Nessa Cosgrove: There is a need for new voices and new ideas at community level
“NOT being successful last time round has actually encouraged me to run again,” says Labour’s Nessa Cosgrove who is already knocking on doors and handing out leaflets – even though the council elections are a couple of months away.
Cosgrove narrowly missed out on winning a seat on the Sligo-Strandhill ward five years ago when she was eliminated on the fifth count. With her being one of four left-wing candidates on the ballot paper, someone was likely to be edged out and unfortunately for Nessa, she was the one.
However, defeat has only served to make her determined to get elected and fight for those she has spoken up for over the years – only this time, inside the Council Chamber instead of being on the outside looking in. And besides, she reckons it’s high time a new face or two were at the table.
She said: “I still think we need a change of representation – it’s been the same old people for too long. In any job – or in any institution – you need new blood and new ideas.
“I work in the community and I’m involved in a lot of different organisations and I think there is the need for a Labour voice for community-led development as people come first.
“Labour has worked really well in councils throughout Ireland. They’ve worked well in ensuring there is a balanced development between economic progress and also that it’s community-led by residents and I think that’s what’s needed.
“One thing that I’ll definitely be campaigning on will be childcare and the lack of available childcare spaces.
“Another would be housing which would be the biggest issue – especially with dereliction – and giving more powers to local authorities and speeding up planning.
“Open spaces would be another issue – especially the lack of indoor public spaces for young people. What I would love to see is a municipal bowling alley and a multi-use sports facility… there’s definitely a huge need out there.
“There needs to be a lot of investment in Sligo swimming pool – which is a great pool with great staff but it has fallen behind when you look at other cities and towns.
“You could see, which might be the first in the country, a publicly-owned bowling alley, sports hall with pool tables and a cafe but not privately-run. While it would be run as a business, it would be a non-profit one.
“I know from my job as a youth worker that that has come up over and over again.
“I would also love to see better infrastructure for cycling and, lately, there has been huge inroads made. To be fair, money has gone into travel but I think that needs to be improved more with a need to move away from cars.
“Roads are not just about cars – they’re also about pedestrians and cyclists. There needs to be a lot more emphasis on contraflow where bicycles can go from contraflow to traffic in – ideally – segregated lanes.
“I think public transport links needs to improve – we’re not connected properly to Galway with the N17 and I would love to see a train down the line that goes down all the way to Knock at the very least.
“The train from Sligo to Dublin could be improved as well. I got on it the other day and it takes the same time to get there – three hours – as it does to drive. That shouldn’t be right.
“The fares have come way down, which is great. I always go to Dublin on the train but it just needs to be quicker.”
If elected, Nessa is likely to be the sole Labour party voice in the Council but that will not deter her in trying to get other Councillors from other parties to put Sligo’s best interests first.
“I’m not foolish enough to think that the council can perform miracles,” she added. “But I think we could do better and get ourselves a bigger share of the pie.
“Nationally, we in the north-west don’t get looked at. If you look at the way services are, we’re not at a size we should be – and there’s no reason for that except for poor representation in the Dáil. People are not shouting loud enough.
“There’s not enough houses being built. The government targets were too low and there’s not enough power being given away to local authorities. There’s still €8.4million that was given over to private landlords – why can’t that have been used to build housing?
“We, as part of Labour’s national policy, would turn the Land Development Agency (LDA) into a construction company with staff employed on proper wages, proper unionised working conditions and they would be building the houses.
“We can do that but I think that the ambition is not there – there’s no rent controls, something that could be very much implemented but is not.
“We also need to start compulsory purchase orders or sales (of derelict properties).
“There’s people land hoarding, sitting on land that they know they’re not selling but should be forced to do it.”
Cosgrove’s defeat last time round has widely been seen as more a rejection of her party than of Nessa herself – more so given Labour’s credibility and reputation took a massive hit after being associated with some unpopular decisions whilst in government with Fine Gael between 2011 and 2016.
Widely known and respected for her work with the area’s youth and the wider community, some have suggested that Cosgrove’s chances of success would improve if she ditched Labour and ran as an independent candidate.
However, she is very much sticking with her team.
She continued: “People have said that to me before but I love being part of the Labour party.
“I joined it on purpose – I joined it because they line up completely with my policies.
“I joined Labour in 2017 when things were very bad for the party. There were worse than they are now.
“I’ve studied social policy and housing (Cosgrove has a Masters in Social Science) and I know effective social policy can transform people’s lives. It can lift people out of poverty and give them a fair shot.
“Yes my social media profile says ‘Old School Lefty’ and I did that on purpose as I would be that. I believe in economic equality as everyone should be given a fair start. Right now it’s pure chance where you’re born and that is a big advantage for some people over others.
“So we need genuinely free education, genuine free access to public services that you need and give everyone a fair shot.”
Healthcare is a major concern with GP access a huge factor in people’s lives – not just in Sligo but nationwide.
“There’s a real shortage of GPs,” says Cosgrove. “I was talking to a friend of mine recently and they said their son has moved to Cork as he’d got his first job there out of college. He can’t find a GP there so he has to come back here to see his family GP. And it’s not just him – I’ve heard of people in Dublin who can’t find a GP.
“Those in government need to listen to people on this, to experts and even opposition parties.
“Yes, this particular issue is at national level, but the Council could highlight things like this – especially if (GP) traineeships, such as the one in place at my own GP’s practice – are working well.
“In this day and age with social media, you can campaign on things and you can make politicians take notice and make your voice heard.”
One party who has benefited greatly from voter dissatisfaction with Labour is Sinn Féin who are currently the main left-wing opposition to the government.
“I suppose Sinn Féin has, over the last couple of decades, stolen some of
Labour’s clothes,” adds Cosgrove.
“But then we as a party have to admit too that we made a lot of mistakes when in government as well.
“That time between 2011 to 2016 is still coming back to haunt us. We were implementing policies that would have been Fianna Fáil policies or Fine Gael policies.
“There’s no doubt about it – we did make mistakes in government but Labour has apologised for that. But we were under the Troika during that time and maybe we did roll over too quickly.”
Cosgrove admits the battle to be elected will be tough but she is ready for the fight.
While many acknowledge that she has already shown herself to be a strong voice in local politics, Nessa states that for her voice to be more effective in terms of helping people’s lives, it needs to be heard in the council chamber.
She said: “People know my face a bit better now. I haven’t really deviated from my beliefs – I’ve proudly nailed my colours to the mast. I’ve also a very good campaign team.
“We need to keep our vote and increase it and identify which areas where we didn’t get the vote and identify why.
“I raise up stuff and will continue to do so. However, I don’t have a seat at the table and I wish I did – then I would have direct access to represent the voters properly.”