'You can't just wait for somebody else to do it, you need people power to prove the need'

MEATH EAST CANDIDATE FOCUS: SHARON TOLAN (FINE GAEL)

“I HAVE always believed in people power” says Fine Gael councillor for Laytown/Bettystown and Cathaoirleach of Meath Co Council Sharon Tolan makes when describing her tenure as a local representative for the last decade, a statement that carries weight considering her journey into politics started with the mother of three campaigning for a new primary school in Laytown.

This was at a time when the population was growing at a staggering rate without the infrastructure to support it and children awaiting a new school were being educated in temporary prefabs.

A lot has happened in the world and along the East Meath coastline since Tolan was first elected as a local councillor in 2014. Never one to be shy about her political ambitions it was no surprise when the councillor threw her hat into the ring to contest the upcoming general election in the new four seat East Meath constituency (after a recommendation brought in by the Electoral Commission to reflect the rising population).

Earlier this Tolan became the first councillor to be re-elected to Meath Co Council in the Laytown/Bettystown area topping the poll with 1782 votes. She also contested the Fine Gael General Election Selection Convention for Louth in 2019 back when a part of the area was in the Louth constituency.

She will be running alongside party colleague Minister for Justice Helen McEntee in a bid to secure two seats for Fine Gael.

Tolan has been an advocate of among other things the beach management plan, a controversial initiative that has seen a ban on dogs off leads on certain areas of the beach and the removal of cars. A move that has been divisive but a hill the Fine Gael representative says she is willing to die on.

She has also been the driving force of “Fairer Fares,” a campaign to reduce train fares for commuters in East Meath.

Cllr Tolan moved to Bettystown from Balbriggan in the late 1990s and it was her frustration with the lack of action on developing the community that led her to seek election ten years ago.

“Part of me never saw myself as a politician until I became a politician and once I did I always had that ambition to do better and do more,” said Tolan.

“I have always seen the potential in Bettystown but the true potential is the people who live here, it has a great community spirit,” she added.

“Myself and my husband, Ivan have lived in the area 25 years and have raised three children here.”

“When we moved to Bettystown, my eldest child was six months old and I was pushing a pram up and down a busy country road that didn't even have a house on it never mind a footpath.

“There were promises of tennis courts and all of these lovely things and they didn't come to fruition and when I became involved in the schools I saw there was that lack of championing the needs in the area and that's when I decided that I couldn't keep writing these emails to other politicians asking them to do this that and the other if I wasn't prepared to put my name on a ballot paper and do it myself.”

Tolan says budgets and funding allocated to the area in recent years has allowed vital projects to be delivered.

“Education is where I started in politics. A lot of schools have been bursting at the seams and a lot of children had spent a lot of time in prefabs over the years so it was great to see the delivery of the schools programme across the constituency,” she said.

“I spent many years on the LMETB board supporting the delivery of things like secondary schools, colleges right up to an apprenticeship centre in Drogheda,” added the general election candidate.

Transport has been another issue the Bettystown Cllr has been at the forefront, most notably her “fairer fares” campaign. Her efforts were rewarded when earlier this year, an NTA fare review announced a major overhaul in fares charged in the commuter counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

The Dublin Commuter Zone which will extend approximately 50km from Dublin city centre to include towns such as Navan, Trim, Enfield, Laytown, Ashbourne and Drogheda.

In some cases, commuters would see a massive 50per cent reduction, such as the standard single adult rail fare from Drogheda to Dublin which will drop from €11.95 to just €6. However there has been a delay in its implementation.

“A huge number of people came on that journey with me campaigning and made submissions throughout the public consolation element so it was great to see people power and it is something that I have always believed in,” said Tolan.

“You can't just wait for somebody else to do it, you need that people power to prove the need.”

The development of the Tara Road, a 900m single carriageway linking Bettystown and Laytown which opened in 2021 is another scheme Tolan says she was proud to be involved in. As well as the new road, the project also included new roundabouts and junctions, and a new public car park.

“We spent years out here chock a block on dangerous roads and roads with half hearted footpaths and now 2000 children in those three schools on that educational campus can now walk and cycle safely to and from school everyday.

“I know it was controversial and in some ways it is but the removal of vehicles from our beaches that is something else that stands out that I was heavily involved in and I am very proud of sticking to my guns and bringing people with me in relation to that,” Tolan added.

“There are probably people who still don't agree with it but when you see families safely getting to use the beach it is just fantastic but we still have a long way to go in improving parking facilities.”

“Also for the first time with our new library and community facility, our beach with will completely and properly accessible to those with disabilities with beach wheelchairs, a hoist and proper toilet facilities.

“I have spent ten years working really hard and enjoying the role, I just feel now is the time where I would be at my best to deliver for the people in the constituency at a national level.”