'People are feeling disillusioned, they don't feel that any government has represented their interest'

Meath East Candidate Focus: Emer Tóibín (Aontú)

While Aontú's Emer Tóibín was elected on the first count in the recent local elections in the Navan area, she will not have the benefit of the vast majority of these votes on 29th November as she eyes up a seat in Meath East.

She openly acknowledges the challenges of running in a constituency away from her municipal district base where she comfortably retained her Meath County Council seat for a second term in June. Tóibín does, however, live in Meath East between Walterstown and Kentstown and said she has done a lot of representations in that area and is "optimistic" on her chances in the now four-seat constituency, saying she would be "giving it her best shot".

"I am starting at zero and I'm very cognisant of that and I am running against other councillors who have their electoral area included so I am not looking for the easy option here,"she said. "I am well used to canvassing though. I've done it for years and years and years. It is hard work and I do have concerns about the level of disillusionment I am hearing from potential voters. They feel everyone is the same. They are switching off from politics, they don't feel that any government has represented their interests."

This is Tóibín's second run in a general election having also ran for the party in Meath East in 2020. Aontú was a brand new party then but this time she said is very different experience as people are more familiar with the party and what it stands for.

"We have had lots of candidates run in the local election and Aontú is just over five years old so people know about us now. The whole platform on which Aontú is based has been communicated far better to the electorate all around the country and people see the local activism and the grass roots work on the ground so there is a far greater awareness of what we do, what we stand for and that we are not afraid to stand up to the establishment parties.

“Up to now, accountability is hugely absent from modern day politics, every time there is a scandal or a crisis, there is an enquiry and really by the time that enquiry results are brought to the public domain, we are focused on something else and it never feels that anyone is held responsible for not doing their job properly.”

With just one TD currently in the Dáil, the party will be pushing hard to up their representation and Tóibín said they have four to five councillors who they believe have a strong chance of gaining seats for the party. "It is very important that there are a few more TDs going back into Dáil Eireann with Peadar. He has carried a huge burden on his shoulders in terms of being the solitary TD representing Aontu but it certainly hasn't affected his ability to execute his role in a very competent manner."

Even if they don't make the gains they are hoping for this time, Tóibín says the Aontú is in it for the long haul and pointed out that it can take several election cycles to get people to change their votes and while they have aspirations to do well, "they are not foolish enough to expect too much too soon".

"You've got to contest every election, that is how you raise the profile of the party and the individual. No work goes unwasted whether you get as many over the line as you wish or not. It is always a worthwhile exercise while it is very hard work. Setting up a pro life political party in the modern age is extremely difficult but breaking through on to the political landscape, prolife or not is a very difficult job."

So what are the issues she is encountering on the doorsteps? Tóibín says cost of living and how expensive Ireland is to live in is a big issue and for younger people, not being able to move out of their parents home is a big one. Homelessness figures, public transport and waiting lists for hospitals are all recurring themes as well as access to GP Services.

She also spoke of the incredible hardship that people in some parts of the constituency are encountering. "I think most people who have good jobs in this country don't know the suffering of a sizeable number of people. They don't know how to navigate the services, don't know how to self advocate. I have hundreds of these people coming to me every month.

"Sometimes it annoys me to hear how awash our coffers are with tax revenue yet it doesn't seem to translate to a certain cohort to have their lives improved and then you also have the squeezed middle, where people are just running around like headless chickens, on the treadmill of working, rearing children and really feel they have very little money at the end of the month."

She said Meath has the lowest number of Gardai per head of population, the lowest funded council per head of population, has no train and the hospital's A&E has been under threat for years. "You wonder what is it about the county of Meath, one of the fastest growing populations in the entire country that we are not being recognised and given the appropriate services."

On Background... Emer Tóibín

Sister of Aontú party leader and founder Peadar Tóibín, Emer Tóibín secured the party's first seat on Meath County Council in the 2019 local elections in the Navan area. She comfortably held her seat in June's elections exceeding the quota to be elected on the first count.

A mother of four, Tóibín, has three adult children who are college students and one in secondary school. She has worked full-time as a councillor for the past six years. Prior to that she worked in education at all levels, project management and business development.

A community activist, she is a longstanding member of ongoing local campaigns including ‘Save Navan Hospital’, ‘Meath on Track', and 'Save the Boyne'. She was a leading figure in the pro-life movement campaigning against the abortion referendum.