Cllr Mary Roche comes out swinging for Déise

Three weeks out from the local elections, Councillor Mary Roche is well into the swing of her campaign for Waterford City East. 

Canvassing has long been a family affair for Mary, and this time she's been joined by her daughter and granddaughter on the trail. 

She said: "We were at one house recently and my granddaughter was out Irish dancing on the path!"

While canvassing is nothing new for Mary, this is her first local election running with the Social Democrats, whom she joined in 2022 after nearly two decades as an Independent. 

Fellow Social Democrat Sinéad Ellen Griffin is running for Waterford City South. While Mary is happy to have Sinéad in the race, she says encouraging people to enter politics is an uphill battle in this day and age.

She said: "It's really, really hard to get candidates, the public sphere has gotten a lot more visceral." 

When it comes to online harassment, she said: "I block liberally because nobody has time for that. 

"People say, 'Oh, politicians blocking them, they're not engaging with their constituents' - tough luck because I'm a normal person. I'm a mum, I'm a grandma, you couldn't take that much nastiness."

Mary's primary goal is fight for better supports and funding for the Déise, namely in terms of capital investment in health and education. 

She said: "If we have 8% of the population in the South East, we should be getting 8% of the capital investment."

An alarming figure for Mary comes from the South East Network for Social Economic Research (SENSER), which shows in stark terms what Waterford receives in capital funding, particularly for University Hospital Waterford (UHW). 

Noting the €90 million difference in 2022 funding for UHL compared with UHW, Mary said: "Obviously the health service is not within the competence or within the ability to influence of our local council but it is certainly within our ability to snap the hands of government and to hold them to account."

Mary has found being in a party conducive in tackling these issues. She said: "If you want to have any impact at that level, you really need to be part of a team."

Despite the myriad challenges, she's proud to serve the Déise: "My heart is in Waterford, I love living in Waterford."