Ensuring change starts here

In June 2024 voters will go to the polls to elect councillors across the 26 Counties and also to choose members of the European Parliament. These elections are vitally important for the future of all of us on this island. They are particularly important in Sinn Féin’s strategy to bring about progressive political change by strengthening its mandate and preparing for government.

The political cycle which is coming to an end in this year of elections began in 2020 when for the first time Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil entered a formal coalition government. They did so for one reason only - to keep out the party that won most votes in that election - Sinn Féin. Having propped up the Fine Gael-led government for the previous four years, while maintaining the fiction that they were the lead opposition party, Fianna Fáil did the coalition deal they had said they would not do.

In that 2020 election more voters than ever before agreed with Sinn Féin that the two parties who had dominated Irish politics for a century were opposite sides of the one coin and constituted a political establishment that must be removed. There was palpable public anger when the dirty deal was done - facilitated by the Greens - and the electorate was cheated out of the change for which they voted.

This undiminished thirst for political change has persisted for the past four years. It is seen in the consistently high opinion poll ratings for Sinn Féin, that have clearly shown Sinn Féin is the leading party in the 26 Counties. The first electoral test of this will be the local and European elections. They are fixed in law to be held every five years. That much is certain.

• Turning around the housing crisis, will require a strong Sinn Féin mandate in the councils and in the Dáil

Very much uncertain is the date of the coming general election in the 26 Counties. It must be held in or before Spring 2025 but could be called at any time at the discretion of the Taoiseach and cabinet. It is possible that they will go early, before the local and European elections. Or they may wait until after another Budget in late autumn. They may also decide to complete their term to the bitter end and dissolve the Dáil in early 2025.

Whatever the eventual outcome, the run-up to the local and European elections will be dominated by both the consistent desire for change and the uncertainty over when the people will get the opportunity to elect a new government. Sinn Féin is going into the elections with the message that change starts here and electing more Sinn Féin councillors and MEPs will be a big step to the new approach to politics that people want and need. 

And these elections are hugely important in their own right too. In October 2023 a report by the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities found that councils in the 26 Counties are among the least empowered in Europe. This State is at the bottom of the table of 46 European states, along with Hungary and Moldova, in terms of powers for local democracy. 

There is a power imbalance with too much for central government and too little for local government. Unelected local government executives have too much power compared to elected councillors. Only 8% of public spending is by 26-County councils compared to 23.1% EU average. (Source: ‘More Power to You’, Connect/Fórsa/SIPTU, 2019). There is also insufficient staffing in local government today to provide the services required.

Councils are the form of government closest to the citizen and to the community. They can directly impact – positively or negatively – on where we live and how we live, so we need to get local government right.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the housing crisis. The market-driven housing policy of successive FF and FG governments stopped councils from developing and managing housing on the large scale they had done in the past. This led directly to the housing crisis. And even when the government was forced by Sinn Féin and others to commence the development again of social and affordable housing, the government maintained many of the delaying restrictions and red tape which still prevent councils from developing homes on the scale and in the timeframe that is so desperately needed.

• In 2020 voters agreed with Sinn Féin that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were opposite sides of the one coin and constituted a political establishment that must be removed

Changing all this, turning around the housing crisis, will require a strong Sinn Féin mandate in the councils and in the Dáil. And the same goes for other key issues involving local government such as planning, the environment and community safety.

Equally, it is vital that voices of progressive change are elected to the EU Parliament. The response of the Irish people to the Israeli genocide in Gaza shows the desire for Irish foreign policy to be courageous and principled, as in supporting the South African case against Israel and keeping us out of all NATO and EU military structures. Sinn Féin in the EU Parliament will stand strongly for positive Irish neutrality and non-alignment with military power blocs.

In a rapidly changing world, under the shadow of climate catastrophe, the challenges of energy supply, and the still growing inequality between the wealthy elites and the average citizens, it is vital that workers in Ireland have strong advocates at EU level. Sinn Féin needs to elect the MEPs to fulfil that role and to link up with other progressive voices across the EU.

In both sets of elections a stronger mandate for Sinn Féin will also be an important step forward for the Irish unity campaign. Stronger cross-border links and co-ordination between councils can be put in place. At EU level advocacy for Irish unity can be greatly enhanced. 

In the local elections Sinn Féin will be standing nearly 400 candidates across the 26 Counties. In the EU elections the party will be standing six candidates - two in each of the three constituencies - Dublin, Midlands-North-West and South. 

The battle-lines are being drawn; at stake is the opportunity to bring about real change; the challenge is to ensure that change starts here and that it is unstoppable. 

Mícheál Mac Donncha is a Dublin City Sinn Féin councillor