Longford ‘has been left behind’ and it is time to end ‘100 years’ of FG and FF rule

Ordinary people and families should be prioritised ahead of big business according to Dave Smyth, the Longford/Westmeath People Before Profit (PBP)-Solidarity candidate who has urged voters to end '100 years' of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil rule.

The former Sinn Féin campaign manager left the republican party a decade ago when he felt the party were trying to "please the rich and satisfy everybody and be like Fianna Fáil mark two".
Mr Smyth who previously assisted his wife Barbara Smyth, a former Sinn Féin and PBP candidate as a campaign manager, felt so strongly about the way the country is being run he decided to enter the local elections race himself earlier this year.

The Newtownforbes based electronic engineer received 71 votes last June as he was unsuccessful in his bid to take a seat on Longford County Council, however, he feels he is now far better placed to challenge for a Dáil seat.

Mr Smyth has also called for the price of essential items such as bread and milk in supermarkets to be capped to ease the burden on ordinary people who are struggling due to the cost of living crisis.

The father of three stated politics in this constituency has often been about personalities.
"The politicians tend to focus on solving those issues as a reason to be elected and then when they are elected and they are up in Dublin they are actually part of a Government that is damaging and hurting our communities because they are enacting national policy that affects us negatively and Longford particularly has been left behind."

Mr Smyth is critical about the lack of one kilometre of motorway in the whole county and speaking about St Christopher's Services and the industrial action he said he wants to ensure "it is not just properly funded but properly managed".

Mr Smyth is visiting towns across the Longford/Westmeath constituency and speaking to voters from stalls and handing out leaflets as opposed to the more traditional practice of going door to door.
He explained it is a very short campaign and he realised he did not have enough time to visit a significant number of homes in the constituency.
"I didn't want people saying, 'Well he didn't call to me' so I'm not going to vote for him, I've treated everyone the same," he added.

Mr Smyth, who has been involved in Repeal the 8th, solidarity with Palestine and the campaign against water charges, stated the reaction has been good.
"People are interested because I am saying different things and I'm making points and people are saying, 'Yeah you're right'," he said.
"For example the energy credit, I think it's a con because if you think about it, what they are doing is they are taking tax money and giving it to private enterprises, the energy companies who are posting billions, and funding those profits."

Mr Smyth believes what he describes as the 'two-tier' healthcare system is failing many people in the country and he would like to see the establishment of a much-improved Irish public health system.
"We have a lack of services for a start, the hospital has been run down and defunded over the years despite many promises by local politicians elected and otherwise," he said. "There are massive waiting lists for dental, GPs and all kinds of healthcare and this is all a result of mismanagement and underfunding or money being wasted in the wrong ways."

Mr Smyth has stressed the Government is not listening to frontline workers and they are just talking to 'guys in suits' in offices in the HSE hierarchy.
"The wrong decisions are being made is my view and here in Longford it is the same, it's not unique to Longford," he said. "Our philosophy would be to nationalise those hospitals. We should have free public healthcare delivered and no private healthcare options because everybody should be treated equally."

Mr Smyth insisted the other big problem is assessment of needs for children with special needs, which is a massive issue for parents who are left "high and dry" on waiting lists.
Mr Smyth believes the government tried to depend on the private sector to deliver public services and they stopped building public housing on scale and in any meaningful numbers.

"They turned to the private sector and then they used systems such as HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) to take taxpayers money and give the funds and the profits to landlords and vulture funds in the private sector," he said. "That should never be what public housing is about."

The political activist for over 30 years said part of their manifesto to use the money that Apple were forced to eventually hand over despite Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil fighting in court not to take the money is to capitalise a State-owned construction company and at scale roll out the building of public housing.

"That is the only way this can be [solved]. This housing crisis was created by not building public housing and to expect the private sector to solve it is just unrealistic.
"And to expect the parties who were responsible for causing it to solve it is also never going to happen as they have proved cycle after cycle in the Dáil.

Mr Smyth said he believes there should be a truly free and inclusive education, which includes third level where he insists a lot of people from working class backgrounds are disadvantaged and do not have an opportunity.
"It should be funded and free because that way you are not discriminating, you are not allowing the wealthy to have an advantage over the poor," he added.

Mr Smyth said he supported the protest last week by hundreds of teachers in county Longford opposed to the redevelopment of the senior cycle, which would lead to more projects and device-based work.

"I know when the iPad was introduced, one of our children who was starting secondary school as parents we had to find almost 1,000 just for that little device and then they make you buy the books as well. It was insane," he added.