On a bright morning in Gorey, Senator Malcolm Byrne is canvassing at Stafford’s bakery in the new three-seater Wicklow-Wexford constituency. The bakery is one of the largest in the country, a family business led by Sean Stafford which employs 500 and is about to expand further.
“It’s the people in the middle who need to be looked after,” Sean says. “We need tax breaks for them. They’re employed but trying to find accommodation and above the threshold for supports and assistance.”
Some people “are nearly better off if they’re not working because of social welfare supports they receive”.
Sean introduces staff members. Stores manager Andrew Rourke Shannon is asked for his vote. “No bother,” but he then points to the money spent on the National Children’s Hospital and speaks of the difficulty in trying to get a doctor’s appointment for his children.
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In the office, director of finance Una Stafford, Sean’s sister, speaks passionately about the lack of mental health services in the town. There are major difficulties with services for children, but those over 18 “fall off the cliff. This is a blackspot for mental health”.
“You’re looking at a successful business, but there’s not one family that isn’t affected by mental health issues.”
Byrne makes his pitch to employees. “I’m not going to make promises, but I am someone who’s been able to deliver on the ground, and I’ve been a strong voice.”
In one bakery area Leagh Doyle stops decorating birthday cakes for a moment. “Daddy was fond of you, so I’ll follow him,” she says.
In another area as a group of employees gathers, Niamh Finn asks why they should vote for him. Byrne talks about his involvement with sports facilities, the hockey and cricket pitches, and running track to be built between Gorey and Arklow.
Asked if she’d give him her vote, she replies: “We’ll see.”
Danny Doyle approaches and says “do what you can” for his daughter, who has two children, is living with black mould in her accommodation and is two years on the housing list.
At a later canvass in Coolgreany village, Kevin Boland highlights speeding on the main road, and the road surface in his cul-de-sac. There’s a surgery close by “and if you walk to the doctor with a head cold, you’d probably end up with a broken leg”.
A few doors further, Helen Leonard talks of huge problems in getting services for her autistic daughter. “There’s lots of ping-ponging and you’re going here and sent there. It seems like the whole system needs to be torn down and start again.”
Arklow, the second largest town in the constituency, has never had a TD from there. Arklow hopeful Independent Councillor Peir Leonard is crowdfunding for promotional leaflets.
She’s an “accidental politician” whose first involvement was to “soften” a “hard engineering” OPW project that “threatened access to and sight of the Avoca river”.
An architectural assistant for 18 years with a local firm, and now running her own pottery, she’s been involved in a range of community projects – including recording the history of Arklow Pottery, the closure of which “decimated the town”.
She was instrumental in the revitalisation of the Abbey Lane area and in establishing a collective with a gallery supporting 45 artists.
The regeneration of Arklow is a key issue for businesses when she canvasses on main street. Julie New runs Plain & Purl, one of the largest knitting shops in the country.
“There’s no footfall and town planning is disastrous, closing off both entrances to Arklow at the same time to build a cycle path out to the motorway. It absolutely destroyed business, almost closed us.”
Julie is also hugely involved in a group called Arklow Music and Arts and says, “We don’t even have a theatre. Gorey has two.”
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Leonard says “we need to be making a 50-year plan not a five-year one” for the town. At least a third of main street is derelict and “that should be all built and regenerated before we start building on greenfield sites”, she says.
At bakery shop An Ciseán Aráin, Shirley Forde is serving Pat Cooper, a Tidy Towns campaigner, whose big concerns is more volunteers. He adds: “The judges still remark on derelict buildings.”
Shirley says: “My thing is one shop will draw another shop. We need more shops and restaurants in the town.”
With 20 per cent of the local election vote, Leonard’s transfers went everywhere. “There’s no party that reflects in total what needs to be done, so I’m a bit of every one of them.”
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