Towns in Tipperary that were stripped of services should be rebuilt

Q. Mr Alan Moynihan, welcome to The No-Spin Zone. Tell me briefly about yourself and why you’re running?
A. This is my first Local Election and I’m running for the Social Democrats in the Cahir Local Electoral Area. I decided to run after hearing a comment from a parent on a disability support group on a very wet day during a fundraising walk I did last year for communication boards for schools. She commented that you wouldn’t see our elected representatives walking in the rain for her kids like that, and I thought why not? They should be walking on hot coals for these kids if that’s what is needed. I believe, as a Councillor, I can impact change and improve people’s lives.

Q. I’m a big advocate for charity and disability. Tell me about that charity walk last year?
A. Last year I undertook a walk from Roscrea to Ballyporeen over 4 days, 84.4 miles. The aim was to buy communication boards and posters for school classrooms & playgrounds. I also wanted to raise awareness around the gaps in autism supports and services. Thanks to generous donations, 21 schools across Tipperary are now getting new communication boards and/or posters.

Q. Many people don’t know much about your party. Who are the Social Democrats?
A. The Social Democrats are a relatively new centre-left party. We believe in a new way of doing things, trying to inject new ideas and getting politics to work for ordinary people through better quality public services and more accountability. One of our big ambitions is to enable a more equal society. According to Oxfam, 1% of Ireland owns 35% of the wealth and to me that is wrong, imagine if that was rebalanced to assist the people struggling day to day.

Q. I’m sure you’ve heard people say that all politicians are the same. What makes the Social Democrats different?
A. We try to act with integrity and not just talk about it. We want to put a stop to the endless merry-go-round of scandal, inquiry, reports but no real lessons learned.

Q. I’ve heard many people say that they don’t really know anything about the Social Democrats. Why is that?
A. We’ve done well in areas closer to Dublin and Cork and with younger people but still need to reach into other communities like Tipperary. Hopefully, as the Social Democrats first candidate in Tipperary, I can spread the word by knocking on doors over the coming months.

Q. Tell us about your party leader Holly Cairns? Why has ‘Holly-mania’ not caught on more?
A. She’s 34-years-old, dynamic, and we believe that she’s the future of politics. If you look at our political leadership, the majority are from a different generation. Holly can relate to the issues facing younger people today. On her election the party moved from a dual leadership to a single leader which required a lot of internal reform, shifting the focus of the party temporarily. It’s now up to us in the Social Democrats to get out there and grow the party.

Q. There are 4 incumbent councillors in the Cahir electoral area. Many say that they are doing a competent job. Why should the voters replace one of them with Alan Moynihan?
A. That depends on how people define ‘competent’. Under the present councillors’ representation, we’ve seen the services stripped from towns, like post offices, banks, Garda Stations and high levels of commercial/business dereliction. It’s not good enough. The degeneration of towns is not competent and it’s not what the area deserves. We need a strategy to revive those towns.

Q. What do you think will be the biggest issues on the doorsteps in the lead up to the June elections?
A. Housing and health. It’s clear that Immigration will be a hot topic. Water is also a very important local issue as it’s really problematic.

Q. Water is a big issue and water outages are a massive issue in Cahir. What will you do about it if elected?
A. In 2021 and 2022, Tipperary had the second most boil water notices nationally. That along with regular service outages, limescale and low pressure is unacceptable. In 2019, 47% of water was leaked from the South East Regional water supply. As a branch we’ve been active on this, holding a public meeting and responding to a consultation on Uisce Eireann’s plan for the region. Their new proposed plan is currently not fully funded. One thing I would do as a councillor is to seek guarantees to securing funding for these works.

Q. Many people say that the Government’s housing policy is failing. Are they right? What’s the solution?
A. The 13,500 homeless including 4,100 children would tell you they are failing. We need a mindset shift to affordable housing targets that reflect the scale of this crisis and a government that is capable of delivering.
We will deliver truly affordable homes, more social homes, a rent freeze, an end to no fault evictions and meaningful vacant housing tax.
WAITING LISTS

Q. There are almost 800,000 people on HSE waiting lists, almost 200,000 hospital appointments cancelled in first 9 months of 2023, and almost 20,000 children waiting on autism assessments. What’s your opinion on this, and what will you do about it?
A. Our health service is broken and it frustrates me that a plan exists to fix it in Sláintecare and it had not been rolled out as promised. Sláintecare will move our health services to being more community based with higher bed capacity and more frontline staff. In 2023 a Department of Health report stated that 40% of health care reforms suffered delay and many of these suffered significant delays.

Q. Mental Health services have been vastly reduced in county Tipperary. What will you do about that if elected?
A. As someone who spent a number of years as a mental health service user I know the value and importance of local services. Not giving people the right to choose where they access services is an impediment to recovery. Mental Health services in Tipperary are not only inadequate they are almost completely absent. If elected, I will engage with the Minister of State for Mental Health to demand to know how they plan to correct this.

Q. To immigration, the Government has said that Ireland is not full. Are they right?
A. I do not think Ireland is full but it is also not working properly. As a country we have benefitted greatly from immigration, immigrants are our friends, our neighbours, our doctors, our nurses our carers. The government’s approach has been less than ideal, their failure to engage with local communities and sometimes being less than honest, has fanned the understandable anger felt by communities. The people of Tipperary have been extremely welcoming and understanding and they deserve to feel aggrieved at not being treated as a partner in this issue. One must question how a relatively small increase in population, approximately 2%, could cause so much strain on services and that issue sits solely with the Government and their inability to build any capacity in our core services.

Q. With the ongoing RTE scandal in mind, what will you say to voters on the doorsteps if they ask you if they should pay their TV licence or not?
A. I would like to see a pause in its collection until the investigation into governance at RTE is complete. However, that is unlikely to happen and people should continue to comply with the law. The Social Democrats have put forward a proposal to replace the current TV License Fee with, in part, a levy on social media companies.

Q. Tipperary county became the worst county in Ireland for road traffic fatalities in 2023. What will you do about that if elected?
A. The recent road deaths have been heartbreaking. Tipperary gardai are involved in a new scheme speaking to groups to educate them on road safety, we need to better support these initiatives. Also, under the planned review of speed limits councillors will be permitted to rule on some limits. I would call for sensible and strong evidence-based approaches to making our roads safer.

Q. Final question, in one sentence, why should people vote for Alan Moynihan in June?
A. Our communities have been let down by ineffectual representation. That has to change. All I am asking for is a chance to serve you.
Cara: Thanks for entering The No Spin Zone Alan. I hope the election goes brilliantly for you.