Mike Cubbard, the Independent city councillor has formally declared he will be running for Dáil Éireann in the Galway West constituency at next year's General Election.
Cllr Cubbard, who was first elected to City Hall in 2014, was widely expected to declare he would stand for the General Election. He will run as an Independent and will campaign on issues of housing, water charges, health, traffic, and crime.
"I believe the next government will require an influence by some strong Independent members of the Dáil," said Cllr Cubbard of his decision to run. "This election is crucial to providing a fair recovery for the average working class person across this State, one where the emphasis must change to supporting the most vulnerable."
Cllr Cubbard said he will campaign to abolish water charges and he "remains opposed to an annual property tax"; for the establishment of an agency to focus on addressing issues of mental health and "the unfortunate rise in death by suicide within our communities"; supporting the N6 project and light rail proposals as "traffic in Galway has developed into a complete crisis"; tackling hospital waiting lists; and reinstating the phone allowance for the elderly.
Regarding crime, Cllr Cubbard said many communities in Galway "are facing the knock on effects from the rise in heroin abuse". He is demanding that those caught in possession of heroin for sale or supply serve a minimum five year sentence. For drug users he ius calling for supports such as "proper rehabilitation centres and continued support until such a time the users are no longer reliant on the drug."
