Mayo councillor Harry Barrett hits the ground running

By Conor Curran

CASTLEBAR Councillor Harry Barrett has been on a string of victories as of late.

His election to the county council, of course, was a major win. His seat was secured after a nail-biting 14th count in the TF, a historic one for many reasons.

Nationwide, it was the largest vote count that the country had ever seen, thanks to the Midlands-Northwest EU election votes being counted in the same building. It was historic for Barrett, too, as this wasn’t his first attempt at running for Mayo County Council.

On his previous losses, Barrett said he “never lost motivation.” He chalked this up to his strong interest in politics, desire to do right by his constituents, and the fact that once you’re in the public eye, you don’t exactly leave it overnight.

“I’ve a good relationship with local papers, and sometimes you might be asked for a comment about things - they think sometimes you have a contribution to make… it was just an organic situation where I was always commenting, always involved in issues.”

A former Labour Party candidate, Harry Barrett took on the past two elections as an Independent candidate. Coinciding with the nationwide rise in support for independent councillors, he stands by his decision. “I can talk to people, I can make my own mind up… it gave me the scope to speak out on what I want to say.”

On the downsides, he acknowledged the lack of funding behind independent candidates. Regardless, his campaign employed resourceful tactics to get the message out there.

Younger readers may be aware of his TikTok account. Here, he posted short videos packed with information, visual and verbal, and urged younger voters to exercise their right to vote. According to Barrett, this was a huge help to his campaign.

The mastermind behind the decision to campaign on TikTok? His daughter. “It was a case of me coming up with the issue, us arriving on location, she films the video, then does all of the captions and hashtags… I have an 11-year-old TikTok manager who I give full credit to.

“Everything added something to the campaign. Social media really brought out the younger vote for me, and it really helped with the transfers.”

Now that the suspense of election night, or week, is behind him, Barrett can focus on the issues that matter most to him. Just recently, Mayo University Hospital accepted the need for a designated bereavement officer, a suggestion put forward by Councillor Michael Kilcoyne on behalf of Councillor Barrett at the July meeting of the HSE West Forum.

As the self-proclaimed 'hospital candidate', Barrett’s campaign for improved health services doesn’t end there.

“The big issue in the county is the lack of doctors. The bedrock of primary care in the county is based on the number of GPs that we have. The safe level of cover in any rural area is 12 GPs per 10,000 people. We don’t have that in County Mayo. We have to pile the pressure on in these forum meetings until we get that.

“Doctor numbers is the key to it. It keeps people out of A&E at the weekends. It gives you the continuity of care. You want to be seen by somebody who knows you, by someone who knows your family. That’s so important.

“More incentives have to be brought in, more help has to be given to young GPs who might want to locate in rural areas, especially with the price of property. The price of land and the price of property is holding us all back.”

Barrett has been quite vocal about his opposition to short-term AirBnBs taking over the rental market. “I’ve no issue with somebody making some money from renting out their room on AirBnb, that’s what it was designed for, but not full properties. There has to be regulation there, or else we’re just giving lip service to the housing crisis.”

Barrett referred to the statistic he quoted during his campaign, where there was 27 properties on AirBnB to every long-term let in Mayo.

Countries such as France, Germany and Austria have strict regulations, including taxes, restrictions on the length of stays, and requiring permits. While similar regulations have been discussed in Ireland, and there are plans to implement them later this year, Barrett acknowledged the urgent need for change in order to “bring as many properties back into the long-term letting situation as possible… There’s very little we can do at a council level (regarding AirBnbs), but we can raise the issue.”

What can be done at a council level, though, is dealing with dereliction, something that has been a strong part of Barrett’s time as councillor. “If you want to keep a derelict building on the main street of a town in our county, you’ve got to pay the price,” warns Barrett. “There’s plenty of money out there if you want to renovate a property.”

One property has been at the forefront of recent discussions in the council, spearheaded by Barrett. The Imperial Hotel, just opposite the Mall in Castlebar, is “an enigma wrapped in a riddle”, according to the councillor.

The hotel closed in 2009 and has been lying vacant since.

Councillor Barrett has proposed a new use for it - a municipal building to deal with the growing needs of the area.

The current chamber is not fit for purpose, he says, particularly to members of the public and those with disabilities.

“It’s not good enough. We have one of the most historic buildings in the country sitting idle across the road, in a perfect location.”

His motion to use it as municipal offices was passed at the July Castlebar Municipal District meeting.

Sitting down across from the councillor, his passion for the town of Castlebar, and Mayo in general, is palpable. He has certainly made a name for himself.