‘I feel I've worked incredibly hard for the people of Longford’ says Joe Flaherty TD

The Longford/Westmeath constituency becomes a five-seater for the 2024 election. It is now made up of the entirety of counties Longford and Westmeath for the first time since 1980.

The constituency will see the four sitting TDs looking to retain their seats. Sorca Clarke (SF), Joe Flaherty (FF), Peter Burke (FG), and Robert Troy (FF) all had strong first preference tallies in 2020. Two other candidates, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran and Micheál Carrigy, also passed the 6,000 votes mark after the first count in that contest.

All six return to the fray this year. Being an incumbent is a huge benefit to those seeking election. Basic name recognition is a trump card the sitting TDs will hope to play in their favour.

For Joe Flaherty being a Longford Fianna Fáil TD is an extra fillip. Only a gap between 2011 and 2020, besmirches continuous Fianna Fáil representation in Dáil Éireann from Longford right back to when Frank Carter took a seat in the early 50s.

Simon Harris' ascension to Taoiseach made Wicklow the ninth county to produce a leader of the Dáil. Longford's Albert Reynolds held the post of Taoiseach from January 1992 to December 1994, reinforcing the perception of Longford as an FF stronghold.

Longford is in the passenger seat in the constituency, having only half the population of Westmeath, but the increase to five seats means hopes are high for local representation.

The sitting Fianna Fáil TD is taking nothing for granted, “There's no such thing as a safe seat in politics, you're only as good as what you've done,” he told the Leader as he canvassed houses on the Dublin Road in Longford town.

Joe says the county he represents has shown progress over the last number of years. “It's been very challenging for the last 10 to 12 years in Longford, but I think we've made decent progress over the last four and a half years. It's a case of building on that, prioritising Longford.

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“We've been the poor relation in terms of investment and policy. I think we've shifted the dial in some respects and it's a case of building on that momentum.”

Such progress does not bypass the difficulties faced by his home county. “There are a lot of socio-economic challenges, particularly in Longford town. It's important we use a combination of government departments to address that.

“We are making progress with the level of regeneration funding allocated to Longford town. It's important Longford County

Council presses ahead with that.” During his time in office he has emphasised the need for support for the education sector.

“We've had unprecedented investment in education right across the county. Virtually every one of our secondary schools is on the cusp of a major expansion, additional classrooms.”

The sitting TD has been challenged on one national topic on his canvass: “A keynote issue on every door is housing. We have a very nuanced challenge in terms of housing in Longford,” Joe says, “At the end of the crash we ended up with two and a half thousand vacant houses in the county so that created two problems. Longford County Council had to rehabilitate an awful lot of ghost estates, to bring those houses back into stock. We're very happy to have those houses over the last three to four years, but the downside was it created this nuanced housing market.

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“It's still way cheaper to buy a house second hand than to build a house, so it's very difficult to get commercial building restarted in Longford. It's probably been 16 years since a commercial three-bedroom starter home housing project was developed in Longford, so that's a challenge.”

In the last number of years employment in the county town has increased with multinational names bolstering the local economy. Longford's foreign direct investment (FDI) roster has had a transformative effect.

Joe says that will continue in the coming years. “We've seen unprecedented investment by our FDI companies in the town. Abbott are on the brink of a large-scale expansion of their plant.

“Avery Dennison will make no secret of the fact that they want to be the next Abbott in terms of their growth, while Technimark have announced details of their second expansion in the lifetime of this government. Technimark first announced 80 new jobs and an additional 150 new jobs in the New Year.”

Going door-to-door is a good way of guaging the temperature of the electorate. On the Dublin Road the sitting TD gets a positive response from householders. He's got a good line of patter; he chats easily with unfamiliar faces, while he converses about local issues with the constituents he knows.

The hustings brings into focus matters to be addressed if voters give him a nod for a second term: “The cost of living is a huge issue for everybody,” he says, “Much has been done in terms of the cost of living supports, but apart from the child benefit payment, and the electricity credit, a large cohort of people are excluded from those payments. The biggest challenge for us as a society is to get to grips with energy costs.”

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Growing up in Lanesboro Joe is aware of one particularly pertinent facet of this. “We paid a high price in Longford because of decarbonisation. The closure of our power station in Lanesboro and the cessation of peat generated power. It was a difficult decision, but it was the right decision for us as a country given our responsibility for climate action.

“We weren't doing enough at the time to create an alternative energy source like offshore wind energy. We're an island nation, we should be totally self-sufficient and not dependent on other countries for our power.”

He receives a largely positive response at the houses on the fringe of Longford town, but every election is an unknown. “I feel I've worked incredibly hard for the people of Longford. Anything I've been asked I've done to the best of my ability. Some things don't work out, but I have a huge body of work I have been able to achieve.”

Another issue highlighted on the campaign trail is crime. Rural crime and anti-social issues in Longford town are significant talking points.

“You hear it on the doorsteps. People are afraid, they want more guards on the street. I'm not sure that is actually the answer. I think our Guards need to work more effectively and to have better technology. They need to be given more powers.”

He points to the work of the Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO). A JLO is a type of garda who is specially trained to deal with young people and their families in relation to crime-prevention.

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“The bulk of the anti-social behaviour is by young people. They are dealt with through the JLO system,” Joe says, “We need to ensure there's more supports and a dedicated youth services. Longford town needs a dedicated family resource centre.

Unfortunately in the lifetime of the last government there wasn't a funding call, but we now have a commitment that that will come in the lifetime of the next government.”

Joe Flaherty will be one of 20 candidates on the ballot for the 2024 general election to elect the 34th Dáil on Friday, November 29.