Brought to you in association with People First Credit Union
Well-known local homelessness activist Tom Duffy has become the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring to contest May’s Local Elections in the Portlaoise Municipal District.
Mr Duffy confirmed to LaoisToday that he is to contest as an independent candidate and has hit out at the exisiting councillors for not doing enough to tackle the current housing crisis.
The 56-year-old Belfast native, who has been living in Portlaoise for the last 25 years, said he has been “toying with the idea for a long time”.
Mr Duffy is a representative for the ‘Feed our Homeless’ group and travels to Dublin twice a week to volunteer.
He recently received a donation of €10,000 worth of food from a group in Stradbally which he then distributed to families around the county.
“I talk to people all the time and they are so disillusioned with the mainstream parties – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein.
”There is a need for someone to speak up for the ordinary person.”
Without pinpointing individuals, Mr Duffy accused the existing councillors of “not caring enough” about the housing crisis and only wanting to “paddle their own canoe”.
He also said he had invited all three Laois TDs to go to Dublin with him to witness the severity of the homelessness situation but hasn’t been taken up on the offer.
”There is not enough social housing being built – it’s as simple as that,” he added.
”It’s no good building 400 houses and giving 24 over to social. They should be building 400 and giving over 200.
”There are many situations in Portlaoise where there are three generations of the same family living in the same house and these are cases where there are homeless people hidden by the stats.
”It is not good enough to make promises and then disappear after being elected and not deliver on it.”
Although never a member of a political party, he did hit the headlines in 2016 when he set up a local group in Portlaoise called the Guardians of the Elderly to protect people coming to and from the Post Office in the town amid fears of being robbed.
Having put his name forward, Mr Duffy says he will now start asking people to support his bid.
He becomes the 15th candidate to enter what is shaping up to be a very competitive battle for the seven seats in the Portlaoise District.
All seven existing councillors – Willie Aird (Fine Gael), John Joe Fennelly (Fianna Fáil), Caroline Dwane-Stanley (Sinn Fein), Mary Sweeney (Fine Gael), Noel Tuohy (Labour), Catherine Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail) and Pauline Madigan (Fianna Fáil) – are all contesting and will be joined on the ballot paper by Thomasina Connell (Fine Gael), Donal Kelly (Fianna Fáil), John Gormley (Sinn Fein), Dom Dunne (Renua), Noel O’Rourke (Renua), Rotimi Adebari (Independent), Naeem Iqbal (Independent) and Tom Duffy (independent).
The Local Elections take place on Friday, May 24 – the same day as the European Elections.
Brought to you in association with People First Credit Union
SEE ALSO – The full list of candidates across the county ahead of this year’s Local Elections
