Doherty demands Donegal South West bye-election

Pearse Doherty

Donegal Senator Pearse Doherty said this week that the resignation of former Fine Gael TD George Lee must not be used as an excuse to put the bye-election in Donegal South West on the back burner.
He said: “Yesterday’s resignation of former Fine Gael TD George Lee means that a bye-election will need to take place in order to fill the seat which is now vacant. I am calling on the government not to allow this to push the long-awaited bye-election in Donegal South West back even further. The constituency simply cannot wait another 6 months to a year while Fianna Fáil considers what candidate they will run.
“It has now been eight months since Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher’s seat became vacant in Donegal South West. Since then unemployment has soared to record highs for the county, a budget has been introduced which will see the most vulnerable badly hit and the government has yet to introduce any sort of a jobs creation strategy.
“The people of Donegal South West deserve the representation they have been deprived of since last June. They cannot wait around while Fianna Fáil size up their options in South Dublin. It is about time somebody took a stand for the people of Donegal who have been on the receiving end of massive unemployment levels, devastating budget cuts and a government which discriminates against the people of Donegal. Let’s start the fight-back for Donegal.”