A Waterford man and prominent housing analyst has announced his intention to run in the upcoming European elections.
Dr Rory Hearne, who's from Tramore, is an Assistant Professor in Social Policy at NUI Maynooth.
He will run as a Social Democrats candidate in the Midlands North West region.
Speaking on Deise Today, he explained the reason why he has chosen to seek entry into international politics.
"The reason that I put myself forward is that the housing crisis is a social catastrophe. It's an emergency and I feel and I know having worked at a European level with researchers, that housing is a big issue across Europe. The EU has a role in it as well and I want to give a voice to Generation Locked Out."
"It is a big step in terms of being involved in academia, and researching and my policy work would involve putting forward solutions and engaging in debate. Entering into politics is a whole different area and we're seeing toxic politics, a toxic environment around it and politicians are naturally getting a lot of stick from people."
Mr Hearne previously unsuccessfully stood for election for People Before Profit in the 2007 general election in the former Dublin South East constituency. More recently he stood as an Independent in the 2020 Seanad election on the NUI panel.
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