Dan Harty set to run for Dáil

Sinn Féin select North Tipp election candidate

Sinn Féin held their General Election selection convention on Monday night in the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh.

Members of the party gathered to select the candidate who will contest the upcoming General Election for the North Tipperary constituency. Dan Harty from Thurles was selected, unopposed, in the well-attended event.

There had been local speculation that Nenagh Sinn Féin representative Damian O Donoghue would be in contention but he decided not to put his name forward. “I don't feel it's the right time for me to run for the Dáil, with work and other committments,” he stated. “But I look forward to campaigning with Dan as much as I can over the coming weeks and continuing to work locally as the Sinn Féin representative for the Nenagh area.”

Speaking after the event Mr Harty stated: “It is a huge honour to have been selected by my fellow party members to lead Sinn Féin into the General Election in the new North Tipperary Dáil constituency. I would like to thank all my supporters, party colleagues and indeed my family for having the confidence in me to take on this important role.”

‘CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO’

Mr Harty continued: “I want to challenge the status quo here in North Tipperary and offer the people a genuine choice on election day. We can have more of the same, or we can take a new direction. A new direction in terms of housing, healthcare, childcare, immigration policy and the rising cost of living to name but a few.

“The current government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Greens and also their aspiring coalition partners Labour have failed North Tipperary. A vote for any of the sitting TDs - Jackie Cahill, Michael Lowry or Alan Kelly - in the upcoming election will be a vote for the same policies that have failed North Tipperary over the past decade or more.

“Report after report shows that house prices in Tipperary have risen dramatically in the past number of years, with a genuine under-supply of second hand homes, affordable homes and social homes.

“Sinn Féin have the housing policy to undertake the biggest housing build initiative in the history of the state and this is something that voters need to seriously consider before casting their vote in this election.

“Unfortunately, many of our young people have left the region or emigrated from the country altogether to find better opportunities.

“We need a specific focus from Government on our main towns in terms of industry. Towns such as Thurles, Nenagh and Roscrea are crying out for a new, large regional employer. The IDA and current government has failed to deliver employment on the scale that is required to make the region an attractive place for our young people to set down roots.

“For Thurles, it is my firm belief that in order to attract investment and replace the industries that were lost over the years, the Thurles bypass project is a must.

“The arguments in terms of citizen safety, daily quality of life and allowing town centre business to flourish by alleviating the traffic choke are equally as valid.

“Local politicians have failed the town of Thurles by allowing the project to have been dropped from the National Development Plan.

UHL ‘BASKET CASE’

“North Tipperary, as part of the Mid-West health region, has been failed abysmally. UHL is a basket case due to the pressures that the hospital staff are under trying to service a population far beyond it’s capacity.

“Chronic overcrowding is an almost daily occurrence at the hospital and patient experience has been at an unacceptable level throughout the lifetime of this government. The time for action was years ago and I welcome the recent admittance by the Taoiseach that the downgrading Nenagh hospital, with the closure of its A&E was a mistake, but action needs to be taken to remedy the situation as a matter of urgency.

“Sinn Féin have recently published detailed proposals to tackle the Mid-West health crisis and have committed to prioritising this area if elected to Government.”

Mr Harty concluded: “I call on Simon Harris to end the charade of uncertainty and to set out a date for the General Election. I hope to get out to meet as many people as possible during this campaign and look forward to representing the people of North Tipperary as best I can.”