Greens hit out at Sinn Féin over Cork North Central by-election

The Green Party’s candidate for the upcoming by-election in Cork North Central has hit out at comments made by Sinn Féin candidate Thomas Gould ahead of polling day.

Councillor Oliver Moran says his party is well poised to cause an upset in this month's by-election, saying they’ve made a difference on issues like transport, housing, transparency and the climate emergency on both Cork city and county councils since May.

It comes following comments made to The Echo by Councillor Thomas Gould, in which he claimed that the by-election is a straightforward race between Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, and Fine Gael.

He also said that based on local election figures he was confident he would be ahead of the rest of the candidates.

Mr Moran has hit back at those comments saying that the evidence from the local elections in May showed that the Green Party are on the way to overtaking Sinn Féin in Cork.

“If Cllr. Gould thinks this is a three-horse race then he hasn't learned the lesson of May's local elections for Sinn Féin in Cork. The reality is that the Green Party out-polled Sinn Féin in two out of five city and county constituencies in Cork North Central, and just 24 votes separated us in a third. We have the same number of Councillors on both city and county councils. The Green Party are entering this by-election as a force on the rise in Cork, ready to overtake Sinn Féin,” Councillor Moran said.

“We're workers who've hit the ground running, we're not afraid to stand up for what we believe in, and we are offering genuine answers for people. That's the difference we're taking with us into this by-election and people are responding to that because they know it's real,” he added.

“People are fed up with nothing being done on public transport in Cork, on housing, on the climate crisis. People recognise these as key issues affecting us all, and they know that having a Green TD in Cork will mean these items are high on the agenda,” Councillor Moran concluded.