General Election 2024 – Fianna Fáil answer the Hot Press questionnaire: "We know that more needs to be done"

(1.) Irish religious orders owe €1.5 billion in compensation to the survivors of clerical abuse. What action would you take to ensure – without fail – that they finally, universally, have to pay up?

In Government over the past four-and-a-half years, we have worked with our coalition partners to implement a statutory redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes. In March this year, we were glad that this scheme finally opened to the public. As of October 21, 5,300 applications have been received. Nearly 3,900 notices of determination have issued to applicants, more than 82% of which contain an offer of benefits under the scheme.

The underpinning legislation provides for a number of reports and reviews to be produced. Section 48 of the legislation provides for two reviews into the operation of the scheme to be completed. The first is to be completed within six months of the scheme’s second anniversary. We will await the review of this scheme and take into account all recommendations in moving forward with changes to this scheme.

(2.) Will you commit to maintaining the Basic Income For Artists (BIA) scheme beyond its current trial period and do you feel there’s scope for it to be expanded?

Fianna Fáil will retain Basic Income for the Arts. We will also address scheme access issues for disabled artists. Additionally, we will explore initiatives to promote our thriving design and fashion scene, including support for the Design and Crafts Council Ireland and the Irish Grown Wool Council.

The challenge ahead is to ensure a strategy that supports community arts and participation while also encouraging, protecting and promoting excellence. With this in mind, Fianna Fáil will develop a new multi-year Capital Programme for National Arts Infrastructure and establish an Arts Capital and Equipment Programme to invest in local and community arts.

(3.) Will you enact the Oireachtas Committee on Drugs’ recommendation to decriminalise the possession of all illicit drugs for personal use?

As outlined in our manifesto, we will support the decriminalisation of the possession of certain drugs for personal use, with some conditions in line with the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Drugs Use.

While possession of controlled drugs would remain illegal, investment in a comprehensive health-led and harm reduction response to the possession of drugs for personal use is proposed.

(4.) Can you give a clear timeframe for closing down Direct Provision?

Over the term of the last Government, there was a dramatic growth in the number of people being accommodated in International Protection accommodation. Fianna Fáil is committed to delivering a fair, efficient and sustainable model of accommodation.

With that being said, if returned to Government, we will further reduce the accommodation delivered by commercial providers and move to a State-owned system. We will also avoid entering into contracts for the use of properties providing essential services to communities, such as hotels and care homes, to accommodate asylum seekers.

(5.) What would you do, concretely, to add to the pressure on Israel to end the slaughter in Gaza and Lebanon?

Fianna Fáil, through Tánaiste Micheál Martin, has shown consistent leadership at national and international level in condemning the violence being inflicted on innocent people in the Middle East. This includes condemnation of violence by settlements which are illegal under international law.

Following the finding by the International Court of Justice, the Government received advice from the Attorney General on the Occupied Territories Bill. The advice remains that the Bill, in its present form, is incompatible with EU law and the Constitution. Substantive amendments would be needed to most if not all the sections of the Bill, so that it is robust and can withstand any future legal challenges.

Fianna Fáil will work hard to quickly progress this in the next Government to ban imports from the occupied Palestinian territories.

(6.) Should vulture funds, institutions or pension schemes (and similar) be prevented from buying up new housing, apartments etc?

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, has welcomed the latest update on the progress of the planning measures he implemented three years ago aimed at boosting home ownership and curbing the bulk purchasing of homes.

The update shows that 49,828 houses and duplexes received planning permission, with conditions restricting the bulk buying or multiple sales to a single purchaser, and ring-fencing them for owner occupiers in the three-year period between May 2021 and May 2024. In total, almost 20,000 of the homes were recorded as ring-fenced in the last year alone.

The Ministerial Planning Guidelines are part of a series of government measures designed to prohibit the bulk buying of houses and duplexes in order to increase housing stock for home ownership. Other measures include a 10% stamp duty levy on the cumulative purchase of 10 or more residential houses in a 12-month period.

Interventions have worked and have helped level the playing field for traditional home buyers, including first-time buyers, while at the same time, continuing to facilitate investment in the construction of new homes, particularly those high-density apartments which would not otherwise be built. In addition to limiting bulk purchases, we are also increasing the supply of housing, as evidenced by the latest figures showing record new home starts and completions.

Fianna Fáil is committed to supporting home ownership, and thanks to the policy measures in Housing for All, the aspiration of becoming a homeowner is increasingly coming true for a growing number of people.

Cost of Living protest in Dublin. 24th September 2022. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

(7.) Do you have a specific policy with regards to repurposing the 100,000-plus derelict buildings in Ireland for housing?

Since 2020 Fianna Fáil has introduced attractive schemes to allow people to modernise and refurbish old houses in cities, towns and across rural Ireland. Over 6,700 approvals for the vacant and derelict property grant have been issued already.If returned to Government, we will:

• Protect and extend the Vacancy Refurbishment Grants to 2030 and increase the grant levels by €10,000.
• Ensure that every Local Authority has an expanded vacant property team in place to help bring vacant properties back into use.
• Roll out the new special Local Authority Mortgage for Vacant Properties.
• Create an ‘Above the Shop’ living refurbishment grant of €100,000 to help make spaces above retail premises liveable.
• Introduce further ‘Above the Shop’ living incentives through a commercial rates reduction pilot scheme.
• Bring the Traditional Farm Buildings grant in line with the vacant property refurbishment grant.

(8.) What will you do, again concretely, to stop social media and tech companies from enabling – and earning vast amounts of money from enabling – the spread of misinformation, by people determined to undermine democratic institutions and manipulate public opinion with lies?

Fianna Fáil is committed to maintaining a safe digital environment. We must work with tech companies and An Garda Síochána to detect and remove illegal content and help online users to stay safe from online fraud and scams.

The revolutionary Digital Services Act places obligations on online platforms to have a straightforward system for flagging illegal content. This law requires that advertisements will have to be clearly identified with information as to why you are seeing it, and who has paid for it.

If returned to Government, we will:

• Legislate to give An Garda Síochána and Coimisiún na Meán the power to seek a court order requiring the immediate removal of illegal or harmful content. We will extend the same powers under the EU Terrorist Content Online Regulation to require the removal of all illegal or harmful content.
• Refresh Ireland’s National AI Strategy and implement the EU AI Act.
• Require online platforms to detect and remove fake advertisements.
• Amend legislation so that online platforms can only publish advertising for financial products and services from companies that are regulated to provide such products.
• Publish the National Counter Disinformation Strategy and an implementation plan to empower citizens through media literacy, education and awareness so they have the skills to identify disinformation.
• Finalise engagement with the EU to implement Part 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 and empower the Electoral Commission to tackle the scourge of online disinformation.
• Fully implement Part 4 of the Electoral Reform Act to ensure full transparency for online political advertising.

(9.) What’s your plan for tackling the mental health crisis among young people, many of whom have to wait months, even years to access treatment?

It is a priority of Fianna Fáil to promote good mental health and ensure access to appropriate supports when and where people need them. Since 2020, the budget for mental health has increased by 44%. This investment has led to the reform and enhancement of mental health services.

For the first time in the history of the State, we now have a dedicated National Office for Youth Mental Health in the HSE. We opened the Portrane National Forensic Mental Health Facility and published the Mental Health Bill. If returned to Government, we will prioritise passing this Bill to modernise the State’s approach to mental health services.

Through sustained investment in staffing and expansion of services Fianna Fáil is committed to ongoing reform and improvement in our mental health services. We know that more needs to be done.

If returned to Government, we will:

• Continue to recruit staff, both nationally and internationally, to meet the needs of our increasing population.
• Retain staff working in mental health services by providing access to training and supporting career progression.
• Expand the number of funded places in Clinical Psychology Doctorate training.
• Extend the funding of the HSE Assistant Psychologist pilot programme so more patients get support.
• Continue to resource CAMHS teams to reduce waiting lists.
• Continue to implement the ‘No Wrong Door’ admissions policy nationwide, ensuring proper clinical triage for young people.
• Establish targeted supports for children with autism experiencing mental health challenges.
• Develop a new care model for HSE Primary Care Psychology to expedite services for young people with less complex issues.
• Enhance youth mental health services for those up to age 25, focusing on smoother transitions from CAMHS to adult services.
• Increase staffing in under-18 dual diagnosis services to better treat young people with mental health and substance abuse issues.
• Legislate to regulate CAMHS.

(10.) How do you solve the Dublin Airport capacity crisis?

Our objective is to ensure that connectivity to and from Ireland continues to grow. Recognising the importance of Dublin airport for tourism development, we will remove the passenger cap at Dublin Airport as soon as possible.

We will continue meeting with stakeholders and explore fresh proposals to resolve the impasse, including via Cork and Shannon airports, which have capacity to take more passengers.

BONUS QUESTION:

(11.) Are there any parties currently represented in the Dáil that you’d refuse to go into coalition with?

We have ruled out government with Sinn Féin. As Tánaiste, Micheál Martin has stated Sinn Féin don’t get the economic model. They don’t get the enterprise model. They don’t believe in free trade. We are a pro-European party and Sinn Féin has opposed every European referendum. Sinn Féin has also ruled out coalition with Fianna Fáil.

The General Election 2024 special is available to read in full in the new issue of Hot Press – while extracts will be shared on hotpress.com over the coming days.

Coming next, the Social Democrats...