Meet the candidates: Aoife Masterson, Sinn Féin

Here is our Q & A with Aoife Masterson from Tullamore, who was one of three Sinn Féin candidates to be elected to Offaly County Council at the recent local elections.

Why should people have confidence in Sinn Féin to solve the housing crisis when the party has never been in power before in the Dáil?

This Government has created the housing crisis. They have been in power for the past 14 years and nobody has any faith in their ability to tackle the housing crisis. Sinn Féin will not shy away from the action that needs to be taken, and we are committed to building 300,000 houses over the next five years. We have the plan, the resources and the land to do that. We have an innovative and forward thinking housing plan, and the kind of initiatives we will implement will solve the housing crisis. In Offaly we plan to transform the Mount Lucas construction training centre into the leading national centre for construction-related jobs, which will bring jobs back to the county and allow people to build homes and live locally.

What other party or parties would Sinn Féin be prepared to form a coalition Government with?

Sinn Féin wants to form the next Government without either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael, but we will exclude nobody. We were excluded from talks on forming a government after the last election and we know what that feels like, so we will talk to everybody. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have been in government together for the last 14 years, and separately for the last 100 years, so Sinn Féin should be given a chance.

What one issue would be your top priority if you are elected to the Dáil?

My priority is to be a voice for the forgotten people of Offaly and to work towards a united Ireland that is fair, just and equitable for every citizen. I want to put Offaly back on the map and ensure that everyone has access to good quality housing, healthcare and employment.

What do you think is the number 1 issue for voters in Offaly?

Access to housing. Every issue we see on the canvass comes back to housing, schools that can't hire teachers; healthcare facilities that can't hire nurses; young people having to move back in with their parents, being forced to put their lives on hold and delaying starting a family, and the huge numbers that are emigrating. Everything comes back to housing and it is having a huge impact on every aspect of people's lives, right across the generations. The physical and mental health of people caught up in the housing crisis is being badly affected, and there are so many parents who have their adult children, in-laws and grandchildren all living under the one roof, and they have no hope of ever moving out and getting a home of their own.