A Waterford Labour councillor says there's a number of very good candidates to contest the party leadership.
Brendan Howlin announced yesterday that he's to step aside as Labour leader.
A leadership contest will now get underway.
Councillor Seamus Ryan says the party needs to be reinvigorated:
"We've had two young candidates elected and then we have the experience of Alan Kelly as well.
"People like Ged Nash, Duncan Smith and Alan Kelly - these are all well capable candidates who could lead and maybe reinvigorate the Labour Party and that's what we need now.
"I just want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Brendan Howlin who put all his life into the trade union movement and the Labour Party.
"At a time when it wasn't popular to be the leader of the Labour Party he stepped up to the plate."
He says it's the right decision for Labour not to be a formal part of the next Government:
"This is a time for the Labour Party to allow others who got the mandate, Sinn Fein has got the mandate, to form the next government.
"Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein the Green Party need to go in now form the government and take the country forward
"There are many issues here in Waterford that are very important to we all speak about 24/7, we all speak about the housing crisis.
"I want to see a strong government going to deal and deliver on those issues of 24/7, the hospital crisis and on housing here in Waterford."
Seamus Ryan says the Labour Party is alive and well in Waterford:
"Here in Waterford with my own branch, which is the Waterford South Branch of the Labour Party, it's by far the largest branch in the constituency
"We are attracting in new members, new young members and that is important.
"People wrote us off before, the labour party is alive and well and we saw that by John Pratt's performance in the General Election at the weekend.
"He came back with 6.4% of the vote which is a very good percentage and we will build on that."
