Donegal voters air frustrations ahead of Ireland’s general election | Global News Avenue

In one of Europe’s best-performing economies, mother-of-four Emma said she lay awake at night worrying about whether her children would get the medical care they need.

She is one of many people in the Republic of Ireland who say they are not feeling the benefits of the country’s relatively healthy bank balances.

As polls prepare to begin on Friday for the country’s general election, many voters say they feel “frustrated” and “grumpy”.

Pressure around housing, immigration and public services dominated the campaign.

Emma’s two children have complex medical needs and have been on “endless waiting lists” for years, she said.

She said her 16-year-old daughter had waited so long to see a rheumatologist that she had been “overrun” by children’s services.

“I hear we are one of the richest countries in the world and we have never been richer, but I don’t think so,” she told BBC News NI.

“I heard it, but I didn’t see it.”

Emma, ​​who also cares for her two elderly parents, said her mum was forced to regularly drive 10 hours back and forth to see an eye specialist.

Emma lives in County Donegal in northwest Ireland.

It is one of the furthest locations from the government center in Dublin.

Thirty miles away on the west coast of Bomberg County, local journalist Áine Ní Bhreisleáin confirmed that Emma was not the only one who felt this way.

“We are told things are improving in Ireland but people can see the cost of living rising,” she said.

“Housing is very hard to come by. We’re told health services are putting money in, but people are not getting the health services they need.”

“People often vote with their pockets first,” she warned.

With its mountains and coastline, Donegal is a beautiful place to live, but the size of its political constituency makes it a “lobbyist’s nightmare”, Aine said.

“In Donegal, people can feel like they are separated, left alone and forgotten,” she added.

There are many reasons for this, but Áine points to infrastructure, health services, spending and issues surrounding defective concrete blocks.

Thousands of homes are built from blocks containing high levels of the mineral mica The whole county is collapsing..

This mineral absorbs moisture, causing walls to crack and collapse.

In November 2021, the Irish Government introduced significant improvements to the previous Mica Homeowners Scheme.

The scheme is capped at €420,000 (£357,500) and is available to homeowners in counties Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick, which have the largest number of blocks.

Housing is also a major issue in the Republic Prices soar, with around 58,000 people on social housing waiting list.

one The main report in July also suggested that at least 35,000 new homes need to be built each year to meet demand.

However, Ireland’s population continues to grow.

About 150,000 immigrants arrived last year – Highest number in 17 years.

Most come from outside the UK.

County Donegal has the highest per capita proportion of asylum seekers, known as International Protection Applicants (IPA) in Ireland.

It is said that one in every 100 people in the county is now IPA.

“The concern people have about immigration in Donegal is equality,” said local radio host Greg Hughes.

“They feel like people who come to this country, or who are being sheltered, are going to be given priority.”

Greg hosts a daily live local call-in show on Highland Radio.

Speaking from his studio in Letterkenny, he said voters may be “feeling grumpy, or maybe disconnected” because not all of Ireland’s problems are new.

He said people have yet to see meaningful initiatives to address these issues.

“I’m not saying the government isn’t trying, or they’re not trying their best, but the reality is, you say to someone in Donegal, the country is very rich now, and they say, ‘Well, when is this going to slow down? Slowly reduce it? Put it in my pocket?”

Chatting to Margaret in Letterkenny shopping centre, she said she felt like she was being “gaslighted” – An act or practice that seriously misleads someone, especially for one’s own benefit – Politicians.

“I think there’s a gap between the wealth of this country and the people on the ground,” she told the BBC.

“I think people can get grumpy about being constantly told that we are a rich country with all these resources.

“But when it comes to things in rural areas, public transport, investment in roads, investment in local hospitals and wages in areas like Donegal, we don’t feel the wealth.

“I think it’s going to cause a lot of frustration.”