Ciarán Aherne has been a councillor on South Dublin County Council since 2024. He is a qualified solicitor in the area of employment law, and works for the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC).

I chose to be involved in politics because I believe we can have a kinder, fairer and more sustainable society. We are a modern European state with a successful economy. We should demand greater ambition from the State to provide the basic public services that match citizens’ needs, tackle the cost of living, address persistent inequalities and respect the environment we all share.

The greatest issue we face is the availability of housing: for too long the state has ignored its duty to its citizens to ensure adequate shelter and provision of homes. Today, we have 4,000 children homeless in our country. This cannot be acceptable in a country ranked amongst the wealthiest in the world. We can and must do better, with particular focus on affordable and social homes.

I would hope, with the support of my community in Dublin South-West, that my first speaking opportunity in Dáil Éireann would be to bring a strong message for fairness from those who cannot manage alone, whether through disability or other issues. We have too many children on waiting lists for assessment of needs, too many carers going through financial hardship, and struggling to access adequate and appropriate levels of support services for themselves or their loved ones.