Voters in Roscrea were afforded the unique opportunity at a public meeting on Monday night to meet the candidates who will greet them on their ballot papers in the European and local elections next month.
Immigration and access to essential services were at the front of people's minds when they posed questions to the eight brave candidates who faced the public in the Abbey Hall on Monday night, at a traditional style and very personal event hosted by Roscrea Community Development Council (RCDC).
The event is a highlight of the pre-election build up in Roscrea and was well attended by voters eager to look in the eyes of the people asking them for precious votes on June 7 and was the third such event hosted ahead of a local election by RCDC.
On this occasion it was evident voters wanted to directly question local election hopefuls and the decision to not attend by some Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin candidates was one of the most emotive issues of the night among voters who are more engaged than ever before in their local democracy.
Questions surrounding the repurposing of the Racket Hall Hotel, which closed in January to provide accommodation for people seeking international protection and made Roscrea a flashpoint in the national debate on immigration, dominated the night.
The event was chaired by John Lupton, RCDC Chairman, with Secretary, Liam Shanahan, looking after the time keeping and Steve Crofton and Conor Abbot in charge of the PA system.
The local candidates are competing for one of four seats in the Roscrea/Templemore electoral area, which is part of the nine seat Thurles Municipal District. Eight candidates have announced their intentions to run and five attended the event.
The local candidates in attendance were Willie Kennedy (Fine Gael), Cllr. Shane Lee (Independent – Lowry team), Aisling Maloney (Green Party), Jordan Lewis (Labour) and Deirdre Ryan (Fianna Fail).
Apologies were received from Cllr. Michael Smith (Fianna Fail) and Breandán Ó Conchúir (Sinn Féin) and the audience expressed their disappointment that both did not attend.
The European candidates are competing for five seats in the vast Ireland South constituency and there are 28 candidates in total. Three attended the debate in Roscrea and participated in discussions on local issues.
The candidates for the European Parliamentary Election in attendance were Grace O’Sullivan MEP (Green Party), Michael McNamara (non party) and Michael Leahy (Irish Freedom Party).
Each candidate was afforded five minutes to give a brief account of themselves and their opinions, before the large audience were permitted to ask questions.
Pictured at the 'Meet the Candidates' pre-election debate in Roscrea are (back l to r) Liam Shanahan, Jordan Lewis, Deirdre Ryan and Steve Crofton (front) John Lupton (RCDC Chairman), Willie Kennedy, Cllr. Shane Lee and Aisling Maloney. Photo: PJ Wright
Willie Kennedy from Templetuohy said health, support for small businesses and agricultural issues are his main concerns; with tackling the shortage of GP's and waiting lists a priority.
Sitting Councillor Shane Lee, clearly a favourite among the community in his hometown by virtue of the rapturous applause he received, said education, housing and caring for older people are his priorities - singling out the issue of the Dean Maxwell Community Nursing Home and acquisition of Mount Carmel Nursing Home by the HSE as a main concern.
Roscrea native Jordan Lewis is the youngest candidate running for Labour in the country and said that on his debut into politics issues relating to the provision of better public transport and better support for families of people who have autism are a major motivating factor.
Aisling Maloney, also a Roscrea native making her political debut, is 21 years of age and said housing and tackling vacancy and dereliction, as well as curing the dearth of social spaces and events for younger people, are some of her main concerns.
Deirdre Ryan from Templemore shot to local prominence after she led the campaign against the downgrading of access to the swimming pool in the Garda College in Templemore and said her experience as a mother of three children and working as a counsellor and psychotherapist for 15 years makes her uniquely suitable to the role as a local representative.
Grace O'Sullivan, a Tramore native who was one of the crew members of the famous Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed in 1985, told the public in Roscrea that green issues are at the core of her campaign to keep her seat in the European Parliament.
Michael Leahy, founder of his eurosceptic party who are running three candidates in the European elections and 29 in the local elections, said mass immigration is the main issue in his campaign and fighting trans-activism and tackling the use of "inappropriate sexual material" in schools, as well as fighting the Mercosur deal threatening Irish farmers and the erosion of free speech.
Michael McNamara, a native of Scariff and independent TD in Clare, said protection of people's digital information, fighting the repeated imposition of EU laws on Irish farming and nature restoration directives are some of the issues he hopes to tackle if elected.
The European Parliament candidates listened to the presentations of the Local Election candidates, as well as taking questions from the floor and addressed underlying policies and issues facing the community of Roscrea and District - many of which are
impacted by National and European policies or in some cases the lack of same.
At the end of the meeting the Chairman wished all the candidates the best of luck on June 7 in their respective elections and also thanked the large crowd in attendance for the respectful manner in which they commented and raised questions on issues of concern for the community, some of which were emotive.
