Post offices and water charges to be major election issues

The Cavan Water Charges Opposition group, as part of a nationwide consultation process being implemented, is planning to host a series of public meetings to suss out potential candidates for the next General Election.
Unions affiliated to the Right2Water campaign hosted a conference in Dublin last Friday, May 1, where those in attendance were told of the impact a Right2Water candidate could have.
Emmett Smith represented the Cavan Water Charges Opposition Group and the conference heard from a number of speakers including a trio of international delegates from Spain, Greece and Germany with comparisons drawn between the growing anti-austerity movement in Ireland and those across Europe.
The unions finished the event by releasing a document entitled 'Policy Principles for a Progressive Irish Government’. Divided into seven sections, the document deals with different rights - Right2Water, Right2Jobs & Decent Work, Right2Housing, Right2Health, Right2Debt Justice, Right2Education and the Right2Democratic Reform.
The unions will meet again next month, June 13, for a Policy Conference, at which submissions and comments from civil society organisations and individuals are invited.

Postmasters also seek candidates
Meanwhile, Postmasters are poised to enter the political fray if a General Election is to come to pass, with candidates set to contest a number of seats following an unprecedented decision by their union.
The go-ahead for the plan followed a near unanimous decision at the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) conference in Kilkenny last week.
The IPU has said it will take its campaign into the political arena, following its decision to put up general election candidates, unless they get some assurances from government on a number of core issues, including the conversion of social protection payments to electronic payment systems by 2018.
Among those who spoke at the conference was current president of the IPU, Monaghan Postmaster Ciarán McEntee.