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SEPTEMBER. THE KIDS are back in school. The leaves are starting to fall. TDs are getting into the swing of things once more.
It’s a time of change and, some hope, a fresh start.
John Leahy will be ratified as the new leader of Renua Ireland at the party’s AGM in Dublin today.
It’s been a tough few months for Renua. Former junior minister Lucinda Creighton stepped down as leader of the party she formed after cutting ties with Fine Gael over her opposition to the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill in 2013.
Renua contested a general election just over a year after Creighton and others gathered to ‘reboot Ireland’. They had three TDs going into the election – Creighton and two other ex-Fine Gael members Billy Timmins and Terence Flanagan – but came out with none.
The deadline for applications for the job to lead Renua closed last week. From the outset, Leahy was tipped as Creighton’s successor and it’s believed he was the only candidate for the €65,000 role.
The Offaly councillor was beside Creighton and financial advisor Eddie Hobbs, who has also stepped aside, when the party was launched in January 2015.
Leahy, who currently serves as coaching and games promotion officer with Offaly GAA, came fifth in the three-seat Offaly constituency in the general election in February.
“I’m not unrealistic in terms of what needs to be done and the challenge that faces Renua,” he tells TheJournal.ie ahead of today’s AGM.
A different approach
Leahy says Creighton was “a very good leader”, but his approach will be different.
He says Creighton had to focus heavily on creating the party, devising policies and canvassing for the general election – all in a very short space of time.
Many press conferences also saw Creighton have to deal with “trivial things such as taking questions about her relationship with Enda [Kenny]”, rather than about the party’s policies, he recalls.
Leahy will have more breathing space than his former colleague, but not a huge amount if a general election is called early.
I have a better chance to get to meet people and start building the party from community level up. Lucinda never had that opportunity.
Some of Renua’s policies were criticised, with their flat tax proposal in particular being singled out. The party called for the current income tax regime, USC and PRSI to be replaced with a single flat rate of 23%. Other political parties dismissed the idea, saying it would disproportionately impact people on lower incomes.
Leahy admits the flat tax idea was “perceived as being in favour of rich”, but says the party was right to put it on the agenda and believed it was “the best way to reward working people”.
The policy is currently under review.
Rewarding work
Leahy, who has represented the Ferbane Electoral Area since June 2009, says the party has one main aim moving forward.
“Renua’s main goal is rewarding all work. There is no clear voice out there for the squeezed middle who are out there at the moment trying to get by.
“They have very little disposable income left at the end of the week after they’ve paid for the mortgage, car, childcare. It feels like people who work in Ireland are constantly penalised.”
Leahy says a poverty trap exists because some people view being on social welfare as a better option than working if the job pays low wages.
When asked how the party would go about giving people more money, Leahy says the tax system needs to be reviewed and more, better paying jobs need to be created.
“We need to get as many people into the workforce as possible. Then reward them.”
Apple Tax
So, what does he think about the Apple Tax storm that erupted during the week? (The Government yesterday decided to appeal a European Commission ruling that the tech giant pays us €13 billion in back taxes.)
“No one wants to see a company not paying their taxes,” Leahy says.
However, he stresses the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland. About one in five jobs here are provided, either directly or indirectly, by FDI.
Leahy thinks we might “need to tighten up” our corporation tax system, but Ireland “needs to be seen as a place to do work”.
What has been done in the past has been done to get jobs. I have a difficulty with the EU trying to have an influence … Ireland is used as a pawn in a bigger world market. Lots of countries have been trying to very aggressively attack Ireland in the last 18 months.
“We don’t need the EU telling us how we use our taxes.”
Despite this sounding like a Fine Gael approach, Leahy says the comparisons don’t go much further.
“We’re tagged with right-wing, ‘Fine Gael light’ – if anything, we’re light on Fine Gael now,” he says, referring to the general election casualties.
Leahy says some of the items in the Programme for Government are similar to policies Renua came up with in terms of housing and the self-employed.
If we create a policy and in the morning someone in Government takes is that is success for us. It’s about making Ireland better, not about who came up with the policy.
“People laughed at our idea of a free vote on areas of social consciousness, now other parties are looking at it,” he adds, stressing Renua is still relevant in Irish politics.
The Irish Lib Dems?
Leahy says “a couple of hundred members have renewed membership” and he expects this to grow after the AGM, when he can officially start the rebuilding process as leader.
He says there is huge enthusiasm among party volunteers, who have “never been so determined”.
“We really, really feel we have a message to tell that no other party is telling.”
Earlier this year it was reported that the party was changing its name to the Liberal Democrats.
Leahy says this is not happening. He thinks the party needs to rebuild, not rebrand.
“Renua is the name we’re going to hold. Changing the name doesn’t achieve anything for us.”
“Renua did not do any harm to anyone in this country. We didn’t create the banking crisis, we just tried to start a new party.”
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The Irish taxpayers credit card must be nearly maxed out at this stage. The only solutions these people can come up with is piling more debt upon debt.
@David Corrigan: it’s like there is no other option!
@Dave Thomas: No creative thinking at all. The system is populated with individuals with no experience in business or management.
@David Corrigan: And pray tell, what is your solution to the crippling homelessness and housing crisis that our country is experiencing? Do you have a better solution? Does making snarky comments on The Journal make you feel like you know better than everyone else?? Lol Don’t bother responding, it was a rhetorical question pff
I got put to work for christmas and boxing day just so that all the quadruple taxes that revenue will make off of me would go to the ones that are cosy in their council house beside the fireplace not having to work a day , i am positive that they will definitely thank me and the likes.
Merry Christmas.
@John Johnes: It’s a good measure of any society how we look after the less well of in our society.
I’ve worked for over 50 years and I don’t begrudge having some of our taxes go to held the more needy in our society, yes they will always be people that will abuse the system but it’s up to each department and each individual to try and stop this from happening, if you know someone that’s abusing the system then report them.
Have a good and joyous Christmas.
@John Johnes: are you working in the uk as your working Boxing Day ?
@John Johnes: bet you vote for ffg!
@Jimmy Kiely: but they don’t help the disabled they discontinued supports in 2013 and still haven’t come up with new solutions since
@Gerrard: Well if this is true then society is failing you, and so is your public representative and any other body that is tasked with looking after you and an other person that is tasked with looking after the needs of the disabled.
@John Johnes: Imagine going through life being that bitter. You might think about packing work up altogether. Might get that chip off your shoulder.
@John Johnes: Don’t worry John the time will come when you will be able to drive past the new Irish shanty towns.
You will love it, not long now.
Keep voting for FFG.
@John Johnes: I’d say your parents are proud Scrouge…always one…May you never Need anything in you life, sometimes people can’t predict the future
@The Bolt: It’s not a chip he has on his shoulder, it’s a full bag of potatoes!
@John Johnes: I work very hard & have done for the last 35 years. I had a great house & a mortgage to go with it. I had my bills & taxes to pay like a grown up. I lost my house through divorce, still paying a mortgage. Guess what, I’m on Hap for the last year or so. Still working my nuts off. But hey, thank you very much…
@John Johnes: If the grass is that much greener on the other side why don’t you quit working and get yourself a taste of this so called good life that the poorer, less fortunate in society are loving so much! Merry Christmas me ar** you plank!
Enough social housing could have been built ten times over since HAP’s inception. Constant money pouring down the drain .
@Keith Flood: exactly!
@Keith Flood: Except for the fact that the money isn’t actually going down the drain, or disappearing into the ether. It is going to individuals and businesses, vulture funds etc. People are getting very good financial returns at the expense of the tax payer, whilst the people that these schemes are supposed to help are trapped in the private rental sector at the mercy of bad policy
@Chris Hennessy: no, its going to the State. 52% of the rent goes to the State in tax: income, USC, PRSI. So they’re actually clawing back a huge chunk of HAP and the wider economy and society get no benefit.
So delusional.
It should be scrapped altogether and replaced with council built not for profit rentals.
If Dublin City Council didn’t stop building social housing for years the city wouldn’t be in this mess. There was more housing built in the 40s and 50s than there has been now when the country had little or no money.
@Mick McGuinness: Dublin is still the same size its always been and they refuse to build up so hardly surprising there’s a shortage
SERIOUSLY I am sick to death with the hand outs.. the country is screaming for workers in certain sectors yet people get free money for not working. The Government need to stop this NOW.
@James Johnson: the wage level in vast majority of those vacant jobs is not enough to sustain the average rent and reasonable life style.
@James Johnson: would you work for €10.50 an hour and loose all of your benefits. ?????
@James Johnson: I’m on Hap, don’t want to be but have no choice as I’d be homeless & nowhere to bring my kids. I work very hard & have done for the last 35 years. Got myself a mortgage & house only to lose it in divorce. I’m actually getting something back for all the years of paying my taxes. Is it free money for me????
Bring back mortgage tax relief!
‘lord mayor’ … It’s a title for a noble man.
@Eamonn O’Hanrahan:
Noble Lady!
Introducing hap was biggest mistake on its own instead of extending rent supplement now you pay to council and the landlord , someone was deluded thinking how to complicate things more , other than help people in need
As usual more resources ,more public spending on useless program which doesnt fit the purpose
@Marcin Goralski: The problem with rent supplement was we were told that the recipients couldn’t work and it created a poverty trap. This was addressed with HAP in that the recipients of HAP could work and pay their differential rent to the council, who are paying the rent to the landlord. It would be interesting to see what the average rent paid to councils via the HAP scheme is because in my experience the majority still don’t work.
@The next small thing: The majority are senior citizens who are retired on a small pension. How many lifetimes would you like them to work?
I’ve post this idea before on the Journal, let’s see how it flys this time.
I believe all residential property in the state should be nationalised, agree a fair market price for the property.
When this is complete have the local authority allocate according to the individual family needs. This would solve the housing crisis in a very short time. A long side this have the local authority start a house building program again as they did in the 70 and 80.
I know this won’t happen to many of the ruling classes are property owners and politicians.
@Jimmy Kiely: “I know this won’t happen to many of the ruling classes are property owners and politicians.”
Of course it will never happen, the voters are property owners as well and property owners are never in favour of communism.
And it doesn’t need to happen. Just start building social housing as per the needs of the country like we did in the past. No need to steal anyone’s property and it is stealing if it’s forced, regardless of a ‘fair market price’.
@Will: yes but most have the property as their home, the ruling classes and politicians take the money from the state for HAP. People on here talk about handouts, HAPS is a government handout to property owners in disguise.
Again I say,national all rental property that is not your main residence.
Brilliant yes give them more money and a car why don’t you. Fed up that tax payers are always paying out for this type of behaviour. Like some people sitting on there lazy ass all year round and getting a Xmas bonus. I was out sick from work on illness benefit last Xmas which is the same payment as the social welfare and I got no bonus?
@John Quinn: You still have a job, don’t you? It’s not accurate to state that certain people can claim handouts and sit on their backsides their entire lives. That may have been the case in the distant past but now there are rigorous systems and checks in place to ensure that those claiming welfare payments comply with the conditions required to qualify and are not abusing the system.
HAP is a scam; just lower the rents so everyone can afford to live
have your say