Fine Gael’s Mocevičienė eyes Balbriggan seat

CATHERINE REILLY meets a Lithuanian woman planning to contest for election in Balbriggan  

IT SEEMS that Vilma MocevičienÄ— is making some history – but she’s been too busy to pay too much attention.

The mother-of-two, originally from Alytus in Lithuania and now living in Balbriggan, appears to be the first ever Lithuanian to declare as a candidate in any Irish local election, having decided to run for a seat on Balbriggan Town Council as a Fine Gael representative.
The affable woman juggles motherhood with a part-time job, as well as volunteering once a week with St Vincent de Paul in Balbriggan, serving on the local childcare committee, combined residents’ association and on the parents’ committee of Dublin’s Lithuanian school. And she also provides a taxi service - for her youngest son who plays with a local under-12 football team, she adds jokingly.

Soon, MocevičienÄ— will be knocking on doors around Balbriggan, trying to convince potential voters that, as a Fine Gael rep, she can help solve the amenities, childcare, lighting and anti-social problems that badly need addressing.   

MocevičienÄ— says she wants to further improve her English in preparation for these encounters. She has acquired a decent standard since coming to Ireland without a word of the language in 2002 – “You kind of feel like a baby that’s just been born”, she remembers of her arrival – but is worried that her accent may present some communication challenges.
She has, however, had few problems identifying important issues in the town where she has lived with her family for four years, having previously been based in the Dun Laoghaire area.

Although generally not as well resourced as Dun Laoghaire on many levels, MocevičienÄ— describes the north Dublin location as “a good, friendly town to love in”. However, referring to the rapid housing developments in the area, she adds: “There is a lack of social amenities for a community that has quadrupled in size. In Balbriggan there has to be a leisure complex, swimming pool, play areas. Also crèches in the area are expensive for people who want to return to education, to improve themselves so they can compete for better jobs.”

She says it’s wrong that there is no swimming pool in the town, and has observed that some teenagers regularly gather on the streets at night, often drinking, because of the dearth of more attractive alternatives. 

Moreover, lighting and pathways on the road her youngest son takes when going to primary school are non-existent, and any child could easily be knocked down, she says.
One initiative that MocevičienÄ— is involved in through the local childcare committee is the opening of a community crèche, which will take place within the next few months. It will be more reasonably priced than those that are privately run, she explains.

The Lithuanian has faced her own challenges since arriving in Ireland. A certified pre-school teacher back in Lithuania, she worked in admin before coming here. She found it difficult to leave this job, which she loved, and work as a housekeeper in a hotel upon first arriving. But it was a learning experience, and she remembers listening carefully to the chatter between people, trying to pick up new English words.

In general, however, MocevičienÄ— has found people to be welcoming and receptive, including those in Balbriggan and in Fine Gael. She has also moved on to more interesting work – at a city branch of the Citizens’ Information Centre, where her ability to speak Lithuanian, English, Russian, and some Polish, proves useful. Ireland is her home now, she confirms, and her two sons “will never go back to Lithuania now because they are like Irish. They are thinking like Irish.”

And so to the question on everyone’s lips: why Fine Gael? “I’m every evening listening to the news – I like what they say,” she replies of the party she joined six months ago. “I was reading the papers and thought ‘They are thinking what I am thinking,’” she adds, referring to health and childcare issues.

Casually mention that, for some, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour almost blend into a one-flavour purée sometimes, and the otherwise bubbly woman becomes quite serious, and rhetorically asks: “Are you sure? Are you listening to Fianna Fáil talking?”

She sharply criticises the Government’s introduction of a one-per-cent tax levy on earners (a two-per-cent rate will be applied to those who earn over €100,100), arguing that a minimum wage earner should not be lumbered with the same rate as someone earning substantially more.

“At the last election Fine Gael promised free health care for the under fives,” she adds. “I’ve worked with Dr James Reilly TD – my local TD and Fine Gael’s health spokesperson – and soon Fine Gael will announce a free universal health care system, free to all.” MocevičienÄ— says she cannot say anything further on this, but to “look out for more details”. 
As for MocevičienÄ—, people ask her why she wants to enter local politics when she could just put her feet up in the evenings. She has a very simple answer: “I like to help.”