Political Platform

Louise O’Reilly was first elected as a Sinn Féin TD for the Dublin Fingal constituency in 2016. Previously a full-time trade union organiser with SIPTU and a member of ICTU’s Public Services Committee, she is  Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for health.

How did your political career begin?

I come from a political family and my parents were campaigners and activists – one of my earliest memories is of being at the Get to the Point anti-nuclear demonstration in Carnsore Point in the 1970s. I was always politically active as a young person and I was active in the trade union movement prior to getting a job as a full-time trade union organiser. Also, my father was a trade union official, so I grew up knowing the link between politics and the potential for positive change.

What are your most notable achievements to date?

Getting elected! That took a mighty team effort for Fingal Sinn Féin. I also run two constituency offices which is notable in a constituency where no other elected representatives for Fingal have even one full-time office, much less two of them. It was really important for me to be able to offer a full constituency service for the people of Fingal because it was so lacking. As a pro-choice activist for many years it was great to be a member of the Joint Committee on the 8th Amendment and to be part of the Fingal Together4Yes campaign, literally weeks spent knocking doors with people who aren’t political in a party political sense but who were committed to winning the referendum and we achieved a fantastic result in Fingal, with a 77 per cent yes vote. I have succeeded in getting six Dáil motions passed, one of which was about the extension of an automatic entitlement to a medical card to children in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance – that was a very proud day for me.

What is unique about representing Dublin Fingal?

Fingal is a very diverse constituency; there is deprivation, wealth and those who are just getting by. Balbriggan, where one of my offices is, is the youngest town in Ireland and we have a rapidly growing population in areas like Swords. Fingal has an unusually high level of commuters, with up to 70 per cent of the working population leaving Fingal every morning to journey out of the constituency to work. This means that issues like the extortionate cost of childcare are particularly prevalent for the young families that I represent. Fingal is also known as Dublin’s market garden as well as being the place where many Dubliners venture for days out because of our beautiful coastline.

How should Oireachtas respond to the twin health issues of the National Children’s Hospital delay/cost and the nursing strike?

The Oireachtas needs to take seriously its role in oversight and political accountability. This is the case with the massive overspend on the National Children’s Hospital and it is not good enough that parties will stand by and commentate on the catastrophic as Fianna Fáil have done, those of us who are in the actual opposition must demand political accountability for this overspend and for the lack of oversight and accountability. Equally we see Fianna Fáil deputies challenge nurses on their pay and tell them that they are among the highest paid nurses in the world when we are facing a recruitment and retention crisis. Any cost of settling the nurses dispute can only be understood in the context of the massive annual spend on agency staff, which has cost €2 billion over the past eight years. If we don’t recruit and retain valuable frontline staff, we will continue the over reliance on agency staff as well as the lengthy waiting lists and the trolley crisis none of which can be resolved without additional staffing.

What are your interests outside of the political sphere?

My job keeps me quite busy but when I get some time off, there is nothing I like more than a walk or a run along the beautiful Skerries shore, I am lucky to live beside the sea. I also enjoy spending time with family, especially my grandson. I am an avid Dublin GAA fan and I cannot think of a better way to spend a Sunday than on the terrace in Parnell Park or on Hill 16 cheering on the super Dubs.