This afternoon Miriam Boush is expected to be co-opted to Carlow County Council to replace councillor Adrienne Wallace during Adrienne’s maternity leave.
Miriam was born, raised and lives in Carlow and she works locally in social care.
She will become the first person of colour to be a member of Carlow County Council.
Miriam has over 100,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky and she uses these platforms for activism, to make politics accessible and to promote a sense of empowerment.
Councillor Wallace said:
"I’m delighted that Miriam will be co-opted onto the council during my maternity leave. She has a deep commitment to the people of her home county of Carlow and I know her sense of social justice, her energy and her drive will serve them well.
Miriam said:
“I feel honoured to have the opportunity to serve the people of Carlow. I aim to use my time on the council to make politics accessible and enable people to engage with local politics and advocate for themselves. In my time on Carlow County Council I will seek to make local government more transparent and to hold elected representatives accountable.
“The housing and cost of living crises are hitting so many people very hard, and as a People Before Profit councillor on Carlow County Council I will represent the interests of workers and their families, young people and women.
“I join the council just as the Government is trying to end the Triple Lock so it can send young people abroad to fight in imperialist wars. If they get away with ending the Triple Lock, sending Irish soldiers to Lebanon on the same side as Israel against Hezbollah will just be the start. I will use my council position in whatever way I can to support the local campaigns to keep the Triple Lock and to prevent our young people from being thrown into wars.
“A key priority during my six month term on the council is to establish a ban on new data centres in Carlow. Data centres consume almost a quarter of our State’s electricity, paying just half the electricity rate that households have to pay and driving up electricity prices for everyone else. Their insatiable energy and resource consumption is reducing our capacity to provide new homes and makes it impossible to meet our climate targets. I will work with local communities across the county to ensure no new data centres can be established in Carlow.
“I will also challenge the proposed increases to council rents at a time when property developers owe Carlow County Council millions in unpaid contributions. I believe it is fundamentally wrong that the most vulnerable people in our communities are being asked to pay more while some of the wealthiest and most powerful interests continue to owe the council millions. The burden should not always fall on ordinary working people while those with the deepest pockets are allowed to avoid their responsibilities. I will push for answers about these outstanding debts and fight against rent increases that put even more pressure on people already struggling with the cost of living.
“I also want to make Carlow County Council more transparent and accountable to the people it represents. At the moment, council meetings aren’t livestreamed, meaning people can’t easily watch or follow the decisions being made on their behalf. I want to change that. People should be able to see what their elected representatives are saying, how they’re voting and where public money is going.”