Fine Gael seat co-opted in Wexford chamber as arrival of new Cllr Byrne increases female representatives to eight

She was nominated by party colleague Pat Kehoe who said Trish was “very involved in her local community” and would be a “welcome addition” to the council chamber. Her nomination was seconded by Councillor Bridín Murphy who, along with her female colleagues, was quick to note that the council now had a strong representation of women.

“We’re not quite at 25 per cent yet but we’re getting there,” said Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy. “We only had six after the election and we’ve increased that by two.”

Further support came from the Mayor of Wexford, Cllr Catherine Biddy Walsh, who offered her support to the newly co-opted councillor.

“It can be very daunting in here,” she said, “but this is a historic day for WCC having eight women on the council.”

It wasn’t just the women who offered their support however, with further words of welcome coming from Cllrs Pat Barden, Jim Codd, Garry Laffan, Jackser Owens, and Paddy Kavanagh.

Cllr Michael Sheehan did give Cllr Byrne some friendly advice for the road ahead, though, perhaps speaking from experience when he said, “please be aware that from now on you’ll be blamed for everything and be given credit for nothing.”

“Don’t mind the cynics,” came the retort from cathaoirleach Cllr Pip Breen.

After she had performed her official duties, Cllr Byrne discussed her plans for the next four years as a public representative and how she came to be the latest member of a small rural community to go into politics.

“It wasn’t something I ever thought I’d do until I was asked would I consider it,” she said of her new role. “But I’ve always been interested in politics, and I’ve been part of Paul Kehoe and Cathal Byrne’s campaigns for years.”

Asked if the roads in and around Bree would be in pristine condition from this point on, Cllr Byrne replied, “There’s plenty of them to be done anyway. Aside from that, the flood defence scheme in Enniscorthy is the big project that needs to be prioritised, it’s been so many years in the pipeline and I know so many people have been affected by it for so long.”

While councillors in the chamber repeatedly highlight issues around housing, Cllr Byrne is uniquely placed to comment on the plight of a generation effectively shut out from buying their own home.

“Absolutely it has affected me,” she said. “I’m still living at home. Trying to get a mortgage or find somewhere to buy is just crazy, even the planning processes are difficult, especially for rural families. So I want to push the council to build more affordable and social housing.”

Source: Google News