Businessman Peter Casey, who unsuccessfully ran for President in last November’s presidential election, will soon be preparing for a new election campaign – this time for the Dail.
Speaking to AgriLand, Casey said he intends to run for one of the five seats in Donegal as an independent – adding that agricultural and rural issues will be to the forefront of his campaign.
“Agriculture is the lifeblood of our economy. It’s important that we sustain it,” he said.
Farmers have just had one of the worst winters on record, and one of the driest summers on record. I own a farm myself, so I experienced the effects of that.
Casey also highlighted the imbalance between the economic expansion in Dublin and the situation in the rest of Ireland.
“Rural Ireland needs a regeneration. Dublin is overheated at this stage. You have people who were born and lived all their lives there, who now can’t afford to live there,” he argued.
Casey criticised the Government for its handling of business expansion in the capital, arguing that instead companies and firms should be encouraged to set up their stalls in other parts of the country.
The Government is ridiculously encouraging companies to expand in Dublin. Put these businesses somewhere other than Dublin.
Casey also explained his reasons for deciding to run as an independent, saying: “The days of the two party system are over.
“What I intend to do is gather, maybe, 10 like-minded people around me; business people like myself who care about rural issues. That way I think we can make a real impact,” he argued.
He went on to say that his campaign wouldn’t feature some of the typical tactics of a rural election campaign.
The days of going around and knocking on doors to get elected are gone. So is the practice of attending funerals to get votes.
Casey concluded by saying he was confident of getting one of the five seats up for grabs, arguing that none of the current incumbents are “locked and loaded”.