Voters air frustrations ahead of Irish general election

In what is one of Europe's best performing economies, mum-of-four Emma says she lies awake at night worrying if her children will get the medical care they need.

She is one of many in the Republic of Ireland who say they are not feeling the benefits of the country's considerably healthy bank balance.

As polls in the country’s general election prepare to open on Friday, there are lots of voters who say they feel “frustrated” and “grumpy”.

Pressures around housing, immigration and public services have dominated the campaign.

Last month, the Republic's outgoing finance minister, Jack Chambers, delivered a pre-election budget in which he promises “bright and hopeful days for all of us”, including €250 (£208) for all households to help with energy bills.

Ireland will have a total budget surplus this year of €25bn (£20.8bn), which is made up in part by a huge tax windfall from Apple.

Thirty miles away in Bunbeg, on the county's west coast, local journalist Áine Ní Bhreisleáin confirms Emma is not alone in how she feels.

“We're being told that things are better in Ireland, but people can see the cost of living is rising and rising," she says.

“Housing is very difficult to get. Health services, we’re being told, are having money pumped into them, but people can't access the health services they need."

And “people often vote first with their pocket”, she warns.

With its mountains and coastline, Donegal is a beautiful place to live in but its scale as a political constituency makes it a “canvasser's nightmare”, says Áine.

“People maybe feel they've been separated and left on their own and forgotten here in Donegal," she adds.

There are a number of issues why this may be, but Áine points to infrastructure, health services, expenditure and, pointedly, the issue surrounding defective concrete blocks.

Thousands of homes built with blocks containing high levels of the mineral Mica are crumbling across the county.

The mineral absorbs water, causing walls to crack and crumble.

In November 2021, the Irish government introduced what it said was a significant number of improvements to a previous scheme for mica homeowners.

The scheme, which is capped at €420,000 (£357,500), is for homeowners in counties Donegal, Mayo, Clare and Limerick - where the blocks are most present.

Housing is also a major problem in the Republic, with prices soaring and about 58,000 on the social housing waiting list.

A major report from July also suggests that at least 35,000 new homes need to be built every year to keep up with demand.

However, Ireland's population continues to rise.

Last year around 150,000 immigrants arrived – the highest number for 17 years.

Most were from outside the EU.

County Donegal hosts the largest proportion, per capita, of asylum seekers - known in Ireland as International Protection Applicants (IPAs).

It is claimed one in every 100 people in the county is now an IPA.

“The concern people have about immigration in Donegal is equality," local radio host Greg Hughes says.

"They feel people coming to the country, or people being offered refuge, are given priority."

Greg hosts a live daily local phone-in programme on Highland Radio.

At his studios in Letterkenny, he says perhaps voters are “feeling grumpy or perhaps disconnected” because not all the problems in Ireland are new.

He suggests that people also have not seen meaningful moves to address them.

“I am not saying the government isn't trying or they aren't doing their best but the reality is you say to someone in Donegal that this current country is incredibly rich, they'll say, 'Well, when's this going to trickle down into my pocket?'”