By Sabrina Sweeney

This time last year, the people of Donegal sent a clear and powerful message in the local election: voters were no longer content to be overlooked.

The rise of the 100% Redress Party, alongside strong support for candidates who campaigned on housing, disability rights and rural investment, showed just how deeply people wanted to be heard.

Twelve months on, while progress has been made, issues remain and there are questions around whether the frustrations that shaped the 2024 vote are any closer to being addressed. To be fair, it hasn’t been a year of inaction. Donegal County Council successfully secured €33.1 million from the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. It’s a major investment that will support projects focused on town centre rejuvenation, tackling dereliction, creating pedestrian zones and outdoor spaces, and boosting tourism in places like Arranmore, Burtonport, Ramelton, Ballybofey and Carndonagh. Add to that close to €500,000 in funding for marine infrastructure and you have solid investment in the coastal communities many councillors promised to support.

The council has also continued to deliver bread-and-butter supports through schemes like the Local Enhancement Programme, offering grants of between €1,000 and €10,000 to community groups and sports clubs. These kinds of supports don’t always grab headlines, but they do make a genuine difference at local level. Still, for all the positive headlines around funding wins, the bigger challenges remain. Infrastructure across the county continues to fall short. Roads are in poor condition, broadband access is patchy in too many places and rural public transport is unreliable or non-existent. These issues aren’t new, but for many communities, they’ve become more entrenched and more frustrating.

Housing was one of the main themes of last year’s election campaign, with promises made on affordability and supply. And while the council has made some strides, including progress on taking housing estates into public charge and shaping the County Donegal Development Plan 2024–2030, too many people are still struggling to find or keep a suitable, affordable home. Immigration and international protection have also become part of the political conversation locally, in part because of issues around housing, accommodation and tourism. While decisions around who goes where in the country is made by central government, local authorities have a big responsibility for how those decisions play out on the ground as they are responsible for planning permissions, community engagement and ensuring services can respond to new arrivals. The tone set by local representatives also matters as it can either foster inclusion or fuel division.

In Donegal, we’ve seen both: communities that have quietly and generously supported new residents, and others where poor communication has led to confusion, resentment or protest. The council’s role here isn’t just administrative. It’s about leadership. The biggest election story to come out of Donegal in June 2024 was the breakthrough of the newly established 100% Redress Party. The party was successful in putting mica-affected homeowners on the map as four seats on Donegal County Council meant four voices demanding action. The party also boosted its national profile in November when Charles Ward won a seat in the General Election. In the past year, the party has helped push for improvements to the redress scheme and supported the first wave of home remediation. But their central pledge, which was full, uncapped compensation, including the cost of foundations, remains unresolved.

Many families are still facing large shortfalls and the uncertainty around what will happen next continues to weigh heavily. As they mark one year into their term, the councillors elected in 2024 have three more to show they’re making real progress. Not just issuing press releases or highlighting problems, but delivering solutions.

People don’t expect everything to be fixed overnight. But they do expect to see steps in the right direction. If we arrive at the 2028 local elections with families still fighting for justice on defective blocks, still priced out of their own communities, and still feeling that they are getting a raw deal from their council, they will make it known.