Naeem Iqbal prioritising third-level education, sports facilities, and ...

Naeem Iqbal will be contesting the 2024 Local Elections as a Fianna Fáil representative in the Portlaoise Municipal District.

Mr Iqbal contested the 2019 Local Elections as an Independent candidate, but after much contemplation, he decided to join Fianna Fáil earlier this year.

Speaking with LaoisToday, Mr Iqbal said that if elected, he would prioritise three areas of improvement for Portlaoise: third-level education; sports facilities; and housing.

Mr Iqbal said he would work towards bring a third-degree educational facility to Portlaoise.

“When our young students leave Laois to go to the bigger towns and cities for college, in many, many cases they never come back.

“With time, our older population will be higher in Laois than the younger generation – long term, that has a negative effect on the growth of the town.

“When young people move to the bigger towns, there is more pressure on those towns and cities to provide housing and accommodation. If they stay in their own town, students will find it easier to find accommodation.

“Students should be in university to enjoy their life, do their work, and focus on their studies, rather than worrying about finding accommodation or paying high rents and high living costs.

“Also, when students are living in the town, night life will be much better. Local businesses will have the benefit of that, so the economy will grow.

“I have been in the hospitality business in the past, so I know that if students are in the town, it is easier to find part-time staff and weekend staff – and that also helps the local businesses.

“In the long term, when there is a degree college or university in a town, that town becomes more attractive to big, multi-national companies, because they know they will find a skilled workforce.

“We have the best geographic location. We connect north to south, east to west – we’re right in the centre.”

When speaking about his desire to improve the sports facilities in Portlaoise, Mr Iqbal referenced the mental and physical health of the youth in the area.

“When the youth is engaged in positive, healthy activity, they think positively, they build their minds positively, and they have a good community connection,” he said.

“Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald and I share the view that we have to have Portlaoise sports arena – a multi-sport facility with indoor and outdoor facilities for different sports and different activities.

“We have the Portlaoise Panthers (basketball) here, for example, who are not only encouraging the youth of Portlaoise to join them and be involved in a positive physical and mental activity, but who are bringing honour to Portlaoise by producing such good players.

“So we need to have a proper indoor facility in Portlaoise to harness this, and other sports as well.

“Because of the weather here, we can’t even play certain sports for half of the year because of the lack of facilities.”

Mr Iqbal, is Pakistani native, who has been living in Ireland with his since 2005.

Before that, he lived in both the UK and Sweden, and said his time in these countries has helped to shape his political beliefs and ambitions.

“We are building houses here but the cost is very high and still unaffordable for the average earner.

“We need to start looking into vertical constructions rather than horizontal, because with horizontal, you need more land – when you need more land it costs more money.

“The modular homes model is something I saw in Sweden and absolutely there is no issue whatsoever with those houses.

“Scandinavia has a much harsher winter than here, so if that model is working there, why can’t we have it here?”

Mr Iqbal added that a change was needed in terms of social housing, rents and mortgages, suggesting that the County Council should help people to get a loan where bank mortgages are not possible.

Mr Iqbal said he is in favour of social housing, but that should be for low-income households only, and not a trend.

“We have have to look into different ways to help families get off the housing lists and make them the owners of their own houses,” he said.

When asked how the Council could afford this, Mr Iqbal stressed that his plan would be a loan-based system, which would actually see the Council making profit in the long-term.

“In the long-term, I see the Council working as a bank – but with soft conditions,” he said.

The Local Elections are set to take place in May 2024.

SEE ALSO – Over a quarter million in funding designated for Laois Sports Partnership