Ignatius "Iggy" Okafor - Your INDEPENDENT Candidate

Ignatius (Iggy) Okafor
Mulhuddarts Independent Candidate in 2009
Representing Change through Grassroots Empowerment & the Integration of People and Ideas

Fellow Residents,

I have been out visiting the many estates and peoples that make up the Mulhuddart Ward. I have been heartened by the enormous goodwill extended to me and my campaign. The generosity and hospitality of people is humbling and has invigorated my campaign in our efforts to secure my election to Fingal County Council (FCC) because we truly believe that it is time for change.

Visiting Lachford/Alandale/Beechfield which are relatively new estates (and subject to intolerable flooding in some places) in Clonee, the lack of community infrastructure and facilities was blatantly absent, yet the resilience and willingness of the residents to form local associations to fill the gap by way of community festivals and action committees to foster neighbourly and community support and cohesion was encouraging and should be seen and acknowledged as assets to FCC.

· Public Transport – or indeed the lack of Public Transport forcing locals into their cars to visit local amenities and services is self-defeating environmental policy both at local and national levels more public transport means less private transport this is not rocket science!

· Traffic Calming – estates built for families need child friendly thoroughfares

· Educational Facilities – everyone agrees education is the key to a secure future yet the infrastructure is needed in the present

· Youth Facilities – these are a necessity to divert the young to progressive and positive outlets and away from a future hanging around corners to meet and socialize

· Community Resource Facilities – these are fundamental to cohesion of a diverse population in providing for social and cultural discourse.

· Sports/Recreational Facilities - Play Grounds– an open field is not sufficient in modern society to pass off as ‘sports/play grounds’ and does nothing to encourage young and old to participate in healthy outdoor activities.

Yet FCC has repeatedly failed to redress many issues, which they should have insisted were built and put in place at the planning phase of these and many other estates, rather they allowed and pandered to the needs of the developers, leaving the families with huge deficits in social infrastructure, which if left as is, will leave many vulnerable to the long term threats of community isolation - anti-social behaviour and the fragmenting of the Fingal Community into the communities that have and the communities that have not.

Why has a population of 92,000 and growing…only appx 19 Ambulances?

If elected to FCC I intend to make my priority the implementation of
Social /Community infrastructure and facilities in all the communities as these should be as of right and not left to the whim of developers.