Senator Laura Harmon says her goal is to be 'a strong voice for Cork’

ACORK senator has confirmed her intention to run in the next general election, having lost out on a seat last year.

Cork Labour Party Senator Laura Harmon told The Echo she is hoping that her political journey will see her become a TD in Leinster House.

Recently elected to the Seanad, the Ballyvourney native also contested the general election in Cork South Central in November 2024. She secured 3,005 first preference votes, trebling the Labour vote from 2020 and placing eighth in the five seater.

Prior to that, Ms Harmon was elected to Cork City Council in June 2024, where she served for a total of eight months before her election to the Seanad.

Political aspirations

Ms Harmon told The Echo her future political aspirations very much lie in the direction of the Dáil.

“Absolutely I hope to run for the Dáil again and build on the vote that we got. I got over 3,000 first preferences in the last election and it was a great start. I think at a time when there wasn’t any particular wave behind the Labour Party, the seats that we won were won from pure hard work.

“My goal is to work very, very hard. As a senator, we get half the resources of a TD but I intend to work just as hard I want to be able to show the people of Cork South Central how hard I work and deliver a very high level of public representation.

“One of my main goals as a senator is to be approachable. I want people to feel they can contact me, that they can pick up the phone to me and I’m looking forward to running clinics as well across the city.”

Ms Harmon said she feels she has “hit the ground running” in the Seanad. “I’ve been there a few weeks now and I’ve already raised a number of issues and been campaigning particularly in relation to education and disability.

“My main goal is to be a strong voice for Cork in the Seanad. I’m the only public representative in the Oireachtas who is a woman from Cork city between North Central and South Central.”

Grateful

Ms Harmon said she is grateful to the people of Cork South Central who voted for her in the general election, without whom, she may not have been selected to contest the Seanad elections.

“As a senator, my goal will be to be a voice for the issues that I’ve been campaigning on for all my adult life in relation to equality and in relation to housing in particular.

“I feel that Cork has been left behind compared to Dublin, when it comes to infrastructure. Where is our light rail? Where is our event centre?

“There’s a lot of questions there and I feel Cork needs to have more investment from central Government.”

Ms Harmon has experience as a board member of Threshold housing organisation, as an executive director of the Irish Council for International Students, and was the national head of mobilisation for the Together for Yes campaign in 2018.

She is also a former president of the Union of Students in Ireland — the first female USI president in 20 years. It was this early exposure to the political world that convinced Ms Harmon that this was a career path for her to consider taking.

Missed opportunity

As a woman in the political world however, Ms Harmon saw the decision by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael not to appoint more female cabinet ministers as a missed opportunity.

“In the Labour Party, we have a strong culture of supporting women and that’s something that needs to be continued. We haven’t had a female Taoiseach in Ireland yet.

“I think we will at some stage during my lifetime — that’s the hope that we will have one.

“Most of the leaders of the opposition parties are women, which is encouraging to see, but ultimately we do need men in senior leadership positions to support women.”

Among those Ms Horman highlighted as the biggest influences on her political career include Kathleen Lynch, Mary Robinson, Noel Browne, and Dick Spring, with the former tánaiste and Labour Party leader endorsing Ms Harmon during the last general election.

Growth

Meanwhile, Ms Harmon believes there has been “a lot of growth within the Labour Party”.

“It’s a very exciting time to be in the Labour Party. I’m proud to have been a steadfast member. We stand for more state involvement in terms of house building, in terms of supporting people with disabilities, and in terms of investment in Cork.

“Labour’s history is very clear in what we stand for, our commitment to equality and in terms of young people as well , giving them a future in Ireland and giving them a future in Cork.”

She added: “We’re exporting too many teachers, guards, and nurses. We need to be ensuring that they can have a life here in Cork and in Ireland. I think the Labour Party has always been committed to taking on responsibility and stepping up.”