Donegal’s newest local election candidate, Charlie McClafferty from Churchill has said that Donegal is indeed different, “Up here we export our young People.”
His comments have added impact this week amid fears of job losses at the 40,000 acre Glenveagh National Park due to a review that could see services outsourced to the private sector.
A former stalwart of Fine Gael, Charlie McClafferty has become the 21st candidate to run in the Letterkenny electoral area and he’s assembled an impressive group of campaigners to support him.
Senator Ronan Mullan will be among the guests a big get together evening for the campaign at McClafferty’s Lounge on Friday May 9th at 9.00pm.
His decision to run as an Independent candidate will not come as a shock to Fine Gael since they’ve already been accused of shafting him at their selection convention earlier this year.
It was almost inevitable that Charlie McClafferty would enter the race because of his political background with his late grandfather being regarded as the rock on which the modern day FG party was founded in Glendowan and Glenswilly to replace Cumann na nGaedhal.
Charlie, a 40 year old father of two young children speaks with a powerful passion and vision about what is needed here in the very heart of Donegal.
McClafferty says his decision to run was made some months ago and he’s got no apologies to make for trying to promote his native parish of Termon and Glendowan.
As a young family man with two children he says that far too many young people have emigrated and there are not enough opportunities being created for those left behind to enable them to plan with any certainty that they can remain at home in Churchill and the Glen.
He said that FF destroyed people’s hopes and dreams and now FG is taxing everyone out of existence and the revelations about water charges will leave people with bills they have no way of paying in the present economic climate.
His campaign will lean heavily on local issues and what he might be able to do as a businessman, a ratepayer and a taxpayer.
He said that from the county’s 8,014 farmers too many are paid too little under the new CAP and that along with the potential for jobs in farming and tourism need much more focus and funding if rural Ireland is to have a future.
He has now set out his agenda to tackle Donegal’s emigration cycle and this is having an incalculable impact on our mental health, family welfare, crime and society. And he adds there is a knock on effect for struggling small business and jobs across Letterkenny, small towns and rural Donegal.