public affairs eolas
continued to act as director of elections for presidential, European and byelection campaigns in Dublin Fingal. In 2014, I ran and was elected in the Swords ward of Fingal County Council and was reelected at the 2019 local elections. In November 2019 I ran for the Labour Party in the Dublin Fingal byelection but was unsuccessful. However, the byelection was a very positive and energised campaign and it set me up for a successful run in the General Election in February 2020.
What are your most notable achievements to date?
Political Platform Duncan Smith TD Elected to the Dáil in February 2020, Duncan Smith is a Labour Party TD for Dublin Fingal. Previously, Smith was a member of Fingal County Council from 2014 to 2020 and is currently party whip and spokesperson on climate action, communications networks and transport.
How did your political career begin? In 2008, following the banking crash and the bleak outlook for the company I decided to become active in politics and I joined the Labour Party. I had always been a supporter of the Labour Party
136
eolas public affairs
and the labour movement so it was the natural party for me to join. I began campaigning and activism with the party in my local area and in 2011, I volunteered as Brendan Ryan’s director of elections for the general election. I then worked as Brendan’s parliamentary assistant in the Oireachtas and
Achievement feels like the wrong word considering my relatively short amount of time in the Dáil and the constraints placed by Covid. I did enjoy my work on the Covid Committee in the Summer of 2020. On that committee, I was a strong voice for the widespread provision and wearing of facemasks. It’s difficult to remember now but there was contested views as to how helpful they would be in stopping the spread of the virus. Now they are part of our everyday life and a key tool in stopping the spread of the virus. I have also brought my first Bill to the Dáil, the National Standards Authority of Ireland (Carbon Footprint Labelling) Bill 2021. This Bill would confer on the NSAI the responsibility to come up with a trusted and clear carbon labelling scheme for products. This would place responsibility on corporates to meet a stringent state-led measures and tackle any potential greenwashing or weak self-certification method.
What is unique about representing Dublin Fingal? Dublin Fingal is the youngest and one of the most diverse constituencies in the country. Fingal is almost a monoscope of the entire country. Unlike most constituencies in Dublin, we have a large rural constituency in Fingal. We also have a coastline with numerous seaside towns, as well as Dublin’s county town, Swords, which is one of the fastest growing towns in the country. Fingal is also home to Ireland’s aviation centre, Dublin Airport. The diversity across the demographics and geography of the
