I stand in a State where the elite are given priority over the vulnerable

I recently noticed a huge billboard in Innishannon, Co Cork, featuring Fine Gael TD Jim Daly. In the poster Jim is asking people to “know where you stand”.

I began to reflect on the meaningless slogan.

I know where I stand: I stand in a State where my home is subject to a tax called a “property tax” and the water I need to sustain my life and the lives of my family is subject to a water tax.

I stand in a State which has so few opportunities for the young that they need to leave in droves, or due to cuts to their entitlements, they are forced to remain living with their parents.

I stand in a State where people in their 90s are kept waiting on hospital trollies for days when they are in dire need of urgent medical attention and the health service is being sold off to the highest bidder.

I stand in a State where families are facing costs of €1,500 per child just to send their children to school and thousands of grandparents throughout the country are called upon to provide childcare in their retirement.

I stand in a State where dodgy deals are done in which taxpayers’ money is squandered and the Government does nothing to investigate it until it is forced to, and then the issues are fudged and kicked down the road.

I stand in a State where thousands of ordinary families face eviction yet the interests of the elite continue to be the priority of this government.

So I say to Jim Daly, I know where I stand.

Dan McSweeney

Toureen

Ballinhassig

Co Cork