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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Martin McDermott said he has received a ‘phenomenal’ vote in the Carndonagh LEA
Fianna Fáil councillor Martin McDermott has described his vote as “amazing” in the face of the surge of voting for 100% Redress candidate Ali Farren.
The Glengad candidate, who topped the poll in 2019 and saw his vote drop by 432, said he was “very happy and proud” at receiving 2069 first preferences.
“You have a very strong candidate in Ali running for 100% Redress which is an emotional (issue). People are living in defective homes and they are going to vote for a defective concrete party,” he said.
“But we have done a lot of work and I have done a lot of work for the defective concrete families over the last number of years and they have stood by me on that and the vote for me is a phenomenal vote. To get over 2,000 votes again, in the climate and in the same parish you have someone taking over 2,000 votes.”
Cllr McDermott, who chairs the council’s defective concrete committee, said he was not surprised at the surge in support for 100% Redress, which also saw Joy Beard being elected on the first count in the Buncrana LEA.
“It’s a big issue and I know how prominent it is out there. I know how many people contact me on a daily basis on it. So I am not surprised that they have taken that vote. But it is a message and it has to be listened to and I intend to work as closely with everyone on the council as I can, including Ali and Joy in Inishowen, to do our best to try and make the scheme as workable for families as we can.”
He said he never feared that being part of a government party would threaten his seat on the council.
“To be fair, I have been there and worked with families and the groups for the past five years. People voted for me because I have worked for them, I have got back to them and I have helped them and that’s why I have over 2,000 votes today.”
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