Dearey keen to ma
It was concerns about the environment which first prompted Mark Dearey to get involved in social activism and politics and it’s the same concern which has tempted him out of retirement to stand for the Green Party in next week’s General Election.
Having stood down from local politics last year, Dearey had said he was looking forward to spending more time with his young family and concentrating on his business in The Spirit Store. However, one gets the feeling that it didn’t take much to persuade him to throw his name into the hat when General Election 2020 was called, especially as the environment has emerged as a key issue, not just in Irish politics but globally.
This, he notes, is a major change from his early foray into politics. ‘I remember first campaigns when at that stage the Green Party was a new species but now what we have been saying for decades about the environment, the cost of the way we run the economy and how is beginning to impact on our lives, is becoming mainstream. We need to find new ways of doing business and running society, and we only have ten years change that, according to the scientists.’
He points out that for the first time DAVOS has identified climate change as the number one threat to the global economy.
Every aspect of society is affected by climate change, he argues, and thus changes need to be made to how we do our business, from farming and food production, to how we heat our houses and schools, to how factories and businesses operate, to what transport we use. Dearey says he understands the concerns of those who worry that such changes may bring extra costs, but points out that a lot of the technology already exists to help us enjoy a greener economy.
He argues that we have already wasted a decade which could have helped tackle climate change. ‘ The next decade is the last one we have to respond before the climate breaks down and gets beyond our ability to manage historic challenges.’
‘Whether or not the Green Party is in government, the most important thing is that the government does not waste the next five years.’
‘ The other big lesson to learn is that we have to stop making individuals feeling like it’s their fault but instead help people to feel empower to make transitions which will help the environment. It’s an opportunity for us to become a better society, a less globalised society, so when it comes to things like food, we will be able to provide for ourselves.’
This, he says, offers ‘ huge opportunities for Dundalk which has a cluster of really good innovative companies, working to solve energy problems and create employment.’ DkIT, he argues, needs to make sure that it is part of this so that there are well prepared graduates locally.
He acknowledges that the Green Party got a lot of criticism for going into a coalition Government with Fianna Fail in 2007 but doesn’t rule out going into coalition after next week’s election.
‘If there’s a programme of government taking the Green agenda seriously, I would say our members and newly elected TDS would have to give serious consideration to being in a coalition.’
It’s the possibility of having a voice at government level which tempted him out of retirement. He was, he admits, frustrated with how local authorities had lost their power.
‘National politics is where the opportunity for transformation resides and that’s where I want to be.’
‘I just didn’t have the appetite for another five years in local government, which was very poorly served by the 2014 Local Government Act which removed the town and borough councils,’ he says, ‘ The management of our towns had become more difficulty and we need to forget about County Councils and establish local authorities based on large towns and their hinterlands.’
Entering the election race at a late stage, he says he is enjoying being out on the canvass, and while he won’t be able to get to every door, he is accessible through social media.
‘I’m happy that people are willing to listen, I’m listening to them. The message at the doors is about employment and local services, and I take all that on board and will work on whatever people ask me to do.’
The Green Party is not just about environmental issues, although that does underline its policies, he says. The party has policies on housing, which would give more power to local authorities to build houses, both for social housing and renting; on health, where he feels the issue is access rather than care. ‘As a large town Dundalk people are still yearning for a fully serviced hospital and I recognise that desire.’
His own personal experience in business, as the owner of The Spirit Store, and a member of a family synonymous with the retail trade in Dundalk, have influenced his work as