Poll-topping town councillor aiming for higher office

Fine Gael's Cllr Sarah Reilly, a member of Kells Town Council, has confirmed that she will be seeking selection at the party's Meath West selection convention for the general election. Cllr Reilly was elected a councillor in the local elections in 2009. Her political campaign was very successful and saw her topping the poll in Kells, the first Fine Gael candidate and the first female to do so in Kells. Cllr Reilly commented: “My success was due in part to a brilliant team. Together, we ran a fresh and innovative campaign which demonstrated to voters that I stand for a new political approach.†She added: “I am stepping up to the plate because I believe that not only will I make a steady candidate, but I would also be a hardworking and credible TD. Moreover, I believe I reflect what today's voter is demanding in their public representative. I have a strong and relevant educational background.†Cllr Reilly holds a BA in Legal Science, Sociology and Politics, a LLB Law Degree and the FE1 professional solicitor's exam. She said the next government will need to impose many policy reforms and her studies to date, together with her research and debate writing experience, would prove valuable as a TD. she added that she has a business background, having worked in banking, as a corporate paralegal and she is currently setting up her own local business. She said every generation has been sorely hit by Fianna Fáil's failure to manage Ireland's economy. “As is the case with a lot of my peers in County Meath, I have experienced the pain of negative equity and redundancy. I am in tune with how the economic downturn is affecting people in their everyday lives, unlike the current crop of Government ministers. “I genuinely want to make a difference. I want to be part of the solution and put my skills and knowledge to use for the betterment of Ireland,†she said. Cllr Reilly said she had worked with sitting Fine Gael Meath West TD, Damien English in the past, both as a volunteer and as a legal adviser.