Enda Kenny cuts the ribbon at the official opening of Sen. Nicky McFadden's Constituency Office watched by Westmeath Fine Gael Councillors, Dep. James Bannon, and Rachael Barrington

Nicky’s speech at the official opening of her Constituency Office

Leader of FG, Deputy Kenny; Mayor Cooney; Chairman of Westmeath County Council, Fintan Cooney; Deputy James Bannon;  Deputy Denis Naughton; Cllr. Gabrielle McFadden; Cllr. Joe Whelan; Cllr. Joe Flanagan; Cllr. Colm  Arthur; Cllr. Paddy Belton; Cllr. Sean McKiernan; Cllr. Frank Kilbride; Pat McLoughlin;  Invited Guests from the constituency; Mr. Eamon Duignan, Constituency Chairman; Kevin O’Brien, District Chairman; Members of my Management Team and Supporters; Members of my Close Family; Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen…

The opening of my office in Athlone has long been an ambition and goal which I have wanted to achieve and tonight I am very honoured that the Leader of our party has personally joined us to preside and share in this moment.

 This is my 10th year in representative politics and in the context of serving the needs of the people the past year has been by far the most challenging of my career to date. The impact of the recession, people losing their jobs, the very serious flooding together with the bad weather has brought hardship of unknown proportions to so many families in this constituency and indeed beyond. Your presence at this official opening of my office embodies the whole community from state to semi-state, private sector, voluntary groups, local media and the religious communities. Indeed I am proud that members of the other political parties are also represented because when I am asked or requested to do something for a constituent I do not ask if they have a political allegiance. I fully appreciate we are all elected to office to serve all the community, and this office, including me and my team will continue that service, meeting and representing the needs of our local communities first in Longford/Westmeath.

Of course I am very proud of my political allegiance and indeed the decision to open this office has been borne out of my desire to further strengthen and increase the representational base of Fine Gael in the constituency.  As an elected Senator I fully realise how much of my time is spent in Dail Eirean and consequently I now find that having a local POINT OF CONTACT enables me to provide a more professional and effective service of representation in the constituency. I am very grateful to Elaine, my office manager whose contribution has been so valuable in this initial phase of the setting-up. I hope that the level of information, advice and representation for our constituents will be further enhanced in the coming year.

This office also symbolises my deep commitment to serve the people of Longford/Westmeath as a FG Senator and it further represents my determination and ambition to seek once again at the appropriate time the mandate and nomination from our FG delegates to successfully contest a seat in Dail Eireann in the next election and to ensure that Westmeath is represented by a FG TD. I intend with the help of my team and supporters to earn the respect and trust of the people who alone have the power to make our dream and vision a reality.

I am honoured that the party leader has accepted my invitation to open my office. Deputy Kenny was elected as one of the youngest members of the Dail at the age of 24. He became leader in 2002 and in the Election of 2004, Fine Gael’s became the largest and most united political Party in the Country.

Fine Gael out-performed expectations in the 2004 Local and European elections, which saw it, increase its representation from 4 MEPs of 15 from Ireland, to 5 from 13. This was the first time Fine Gael beat Fianna Fáil in a national election since 1927. The first stage of Fine Gael’s comeback and when the votes were counted in the 2007 general election it emerged that Fine Gael had made large gains, increasing its number of seats by twenty to give a total of 51 seats in the new Dáil. And you Enda have lead us to this victory.

At local level I was particularly appreciative that the Fine Gael Economic Forum, which met in the Radisson Hotel in Athlone last Nov. included the Party leader  and the entire Fine Gael economics team.  They took time out to meet and listen to the hard business realities in the current economic climate and to find ways to strengthen and support business in these challenging times.

Westmeath, due to its high dependence on manufacturing, is suffering, exposed to job losses and economic stagnation as is evidenced by the many factory closures over the past while. The advice and information that experienced local business people imparted to the delegation at this meeting will be used to influence Fine Gael policy on economic stimulation which will focus on job protection and creation initiatives, identifying and exploiting potential business growth areas in the process. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Dep. Denis Naughton who has recently been appointed as Chairman of the Economic Forum by Dep. Enda Kenny.

It is obvious that if the economy is to grow again, then jobs, businesses and entrepreneurship must be encouraged, resourced and supported by Government something which the present administration is clearly failing to achieve.  Only last night Cllr. Paddy Belton told me that the Longford County Enterprise board funding has been cut by 35%.

I am convinced that the Fine Gael approach to the economy is the correct one as it recognises that at the heart of the problem is the need to create new jobs and protect the ones we still have. Fine Gael has a plan in this regard and is still the only party with a plan to tackle our ever-growing jobs crisis.

What we must do is ensure that the actions taken to drag the economy back up off its knees are not simply punitive, are not simply cutbacks. Positive, flexible, joined-up Government thinking and action are what’s needed. Because, while house prices may drop and the construction industry may return to a reasonable and sustainable size, the real upside, the real hope for the future, is that this country never runs out of potential, energy, the willingness to pull together for the greater good.

Above all, we need a new view of Ireland as a nation filled with boundless potential, a nation with the capacity to lead, not follow, a nation where appeasement and cronyism, is a thing of the past and we invest in the future of our children, not rob from them. Postponement is not an option. Action is an imperative. That’s what we must harness, if we plan to turn these tough times into learning, rather than a crippling, experience.