SINN Féin’s youngest councillor is set to stand in his first election this month, after his co-option on to Belfast City Council last year.
At 22, Caoimhín was selected to replace Councillor Stephen Magennis, who held his position as a Sinn Féin elected representative for more than a decade.
Ahead of next Thursday's poll, Councillor McCann is asking people to vote Sinn Féin 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in the keenly contested Colin DEA.
“We’re a team here and I know we will work for everybody in the Colin and work our hardest for every single person up here,” Councillor McCann told the Andersonstown News.
“We want to deliver first class council services right across Belfast and beyond and especially here in the Colin. For me, the very basic things that people want their councillors to do is to keep their streets cleaned and their bins lifted but Belfast City Council does so much more than that and that is because of the strong Sinn Féin team that have been returned over the years and we’re hoping to build on that.”
Councillor McCann said he will be working to deliver on two long-term projects in the Colin area, St Michael’s Boxing Club and Fight Academy Ireland.
“St Michael’s are a great club that deserves government and council support," he said. "We’re going to fight their corner for them as much as possible. We’re asking council to step in and show support and to guide them through the process of getting the project delivered and getting it off the ground.
"We will, as their local representatives, be there to support them every step of the way. We have already secured land for the club from council. That’s a positive step so now it’s about getting the funds there to get it built.
“The other project is Fight Academy Ireland, another great facility up here in the Colin, producing world champions and they’re only going to get bigger. What we’re working hard to do is finding them a new home in this part of the world.”
Colin DEA
On issues of housing, Councillor McCann said he has worked on upwards of 300 cases in the last year with regard to maintenance.
“I am working with a lot of housing associations and the Housing Executive itself to try and get more homes built. West Belfast is the hardest area to get houses in and the Colin is the hardest in West Belfast,” Caoimhín said.
“We know the pressures that people are facing with overcrowding and poor conditions. We need to get these homes built. That is why Sinn Féin’s housing would build 100,000 social and affordable homes over the next 15 years. Within Poleglass itself, we have 28 flats going up on the Good Sheppard Road which we know will be allocated straight away."
Caoimhín said he is committed to supporting youth people and youth services in the area in the face of the recent Education Authorities cuts.
In relation to reported anti-social behaviour in the Colin area, Councillor McCann said: “It is terrible that these things happen within our community but it is a very small minority of our young people that are engaged in anti-social behaviour up here. Most of the kids up here are brilliant, they engage in plenty of services.
“I have to commend our volunteers who do their absolute best in the Colin area, but they need support. It is so important they are getting that support and ultimately that falls on the Executive. We will do all we can to make sure there are no cuts and to secure funding anywhere we can to support our young people.”
