Ronan Costello
UCDSU President Paul Lynam has decided to contest the upcoming Seanad elections as part of the NUI Panel. Contesting one of the six available seats to University panels, Lynam will most likely be in the running for one of the two final seats in the allocation, with Shane Ross and Joe O’Toole not seeking re-election.
Lynam was elected UCDSU President last year with a resounding victory, having previously held the position of UCDSU Education Officer. A confident public speaker, Lynam has featured prominently in USI-organised campaigns, speaking at the “Education not Emigration” march last November.
As a recent graduate Lynam may face an uphill battle simply because of his youth, but he has already secured the endorsement of outgoing Senator and now immensely popular Independent TD Shane Ross, who has said that Lynam “would be a forceful addition to the Seanad. His independent ideas and youthful energy would shatter the cobwebs of the Upper House. He will bring the radical politics of change to Kildare Street.”
Speaking about his motivation in running, Lynam said, “In the next five to ten years we’re going to start rebuilding our generation. I love this country and I want to get involved in that, I don’t want to sit on the sidelines, I want to get my hands dirty.”
“My literature is strong and detailed and has been sent out to the entire electorate, almost 100,000 graduates in total,” said Lynam. “I can be part of the political reform. I’m not in this race just for the sake of running, I’m in it to win a seat and I think the appetite for change will give us an edge.”
Lynam is basing his candidacy on four pillars of policy: economy and job creation, education and training, political reform and social justice. As part of the the first policy, Lynam proposes a cut in the lower rate of VAT, from 13.5% to 11% until 2014 in order to stimulate labour intensive industries such as tourism, which employs over 190,000 people. He also proposes clearing the debt of the Dublin Airport Authority through the sale of non-strategic state assets, which would hopefully reduce airport charges and make Irish tourism more competitive internationally.
As regards education and training, Lynam wants to see the abolition of FÁS and the establishment of a One Stop Shop for training the unemployed. The introduction of a Public Service Programme is also one of Lynam’s main proposals. This would see second level graduates being given the opportunity to gain workplace experience in An Gardaí Síochána, the Armed Forces and the HSE, amongst others.
Lynam naturally opposes the introduction of third level fees and also wants to see the level of research funding increase to 3% of GDP by 2020. He also wants to see a cap on the number of TDs, proposing a maximum of 100, with one per constituency where possible. On the social justice policy, Lynam hopes to make mental health awareness a national priority, with a particular focus on suicide prevention.
