Ruairi Keyes (Fine Gael), Athlone

We sent a questionnaire to all 11 candidates running in the Athlone Electoral Area in the forthcoming Westmeath County Council election. The responses were published in print in the current edition of the Westmeath Independent.

NAME: Ruairi Keyes

ADDRESS: College Park, Athlone.

PARTY: Fine Gael

SPECIAL AREAS OF INTEREST:

Housing and dereliction. Law and order (safer communities), Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and multinationals.

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING IN THIS ELECTION?

I want to ensure more is done to deliver on housing and really tackle dereliction. To ensure our streets and communities are safer, and to support our SMEs.

WHAT ARE THE TWO BIGGEST ISSUES IN YOUR AREA?

Housing and dereliction: We need to deliver more housing, and this Fine Gael Government is doing so. However, on dereliction, there are a number of properties derelict right across Athlone, particularly in Connaught Street, and many of the footpaths and pavements have been left in a state of disrepair.

There is a €150m fund, with €2.5m allocated to Westmeath, to help tackle this. I don't believe the council is doing enough to tackle these issues. Law and Order: Drugs and anti-social behaviour is coming up quite frequently on the doorsteps. I'm an ex-member of the Gardai (reserve).

If elected, I will lobby for additional Garda resources for Athlone. I believe in a zero-tolerance approach towards drugs, particularly for those caught selling or supplying. Often when those come before the courts on serious drug supply offences (in excess of €13,000) the mandatory sentence is not handed down. This is unfair to society and to our brave Gardaí, who put in a huge amount of effort to remove these individuals from our streets.

WHO DO YOU MOST ADMIRE AND WHY?

John Hume. He abhorred violence, knew and respected the value of diversity, and risked everything to deliver peace on this island.

TELL US SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU:

My Garda colleagues and I brought Niall Horan home one night from Mullingar town. He told the story on the Graham Norton show.