Twitter Long-time Green Party politician, Mark Dearey, has been coaxed out of retirement to bid for a Dáil seat in Louth. The Dundalk-based businessman was a member of Louth County Council for 15 years, also served in the Seanad, and polled well in previous Dáil elections. But he had opted to take a break from politics to concentrate on his pub and music venue, which employs 20 people, as well as local projects.
His decision to stand in the five-seat Louth-Meath East constituency will strengthen hopes of the Green Party adding to their current three Dáil seats. He told Independent.ie he was persuaded by the local party branch to re-engage with elective politics having remained active in campaigning on environmental issues.
The political landscape of the constituency, which comprises all of Louth and heavily populated parts of Co Meath, has been changed by the decision of long-time Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams, to retire from politics. Sinn Féin also have another seat in Louth via Drogheda-based Imelda Munster and will field two candidates in this election.
Mr Dearey said the key local issue for the constituency was traffic and transport. “Bad boom-time planning has led to some poorly thought-out housing developments with many people commuting for work in Dublin suffering poor quality of life,” he said.
The Green Party candidate was reticent about whether the party should consider future coalition with either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil. “Everything will depend on how serious they are about taking urgent and swift action to deal with the climate crisis and other environmental issues,” he said.
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