The constituency of Waterford comprises the entire county except for a population of about 1,500 living north of the Comeragh Mountains and south of Clonmel who are included in the constituency of South Tipperary.
Waterford City is the principal urban centre of the South East. In 2006, Waterford had a population of 106,530. More than 40% of the population of the constituency live in the borough area. A further 15% live in the towns of Dungarvan and Tramore.
At the time of the 2006 census, Waterford had significantly higher levels of workers employed in manufacturing than the national average.
Waterford Wedgewood and its subsidiary Waterford Crystal laid off 490 workers in 2007 and 280 workers in 2008.
In 2009, Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that 50% of their 730 workforce would be made redundant, while workers at the GlaxoSmithKline plant in Dungarvan may be affected by that company’s current worldwide re-structuring.
The region is also a noted tourist destination.
Constituency Boundaries: There have been no changes since 2007.
2011 Candidates
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Paudie Coffey - Fine Gael
Elected as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel in 2007, this is Coffey's second time to contest a general election.
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Justin Collery - Independent
A first-time general election candidate, Collery is based in Portlaw.
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Ciara Conway - Labour Party
A member of Dungarvan Town Council since 2009, Conway is a first-time election candidate.
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Joe Conway - Independent
An Independent member of Waterford County Council for the Tramore area, Conway is a first-time candidate.
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David Cullinane - Sinn Féin
A member of Waterford City Council since 2004, Cullinane has been a Sinn Féin candidate in local, general and European elections. He is married to Sinn Féin's Carlow-Kilkenny candidate, Kathleen Funchion.
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John Deasy - Fine Gael
First elected to the Dáil in 2002, Deasy is the son of former TD, Austin Deasy. A former member of the Fine Gael frontbench, he backed Richard Bruton during his attempted heave against Enda Kenny in June 2010.
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John Halligan - Independent
Currently an Independent member of Waterford City Council, Halligan was a Workers' Party candidate in the 2007 general election.
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Tom Higgins - Independent
The current Mayor of Dungarvan, Higgins is a former member of Fine Gael and a first-time Dáil candidate.
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Brendan Kenneally - Fianna Fáil
First elected to the Dáil in 1989, he lost his seat in 2002 but regained it in 2007.
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Gerard Kiersey - Independent
From Dunmore East, this is Kiersey's first time to contest a Dáil election.
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Ben Nutty - Fís Nua
A former member of the Green Party, Nutty is now involved in Fís Nua, a newly registered political party.
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Jody Power - Green Party
An engineering lecturer and first-time candidate, Power was formerly a member of the merchant marine.
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Seamus Ryan - Labour Party
A member of Waterford City Council, this is Ryan's first-time to contest a Dáil election. He is currently Deputy Mayor of Waterford City.
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Joe Tobin - Workers Party
From Ballybeg, Tobin stood unsuccessfully for Waterford City Council in 2009.
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Declan Waters - Independent
Contesting his fourth general election, Waters is a former master glass cutter for Waterford Crystal.
Seats: 4
2007 Quota: 9,906
Sitting TDs: John Deasy (FG), Brendan Kenneally (FF), Brian O'Shea (Lab), Martin Cullen (FF) (Martin Cullen was elected as a TD in 2007 but resigned his seat due to ill-health in March 2010 and a by-election is outstanding to choose a replacement)
TDs not seeking re-election: Brian O’Shea (Lab)
General Election 2007:
Fianna Fáíl increased its vote slightly to 46.5% and outgoing TD Martin Cullen topped the poll again. The other Fianna Fáil incumbent, Ollie Wilkinson, lost out to party colleague, Brendan Kenneally.
Fine Gael TD John Deasy’s demotion from the Fine Gael front bench for flouting the smoking ban did not affect his popularity and he retained the seat he had won in 2002. Fine Gael’s vote was well up on 2002, but the party’s second candidate, Paudie Coffey, was still behind both Mr Kenneally and Mr Wilkinson in the race for the final seat.
Labour’s Brian O’Shea had been seen as a possible loser in 2007, but the traditional left-wing vote in Waterford held up, and Mr O’Shea retained his seat.
Having received a big vote from Waterford in the 2004 European elections (for the Munster constituency) Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane polled fairly well, but was still some distance from a seat. The Workers Party’s John Halligan increased his vote.
2002: Turnout 63.9%
2007: Turnout 68.0%
Oireachtas Constituency Information
Twitter hashtag: #wd
