Meet the Dublin Central by-election candidates: Sinn Fein Councillor Janice Boylan
North Inner City Councillor Janice Boylan is Sinn Fein’s candidate for the upcoming Dublin Central by-election and is running on a campaign based on rectifying the mistakes she claims have been caused by successive Fianna Fail and Fine Gael governments.
As part of Dublin Live’s Local Democracy Reporting Scheme’s coverage of the upcoming Dublin Central by-election, we reached out to Cllr Boylan and all the Dublin City Councillors currently in the running. By putting forward questions on the big issues affecting Dubliners, these profiles aim to provide voters with the information they need to make an informed choice come election day.
First elected in 2014, Cllr Boylan has carved out a political career that’s based on standing up for working class voices, pushing towards better housing opportunities, and fighting for children’s amenities, safer communities, and more special school places. Having spent more than a decade campaigning for local changes, she’s now endeavouring to represent her constituents at a national level in Dáil Éireann.
When asked about the housing crisis, Cllr Boylan cites her party’s housing plan and Sinn Fein ’s alternative budget for 2026 “where we set out how to deliver at the scale” necessary housing across private, public, affordable-to-purchase and rental homes that “are affordable in reality, not just in name.” She believes this plan outlines how to bring homeownership within reach of working people and tackle homelessness.
“The sole responsibility for the housing crisis rests squarely with the failed housing plans of successive Fianna Fail and Fine Gael governments. They have continuously prioritised returns for investors, in higher rents for landlords, over the needs of ordinary workers and families,” she said.
“For over a decade rents in the private rental sector have increased. This is because the government is not delivering enough social and affordable homes . As a result more and more people are pushed into an expensive and insecure private rental sector that does not meet their needs.”
Cllr Boylan wants to ban rent increases, scrap the Landlord Tax Relief, and for money to be given to renters in the form of an increased renters tax relief. She said allowing “large institutional investors to charge ever higher rents for smaller and darker apartments is not a solution to the housing crisis” and, if the crisis is to be solved, housing stock that workers can actually buy must be dramatically increased.
While Sinn Fein’s opponents question where they will get the funds to achieve their aim of 60,000 new homes a year, Cllr Boylan stresses that “the state is projected to have billions of euros in revenue available over the coming years.” She said a portion of the surplus can be used to pay for their housing plan and argued that no extra taxes are needed and this can be funded through available revenue.
Problems of anti-social behaviour mean “many people no longer feel safe in Dublin” and Cllr Boylan stresses the need to change that. Citing issues of garda visibility as well as dereliction and drug use, she’s calling for a plan to tackle all the issues “contributing to the sense that Dublin is not safe.”
“Cuts to services have had hugely negative impacts in our communities. Youth services, health services and addiction services are underfunded and overstretched. This has widespread consequences and must be addressed,” she said.
One major issue Cllr Boylan pointed out was that “there are not enough Gardai to keep our streets safe and prevent crime.” She said this is the result of “the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in An Garda Siochana .” She highlighted shortfalls in community and road policing and is calling for a focus on garda recruitment campaigns.
Cllr Boylan said steps such as increasing training allowance to the equivalent of the minimum wage, boosting capacity per intake at the Garda training college by 50 to 275, and targeted recruitment in working class communities are needed to solve this issue.
Cllr Boylan believes that working people are being hit “harder and harder” by “out of control costs” as energy bills, rent, insurance, childcare, and groceries have "gone through the roof.” Rather than “supporting workers and families,” she’s accusing Fianna Fail and Fine Gael of “piling even more pressure on households.”
“Sinn Fein’s primary aim is to make life more affordable for people, to ease the pressure on households hammered by soaring prices, and to invest with ambition for a better future. When people ask – why is it that in a state so wealthy, nothing seems to work, the answer is found in the bad priorities and bad choices made by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael over the last decade and a half,” she said.
According to Cllr Boylan, now is the time for “better priorities” and “choices that are “unapologetically about improving the lives of ordinary people.” She stresses that Sinn Fein’s policies, as outlined in their alternative budget, does just that as energy credits are increased, there’s a ban on rent increases, and student fees are abolished.
Dublin Central “has been neglected for decades” by central government in Cllr Boylan’s opinion, and she feels her constituents have been “ignored, abandoned and left behind.” With communities she claims “never got the investment, the services or the facilities” they deserve, her priority is to “give our young people real opportunities” to “build a future and raise a family here.”
“That means delivering affordable and secure housing, better public services, affordable childcare, more play areas for children, tackling anti-social behaviour and making communities safer. People are sick and tired of broken promises and empty words from government - they want action,” she said.
“We need to see the government tackle these challenges head on and start delivering for this constituency. Our communities need strong leadership and strong representation. I am determined to ensure that people’s voices are heard, concerns listened to and to play my part in building a better future for everyone in our community looking to build a life for themselves.”
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme