GE2024... ‘We are in the eye of the storm in the housing crisis in Meath East’

Improvements in Garda numbers, transport, housing and access to GPs are among some of the issues sitting Sinn Fein TD Darren O'Rourke is pledging to deliver if the gets re elected to the Dáil.

These problems are not unfamiliar to any other part of the county or the country for that matter, however some of these challenges have been at the forefront of Meath East communities in a very real way in recent months and years, something O'Rourke says he is keen to tackle.

The Sinn Fein TD is running alongside party colleague, Laytown Bettystown Cllr Maria White.

"We are ambitious to be in Government, we have never made any secret of that," says O'Rourke.

"We are running two candidates in Meath East with that ambition to put ourselves in a position to be in government," he added.

"Government buildings is where the real business happens."

The Ashbourne-based politician says Sinn Fein's policies aim to alleviate the strain on young struggling families.

"Meath East is a young population, it is made up of young families, commuters, people who are working two jobs to pay for their expensive houses. Childcare is an issue everywhere but it is a particular issue in Meath East," said O'Rourke.

"We have launched as a party, the most comprehensive housing policy and health policy and we have clear proposals in relation in delivering childcare at €10 per day," he added.

Considering Meath has both the lowest number of gardai and GPs in the state per head of population, finding solutions to these issues will be no mean feat especially for a party that if elected will be its first foray in government but a challenge, Sinn Fein is more than eager to take on according to O'Rourke who said:

"We have a commitment in terms of increasing Garda numbers in Co Meath. We have clear proposals in terms of our public transport system, delivering Navan Rail in the quickest possible time frame uninterrupted funded from design to construction with sets us apart from the current government.

"Our health plans talks about increasing the number of GPs, the number of healthcare professionals in the community."

Another attribute Meath East can claim is the spiralling rental and housing market making it impossible for renters or buyers to get ahead.

"We are in the eye of the storm in the housing crisis in Meath East," said the East Meath TD.

"We are charged Dublin prices for new houses, that is a permanent challenge and it hasn't improved in recent years despite the fact there is obvious development going on across the constituency," he added.

"Some people are waiting on social housing, some people can't get places to rent. The vast majority of people can't get anywhere to buy new.

"I was canvassing in Dunshaughlin last night in well established estates and the issue for people was that 'my adult children are living at home and they should be paving their own way in the world.'

Last week, councillors met with Bus Éireann and NTA bosses to address the ongoing service crisis that is leaving commuters stranded to due to no show buses.

The Sinn Fein politician says there needs to be a proper work force plan in place for Bus Éireann and the state transport body needs to be held accountable for the services they provide.

"There are two major issues, one is the capacity of the bus company in terms of bus drivers and bus mechanics, they are two pinch points we have had at different stages contributing to this problem and that needs to be addressed by way of good planning, ensuring that essentially the bus companies are not over promising," said Deputy O'Rourke.

"The other issue then is congestion, ongoing works in Ashbourne have really contributed to the poor service and also congestion in Dublin City Centre," he added.

"They need to manage the expansion of the public bus network and the services in a properly comprehensive way.”

Ratoath has been plagued with constant water outages in recent months, causing chaos for residents and business owners alike, another issue O'Rourke says he will continue to address if re-elected.

"Once of the big frustrations in relation to the water outages is that Uisce Éireann seemed to be completely unaccountable, you couldn't get information from them, you couldn't get a response from them, you didn't know if you were going to get a supply of bottled water in the mean time," he explains.

"Legislation in response to that, that would improve the accountability of Uisce Eireann and give a commitment that if people had water outages for an extended period that there would be consideration in terms of waivers, in terms of rates liabilities and that type of thing."

O'Rourke Sinn Fein Spokesperson on Environment and Climate Action says he is keen to tackle the issue of the growing population and the mismatch between service and infrastructure development and in particular the lack of public open space in Ashbourne. Just last month it was revealed that there would be a delay in the delivery of the long awaited skate park due to the site requiring a flood risk assessment.

"Every year since I have been in this portfolio and this Dáil term I have included a new dedicated fund to fund to acquisition of land for the development of public parks and woodlands.

"I have always tried to be not just identifying the problems and complaining about them but actually preparing clear, black and white solutions for those challenges.

"I would intend to continue in that vain and I hope that we get the chance to be in government to actually see that implemented."