | 6.7 | |||
| Workers' Party | John Halligan | 1,708 | 3.4 | |||
| Fine Gael | Jim D'Arcy | 1,340 | 2.7 | |||
| Green Party | Brendan McCann | 1,049 | 2.1 | |||
| Independent | Mary Roche | 934 | 1.9 | |||
| Independent | Declan Waters | 270 | 1.5 | |||
| Independent | Francis Hennessy | 53 | 0.1 | |||
| Electorate: 73,434 Valid: 49,528 Spoilt: 430 Quota: 9,606 Turnout: 68.03% | ||||||
3 comments:
John,
John Halligan has his work cut out to win that by election, oh well.
Rory
!
I think that Paidi Coffey would start as favourite. FF does not appear to have a strong candidate in the city area. Neither for that matter has the Labour Party. I cannot see John Halligan winning either. However the government might decide to tough it out and not hold any by election.
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