John Walsh has been a councillor on Fingal County Council since 2019. His priorities are housing, public transport, and school places, particularly for students with special needs.

I decided to run for election because I believe in the power of politics supported by community action to achieve lasting change. We have a rich economy and record budget surplus but so many public services are underfunded or in constant crisis because the government has consistently failed to deliver essential improvements. I am campaigning for investment in affordable housing, schools, health care and public transport, which will make a long-term difference to quality of life.

The housing crisis – we need to deliver secure, affordable homes within sustainable communities. We can solve the housing crisis by supporting local authorities to build genuinely affordable homes on public land, setting up a state construction company to increase dramatically the supply of homes and by giving councils more power to tackle the scourge of derelict and vacant properties. We also need to introduce a ‘use it or lose it’ clause to ensure that homes are built on ‘inactive sites’ where full planning permission has been given but no homes have been built. There are 31 ‘inactive sites’ in Dublin 15 alone since 2018, with 5,475 homes which have never been built – this is a scandal in the midst of a housing crisis.

I would raise in the Dáil the disgraceful neglect of children and adults with additional educational needs. At least 20 children with additional needs in Dublin West could not secure any school place by September 2024, while there is a complete lack of essential services and support for children, teachers and schools, not least due to the continuing recruitment embargo in the HSE. I would challenge government Ministers to deliver special classes in every primary and second-level school in Dublin West; to ensure early assessment and intervention for children with additional needs; resource special schools with full time behavioural therapists and provide essential support and staffing within the health service to guarantee equal opportunities for all children.