Northsider Daryl is aiming to be President of Ógra Fianna Fáil

Shauna Bowers

A NORTHSIDE man is campaigning to become the President of Ógra Fianna Fáil.

Daryl Barron (24), from Donaghmede, believes he can lead the youth wing of Fianna Fáil because of his experience within the party.

“I have had an interest in politics from a very young age,” Mr Barron told Northside People. 

“I’m 24 now but I’ve been involved since I was 15. I would have done a lot of training and I did some training with the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern when I was very young.

“Ógra needs a strong leader, someone to step in and deal with the real issues. That’s the reason why I’m running. 

“I’m quite rounded now with my experience and it will enhance and bring on this new batch of people.”

The National Youth Conference will take place on March 9-10 at the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone, County Westmeath. Elections and hustings for the new Central Office Board will take place here.

Youth unemployment, investing in the rental sector and mental health are all key concepts to the candidate. 

Mr Barron believes that these issues are what drives young people out of the country and this is a trend he wants to change.

“We’re at a critical juncture because we’re going to lose young people if they can’t afford to rent or get a mortgage and especially if they can’t get a job,” he warned.

“I want to see young people between the ages of 18 and 30 have the opportunity to work in Ireland and don’t have to move to Canada or America or Australia or the UK to get jobs. 

That to me is another key issue.”

Over the past 18 months, a lot of members have aged out of Ogra, according to Mr Barron, and so he wants to engage fresh, young faces and encourage them to interact with the political establishment.

“There are a lot of young, good talented people coming through and more than ever young people are going to have to decide the future of the party,” Mr Barron said. 

“They need to be given opportunities to become future leaders of the party. The current people are not going to be there forever and we need young people in politics more than ever.”

Mr Barron also believes that the youth wing is integral to the future direction of the senior party and, if elected, he hopes to end the feeling of disconnect between young people and politics.

“There’s a reason why a lot of young people don’t vote,” Mr Barron said. 

“We need a lot of strong youth wings around the country. It’s important that we’re encouraging new people to join the political establishment.”

Mr Barron added: “If they see someone young and someone new on the posters then they’ll be able to relate to them. We need an injection of new life within national and local politics.”