Locals raise their issues with Tánaiste during Birr canvass

TANAISTE Micheál Martin visited Birr on Thursday afternoon to canvass the town, accompanied by election candidate Cllr Tony McCormack, the Gardaí, security, advisers and a small gathering of the local Fianna Fáil faithful.
His first port of call was Grant Engineering in Crinkle where he met management and staff and was very impressed by what he saw. The management told him about the benefits to the climate from the technologies being developed and currently on offer from the company.
After this the Tánaiste and his entourage drove to Emmet Square where they took to shank's mare and proceeded down Main Street calling into several shops along the way, where he received a mostly warm reaction.
In Barber's Jewellers Fermoy connections were alluded to. The All Ireland Under 20 hurling trophy, the James Nowlan Cup, was a great source of interest and inspired a bit of riffing about Cork and Offaly hurling exploits. Cathal Barber told the Fianna Fáil leader that he is currently engraving the trophy.
There was a warm reception for the Tánaiste in Guinan's shoe shop during which he talked about some of the issues which have been raised with him during his canvasses. He said the most common issues include housing and cost of living, “but public transport has also been raised quite a few times with me.”
In Haven Pharmacy, owner Liam Butler raised a couple of issues. He said the Irish Pharmacy Association has been looking for talks with the Department of Health for the last decade because the Association is seeking higher fees for Pharmacists across the country. The association is also seeking a free health scheme for Ireland's 170,000 menopausal women.
In the Organic Store the Tánaiste bought two bars of organic dark chocolate and in Barber's 21 one of the barbers offered to give him a trim!
In SuperValu there was a long chat with a primary school teacher. This young woman pointed out that special needs children are valuable members of our society who are not receiving sufficient supports. She said the parents of special needs children need more respite time. “There is the July provision,” she remarked, “which is an educational programme. This provides respite for hardpressed parents but it's not enough. We need at least four more weeks of respite for parents during each year.”
A man and woman spoke to the Tánaiste about the struggles facing SMEs. “I run a Beauty Salon,” said the woman, “and it's very hard to keep it going. Costs are going up and small businesses are closing at an alarming rate. Now we are told there's a nationwide plan to increase the minimum wages, introduce extra sick days for employees, and increase the pension rate for employees. This might sound great if you are an employee but it could prove too burdensome for many SMEs.”
She also told the Tánaiste that the VAT rate is too high. “It stayed at 13.5% for beauty salons while the rate for hairdressers was reduced to 9%. This is unfair.”
Another woman in SuperValu spoke to the Fianna Fáil leader for a relatively long time. She told him she's a member of the Families for Justice group, a group which has “lost loved ones in violent circumstances.” Their assertion is that An Garda Síochána did not investigate the deaths properly and that this meant that the families' “fundamental right to justice has been breached.” The Midland Tribune didn't hear the Tánaiste's replies but he listened respectfully to her for several minutes.
After SuperValu the canvass came to an end, having started in Edenderry, continued to Tullamore and on to Birr. Electioneering is a gruelling schedule which requires a good level of physical fitness and mental stamina. The Tánaiste certainly seemed up for the challenge.
While the vast majority of people in Birr engaged in an intelligent and decent manner with him, a few were cold and indifferent and one was outright hostile. In one shop an employee wouldn't accept the Fianna Fáil leaflets being handed out and told people that he wouldn't be voting for Fianna Fáil. Outside another shop a middle aged woman, with real anger in her eyes, accused the Tánaiste and his entourage of being “traitors”. The Tánaiste either did not hear the accusation or chose to pay it no heed.