Independent Cllr Jim Ryan launches his election campaign

Thurles based Independent Councillor, Jim Ryan has announced that he will be running as an independent candidate for the forthcoming local elections in May in the Thurles electoral district.

Cllr Ryan who was first elected to Thurles Town Council in 1999 and subsequently onto North Tipperary County Council in 2004, comes with a formidable pedigree having topped the pole in the local elections of 1999, 2004 and 2009 for Thurles Town Council and comfortably reaching the quota in 2004 and 2009 for North Tipperary County Council and in 2014 for the newly formed Tipperary County Council.

Cllr Ryan famously resigned from Fianna Fail back in 2004 when he failed to get the nomination from the party to run in that years county council election but has never looked back since.

“ I have been extremely proud and lucky to of represented the electoral area of Thurles for the past 20 years and I would be very privileged to do so again for the next 5 years. I love being a councillor and love helping people no matter how big or small their issue is. I feel that I have worked extremely hard for the last 20 years and if I am re-elected again in May I will continue my policy of working for and standing up for the people that I represent," he said.

He added: "There is no doubt that people have become disillusioned with politics but this election in May will be an extremely important one especially with the boundary being changed for our district once again. This election will give people the opportunity to voice their anger at the way this country is being run by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail and will also allow the general public to vote for candidates that in their opinion will run the Thurles area in a fair and transparent way for the next 5 years.

"I am looking forward to meeting people on the door steps to listen to their concerns and for me to outline my priorities that if re-elected I will stand for in areas such as job creation, better roads, tackling crime, creation of the Thurles Greenway, stopping the relocation of the post office in Thurles and so on," he said.