‘Rich man’ standing as independent

NOT for the first time, JJ McCabe is throwing his hat into the electoral ring as an independent.
While he didn’t make much of an impact in the last local elections, he isn’t deterred and says he is determined to prevail this time out in the general election.
There are well over 10,000 people signing on in Clare at the moment and he says there are a few things that can be done.
“I’d be making 10 jobs for starters. I’m going to build a wood processing plant. We have all the raw materials here, hundreds of thousands of acres of it. I’m going to get a timber mill up and running. Something has happened at Scariff, FINSA is going badly and I could get it back to life again.
“If I’m elected, I’m going to open four offices in Clare; one in Kilrush, one in Ennistymon, one in Ennis and one in Scariff, that’s four jobs. I’ll use all the resources and the people will be the beneficiaries.”
He says that his business acumen would be a big asset in the political arena.
“I’m a businessman to the core. Politics is about wheeling and dealing. It’s about delivering the goods and by God I’m well experienced there. I’m wheeling and dealing all my life, I’m a professional at it. There is a psychological input needed to be a success at wheeling and dealing and I’m a success at it. I proved it, I’m a rich man at the end of the day.”
Mr McCabe wants more industry to become established in Ireland.
“It’s sad to see our educated leaving these shores and pursuing a livelihood in a foreign land. We could do with the talent ourselves, it’s sad really. We must get more manufacturing plants in here. Hotels are doing badly and they were great for employment.”
While he says his goal is to win a seat, not reaching the Dáil wouldn’t be the end of the world for him. “If I lose, which I’ve done in the past, I just move on. Tomorrow’s a new day and you’ve learned something,” he concluded.