by Louise Doyle
THE election of a defective concrete blocks homeowner to the Dáil is a significant nod to an ‘ordinary man’, who set out on a tireless mission to be a voice at national level for thousands of affected families in Donegal.
Newly elected 100% Redress Party TD Charles Ward will take a seat in the 34th Dáil, which is scheduled to meet in less than two weeks’ time on Wednesday, December 18.
A total of 174 TDs will sit in the Dáil, up from 160 in 2020.
He took the fourth seat in Donegal constituency when he was elected on the 16th count in the early hours of Monday morning in Aura Leisure Centre, Letterkenny, with an overall vote of 11, 683.
100% Redress Party Deputy Charles Ward TD is hoisted into
the air at the Aura Leisure
Centre as he is elected at the
count centre in Letterkenny.
The Arranmore native, now living Drumkeen, secured 31 more overall votes than Fianna Fail’s Charlie McConalogue, who took the fifth and final seat.
This followed an early prediction which emerged on Saturday, suggesting a fifth seat battle between Deputy Ward and outgoing Independent TD Thomas Pringle.
This didn’t come to pass as it was eventually Mr Pringle who lost his seat.
Speaking to the Donegal News moments before he was officially elected, an emotional Deputy Ward said: “The people have come out and spoken, and I am truly honoured to have been given this opportunity to be a voice for those impacted by defective concrete.
“I am determined to make a difference. I am an ordinary person, and ordinary people can do this. This is what we need more of, no more robotic politicians, but rather human beings who care for their communities.”
Charles Ward addresses the audiance at the count centre after he was elected in the early hours on Monday morning.
Deputy Ward said he is “quite prepared to shake things up in Dáil Éireann”, but added that he will work closely with the other elected Donegal TDs Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty and Padraig MacLochlainn and Fianna Fáil’s Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher and Charlie McConalogue.
“I am confident I will get cross-party support. I expect Donegal TDs to beon the one page on the redress issue. No party lines, let’s get this sorted.”
Mr Ward ran for the local elections on the 100% Redress Party ticket in the Stranorlar-Lifford Local Electoral Area (LEA) in June. He was eliminated on the fourth count to a rousing round of applause.
Despite Deputy Ward’s unsuccessful local government election bid, four 100% Redress Party candidates were elected to Donegal County Council.
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