Ratoath physio who wants to be the face for change

Meath East Candidate Focus: Sivakumar Murugadoss (Independent)

Ratoath-based physiotherapist, Sivakumar Murugadoss says he decided to enter the race for the general election because he hears first hand everyday the challenges faced by his clients in the community and wants to be the face for change.

Having run as an independent candidate in the Ashbourne electoral area in June's local elections, he has decided to throw his hat in the ring in the Meath east constituency.

Murugadoss established his roots in Ratoath in 2008 and successfully runs physiotherapy clinic in Ashbourne. He says he understand the unique challenges and strengths of the community and has an insight into the shortcomings in the healthcare system.

"When clients come in they will often bring up issues that are affecting them," he said.

"The main issues that I hear about a lot are transport, the health sector and education. " added the general election independent candidate.

"I also work with children with disabilities and I hear regularly from their parents how difficult it is to access services or get a place in a school."

Constant water disruption have been a plague in the area in recent months, something Murugadoss has personal experience of.

"My clinic is in Ashbourne has to sometimes close due to the outages because people coming into the clinic need to be able to use the toilets," said Murugadoss.

"It has a big impact on home owners and people who run businesses," he added.

"I'm on the doors of each and every house in the area and I'm learning more from them as well.

"There are a lot issues that haven't been addressed by others in the past so I put my name forward to stand for the people.

"As an alumnus of RCSI, I not only value education but also the transformative power it holds in our lives. I have seen the challenges that families face and have first hand experience in how our healthcare and education systems can be improved."

The physiotherapist says he has no political connections or background and he took his family by surprise when he announced his ambitions.

"When I told them I was going to run for election they all said are you mad, you have your business that is established, why would you want to put yourself in that position? But if everyone thought like that, how would anything ever improve if no one was willing to stand up?"

"I'd like to bring change, I won't promise anything but I would put all my efforts into trying to make things better for our community."