Laois third level students have their say on the General Election

There are mixed views on the General Election among third level students at Portlaoise Institute who spoke to the Leinster Express / Laois Live this week.

Their views touched on low interest in politics, to racism, lack of public transportation, poor housing, healthcare, and difficulty in getting work or getting paid.

Bonnie Lalor from Ballyfin is doing a course in Indian Head Massage. She is an unemployed musician, both solo and with the band Motion Sickness, who played Electric Picnic.

“There’s not enough information out there to push young people into wanting to vote. Google doesn’t give you much, I wouldn’t be someone who reads the paper. I feel there needs to be something new so we learn more about these things. You need to care about a cause and be given a reason to want to change.

“I haven’t a clue about any of the candidates. I live very far up the mountains so no-one comes to the door. I met Brian Stanley a few years ago and he seemed lovely but I don’t know enough about any of them.

“There’s a lot of issues with payment for musicians, there’s not many promoters who care about people performing. Unless you’re doing covers, you wouldn’t get payment doing original gigs. It’s a treat if you get paid. Ireland’s got a very small music industry and it’s hard to break out of that. Young artists need more support. You’re working six or seven days a week and it’s very hard. 

“”I’m lucky that I’m living at home but Portlaoise is nearly as expensive as Dublin now to rent. It’s €1200 for a room even sometimes. 

“Transport is a big one. I’ve friends in Mountrath and I’m in Ballyfin so there’s one bus goes on a Tuesday morning in my area and that’s it. Trains too, they’re delayed, sitting in tracks, links don’t show up. A lot of busses are being cancelled or driving past towns, it’s such a big issue. A lot of people struggle to afford driving .

“I want people to not be struggling. More middle class people are starting to fall under the water financially and struggling to find a place to live. The homeless issue is atrocious, there’s so many vacant houses not being used and there’s people on the streets,” Bonnie said.

Racial discrimination an election issue for another Portlaoise student who was not born in Ireland.

Portlaoise Institute student Jeandré Pelser wants voters to avoid anti-immigrant candidates, because he is experiencing increased racist incidents himself.

Jeandré who has just turned 19 is living in Ireland since the age of five, the son of Finnish and South African parents.

“I am from the most northern and southern places in the world. I’m not able to vote here but my dad can because he is an Irish citizen. Finland doesn’t allow dual citizenship.

“The main issues for me are homelessness and inflation. They impact me daily as a student, the prices of lunches, of fuel, car prices.

“I’ve been trying to find a job for the past two years. I’ve handed in over 150 CVs across Laois, Kilkenny and Kildare. Perhaps it is my foreign name. I found when the Ukrainian refugees came in, the attitude to foreigners, to immigration and refugees shifted dramatically. 

“I often go by a nickname like JP instead of saying my name. On my first driving test attempt, the instructor told me ‘did nobody tell you in Ireland we drive on the left’ because I got into the right lane and couldn’t get back. I’ve been told in pubs ‘go back where you came from’. I’ve been told ‘you can’t be South African because you’re not black’. 

“I’m not too keen on going out without my Irish friends around me because I stick out like a sore thumb.  People are either very accepting and want to know more or they are like ‘Irish only’. It’s understandable because of the increase of refugees but all of us immigrants and migrants aren’t bad. Every race has some bad. 

“Please do not vote for anyone who is anti-immigrant. They are a large chunk of society working and paying taxes. Some don’t have the best English and so do the dirty jobs. They don’t deserve to be treated differently because they were born somewhere else. Just because I don’t have a full Irish accent, why should I be treated differently. It makes me hesitant to become a citizen. If I still have my accent will they say the same thing? 

Jeandré is studying Applied Social Studies, with plans to next study psychology.

Mature student Linda Waldron lives in Mountmellick and is studying Healthcare Assistance at Portlaoise Institute. She always works in St Vincent’s CNU Mountmelllick.

“I think resources for students, a lot come here from Mountrath but there’s no transport. A lot borrowed laptops, that grant has gone to help buy them, that’s a big issue.

“I feel housing is still an issue, there’s a lot of houses vacant. We are in a two bedroom house living with my partner’s mother. The house is damp, we have no room if my partner went into cardiac arrest. 

“There’s no resources for teenagers, a lot of them hang around the area. If they had something like a snooker hall they could do activities.

“If the LOETB in Mountmellick could do more courses, we wouldn’t have to travel. That’s why people won’t come here, it’s transport.

“If I go to Dublin, there’s buses every 10 or 15 minutes and there’s always someone waiting at a bus stop. It would be great for Laois if there were regular buses. It would help businesses and help the environment,” she said.

Linda returned to education by first joining adult literacy courses two years ago.

“Literacy held me back from what I wanted to achieve as a healthcare assistant. I’d always worked but not in the area I wanted. 

“There should be more grants for students and their families. People with disabilities too, there’s not enough resources. There are a lot more kids with Autism and special needs. There is respite but only for the elderly, there’s nothing to give young mothers a break.

“TDs come to the door and say they will help but once they’re in you don’t see them, it’s disgraceful,” Linda said.

A young Offaly man who studies in Laois says he has little faith in politics or his future in Ireland. 

Cillian Byrne is a Portlaoise Institute student in the Business Tertiary degree course. Aged 22, he has never voted.

“I’m from Kilcormac in Offaly, I’m not voting. I never put much faith in voting. I don’t think anybody is backing young people, I think it’s useless.

He lists the main problems in Ireland that he sees, and his plans to emigrate.

“Healthcare in Ireland is so bad, housing is bad, we have an immigration crisis. Looking at the future it’s hard to see myself staying in Ireland, there’s no hope of owning a house. 

“When I’m finished my degree it won’t take much for a country like Australia or the States to call me over. There’s not much for people my age keeping me here.

“The left side have been found to be lying in America. I’m all for free speech, not censorship. But obviously hate speech should’nt be allowed. I was in the US on a J1 Visa in the middle of Chicago and it cost me €600 a month in rent. It’s more expensive here in a bog in Offaly. My car insurance is €1800 and I’ve a full licence. How is it more expensive to live here?” he said.

Fiona Kavanagh is a mature student from Mountrath who is studying the Business Tertiary degree course at Portlaoise Institute.

She previously ran a chippers in Borris-in-Ossory with several employees, but had to close due to rising costs, just before the pandemic.  She plans to go on to become an accountant.

“The first two years of this new tertiary degree course have free fees, I think that was introduced by Simon Harris when he was Minister for Education. 

“I don’t really follow politics but I always vote. For who, it depends. If they call to my door I tend to give them a vote but as yet nobody is calling. I live on one of the main streets in Mountrath.

“Housing is always an issue. Healthcare, specifically women’s issues like PCOS, there’s not enough resources. I was on a waiting list for four and a half years for surgery, it was painful. The public healthcare system is not up to standard. Not everyone has the funds to go private. They are making progress, like the free contraceptives but its not enough. 

The lack of frequent public buses is a big problem in Laois she says.

“I have friends who rely on the bus and sometimes they don’t get jobs because of the lack of transport. To get on the road is another expense. 

“I think I got one flyer in the door. I don’t have the channels so I don’t see advertisements. I use Tiktok instead. I wouldn’t believe half of what’s on it. We need more for younger voters.”