Daly launches European re-election bid

MEP Clare Daly has launched her European re-election bid.

Daly, who upset the odds to take Lynn Boylan’s seat in 2019, is running for re-election as an independent.

Daly was joined by former MP and civil rights campaigner Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Dáil Leas-Cheann Comhairle Catherine Connolly TD, and former TD for Dublin Central Maureen O’Sullivan.

Daly said there is a “huge disconnect between the EU and ordinary people,” and looked to bridge the gap.

“People all over Europe want the same thing – an EU run in the interests of the people. They are outraged by how the EU has been hijacked to funnel money to the military-industrial complex. Ordinary people want a world where war is ended, where exploitation is ended, where climate change is dealt with.’

Daly pointed to her record in Europe, saying that she worked on 115 parliamentary files since her election in 2019, claiming that Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews only worked on 18.

She also noted work done by her and fellow left-wing MEP Mick Wallace, with the pair receiving a score of 98/100 from environmental groups for their work on environmental issues, more than Fine Gael’s 45/100.

Bernadette McAliskey said “I am honoured and privileged to support this young lady in her re-election campaign. She holds out hope and promise for young people right across the globe. She is the aspiration and hope of a younger generation – her integrity, her fearlessness, the clarity of her underlying analysis are unmatched.”

She said that Daly not winning re-election would be a disaster not just for Dublin, but Ireland as a whole.

“She has been a thorn in the side of the EU, and we have to keep her voice there where it has been so effective,” she said.

McAliskey will join Daly at a public meeting in The Silver Granite in Palmerstown on Tuesday, May 14.

“It is so important that we use the upcoming elections to demand pressure on those in power to address the problems in our communities, many of those which are caused by European austerity. We need strong voices who are not afraid to call out our so so-called leaders,” she said.

Catherine Connolly called Daly a “beacon of hope” and remarked, “the degree of venom in the media towards her is a testament to her effectiveness.”

“I absolutely support Clare Daly – her honesty, her integrity, her work rate. I wish there were more of her. I have no hesitation in supporting her every step of the way.’

Maurice O’Sullivan said, “she is seriously hard-working, she really engages with people, and she’s tenacious.”

“That voice is fearless. It’s a voice for people who aren’t counted, who don’t matter – workers, small farmers, small businesses, prisoners and more. She is a voice against big business, and all those profiting from war. The European Parliament would be at a huge loss if Clare was not re-elected – there are so many others who will just go along on the bandwagon, but not her. She’s a class act.’