Cllr Dermot Looney, the current Mayor of South Dublin,
this week launched his election campaign as an Independent candidate in the
Templeogue-Terenure local electoral area. Looney launched his election slogan,
“Standing up for our Community,” at the launch in the Cherrytree, Walkinstown.
Speaking at the event, Looney stated; “I am
campaigning on an unapologetically left wing platform of defending public
services and protecting the vulnerable. My record on the Council over the past
five years is of principled decisions and hard work. In my term as Mayor I have
prioritised services and funding for youth and sport, older persons and the
environment.”
“In reality, this election campaign began just after
the 2009 local elections. I have been stuck in on the local issues for five
years, making sure to update residents with frequent leaflets, canvassing and
the most active social media engagement in the area. The reception in recent
weeks to our campaign has shown me that local people respect my ongoing work
and are in support of my decision to leave Labour and stand on a principled
Independent platform.”
“There is a great deal of anger and disappointment
towards both Government parties and Fianna Fáil. Based on national polling and,
more importantly, the reception on the doorsteps, I am hopeful that voters fed
up with these parties will turn to a strong independent candidate. It is worth
remembering that in this election, some independents are more for equality than
others. I am the sole left of centre Independent and hope to attract support
from across the local electoral area.”
“My hard work is illustrated by the fact that I have
put down 399 questions on notice and motions at local area committee level since
2009. This is more than twice the amount of any other Councillor, and is almost
as much as the five other Councillors running in this area put together.”
The new Templeogue-Terenure electoral area includes
parts of Dublin 12 (Greenhills, Walkinstown,
Perrystown), Dublin 6w (Templeogue, Terenure), Dublin 14/16 (Ballyroan, Knocklyon) and Dublin
