Independent Councillor Mike Cubbard has formally announced his candidacy for the forthcoming General Election, as an Independent candidate in the Galway West constituency
To build on 10-years of delivery he says he is now asking the people of Galway to “break the cycle” of traditional party politics and elect him as their progressive Independent candidate.
“With the backing of my family and support team, I am putting myself forward to offer my services as an Independent who is not afraid to say it as it is. I will insist that Galway receives an equal investment in infrastructure, as successive governments have consistently prioritised Dublin at the expense of other regions. This Dublin-centric approach has left Galway and the wider North and Western region lagging in development, resulting in its designation as the only "region in transition" in Ireland, facing unique challenges. This lack of balanced investment has led to our region being ranked 218th out of 234 on the European Commission's Regional Index. Although Galway City and County are at the core of the North and Western region, we have received only 7.9% of national infrastructural investment, while 66.5% went to the Eastern and Midlands area.
Galway continues to face a housing crisis, with families and individuals burdened by high rents and no sign of affordable homes. Childcare costs are soaring, and just this week, University Hospital Galway ranked third highest nationwide for the number of patients being treated on trolleys in October. This is not progress. Many people also feel increasingly disconnected from their TDs - I want to change that.
Small businesses remain under pressure and a positive step forward recently would have been a reduction of the VAT rate for the hospitality sector but Government ignored their struggles. I won't ignore their needs and will stand up for our small business owners.
I am independent of party politics. I don’t have a party whip, I answer only to the people of Galway West.
Like the local election in June, I won’t be using election posters in this campaign”.
