Aontú aiming for a seat in upcoming general election in Laois

A FIFTH candidate has declared her intention to contest the forthcoming general election in the Laois constituency.

Secondary school teacher Mary Hand has been selected to run for Aontú.

She is now the third woman in the race joining Rosie Palmer (Green Party) and Elaine Mullally (Independent) along with cllr Willie Aird (Fine Gael) and Junior Minister Sean Fleming (Fianna Fáil) to contest in the three seat constituency.

Ms Hand was educated at Saint Leo’s College in Carlow and went on to study science in Dublin City University, obtaining her Bachelors and Masters in the field. 

She is currently the school steward for the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) union. 

Prior to teaching she spent a number of years with Bórd na Móna and Unilever as a Business Executive. She also worked as a Business Development Manager in Eclipse Scientific in Portlaoise.

The Graiguecullen native has been politically active locally for a number of years and was part of the pilot working group set up which established the first Access Programme for students from disadvantaged areas, a model now replicated nationally.

Ms Hand was the co-founder of the Barrowvale Residents’ Association and garnered a reputation for diligent and steadfast advocacy for her fellow residents.

She comes from a long-established family in Graiguecullen, well known in the area and the wider county of Laois.

She said “Aontú has achieved remarkable results in the five years since its inception. It is a party unafraid to stand up for what it believes in and for justice for the sick, the poor and voiceless. I am proud to stand for a party that stands up for the weakest in society and does so without fear or favour.

“We were the only party that campaigned for a NO NO vote in the Family and Care Referenda, seeing the huge difficulties and issues it would pose down the road and we were proven to be right to be so wary and now know that Revenue Officials had warned of the potential huge tax implications of a Yes vote on the Family referendum. Thankfully, the public rejected both overwhelmingly”.

She said: “I want to see immediate action towards the completion of the Sapling school buildings in Graiguecullen. It was originally due to be completed in January 2025, but there have been ongoing delays in its construction, remaining as a concrete shell until now, with no re-start date for the work to recommence. As a teacher myself I recognise the huge impact this delay is having on students and their parents as well as its staff. As it is the school is currently housed in a community centre and prefabs in Killeshin village. This is truly unacceptable. The specialised classrooms and grounds of the school will be of huge benefit to its pupils, and I am absolutely determined to see its completion, including with the assistance of the Department of Education if needed.” 

She said: “We know that millions and millions are being squandered by this government. People could really relate to the exorbitantly priced bike shed for example and genuinely felt it was a wanton waste of money. It’s on everyone’s lips. I have admired Aontú for so long as it is a party of people who have principles and who are unafraid to stand up and speak out, like a real opposition should.” 

“At a time when our country is awash with money, we have the spectre of 14,760 people homeless, including 4,500 children. These are just the official figures of course; there is much hidden homelessness, people sleeping in cars, on friends and family sofas and in spare rooms. It’s desperate.

“People’s aspirations and dreams to own their own homes in Laois have been trampled on by this government which is presiding over the worst housing crisis in history. The myth of an affordable home has been the lie that they have built their disastrous housing policy on, while thousands of Irish people remain homeless. In 2023, the average cost of a home under the Affordable Housing Fund was €266,869 – anything but affordable.” 

 The Aontú election candidate said: “If we are to address our catastrophic housing shortage and restore the hopes of young people and families up and down this country, we need to revolutionise our house building apparatus, take the power to build social homes from concept to completion back into the hands of the public service, and provide new financing streams that will sidestep the current model put in place by this Government that benefits corporations and vulture funds.

“Aontú is the only party that recognises and values that no farmers mean no food. Our food producers in Laois are constantly being forced to jump through hoops foisted on them by regulation both from Dublin and from Brussels, while upholding world class standards. We opposed the Mercosur Trade Deal which would force Irish producers to compete with lower standard imports, and we oppose the EU Nature Restoration Deal which would mean an area the size of County Laois being re-wetted and therefore unavailable for farming.” 

 She said that her party is constantly holding this government’s feet the fire on this and other issues. 

“Remember we had a Banking Crash, said Ms Hand, “that caused untold misery and heartache for people and then, as of now, the opposition was mute and didn’t do its job as it should”.

“I firmly think that the electorate have had enough of weak leadership and want fair, just and balanced leaders who genuinely care about the people and who won’t lead them into dangerous cul-de-sacs. It saddens me to say so but there are conviction politicians and there are career politicians. I think it’s obvious which camp some of our politicians belong to," she said.