‘My greatest desire as a politician is to make the lives of my constituents better’

Eleven years on from her first election to Dáil Eireann in the 2013 by election, Helen McEntee is among the government's most senior members.

As Minister for Justice, she has a busy portfolio, and has taken a strong stance against violence against women and hate crime.

Immigration has been a big issue for the minister nationally and residents in her own constituency of Meath East, are extremely concerned at the proposal to house International Protection applicants in tented accommodation for up to 1,000 people at Thornton Hall, just outside Ashbourne.

"We are ramping up the process and applications are dealt with more quickly. If people have a right to be here they can move on with their lives, but if not, it is much easier to remove them when they haven't been here long.

"Thornton Hall is a large site owned by the government, but it is so important that it is done with the support and engagement of the local community and more work needs to be done on that.

"People have genuine concern about where will they go, where they will access transport, how will they integrate into the community we need to have those answers before the site is developed."

Another major local issue is the need for a bypass of Slane and Minister McEntee says the current planning application is the chance to deliver it.

"The first attempt was unsuccessful in going though planning. There was a clear remit that more work had to been done before this second application went in. Meath Co Council has done a huge amount of work on this.

"It is about safety. I've lived in this village, I've seen the lorries and trucks going through and it is a matter of people being able to walk safely around the village. Thankfully there have been no incidents or deaths in recent years, but that is not to say we shouldn't prevent it from happening in the future.

"Hopefully the application will be successful and there is a commitment, the money is there".

As regards the railway to Dunshaughlin and Navan, she said there is a big demand for it. "I used to get the bus from Navan when I was a student. A lot of work has been done recently to get us to the point we now have recognition at national level that this is needed and is part of the overall plan for our rail network and the next step is to get it moving."

An issue for which she has come under fire is the North South Interconnector which will see 400 pylons erected across Meath, Cavan and Monaghan.

"This is an issue that predates my election. It is a challenging issue. We all know we need the connector for grid and energy security, which is very important when you see what happened with Russia and Ukraine and the impact that can have.

"If you want to deliver a large project like this you need to work with the communities and look at all the options and not and just plough ahead with the first option - that is why I've tried to make sure we do it in the best way possible. We asked Eirgrid and independent experts to look again to see what is the best way to provide this interconnector. Obviously underground is the preference for all of us locally, but what has since transpired is that according to the experts, overhead is the best route. But technology is changing all the time and our ability to do things differently is changing all the time, so we need to continue to push for alternative routes.

"No matter what stage it is at we have to support and work with communities locally and that has always been my objective for the best outcome".

As regards Our Lady's Hospital Navan, the Minister points out it has never been busier.

"There has never been as much investment in Navan hospital. There has never been as much capital investment but also investment in equipment so they can treat as many as possible. The A&E is working well, it is still there and as far as I am concerned it is not going anywhere until there is an alternative.

"I hope the investment that has gone into it is a sign to people that Navan is very much on the agenda and to the fore in providing healthcare for people locally."

The Minister says she is delighted at a lot of recent investment in the county, particularly in education with the new school in Nobber and the Dunboyne College of Further Education, among several projects in progress and she predicted the massive expansion for the CCTV scheme in Navan would shortly get the go ahead.

Deputy McEntee says her greatest concern as a politician to make the lives of her constituents better.

"I've represented Meath East for 11 years and I've got to know people, got to work well with communities. What I have always tried to do is work closely with councillors and link what they need at a local level with what I can do to support them at national level.

"It is really important that investment in communities not just about roads, healthcare and schools, but also the amenities people need to live healthy lives, that the ideas that people have for their local communities are realised, and of course making sure that people who want to live here and work care can do that," she says.