Fianna Fail have added a third candidate to their list to contest the 2024 Local Election in Portlaoise.
Naeem Iqbal a Pakistani native, who contested the 2019 Local Elections as an Independent candidate, has been added following the convention earlier this year.
He will join sitting Councillors Catherine Fitzgerald and John Joe Fennelly in the vote which is scheduled for next June.
Mr Iqbal, who has been living in Ireland with his family since 2005, got 454 first preferences in 2019 and was only eliminated in the 13th count on 638 votes – just missing out on the final seat to Fine Gael’s Thomasina Connell.
Since contesting that election, he has continued to be involved in a range of local community groups, including Laois Local Community Development.
News broke earlier this year that he had joined Fianna Fáil, and he will now be on the party ticket in 2024.
Mr Iqbal spoke with LaoisToday about his decision to join the party, and why he felt Fianna Fáil was the right option for him.
“After the first election in May 2019, I got a tremendous response – great acceptance from the Laois community, especially Portlaoise.
“That encouraged me to keep going and working with the local community on a number of different issues.
“I did not think about joining a political party until May of last year; then all of a sudden I was contacted by four different parties.
“Before that I had always kept in my mind that I would carry on as an independent – I was free; I could speak how I wanted on the issues.
“When I was contacted by the parties, I had long discussions. I considered all four parties, my perspective in politics, and what (the parties) were offering to the public.
“I considered the historic background of each party; how many times they were in government; and what they have done for the public.
“I went back to my friends and my family, and I took about five months before I made the decision.
“The conclusion was based on the Fianna Fáil coalition Government. Since they came into government, they have seen major challenges.
“One was, of course, Brexit, second was the hosing issue, and third was Covid.
“Being an accountant and a financial advisor, I was not only involved in communities, but was also looking into different businesses, business owners, and how the economy was progressing, or being affected by these decisions.
“I realised that if I have to be neutral, and make a decision on the facts, not on emotion or affiliation, I must say that Government did perform very, very well.
“They stuck to their priorities, in terms of Brexit, and tried to negotiate to their best – in trust of the Irish public.”
Speaking about Fianna Fáil’s housing record, Mr Iqbal said: “The government came with a very clear policy of building thousands of houses in the five years of their term.
“Initially, it was slow, but they moved in the right direction.
“The housing list figures in Laois went down by 12.5% – there is an increase again, but that is not the fact of a delay, it is because new people are joining the housing list.
“When it comes to Covid, this government did look after almost every segment of society, whether it’s the elderly population, business communities, disabled people, children, hospitals.
“They kept the economy moving with pandemic employment subsidies, easy loans, government initiatives and so on.
“That had a positive effect on the communities, because if businesses stop, unemployment would have risen, and that would have direct impact on the community.”
Mr Iqbal also said that he has a great working relationship with all the Laois TD’s and County Councillors, but singled out Fianna Fáil’s Sean Fleming TD, and Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald as individuals he worked particularly well alongside.
Fianna Fáil have generally run four candidates in the large Portlaoise area, so it is possible they could add another between now and the election.
The next Local Elections are set to take place in June 2024.
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