Olivia Buckley.

Ferbane native to contest Dublin election

Ferbane native Olivia Buckley was recently selected by Fianna Fail to contest next May's local elections in the Dundrum Local Electoral Area in Dublin. Currently the Director of Communications with The Irish Tax Institute, from 2003 to 2007 she was Fianna Fail's Press Director.

The Offaly Independent's Rodney Farry caught up with Ms Buckley last week to discuss her reasons for entering electoral politics.

Running for office wasn’t always an ambition but there’s no denying that I’ve always had a deep interest in the role that politics and policy making plays in the life of our country, and I believe it’s ours to shape. My friends certainly weren’t surprised when they heard I was running for election. I’m rooted in the belief that politics is worthwhile and that it’s central in terms of creating the environment that allows a country to reach its full potential. My grandfather, Eddie Joe Dooley, was the person in our family who began the journey into politics. He was committed to public service and his influence on me was boundless.

I probably feel I’ve accumulated a lot of valuable experience through my career and I hope I can now bring that into politics and the world of policy making. I have worked in economic policy and taxation with the Irish Tax Institute for the past nine years, on a range of diverse issues from supports to grow small Irish businesses to the impact of carbon tax on our pocket. I’ve worked with Irish companies and organisations including Kerry Group plc and the Irish Farmers’ Association and I was the Director of We Belong, a campaign group that was instrumental in EU Referenda, including the ‘Vote Yes’ Lisbon II campaign in 2009.

Well, many of the major issues for Dundrum and neighbouring suburbs stem from the pace and scale of growth in Dublin and the need for infrastructure to cope with it.

That has a direct relationship with the types of issues facing Offaly and that’s the whole discussion around regional/urban balance. Reports show that half the population growth in the last two decades has been largely centred on Dublin. That places pressure on people living and working in Dublin and so issues in the Dundrum area include housing for the next generation of young people, cost of childcare, green spaces, sustainable urban planning and having a city-wide transport system that works.

On the other hand, rural Ireland needs more people coming to live in the area, greater investment, high quality jobs and sustainable economic activity. The skewed demographic and economic situation in Ireland bring real challenges for both the city and the country. So different issues for Dundrum and Offaly, but they are emerging out of that same challenge; the balance in urban and rural growth.

I have spent many years helping other candidates with their election campaigns, which was hugely enjoyable. It started at a young age! Distributing car stickers and literature for Fianna Fáil at home in Ferbane. Laois/Offaly campaigns were a serious business and I learned much of what I know there. My grandfather was Director Elections for many years, and we found the whole drama of elections and conventions to be very exciting.

I was Fianna Fáil Press Director from 2003 – 2007 working with local, national and EU candidates. During that time, I prepared many first–time election candidates who went on to become the new generation of TDs and Senators in our party today. I guess I’m now dealing with the most challenging campaign of all – my own!