'We’re not going to make any false promises', says Social Democrats joint leader Stephen Donnelly
Mr Donnelly was in Cork yesterday to canvass with Cork East candidate Ken Curtin, and said the party was campaigning to maintain the existing tax base, invest in infrastructure and create favourable conditions for small indigenous businesses to thrive.
“We’re not going to make any false promises,” said Mr Donnelly.
“For us it is about taking the country in a different direction. Anyone who wants to have a conversation about maintaining the status quo, we simply won’t be having the conversation.
“Anyone who is interested in taking the country in a better direction based on social democratic principals, we will have that conversation with any of the parties.”
Mr Curtin has identified the upgrading of the Fota road to Cobh to national road status, the Cork-Limerick motorway, flooding, and opposing the proposed incinerator in Ringaskiddy as his local priorities.
He said he believes he would defy expectations on election day, and that he will receive votes from beyond his Cobh base.
“I think people will be very, very surprised to see where my votes are coming from and what boxes they are appearing in on polling day. I will be picking up votes all over the place,” he said.
Mr Donnelly defended the fledgling party’s decision not to run candidates in either of Cork city’s two constituencies.
“Imagine setting up a company where no company had been set up successfully in the past 100 years,” said Mr Donnelly.
“Where your only competitors were Microsoft, Apple, Google ,and Facebook. Where you weren’t allowed borrow any money, access venture capital, angel, private equity or any other funding sources and where all of your competitors’ revenues were guaranteed by the federal government. That’s what we’re trying to do. It is that hard.”
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