THE Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) have selected its Fermanagh candidates for next month’s Council election.
Sitting Councillors Diana Armstrong and John McClaughry (Erne North), Roy Crawford and Robert Irvine (Enniskillen) and Victor Warrington and Mark Ovens (Erne East) will all be standing for re-election.
Cllr Armstrong said she was pleased to be selected and stated that she would strive to help bring better childcare provision and improved services in rural areas if elected next month.
“I am delighted to be selected as a UUP candidate for election once more in Erne North,” she said.
“As a local Councillor I consistently seek opportunities to improve lives and lobby for equitable services in this rural area.
“Over the last seven years I have worked closely with villages in Erne North to encourage take up of available funding and regeneration projects and to support health and wellbeing activities at community level.
“Supporting women with careers alongside family commitments is a priority for me and I will continue to push for better childcare provision and funding. Retention of Emergency Surgical Services and improved management of SWAH are a number one concern.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Crawford insisted that he would focus on improving public services as well as economic development.
He added: “I was born and raised here in Fermanagh and so it was with a bit of trepidation but also enormous pride whenever I became a member of the local council last year. Enniskillen is my home and so I’ve been really privileged to be able to serve it.
“Until fairly recently, becoming a public representative is not something I had ever really considered. But then after seeing all the stalemate at Stormont with the damage it’s inflicting on public services locally, I thought the time was right.
“Issues such as providing the necessary recreational and leisure facilities, adequate waste management, street cleansing, and economic development are central to what the Council should be focusing on. Yet they are issues which I believe it could still improve on further.
“Equally as a result of the current political deadlock, with the constant stop-start nature of local Executive’s and the subsequent chaos within wider public finances, councils are the only local decision making body left in Northern Ireland.
“As well presenting a real alternative to that political stalemate, the UUP have shown themselves to be champions of the issues that matter most.
“Whether it be fighting to retain acute services at the South West Acute Hospital, to demanding better investment in our roads network, the Ulster Unionist Party passionately believes in actually serving all the community of Northern Ireland.”
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