Galway Advertiser 1989/1989_05_18/GA_18051989_E1_007.pdf 

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Labour Euro-Candidate Launches Campaign
O n Tuesday morning at T h e Atlanta Hotel, thecampaign of L a b o u r candidate I v a n McPhillips w a s officially launched b y Michael D . Higgins T D .T h e National Campaign w a s launched in Dublin at BuswelPs Hotel in Dublin on Wednesday by Labour Leader, Dick Spring T D . Mr. McPhillips, speaking with quiet passion, drew attention to his own personal motivation in b e c o m i n g i n v o l v e d in Labour Party politics. " I have experienced in my own family some of the major issues on which I will be basing my cam paign. T w o members of my own family have been obliged to emigrate and at one time my entire family were on the verge of leav ing the country." Mr. McPhillips is from the Gweedore Gaeltacht and grew up as a native Irish speaker. " I also feel that my age (he is 28 years old - the youngest of the EuroCandidates) gives me a sense of personal iden tification with the a g e group - people between the ages of 19 and 35 - who are most affected by emigration." Mr. McPhillips described this situation as a form of "economic ex tradition" - "since people a r e being f o r c e d by joblessness to leave who might not otherwise have gone." Another aspect of emigration about which he felt strongly was the in ability of Irish people out side the country to vote in elections. "Ireland is the only country in the EC w h e r e citizens w h o ' v e gone abroad are not allow ed to cast their votes in Na tional and Local elections. What is the Government afraid o f ? " J O B C R E A T I O N M A J O R P R I O R I T Y In reviewing his elec tion manifesto, Mr. McPhillips stressed his commitment to providing increased e m p l o y m e n t through both state invest ment in business and in dustry, in particular the fishing industry "which has a great untapped potential for job creation." He said he believed that EC structural funding could go a long way in this direction, and criticized the G o v e r n m e n t ' s Na tional Plan for only giving the most cursory attention to the development of the Connacht/Ulster region "the second largest consti tuency in the E C . " L A B O U R CONSISTENT O N R O D L I C E N C E ISSUE On other issues, such as the continuing Rod L i c e n c e dispute, M r . McPhillips reminded his audience that the Labour P a r t y has consistently called for the scrapping of the existing legislation and criticised other politicians who had joined the anti' rod licence campaign late in the day. I V A N McPHILIPS addressing the press conference to launch his Euro election campaign.
Photo: M I K E SHAUGHNESSY

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G A E L T A C H T ISSUES Because of his Gaeltacht connection, he pledged his support to a greater posi tion of importance for Udaras na Gaeltachta: " M o r e funding is needed and I would like to see U d a r a s take o v e r all d e v e l o p m e n t a l respon sibility - for roads and ser-

vices and education. I also fully support the proposal to establish Teilifis na Gaeltachta. Unless w e do something to promote the Irish langauge in those areas where it's still alive, it will be dead in a few generations." He sharply criticized the National Plan for taking no specific account of the Gaeltacht areas.

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