Daniel Whooley (Green Party- Ongar)

Name: Daniel Whooley 

Age: 20 years old

Preferred pronouns: He/him

Party: The Green Party

Local electoral area: Ongar

Is this your first time running? Yes

What are your reasons for running as a young person in politics:

It is very simple, I am tired of the lack of representation of young people in local politics. At the moment, I have not seen any councillors truly represent the needs of young people. In my area there is what a lot of people call “anti-social behaviour” or what I call boredom. There are no facilities that are available for young people that they actually want to go and participate in. This has led to a distrust to local and national government by young people in the community. This was reinforced by a survey conducted by South Dublin County Council which said that over 90% of young people surveyed just wanted a place to hang out. This shocked the council which had plans to invest in more structured sport facilities.

It made me realise the importance of having a young voice on the council that wants to actually bring reform to how our local government treats its future. My campaigns core foundation is to improve the relationship and lives of young people in my community by listening to them. I would push for a long-term youth integration and community cohesion strategy that would LISTEN to the needs of young people and then base the council’s investment of this.