*Cllr PJ Ryan. Photograph: Gary Collins
It took three attempts for PJ Ryan to win a seat on Clare County Council and at the conclusion of the weekend he is hoping to have retained that seat for the third election in a row.
1999 and 2004 saw PJ run as a Fianna Fรกil candidate unsuccessfully, despite being a member of the party for 30 years they opted against putting him on the ballot paper in 2009, the home heating oil distributor went Independent and was elected on the final count. He described the pain of losing out as โdishearteningโ but felt it showed he was โthere or thereaboutsโ to winning a coveted place on the local authority. Subsequently his old party have made several requests for him to return but he has declined on each occasion.
His 09 success saw the Shannon Municipal District elect three Independents with Patricia McCarthy and Gerry Flynn both returned. Flynn, Ryan and Cllr Michael Begley are three Independents seeking re-election and PJ is of the view that despite having the backing of a party the trio can prevail. โGerry Flynn and myself have been elected before as has Michael Begley whoโs coming into the Shannon area and bringing a fleet with him so I wouldnโt see any great problem, the other thing is there are no sureties in Clare County Council, everyone has to fight for their seatโ.
During his decade as a county councillor, the Cratloe father of five insisted the highlight is getting the job done for the communities he represents. โAll politics is local, it doesnโt come down to big achievements it comes down to getting the road repaired for some people, getting hedges trimmed for others, looking after the water situation, at the end of the day everything comes down to what you can do for your local community. Iโve been involved in the community organisation both in Sixmilebridge and Cratloe over the years, all politics comes down to what can be done locallyโ.
Everything is local and such was the case two years ago when a local smear campaign saw anonymous letters circulate around Sixmilebridge making false financial claims about Cllr Ryan. โThat all stemmed from my effort to rescue the childcare and daycare centre plus the playground in Sixmilebridge, it was on a slippery slope at the time and there was a good chance it was going to be closed. I had to work very hard to keep those facilities opened in the village of Sixmilebridge because they serve the area of Cratloe, Sixmilebridge and Bunratty, things had to be done and it didnโt sit well with other people. I was shocked but not surprised. Itโs very easy when you have a public profile to try and knock you if somebody canโ.
Shannon Airport is in his opinion โis not getting a fair crack of the whipโ but felt Shannon Group plc are not prioritising the Airport in their portfolio. โIโve always been a massive supporter of the Airport, itโs what I refer to as our golden veil, it has created many jobs and quite a lot of people in our county and adjoining counties have survived because of Shannon Airport. Itโs present situation, I would not be happy with, there seems to be an awful lot of emphasis on the heritage and business side of it in the industrial estate but we seem to be having a problem trying to draw extra passengers in through the airport. I have a suspicion that itโs a problem created in Dublin because aviation policy dictates through Dublin Airport, Cork Airport and also Shannon Airport even though itโs independent the Minister still dictates what happens there and Iโve a feeling that Shannon is not getting a fair crack of the whipโ.
With a permanent successor to Matthew Thomas yet to be appointed as CEO of Shannon Group plc, Ryan stated what the goal should be for his replacement. โTheir main thing needs to be to attract business to Shannon Airport, I fear they canโt do that with one arm tied behind their back and thatโs what is happening. Iโve had discussions both with Neil Pakey and with Matthew Thomas, both of them will tell you they are operating in a restricted area, they are controlled through the Irish Aviation Policy from Dublin which is a major problemโ.
At a Council meeting in February 2017, PJ revealed that attending suicide prevention classes had helped him to save a life and called for one to be organised for elected representatives in Clare, no such class has taken place two years later. โIt definitely hasnโt been progressed. The training I had at the time I obtained it through a voluntary organisation the Shannon and District Lions Club that Iโm a member of for forty years, they undertook to train their members. It certainly helped me in one or two occasions and Iโm fairly sure I saved peopleโs lives because of itโ.
Similarly, he was the only councillor to criticise the long wait for driving tests in the county. In January he proposed Minister for Transport Shane Ross โimmediately take action to ensure that nobody has to wait any longer then 6-8 weeks for a driving test and furthermore anybody that has taken a driving test and failed on minor faults should be allowed to drive unaccompanied provided they reapply for a new test immediatelyโ. The motion passed by one vote but the decision of Gerry Flynn, Johnny Flynn, Christy Curtin and Paul Murphy to vote against surprised PJ.
โItโs still out there and Iโm still coming across people day in day out with children in college. Itโs very hard for parents where both of them have to work to keep their mortgage paid and keep the children in college. I always felt that if somebody had the proper training and did not fail on major faults that they should be allowed unaccompanied drive to either work or college because I see a lot of young people now, they try very hard to get a job and when they have the job done if they canโt get to work itโs a major problem, it puts big pressure on their family and themselves and they feel what they have achieved through their education is more or less a waste if they canโt get to their job or continue college, I suppose the fact you have to wait almost 28 weeks and if you fail on a very small fault it means you to endure that wait again which is crazyโ.