Please donate to my election fundraiser

My name is Cathal Ó Murchú and I am a Gaeilgeoir, journalist from Armagh with a background in Law and Environmental Science. I care deeply about Ireland and am passionate about our countries rich culture, language, tradition and heritage and am standing for the IFP in the upcoming June local elections in Dundalk south.

We should be very concerned about the direction Ireland is going. Since the 2004 Nice treaty (which Ireland originally voted against), we have opened our borders to mass immigration from the EU, Ukraine and beyond. These unsustainable levels of immigration have brought about radical irreversable change to the complexion of our Nation, making large parts of it unrecognisable. I am not anti immigration, but we are a small country with a small population, so this has to be on a sensible, manageable and proportionate level, based on the requirements of the country - not the immigrant. At the moment under EU law we have absolutely no control over this and at current immigration levels the indigenous Irish are in serious danger of becoming a minority in their own country within the next 20 years. There are areas of the country where this is already the case so this cannot be allowed to happen.

The levels of crime and homelessness have become an embarrassment for the clueless FF/FG led government and it is a scandal that people are dying on our streets on a weekly basis while we prioritise on housing lists those from outside our country who have not paid any taxes into our welfare system. We are also ridden with record debt - the worst in our history.

We also have little or no control over our fishing waters. Ireland as an island nation has some of the richest fishing stocks in the world, but it is another scandal that we have to practically beg the EU to be allowed to fish less than 10 % of our waters, while we let French and Spanish trawlers come in and plunder our waters. This is causing mass emigration of our young people from our shores - just ask communities in Donegal and Clare where yet more schools have recently closed. This further erodes our remaining Gaeltacht areas and depletes the proud but dwindling communities in coastal areas.

We are also in danger of becoming a country where free speech will become illegal. The proposals at the moment under Varadkar’s government are going to criminalise anyone for expressing an opinion on things. This will turn Ireland into a fascist police-state and cannot be allowed to happen in a free country and runs completely against our constitution – Bunreacht na hÉireann.

After Brexit we MUST re-evaluate our position in Europe. The UK is our biggest trading partner and as we joined the EEC as it was then, on the same day as Britain, there has never been a better time to begin the conversation about Ireland leaving the EU.

The EU is no longer acting in our interests, if it ever was, and with the UK leaving, Ireland as a present nett contributor will have to pay even more to Brussels for the privilege of being told what to do and how to do it. For example if we were an independent Nation having full control over our laws we could very easily have resolved issues around the Irish border bilaterally with the UK, without unnecessary self-serving EU interference.

Campaigns like this are very expensive, so if anyone is able to donate something, no matter how small it will help recoup some of the expense.

Le gach dea-guí!

Go raibh mile maith agaibh!