Ms Kathy Sinnott, the campaigner for the rights of the disabled, who won a landmark judgement against the State in respect of her son, Jamie, in October 2000, has announced her candidacy as an independent in the Cork South Central constituency.
In the most recent MRBI poll in the constituency, taken last week before she made her decision, a sample of 400 voters suggested she would take 5 per cent of the first preferences.
Ms Sinnott has said all along that she would not make up her mind on whether or not to run until she had seen details of the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill, published last Friday. Yesterday, she said the Bill was "the last straw" and that someone had "got to get inside the decision-making process" because it had become obvious the disabled had no voice in the Dáil. "A prosperous nation is a nation in which people prosper. A nation that respects its older generation, cares for its sick, includes its disabled, supports its families and communities and nurtures its young. I am not a protest candidate. I am a doer. I do not want to simply complain about the shabby treatment of people. I want to be on hand to insist that every law and policy is quality controlled for its impact on people. If our goal is the welfare of people, then we will spend the money that needs to be spent and spend it in a way that will effectively meet the needs of the people of this country.
Neglecting people is bad money management. We can get it right. We can all win," Ms Sinnott said, adding that the Bill paid only lip service to the real needs of disabled people like her son.
Speaking to The Irish Times last month, Ms Sinnott said she believed the alliance of independent TDs in the Dáil could be a powerful political force, defending the rights of those who would have no voice without their presence in Dáil Éireann.