PICTURES: Here are all the candidates running in the Piltown LEA in South Kilkenny

TAP '>' FOR NEXT PILTOWN LEA CANDIDATE

Patrick Dunphy (Fine Gael)                                                                                        

Patrick (Pat) Dunphy has been a member of Kilkenny County Council since 1999.

He is married to Margaret and has four adult children: Nora, Seamus, Tom, and Siobhan, and one grandchild, Charlie.

In his working career, he gained extensive experience working with William Fewer and Sons builders in Grannagh, Clover Meats, and many years at Bausch and Lomb in Waterford.

For the past 13 years, he said that he has had the privilege of working with Deputy John Paul Phelan TD.

His lifelong involvement with the GAA includes roles as a player, referee, and various committee positions.

His core principles are being available to his constituents, commitment to the job, providing honest advice, being dependable and reliable and delivering 100% effort in all endeavours.

According to Cllr Dunphy there are several critical issues that need addressing:

- Local government requires increased funding and staffing, necessitating a strong campaign.
- The recent prolonged wet weather has severely impacted roads and drainage, requiring urgent attention.
- The difficulty of obtaining rural planning needs review to ensure the protection of rural Ireland.
- There is a pressing need for housing, demanding more robust delivery efforts in the future.

“There are many other challenging issues that arise from time to time and my aim is to help and advise where I can,” he added.