Latest news with #Tóibín
The Journal
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Tóibín: Aontú would keep rent pressure zones and scrap VAT on housing materials if in government
AONTÚ LEADER PEADAR Tóibín today outlined three policies that his party would adopt in an effort to resolve the housing crisis, coming off the back of the party's Ard Fheis yesterday. The Ard Fheis was held in Gormanstown, Co Meath yesterday, and was shown live on RTÉ in a signifier of the party's growth since its establishment in 2019. The party now has two TDs in Tóibín and Paul Lawless, one senator in Sarah O'Reilly, and six councillors. Among the topics discussed at the event were immigration, housing, and government spending. Today, Tóibín reiterated several of his views. He called for the housing crisis to be declared an emergency, an approach similar to other opposition parties. This would allow the government to push through policies for the public good that would not typically be permitted, such as bypassing some planning laws and objections. The housing target for this year is 41,000 homes, as set out in the programme for government. It became clear earlier this year that it was incredibly unlikely that the government would manage to meet its self-imposed housing target . Last year, the government missed out on the 40,000 homes then Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien said it was aiming for, and Housing for All plan's target of 33,450. The government has also signalled imminent change to rent pressure zones (RPZs). The rent caps are due to expire at the end of this year. Advertisement Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín speaking at the party's Ard Fheis at the City North hotel in Gormanstown. Alan Rowlette / © Alan Rowlette / © / © If Aontú were to enter government, it would keep rent pressure zones as well as scrapping VAT on housing materials, including construction of homes, Tóibín said. 'We would actually lower the VAT in terms of building homes. At the moment, you have an incredible situation where Micheál Martin is actually talking about getting rid of rent caps to families who are paying two thousand euros [a month]. 'We will keep the rent pressure zones and make it cheaper to build homes by getting rid of VAT. It is absolutely wrong that you have VAT in terms of building those homes,' Tóibín said. In February, the party leader released figures provided by the government that showed that the government had collected close to €3 billion in VAT on housing materials and construction services in 2024 , the highest amount ever collected in a single year. In 2015, the figure was set at €1.2m. 'We'd make it far easier to draw down the refurbishment grants for the 168,000 empty homes. The speed that the government is going in at the moment, in terms of those means it's going to take 115 years before those homes can be brought back into use,' Tóibín said. Operation Shamrock was also discussed. The Aontú initiative would see Irish construction workers in Canada and Australia offered a €10,000 grant to return home and work in the sector for four years. 'We would use current construction exemption regulation to build homes for those in a far speeder time than it takes at the moment.' On other issues, party delegates yesterday voted to adopt party motions including a ban on allowing anyone who has purposefully destroyed their documents to enter the country, and a ban of 'the introduction of Sharia law' or 'community courts of any religion'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Aontú set for Árd Fheis in Co Meath
Members of Aontú will gather for the party's Árd Fheis in Co Meath today. Public service accountability, immigration, housing, and what the party has termed "common sense political reform" are among the issues expected to be discussed. Aontu, which now holds two Dáil seats, one in the Seanad and eight in local authorities, is expecting as many as 400 people to attend the event. Among the most high-profile issues likely to be raised will be what Aontú says is the "glacial" pace of delivery on projects such as the national children's hospital. An early morning session on the international protection system for people seeking asylum in Ireland, which party leader Peadar Tóibín this week described as "chaotic", is likely to gain attention... Aontu's ard fheis will end after Mr Tóibín's key note speech this evening, which will be broadcast live on RTÉ One after the Six One News, with a simultaneous ISL version on the RTÉ News Channel.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Govt spending, immigration to dominate Aontú ard fheis
Government spending, immigration, housing and crime are likely to dominate proceedings at Aontú's ard fheis tomorrow. The party, which now holds two Dáil seats, one seat in the Seanad and eight more in local authorities, is expecting as many as 400 people to attend the event at the City North Hotel in party leader Peadar Tóibín's Meath West constituency. Among the most high-profile issues likely to be addressed at the event will be Government accountability and what Aontú says is the "glacial" pace of Government delivery on a number of key projects, including the National Children's Hospital. That issue is expected to be raised during a noon session on accountability and a 3pm session on health, while the international protection system for people seeking asylum in Ireland - which Deputy Tóibín described this week as "chaotic" - is due to be discussed at 9:30am. Further discussions are also scheduled on housing, crime, health and what the party has termed "common sense political reform" in the day-long event which ends at 7pm. Speaking in advance of the ard fheis, which is the party's fifth since it was formed in 2019, Mr Tóibín said: "Key public services and key infrastructure across the country is grinding to a halt and bloating in cost every day. The National Children's Hospital is a monument to Government incompetence. "But there are dozens of other wasteful projects ballooning out of all proportion. This has a serious cost to citizens. "The referendums [last year, which were rejected by voters] were a watershed in the ability of the Irish people to tolerate meaningless virtue signalling. We are the only party listening to the people. "We were the only party to stand up for the people on the referendums, the hate speech laws, carbon taxes, the right to life, the Government's chaotic immigration policy and gender ideology. We did so on the basis of common sense and compassion."
Irish Examiner
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Taoiseach makes Leo Varadkar 'look like a member of Kneecap', says Áontú leader
Taoiseach Micheál Martin makes his predecessor Leo Varadkar "look like a member of Kneecap" in terms of their outlook on Irish unity, the Áontú leader Peadar Tóibín has claimed. Ahead of his party's ard fheis this weekend, Mr Tóibín told The Irish Examiner that while he wants his party in government, he cannot foresee a coalition with Fianna Fáil while Mr Martin is leader. Mr Tóibín formed the party in 2019 after he was suspended from the Sinn Féin parliamentary party for defying party whip and voting against abortion legislation. Since then, Áontú has grown to have two TDs, a senator and eight councillors and has commanded a larger proportion of the public debate than its numbers alone, with Mr Tóibín being seen as the major political winner in last March's two failed referendums, having been a prominent advocate of No votes in both. Mr Tóibín describes the party as being formed "in the triangle of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, and the SDLP", but says that he believes that Fianna Fáil no longer represents its members under the Taoiseach, with whom the Meath TD had frequent sparring matches during last year's election. Peadar Toibin says that he wants his party's TD numbers to be in double figures after the next election and would consider coalition with Fianna Fáil, but the road to a marriage of convenience with his former party Sinn Féin looks less clear. File photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos Mr Tóibín was a member of Ógra Fianna Fáil in his student days and says he does not recognise the party now. "I have nothing personally against Micheál Martin. Micheál Martin is a very able individual. He's a very fluent individual. And he's probably the great political survivor. "I was a member of the Kevin Barry cummann, which is the Fianna Fáil cumann in University College Dublin (UCD), and there were good people, and they would have had the same attitudes as myself, in terms of a united Ireland, in terms the Irish language and Irish culture, in terms of making sure that the distribution of wealth was somewhat fair, in terms of small farmers and working-class people etc, good housing, good delivery of public services. "But I honestly think that Fianna Fáil is unrecognisable now under Micheál Martin. If you take the issue of a united Ireland at the moment - Leo Varadkar is more Republican than Micheál Martin. Micheál Martin makes Leo Varadkar look like a member of Kneecap at this moment in time. "I honestly think Fianna Fáil has been gutted into a hollow husk of its former self. Its general membership around the country had certain values. Those values I don't believe are visible anymore at the leadership level. "And I think that's the tool in which Micheál Martin has used to manage to survive, but also damage his party - the finger in the air to find out which way the wind is blowing." Mr Tóibín says that he wants his party's TD numbers to be in double figures after the next election and would consider coalition with Fianna Fáil, but the road to a marriage of convenience with his former party Sinn Féin looks less clear. Culture wars He says that he believes that Irish politics moved to the left between 2010 and 2020 and that the party had "tacked to the left". He says that he does not believe his politics - which has seen Áontú on the right of social issues and immigration - have changed since he left Sinn Féin and that "it's interesting to see Sinn Féin significantly tack to the right again" on issues like immigration and trans rights. "I think people got very tired of what they would have seen, this kind of virtue signalling politics, rather than people really kind of listening to the real issues." Mr Tóibín's mention of others engaging in cultural politics prompts the question about his own use of the same - on hate speech, trans rights, and a recent spat between the press and People Before Profit's Ruth Coppinger - but he says he does not want Áontú to be a party of the culture wars. "I'll be honest to you, from the very start, we have made a decision, and we have tried to kind convince all our reps to do the same thing. It's 90% bread and butter, 10% culture wars. "And that's because I actually think 90% of the population are just interested in whether they can get a house, whether they get access to healthcare, and whether their child can get access to special needs education, whether they can put the money in the fuel in the car to get to work." Likewise, Áontú has found fertile ground in its critique of the international protection system, advocating for stricter entry requirements and a three-month turnaround, but its leader rejects the notion that the party is the acceptable face of far-right opposition to migrants. "That whole space is so fractured, it's so damaging, it's so aggressive. We have never held any truck with it. We've never attended any of the protests. And we've never shared platforms or anything like that." Mr Tóibín's ard fheis speech on Sunday will be the first time Áontú's has been televised, which he takes as proof that double-digit Dáil representation is possible. Read More Micheál Martin downplays chance of border poll in five years
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Peadar Tóibín claims he was sent a reply to a Parliamentary Question in Ancient Greek
'It's all Greek to me' — Leinster House officials and Government Departments are pleading mystification in the strange case of a TD who received a reply to a Parliamentary Question in Ancient Greek. 'There are no experts in Ancient Greek in our Department,' said a senior civil servant, suggesting that Deputy Peadar Tóibín's strange reply could have been processed unusually by his own receiving computer. Such cases can occur. That's even though the incomprehensible reply, sent from the Department of Energy during the last Government, was preceded by the question — in English — asking about the retrofitting of homes. Minister Eamon Ryan, who was the person officially replying, denied any involvement. 'I am astonished,' he said, 'it definitely wasn't me' — although he took ancient Greek for two years when a schoolboy in Gonzaga. The former Green Party leader retains a few fragmentary phrases from the days when pupils in Jesuit schools were deluged daily with 'Laughing and Grief.' He would be able to command the setting free of some horses if ever transported by time machine back to Ancient Greece, but would stumble trying to bargain for hostages in the marketplace, he said. Mr Tóibín said it was his view that the strange reply somehow came about through experiments in artificial intelligence (AI). The Greek version of the retrofitting reply has turned into English in the Departmental files, and is also in the vernacular on the Dáil record — leaving no trace of any tinkering. 'I believe this has something to do with AI,' Mr Tóibín said, admitting that he did not kick up a fuss at the time over apparently being treated with disdain. He added: 'I also believe that AI is already being used in Dáil speeches. I will go no further than that. 'But I believe artificial intelligence has the capacity to reduce the intelligence of people who use it over a long period of time. AI is typically in the hands of rich and powerful institutions and organisations, and it concentrates that power in the hands of a very limited number of individuals. 'It obviously has its own bias in relation to the delivery of information, and I think in the Dáil, if we get into a situation where politicians are regularly, depending on AI, I that could have a negative influence on debate and discussion here in the future.'
