Another General Election candidate has been selected for Tipperary

Sinn Féin held their General Election selection convention on Monday night in the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh.

Members of the party gathered to select the candidate who will contest the upcoming General Election for the north Tipperary constituency.

Dan Harty from Thurles was selected, unopposed, in the well-attended event.

Speaking after the event, Mr Harty stated: “It is a huge honour to have been selected by my fellow party members to lead

Sinn Féin into the General Election in the new north Tipperary Dáil constituency.”

“I would like to thank all my supporters, party colleagues and indeed my family for having the confidence in me to take on this important role.”

“I want to challenge the status quo here in North Tipperary and offer thepeople a genuine choice on election day. We can have more of the same, or we can take a new direction. A new direction in terms of housing, healthcare, childcare, immigration policy and the rising cost of living to name but a few.

"The current government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Greens and also their aspiring coalition partners Labour have failed north Tipperary.

"A vote for any of the sitting TDs Jackie Cahill, Michael Lowry or Alan Kelly in the upcoming election will be a vote for the same policies that have failed north Tipperary over the past decade or more. Sinn Féin have the housing policy to undertake the biggest housing buildinitiative in the history of the state, and this is something that voters need to seriously consider before casting their vote in this election.

“Unfortunately, many of our young people have left the region or emigrated from the country altogether to find better opportunities.

“We need a specific focus from the Government on our main towns in terms of industry. Towns such as Thurles, Nenagh and Roscrea are crying out for a new, large regional employer.

“The IDA and current government have failed to deliver employment on the scale that is required to make the region an attractive place for our young people to set down roots. For Thurles, it is my firm belief that in order to attract investment and replace the industries that were lost over the years, the Thurles Bypass project is a must.

“The arguments in terms of citizen safety, daily quality of life and allowing town centre businesses to flourish by alleviating the traffic choke are equally as valid.

“Local politicians have failed the town of Thurles by allowing the project to have been dropped from the National Development Plan.”

“North Tipperary, as part of the Mid-West health region, has been failed abysmally. UHL is a basket case due to the pressures that the hospital staff are under trying to service a population far beyond it’s capacity.

“The time for action was years ago, and I welcome the recentadmittance by the Taoiseach that the downgrading of Nenagh Hospital, with the closure of its A&E, was a mistake but action needs to be taken to remedy the situation as a matter of urgency.

“Sinn Féin have recently published detailed proposals to tackle the Mid-West health crisis and have committed to prioritising this area if elected to Government.”

“I call on Simon Harris to end the charade of uncertainty and to set out a date for the General Election. I hope to get out to meet as many people as possible during this campaign and look forward to representing the people of north Tipperary as best I can”.