‘A whirlwind of a year’ - Tipperary TD reflects on first full year as a public official

Almost one year ago this week, Ryan O’Meara was elected by the Nenagh Municipal District to represent them as a county councillor.

Just six months later, in a surprise turn of events, O’Meara was chosen to replace Jackie Cahill as a candidate in the General Election. Then, following a truly impressive few weeks of canvassing, he was elected by the people of North Tipperary to become a Teachta Dála (TD) in Dáil Éireann.

Now, one year on, Deputy O’Meara sat down with the The Tipperary Star to reflect on what has been a whirlwind journey:
“Putting yourself up for election is a hard thing to do, it really is,” he began.

“This time last year, we were coming towards the end of a local campaign. There was so much pressure that I was waking up in the middle of the night thinking, will I get everywhere canvassed? Is it possible? And will I have enough done to win that seat?

“The pressure was there to win a seat back for the party as well. It had been so long since we had one in the area, and that had been my focus for four solid years when I was a local area representative for the party in a voluntary capacity.

“So, I put every evening, every weekend, into trying to achieve this. This was my goal.”

Though only recently elected, O’Meara has shown a steady hand and a confident public presence, emerging as a politician who seems to stand by his convictions.

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He spoke about what it meant to finally become a county councillor: “Getting the chance to actually be the local voice and representative of the party was amazing.

“I had worked behind the scenes in politics for years, but now I had a voice of my own and I was really enjoying that.”

Ryan quickly became au fait with how to get things moving as a county councillor: “I could see on the council schedule that certain meetings were coming up and I knew when I would have a chance to raise the issue I’d been working on.

“So, I began working towards each meeting and trying to pick up local projects to bring to them.

Just as he was getting used to the flow of things, he said: “All of a sudden, overnight nearly, I was elected as a General Election candidate.”

The pressure of transitioning so rapidly from newly elected councillor to parliamentary hopeful was intense, but O’Meara faced it head on:

“There was no time to think, no time to worry, no time to stress or to be anxious.
“We had four weeks, 26 days, to get elected. So I just threw everything at it.

“It was only after the election, when it all worked out, that the next step became, OK, now I have to set up everything and get working as a TD and get to know parliamentary structures in an entirely new way.

“As well as all that, I had to get staff working and get offices operating. All of a sudden, that was all on me to do.”
Despite a strong political background before entering national politics, O’Meara admits there has still been plenty to learn:

“You get really good advice, especially from within the parliamentary party. There are TDs and senators who’ve been there for so long. We have people with really good experience, and others who were coming in fresh.

“Every constituency is different, and every TD is different. So, I’ve tried to piece together what’s worked for other people and ask, what will work for me? I also felt very strongly about the fact that I’m new and I’m younger, which was one of my main points when I was running.

“So, I’ve tried to consistently ask how can I do things differently?

“There’s a tried and tested way that works and to some extent you should still go with that because it works for a reason, but I knew there were new things I could do as well.”

Going from the local and hyper-local issues that come up as a county councillor, then adding on the national issues that come up as a TD and a national representative for Fianna Fáil is quite a leap. So, how does Ryan O’Meara choose what to prioritise? He said:

“In terms of the issues I bring up in the Dáil, it really depends on the topic on schedule. You can submit a topical issue which can be on anything or you can submit a slot for questions on promised legislation and that’s a minute where you get to pose a question usually to An Taoiseach or Tánaiste, or a lot of the front bench are there, so often the Minister you want to ask is there.

“So, for example, one of the first questions I was able to ask after being elected was around the location of the Nenagh Men’s Shed and I raised that in questions of promised legislation that day. Then other times, we would have had statements on issues such as mental health where, whatever the statements relate to, you have the minister or ministers for that issue in the chamber. So it’s a chance to raise maybe a number of different issues with them.”

Speaking more on how he’s been able to speak on national issues but through a local or even hyper-local context, O’Meara said:

“Driving test wait times is a good example of where I’ve been able to take something where someone has come to me with an issue locally and I’ve then been able to speak on it with regards to a national issue.

“For years I’ve dealt with people contacting me saying ‘my test was cancelled’ or ‘they wouldn’t let me do my test because of a certain issue’.

“Every single week I have people contacting me saying they need to start a job or an apprenticeship and they’re waiting on me to have my full license but I can’t get a test fast enough so that’s an example of an issue I know inside and out that I was able to raise.”

Hyper-local concerns, he said, often reflect broader national patterns: “Another example is domiciliary care allowance. Parents of children with autism or ADHD are still being refused the allowance. Some get it, some don’t, it seems really hit and miss, I’ve gone through the appeals process with parents multiple times. One woman I worked with spent two years appealing, until we got to an oral appeal, and it was awarded within minutes.

“I’ve seen trends like that clearly now, people who are entitled to that payment are being refused and it often starts with just one person picking up the phone to me and saying, ‘I need help’. So, the local stuff is really, really helpful.”

On top of constituency work and Dáil duties, O’Meara has been actively involved in Fianna Fáil’s national campaigns:“Take our current campaign on child safety online.” He said.

“That’s a new initiative we started in Fianna Fáil a few months ago, and we’ve been engaging with a lot of stakeholders on it.

“It’s been really busy trying to carve out time to start a campaign and run it. This is a national campaign within the party, I have to give a certain amount of hours each week in Dublin for meetings on it. Then, this morning, I was out canvassing and handing out leaflets outside schools so people can take part in the survey.

“That’s all time that has to be scheduled. If I didn’t force it into the calendar, it wouldn’t get done, because I’m also under pressure trying to get back to people and work on everything else that’s coming in.”

He’s found that actively seeking out the work is essential too:“There’s a certain amount of work you have to go looking for as a TD if you really want to make changes.

“People will come to you with issues, that’s a big part of the job but I think it’s been particularly fruitful for me as a younger TD because I can somewhat understand and see what goes on online better than others might. That helps when dealing with topics like online safety.”

Just a short time into being a TD, Ryan has become somewhat of a spokesperson for Fianna Fáil particularly when speaking to younger generations.

Recently, he was appointed by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, as the new Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Education.

In addition to this, he was also appointed to the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth, the Committee on Defence and National Security, and the Committee on Budgetary Oversight.

Speaking on the trust that’s been placed in him to be able to take on these responsibilities, he said:
“I do think there has been an acknowledgement from the Taoiseach there. I had spoken to him a lot in the last number of months about my passion for education so to then be given the role of senior education spokesperson was a big deal.

“It’s now my job to try and guide policy and engage with every group that works around education but also the youth in general which is a big responsibility but a great one to be recognised for.”

Social media is one thing that Ryan has been particularly strong on and recently has even been used as a face for Fianna Fáil’s social media activity, speaking on this he said:

“I know why I’m getting in contact with so many younger people, it’s through social media. It’s because they’re seeing me that I’m more in their mind then and they think ‘oh I might chance asking Ryan a question about something’.

“Sometimes I’ll post something on social media, particularly on Instagram stories which is where I’d get a lot of traction and people will directly reply to me with their genuine views which is fantastic.”

This is an incredibly interesting point because through social media Ryan is opening a direct line to younger generations who may not want or feel comfortable to email a local representative or show up to their office.

It’s giving young people access to a local politician that previously might not have been possible. Ryan continued:
“In the modern world, there are young people who will not answer or make a phone call.
“I probably would be like that if I wasn’t in this line of work but my job all day, every day, is on the phone.
“In saying that though, social media is a massive convenience to us all, like WhatsApp for example, people will message me on Whatsapp with something like a picture they’ve taken of a road marking or a sign and ask ‘can we get this fixed?’ And that is way more convenient and way more efficient for so many people than writing an email, or trying to get time off work to call to my office.”

O’Meara is aware of the importance of accessibility in his role. He closed the conversation with a reflection on public service: “As a politician, you’re just another person your community chose to represent them for a certain length of time.
“You’re not more important because of that.
“At the end of the day, I don’t vote for myself, I vote on behalf of the people who sent me.
“When I speak in the Dáil, it’s not about what Ryan O’Meara has to say, it’s about trying to be a voice for the people who put me there.”