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AONTÚ HAS ANNOUNCED that it will stand 60 candidates in the upcoming local and European elections in May.
The party, which was launched by former Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín earlier this year, will reveal the identities of the candidates when it officially launches at an event in Dublin on Saturday.
The party intends to seek to reverse the abortion legislation was enacted at the end of last year, but also claims to have other policies.
Tóibín said that 20 candidates will run in the Northern Ireland, while 40 candidates will run in the Republic of Ireland.
However, it is not yet known how many candidates will run for local elections and how many will run for European Parliament.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Tóibín claimed that over 5,000 people have attended community meetings that it has held across the country in recent months.
“By any standards this is phenomenal grass roots development,” he said.
“Our party is unique in many ways. The largest portion of our membership is drawn from people who have not been involved in politics before.
“However, many of our elected reps and membership have left the establishment parties of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and the Greens.”
Tóibín also claimed that many of its members were “sick and tired” of being disempowered by traditional parties, and that it was different because it offered a diversity of views.
“There exists extraordinary division in Irish society, division to which many within the political establishment have become immune,” he added.
“Crisis fatigue has set in amongst many in the media establishment…. The political system is broken in Ireland and the people who are the collateral damage need a voice.
“Aontú will be that voice.”
Tóibín was suspended from Sinn Féin for six months last year because he voted against the abortion legislation in the Dáil.
He later decided to leave the party after 21 years, before forming Aontú.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie earlier this year, he claimed to be in talks with a number of Oireachtas members about joining, although he refused to say who would stand.
A small number of councillors from both sides of the border are reported to have joined the party since its formation a number of months ago.
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Why the hell would relatives refuse to let them move if the HSE are doing it for safey reasons. Bet they wouldn’t care for the fire fighters having to enter the building in an event of a fire.
Because its seen as an excuse to close the facility permanently-a lot more to this story than whats in the article
This is par for the course for years.. underfund a community hospital to the point where it’s both unsafe and not viable to repair it and then shut it down. These faults didn’t happen yesterday. Years of neglect.
HSE transparency…if this doesnt work to close the place permanently then they will call in the big guns…the “independent and impartial” HIQA.
They paint the building upgraded the parking new entrances parking meters (not used) its like the Guinness Ad Putting the Cart before the Horse you would think that they would start on the inside and work out to the ( road) It certainly wort a bet it will never open again The H S E H have no heart Watch this space
Whats the bet, that the hospital wont re-open due to other issues discovered with the electrical work.
And how come it will take 5 months to do the work, is there only one electrician being hired?
I’m for the life of me trying to work out what exactly would take five months. An entire housing estate wouldn’t take that and it’s not as if the nursing home wouldn’t have the “ground work” already done such as walls chased etc.. There’s something else going on here.
oh PLEASE!! the HSE care about vulnerable patients……there is certainly an agenda here and it is most certainly not for the good of the patients…..5 months to fix electrical work!!! the same crowd that has minimum entry ( if that) looking after vulnerable people and some dont even have functional english!!!
have your say