Clear topped the polls in Naas in the local elections in June as a member of the Social Democrats. He is running as an independent in the general election after the party picked another candidate to run for Catherine Murphy's seat.

Catherine Murphy taught me that hard work and delivering real results for your community are key to being a successful politician. I applied this principle as a councillor, topping the poll in the local elections. Now, I aim to take it a step further as a T.D. I will prioritize the needs of the people and work tirelessly to deliver tangible outcomes for the constituents of Kildare North.

The greatest issue our country faces right now is the lack of a clear plan to manage the pace of our population growth. This failure to plan is affecting every aspect of society—housing, healthcare, transport, education, and public services. As a result, we are constantly fire-fighting these issues. We need a government with a vision for the future and a clear plan to achieve it.

The issue that has impacted me the most during local and general election canvassing is the lack of services for children with special and additional needs. My first speech as a T.D would be an appeal to whichever government is in place to focus on the assessment of needs, as well as providing access to occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physiotherapy for these children. I would also advocate for additional college places in these critical professions. The previous government utterly failed these children, and this must be rectified.