Local elections: 'A powerful day' as 100% Redress party set to take its seats in Lifford

Ali Farren says the election of at least three candidates onto Donegal County Council will send a 'powerful' message to the government.

Farren shot to the top of the poll for the 100% Redress Party in the Carndonagh area and the party looks set for at least three seats on Donegal County Council with Joy Beard and Tomas Sean Devine earning big preferences.

Tally figures showed Beard over the quota in the Buncrana area with Devine polling strong in the Letterkenny area.

Although the official counts won't be made until Sunday, the arrival of the tally figures represented a firm endorsement of the 100% Redress Party, approved as a party last September.

The party was formed as a response to a crisis blighting thousands of homes across Donegal.

“We are tired of being treated like second class citizens and we are tired of a scheme that isn't fit for purpose,” Farren told Donegal Live.

“This is a big, big problem and now we have a chance. Now, we are at the table and will have a mandate to speak for people.

“We are there for 100% redress. We will be keeping the issue to the front and centre in Lifford. Lifford will know that we are there – and Dublin will know that we are there. To get so many first preferences is powerful.

“We will gain respect and we will work with the officials and hope to deliver something better. The scheme has to change because it isn't fit for purpose. The spin from the government is about how many houses are being done – but how many aren't being done? This is what we are about.”

The party is also awaiting tally figures for candidates Denis McGee (Glenties), Eamonn Jackson (Milford) and Charles Ward (Lifford-Stranorlar).

Farren resisted family urges not to attempt an entry into politics – and that decision has been firmly vindicated with 2,223 first preferences going his way.

He said: “Voting the same way for 100 years didn't work, but this is an issue that affects Joe Soap, ordinary people.

“Everybody in my community – 100 houses in the half of Malin Head – has it. My parents are both 82, they built a retirement home in 2007 and this is affecting them. The same issue is being felt all over the place.

“My father spent long days saying 'don't do it', but I felt that we needed a voice. We are delighted today. This is a powerful day.”