Tóibín will contest general election regardless of European seat bid this June
Aontú leader, Peadar Tóibín has been selected by his party to contest the Midlands North West EU constituency in the European Elections this June.
However, he indicated that he will also contest the next general election in Meath West, even if elected as an MEP.
"I am committed to my Meath seat. If I am lucky enough that the people of Meath West re-elect me in the next election, I would co-opt a member of Aontú into the MEP seat and take my Dáil seat. "This has been done by many other parties before. The difference is we have stated it upfront from the start.
"I am immensely proud of my county. Whatever the outcome of the European Parliament elections I will contest the next general election in Meath West. "I hope, based on my record in Meath, that I can retain the confidence of the people of Meath West in that election".
The Meath West TD said his party is Euro critical and wants a European Union that cooperates on trade and international challenges such as climate.
"We oppose the drift towards a European Army and federalisation. We want to see more powers returned to national parliaments."
He said that whatever the outcome of the June elections, he still intends to contest the Meath West constituency in the next general election.
“There is a growing chasm between the lives of the people of this region and an increasingly south Dublin Government. Much of this region is turning into a commuter belt of Dublin with people travelling from Ulster and Connacht every day to go to work. Parents are seeing less and less of their children as they are forced into a commuter hell. The cost-of-living crisis is particularly acute in this region. Many families are being forced further and further from their work due to the cost of rent and mortgages”.
“Family farms are disappearing. Two thirds of those who remain in farming cannot make a living from the farm alone anymore. Urban Green ministers are blind to the damage that they are going to rural communities. They are hammering families with energy taxes without providing the necessary transport and heating alternatives. And as people leave the farms, local community services disappear too”.
“GPs are not taking patients. The A&Es that remain open are struggling with overcrowding. Ambulances queue for hours to deliver their patients to these stuffed A&Es and then take longer to reach emergencies. The lack of home care packages and step-down facilities mean more clinically discharged patients have to remain in hospital beds. While people pile up on trollies at the other side of these hospitals”.
Central to all these problems is the lack of accountability in the delivery of public services and national infrastructure. This has been the singularly biggest disaster of this government.
Aontú, Deputy Toibin said, “will use these European elections to force the government to actually start listening to people again”.