Independent candidate in the Castlebar electoral area, Gerry Loftus, has outlined this week a number of issues he has been confronted with on the doorsteps from voters.
He said: "On the campaign trail many issues are coming up on the door steps, Broadband is high on the agenda and as it was first announced nearly twenty years ago, nobody is foolish enough to take announcements too seriously at election time, at a cost of three billion euro and the fact we will hand over ownership of this project after twenty five years is just more of the gross mishandling of taxpayers' money by this government.
"Seven years they say before this project is finished, by that time there will be so many changes in technology it is questionable if this will ever happen, but there should be outrage over handing over of this infrastructure to the company that builds it, this is something that should not be allowed to happen.
"The health service is also a hot topic and is it any wonder, one poor woman waiting seven years for pain relief, another five years with vertebrae causing severe pain in her neck, a young mother with autistic children, now four and five years of age, and gone past the early treatment stage.
"Would people support a campaign to dismantle the HSE and start again? With people power it can be done and I am willing to get that campaign underway, because neither of the main political parties will ever do it for us. Young doctors and nurses are leaving this country every day, they will not work under these conditions and our established nurses are just longing to get out of the system. It is past time to shout stop, will your voice be heard in this shout?"
