Ben Slimm

I am a proud Tralee man, community activist and advocate for the most beautiful part of Ireland – The Kingdom of Kerry. We face so many challenges in Kerry, and the only way to overcome them is to have a council focused on delivering solutions rather than finding problems.

My priorities include:

• Addressing the housing crisis by building homes, a simple solution. Kerry County Council must take responsibility for housing people through the provision of affordable and social housing. The Government must enable local councils can do this.
• Moving the focus of Kerry County Council and the Government into sustainable, secure and gainful employment creation, rather than the current strategy of over-reliance on the Hospitality and Tourism industry.
• Breathing new life in our town centres – between rates, parking and pedestrianisation there is confusion about how to bring footfall into our towns. Empty town centre retail units dominate towns like Tralee. I will campaign to bring back Tralee Urban District Council so the town can once again have a local level representation to solve matters such as these.
• Addressing issues such as maintenance of our housing estates. Many social housing estates fall into disrepair. Community based initiatives have fallen by the wayside with many areas not even having a residents committee  I will work to restore these.

I became involved in politics because I wanted to help make a difference.

I currently serve as the Chairperson of the Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, a member of the board of management of Colaiste Gleann Li secondary school and Tralee Educate Together National School.

I believe one person can make a difference no matter how small and I am ready to take challenges head on.

If I can help you please don’t hesitate to get in touch – you can email me on [email protected] or call me on 0857547110