Jillian to contest local and European elections
COOLBOY WOMAN Jillian Godsil will now be contesting both the European and local elections after the Government agreed last Tuesday to abolish the law preventing a person who has been declared bankrupt from contesting the polls.
Jillian, who had taken a High Court case challenging the law, said she was delighted with the new legislation.
‘I heard about it last Tuesday night. I was in bed watching television when I got a message on Facebook congratulating me for changing the law. Then I saw the link and I was totally flabbergasted. The law preventing bankrupts from standing in the national and European elections made no sense so it’s great it’s being abolished.
‘ The whole bankruptcy laws here are cumbersome and not thought out. I’m being encouraged not to earn any money for the three years I’m bankrupt. The laws are actually handcuffing people from working. It’s counterproductive.
‘Preventing people from standing in the national and European elections was punishing people for a business condition.’
Jillian, who is standing as an Independent candidate, said she has made no decision on what she will do if elected to both Wicklow County Council and the European Parliament. ‘I genuinely don’t know what I’d do. If I go to Europe I will be a whistleblower and I want to negotiate and fight to give Ireland a fair crack at the whip and I know that if I were elected to Wicklow County Council I’d do a damn good job there too.’
She said that many people feel that as an Independent it’s hard to make a difference but said she’s proof one person can indeed make a difference.