The Green Party in Mayo have never really made a dent when the votes have been counted up in general elections in the past; going back over the past five general elections in the county the party have been able to muster a total of just 3,082 first preference votes - the single best performance by a candidate for the party in those elections came back in 1997 when Ann Crowley got 938 number ones or 1.5 per cent of the total.
But things have changed in the past year, with the introduction of Achill Island native Saoirse McHugh to the party and her strong showing in last years European elections, which has seen the party's profile get a huge boost, not only in Mayo but also nationally, so that McHugh has seen her profile rise in a big way.
McHugh is regarded as someone who will not only challenge the opposition parties, but also her own party if she doesn't believe in what it is saying and she is not afraid to put her views out there: "I think we need more honesty in politics, at every level. Just telling people what they want to hear gets us nowhere. If a politician isn’t actively trying to improve our society then they are probably making it worse.”
The Green Party candidate said that over the past year that she has been actively involved on the political field, she has found that all the big issues facing people are linked in some way, saying: "The more I learn, the more I realise that all our problems are interlinked. They are all the result of an economic system which values corporate profit over the wellbeing of families and communities. We need a change of values, particularly at political level and this will require a new type of politician. I think a lot of people are waking up to this and are less likely to be fooled by the bluster and the empty words we’ve gotten over the years."
She went on to say that communities in Mayo have a great chance to face down climate change and things that have held the county back in terms of development, if they plan for them, saying: "I think that rural communities in particular have a golden opportunity with climate action. We can totally flip all the disadvantages we’ve had to our favour. Here in Mayo we have all the high nature value farmland, all the wind and all the coast to build thriving local economies. We can have well-run community health care which keeps hospitals from overcrowding.
"We can have a full retrofit and housing program which fills up all our towns and villages again. We can have these things but we have to plan for them, not just for one electoral cycle, but a twenty or fifty year plan."
Aware of the fact she would only be one of a small number of Green Party TDs if she gets elected, McHugh believes change comes little by little, then all at once, saying: "I think we need rural Green TDs to steer environmental policy. As it stands, these policies are handed down to us without a full understanding of how they affect people on the ground.
"Fine Gael’s carbon tax has proven that all this does is turn people in rural areas against environmental measures, they’re seen as an assault on us. For me, it’s not about getting to zero emissions but about what kind of society we want to create as we get to zero emissions."
She added that rural communities must be supported in this transition and if it’s done right, it could be transformative and if it’s done wrong, 'then a lot of people will suffer and I want no part of that type of transition'. She continued: "I believe that, if elected, I can facilitate rural communities in re-imagining and planning for their future and help drive policies which support this. I think that if we’re all honest and willing to work together, then great things can be achieved.
"We have amazing people in every community in Mayo and we have so much potential, we just have to recognize it. We’ve been in decline for decades and nothing is going back to the way it was, the future is ours to create. This is not a time for tired old politics, it’s a time for boldness and courage and our TDs should reflect that.”
