Colm Keaveney TD
I became involved in radical, student politics in the early to mid-1990s when within USI we embarked on a campaign for free tuition fees. From there, I joined the Labour Party and began working with SIPTU trade union in Galway. Having first contested elections in 1997, I was elected to Galway County Council in 2004. More recently, the people of Galway East ensured that I was elected their representative in the Dáil.
Canvassing in the largely rural constituency of Galway East, I have found that one issue paramount to voters – the effects of emigration. You can’t help but be affected when you see entire families, or entire generations of families having to leave; when you see parents struggling to put food into their children’s lunch boxes, when you’re canvassing in freezing conditions and families are having their electricity cut off.
Our country needs a new politics that will not only bring economic change but we also need to be in a position to hand over a country to the next generation that is somewhat more civilised than the direction in which we were going. We must retain dignity in our society where people have the opportunity to work and rear a family in this country. That’s the job of work we have to do.
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