A former asylum-seeker has declared his candidature for next June's local election in Ennis, Co Clare.
Dr Taiwo Matthew (41), a Nigerian-born medical doctor, said: "I believe that I will get elected and that the community will be the better for it. Let's have a new face and let the people speak and make their choice."
Dr Matthew, who has secured residency in Ireland, said that an inclusive government at community level would be a pioneering thing to have and Ireland would have a lot to gain.
However, Dr Matthew added: "I don't see myself as an outsider, I have been in this community for well over four years. The community has been so good to me that without its support, I couldn't possibly have survived and lived here."
Dr Mathew said that he believes that he can bridge any gap between the Irish and non-national communities in Ennis.
"When people don't know the other person, there is a tendency to have a fear of the unknown and that is one barrier that I hope to break down. Let us overcome our weaknesses on each side."
Dr Matthew is currently studying two post-graduate programmes in Dublin, at the Royal College of Surgeons and UCD's Graduate School of Business.
His prospects of securing election are boosted through Government legislation allowing asylum-seekers vote in local elections, though they do not have a vote in general elections.
Dr Matthew urged other non-nationals across the State to go forward for election. "We have so much diversity in Ireland now that we can harness it and take advantage of it to move ahead," he said.
The South African-born consultant psychiatrist, Dr Moosajee Bhamjee, who won a Dáil seat for Labour in Clare in the 1992 general election, yesterday welcomed Dr Matthew's declaration.
