The Green Party leader insists a shift towards a more environmentally friendly Ireland has to come from the bottom up, in every town and village in the country.
Eamon Ryan’s comments come on the final full day of campaigning ahead of Saturday’s vote, a day which has seen other issues including town and village revival, as well as working conditions, top the agenda.
With less than 48 hours to go until the polling stations open, today marks the final full day of campaigning for Dáil hopefuls around the country ahead of tomorrow’s broadcast moratorium.
Parties, therefore, are making their last ditch attempts to sway the electorate, among them Green Party leader Eamon Ryan.
His party’s Clare candidate, Roisín Garvey, is among a group of what Ryan has called he Green’s “Wild Atlantic Women” who he hopes can help them make a breakthrough this weekend.
Speaking today on Clare FM’s Morning Focus, Ryan hit out at the likes of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for not placing enough emphasis on climate-related issues over the course of the election campaign.
Also today, issues including conditions for workers and the decline of town and village centres across the country are on the cards here in Clare.
People Before Profit is calling for the introduction of a shorter working week and more annual leave days for Irish employees, to bring us more in line with some European counterparts.
The party’s Clare candidate Theresa O’Donohoe believes that unless work conditions improve for young Irish people, staffing deficits will continue to prove a significant issue in many sectors.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael candidate Martin Conway is pressing the importance of injecting a new lease of life into small towns and villages that have been experiencing a decline around the country.
He wants to see a state-backed targeted programme introduced, which would focus specifically on bringing commercial properties back into use.
He says it’s time now to look past the once-flourishing businesses that are no longer viable and to come up with an alternative option.
