Another Waterford Councillor has thrown his hat into the ring ahead of the General Election.
Joe Kelly has announced that he will be running as an Independent.
He was first elected to Waterford City Council in 2004 for Sinn Fein.
He lost his seat in 2009 before winning it back as an Independent in 2014.
Councillor Kelly says he only made the decision to run last night.
"After fairly long discussions with my family and a small number of supporters on this particular issue, I've decided to declare for the election.
"I am going to throw my hat in the ring and contest the upcoming election in just under three weeks time.
"I hope to give people a different option in the choices that they face at the ballot and I hope that that will be successful for me."
Joe Kelly described the race as a sprint rather than a marathon saying that he thinks he can make up the ground after declaring later than other candidates.
"A lot of people already know me anyway and I think people will get to know me a lot better over the next few weeks."
He says his focus in this election is Waterford.
"I make no apologies for it, even at the start of my campaign, is Waterford first, Waterford second and my third priority is Waterford again.
"The rest of the country have any amount of politicians and they can look after their parts. I'm interested in Waterford so I'm not making great national policy statements or sweeping statements about the country.
"My focus, as an Independent and I expect I will be pivotal in the formation of the next government if I am elected, that my priority is all things Waterford. That is my entire focus."
