Response to the General Election Result

Following his elimination on the ninth count, Senator Mark Dearey has thanked everyone who has supported him in Election 2011 and all who have supported him in past elections but on this occasion could not do so.

“This has been a very disappointing election for me and for the Green Party organisation in Louth but I do understand why it has happened and why so many felt the need to withhold their support for me on this occasion. The Green Party went into Government to achieve a range of policy objectives but the banking crisis and the state of the public finances meant that the last Government’s decisions left its partners very vulnerable to the kind of verdict that the electorate have cast. It is important for myself and for the party locally and nationally to reflect on what has happened and to make good decisions about how best we can help make this country economically resilient and its policy agenda progressive and inclusive of everybody.”

“I want to thank everybody who worked so hard on my campaign, our council representatives; Marianne Butler, Ollan Herr and Mary Kavanagh, my campaign manager Karen Devine, my office staff, members, friends and family who worked so hard on the doorsteps with great dignity and fortitude. I can clearly recognise among the voting public who gave me their first preference vote and those who gave me second and third preferences that there is a reservoir of good will and commitment that will mean that the Green Party will continue and once again thrive in this constituency. I certainly remain committed to playing a role in the local political scene. I am however looking forward to taking a break and devoting some time with my wife and young family.”

“I would also like to pay tribute to the staff in the Spirit Store, in particular Alan and Derek who in my absence have carried the business on their own shoulders. I will catch up with them this week and with the demands of the business as we look to expanding it and improving the offer to our loyal customers.”

“Finally I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate the successful candidates. As I see it, their task will be to provide a vision and a strategy that will set our local economy on a trajectory that will return prosperity and create employment. I am still convinced that the way to do this is to become the exemplar county for the Low Carbon Economy. If we respond now and respond early we can be winners in this digital age and can avail of the advantages the Renewable Energy Sector can unlock for us. At a national level I would hope that the new Government will conclude the Climate Change Bill started by the Green Party in the last Dáil. I hope that they will keep to their commitment to end corporate donations to political parties an arrangement that in the past distorted politics and political decision making and in part at least contributed to the catastrophic economic collapse we are now in the midst of. But the biggest challenge for the new Government is to take the opportunity that this election provides to reform politics, political decision making and how electoral politics works in the country. Despite the result I’m glad to have taken part in Election 2011 and to have been working with voters in a way that, I hope, has helped repair relations between people and their political representatives. I believe I have contributed to that process and look forward to doing so again in the future.”