Silke is the public relations officer for Ógra Aontú. He is a published author.

I'm 26 years old, and at this point most of my friends are in Canada or Australia, having concluded that they will never own a home in Ireland in their lifetimes. I got involved in politics to speak up for rural Ireland and try to stem the exodus of young people from our island. For the past five years, I have worked in the Dáil for my party leader Peadar Tóibín TD and I can see first hand how this Dublin-centric government are at best neglecting rural Ireland and at worst actively penalising us with toll hikes, carbon tax and unreasonable planning and agricultural regulation.

Housing is the biggest crisis in the country. With both rents and property prices rising dramatically coupled with the cost of living, many people are just sitting on the threshold of homelessness. This is an emergency situation. A half a million adults in this country are still living with their parents. 4,000 state-owned local authority homes are lying vacant, while roughly the same number of children are homeless. It is an absolute scandal. We need taxation and grant measures to bring vacant houses back into use.

I would use my first speaking opportunity in the Dáil to highlight the life experiences of people in Galway East - the traffic congestion and long commutes to work, the cost of childcare, petrol and diesel. I would call for the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry up to Claremorris, through Tuam, and I would introduce legislation to place a floor below the price of beef to ensure factories and supermarkets give at least a break-even price to farmers for their produce. I would not shy from robust debate and would shout loudly for the ordinary country people of Galway who have been underrepresented for too long.