1 March 2015
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Sinn Féin’s sitting TD in Cork North Central Deputy Jonathan O’Brien
will contest the next general election in the constituency.
Deputy O’Brien, who topped the poll in 2011, was selected as the
party’s candidate at a convention at the Maldron Hotel last week.
Speaking after the convention, he said;
“I am very proud and honoured to be selected by the members of Sinn
Féin on the northside to represent the party at the next general
election.
“I am fully aware of the nature of the challenge that lies ahead. It
is harder to retain a Dáil seat than to win one initially.
“Since my election in 2011, I have worked every day for the ordinary
people of Cork North Central.
“As part of the Sinn Fein team in the Dáil, I have sought to put the
principles of equality and social justice at the centre of the
national political debate.
“The people of this constituency have been hit hard by the austerity
agenda and regressive policies pursued by this government.
“The Labour Party is holding its national conference in Killarney this weekend.
“No doubt we will hear a deluge of deluded self-praise along with the
predictable attacks on Sinn Féin.
“This is a party who, on entering government, promised to protect
working people from the worst of the conservative, right-wing policies
of Fine Gael.
“Instead, the Labour Party and Joan Burton, as Minister for Social
Protection, have been responsible for the cruelest of the cuts.
“They abandoned the ordinary people of this country. They sold out
every principle they ever claimed to possess.
“In contrast, Sinn Féin has stood shoulder to shoulder with those who
have suffered the most as a result of the economic crisis and
austerity.
“We are the real opposition to this government. We are the party
campaigning and fighting for a fair recovery.
“Emigration, Unemployment, Eviction and poverty have been the bitter
fruits of this coalition’s time in office.
“Sinn Féin wants to see a better and brighter future for our people.
“This government’s time is up. Fine Gael and the Labour Party have
lost their mandate. There has been no democratic revolution. There has
only been litany of broken promises.
“Our communities need republican politics, the politics of equality
and fairness, to come to the fore.
“I look forward to bringing the progressive alternative offered by
Sinn Féin to the people of Cork North Central at the next general
election.”
