Aontú to host public meeting in Claremorris

Local Election candidate Paul Lawless has announced plans to host a public meeting next week.

The meeting is set to highlight concerns around the deteriorating local services in the Claremorris area, including healthcare, education, farming, and crime.

Mr Lawless said that ‘immigration is the number one issue’ in the area. He said the town of Claremorris ‘has welcomed more refugees and asylum seekers’ than most, and this naturally increased demand for these services in the area. 

Speaking in advance of the meeting, the Aontú representative said ‘it is more important than ever’ to address these situations due to the ‘significant’ population increase.

“Local services have never been as strained. Claremorris is suffering from a sheer lack of investment in local services” he added.

The Claremorris candidate addressed the strain on healthcare in the area, including the spike in waiting times for General Practitioners, saying he has heard of  ‘many people in the town who have been waiting 3 weeks for routine appointments’.

Furthermore, he acknowledged that Garda resources in the town are ‘exceptionally strained’. With only one new recruit allocated to Mayo last year, Mr Lawless said ‘the people of Claremorris and the surrounding areas deserve a strong and adequately resourced Garda force’.

In relation to farming, the local election candidate said that ‘farming is the lifeblood of the local economy’. He said that the government’s taxation and regulations, combined with supermarkets ‘squeezing every last cent from farmers’, drives ‘their income to the floor'.

All members of the community are invited to join both Mr Lawless and Aontú leader, Peadar Tóibín, in Claremorris Town Hall next Monday, February 12, at 8pm. 

“I wish to invite the community to put forward their views and come together to look for solutions” concluded Mr Lawless.