Laura Dowling

But then you fast forward a number of years and you're picking up little bits and pieces of like what you like, what you don't like.

And when I was in the States, I always challenged like, oh, there has to be something better.

Maybe not better, but different to where I'm making some bit of a difference.

And politics for me has been it.

But I've been in it for now seven years.

And I can say last mandate, I had that doe eyed attitude.

Certain things were moving in the right way.

It was very green agenda.

It was very progressive.

It was what we would call centrist.

So you had a lot of good work being done.

This mandate is a completely different ball of fish.

So it's a challenge.

Okay.

There's absolutely days where you're exhausted.

So for those who might not follow politics.

We're not like TDs or senators or councillors.

I think councillors work incredibly hard.

I think they're the hardest working people I certainly know in the political sector because they're out there every day, all day.

But politicians like myself in Europe, particularly Irish, we work.