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Question: What's the one thing you think you could realistically achieve at European level?

Rural investment, housing and health were popular topics mentioned by candidates.

In our audit of the Midlands North West European election candidates, we asked candidates to answer questions on nine of the most pressing issues facing Ireland and Europe in the coming years.  

What’s the one thing you think you could realistically achieve at European level that would affect people’s day-to-day life in Ireland?

Mairead McGuinness

The focus of my work has always been for and about people. My achievements reflect my work which has a direct and indirect impact on the lives of the people I represent.

Achieving the role of First Vice-President of the Parliament with the support of 75pc of members is testament to my ability to work with representatives of all other member states, which is how you get things done in Europe. I have used my position to build relationships and gather support for our Brexit agenda. I am very vocal in international media and in the Parliament. In the next term I would continue to work for a close relationship between the EU and the UK, with Ireland’s interests protected – so people particularly in the border region can live their day-to-day lives as they do today.

In the wake of the breast implant scandal, I was a lead negotiator on legislation on medical devices (now being implemented) to ensure increased patient safety. The legislation increases patient trust and confidence in medical devices but also enables innovation in the sector that ultimately saves and prolongs lives, and improves the quality of life of people  – anything from hip replacements to heart stents. Over 25,000 people in Ireland work in the medical devices industry, many in the Midlands-North-West constituency.

On agriculture, I have pushed hard for fairness in the food supply chain for many years. My work paid off when Commissioner Hogan took up the initiative and we now have legislation that will – for the first time – curtail the capacity of retailers to squeeze farmers. It is a stepping stone to correct power imbalances and towards a more sustainable food supply chain. Farmers are rightly angry that the reward for their work is low with retailers and middlemen gaining at their expense.

Maria Walsh

I live in the West of Ireland, I see the effect of rural isolation and lack of mental health services in our communities. I want to deliver funding through establishing a European Year of Good Mental Health, which will bring additional funding to community groups in our region. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of resources for mental health services in the West and North West.

Brendan Smith 

To secure Brexit mitigation measures for all sectors of the economy. We need a fair and fully funded CAP supporting the farming/agri-food sector and rural development. Infrastructural needs of urban and rural communities must be supported by the EU.

Anne Rabbitte

I worked in the banking sector in Galway for over 25 years, offering support and advice to a range of clients – from individuals, young families and those planning for retirement, to start-ups and established businesses. Such a depth of knowledge and expertise in the area of finance and investment has been cultivated over many years. It is a valuable skill that I intend to put to good use at the EU level. A key priority for me, if elected, is to target and maximise EU investment through the likes of the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank for physical infrastructure in the Midlands-North-West.

We need to improve the standards of transportation, for example, so people can have more realistic commutes between home and work. We need to provide the tools for a better work-life balance so people aren’t stuck in traffic several hours of the day.

We need to start thinking outside the box and our rail network is one area that we could look at overhauling. Why aren’t we investigating a high-speed point to point rail service? Why does it take two and a half hours to travel from Galway to Dublin on the train when there’s technology that could shorten it to an hour? It would then be a reasonable proposition that someone could live in Galway and work in Dublin or vice-versa. The impact on people’s day-to-day lives would be enormous.

We’re talking about an upgrade of existing lines, so we wouldn’t be getting caught up in planning. This would also reduce the potential cost, making the feasibility of the project more realistic and allow for it to be delivered in a reasonable timeframe.

Matt Carthy

If I am re-elected by the people of the Midlands North West, one major priority for me will be fighting the EU’s proposed ‘Vulture Fund’ Directive on creating a secondary market for non-performing loans – a proposal that aims to give free rein to vulture funds and debt collectors across the EU.

Housing is the biggest issue affecting people in my constituency. This Directive, if allowed to pass, will encourage the banks to throw their customers to the wolves, through the mass sell-offs of mortgages on family homes to vulture funds.  It will interfere with any attempts to regulate vulture funds in Ireland, fueling the housing and homelessness crisis. I believe it can be stopped and I will my position as an MEP to do what I can to protect family homes from vulture funds.

Saoirse McHugh

By joining the Greens/EFA in the EU I could contribute to a strong stance on climate change and biodiversity loss so people in Ireland will not face the most devastating of environmental breakdown consequences.

Cyril Brennan

Workers Rights. I want to push for EU-wide legislation to increase the number of holidays for workers. I want to reverse the changes on pensions and ensure that 65 is restored as the normal age for receiving a state pension. If the EU has directives which lead to privatisation, I want to push for directives which extend workers rights.

Michael O’Dowd

As a parent of a young person with special needs I will highlight the way Ireland continues to treat people with a disability as second class citizens. Our failure to fully implement the UN Convention is an insult to all who believe in true integration in our society.

Patrick Greene 

By facilitating the use of direct democracy (DD) in decision making by the people of Ireland we can strengthen our negotiations with bigger EU states that dominate us by virtue of their size, not their fairness. I will endeavour to bring direct democracy or citizen initiated referenda to this country and the EU. I can achieve a local direct democratic system very swiftly it will not be legally binding but I will treat it as if it is. Who is going to say no to the result of a vote by the people from a properly structured transparent voting system it would be political suicide for them to object. So by introducing DD I can make immediate changes that the people of Ireland can avail of. This alone will make a direct impact on their lives.

Peter Casey

I want the Midlands-North West to become the Mecca of Ireland, a place where people want to live and work and a place where they can prosper. We must revitalise rural towns and to make this happen requires hard work, more jobs and most of all, new thinking.

Fidelma Healy Eames 

RURAL DIRECT INVESTMENT.

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    Mute Christine Paulette Roche
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    Jul 29th 2017, 8:03 AM

    Heartbreaking, may he rest in peace.

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    Mute Charles Williams
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    Jul 29th 2017, 9:35 AM

    @Christine Paulette Roche: Yes his suffering is now over thankfully. The bigger story here is 7000 children are dying every single day from hunger but it’s met with a defending silence, no Pope, no US President seem to notice, care of comment and the media, not interested. So it’s amazing how one child with little chance of survival could solicit such support while the other 7000 others who could survive were ignored.

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    Mute joanne murphy
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    Jul 29th 2017, 10:27 AM

    @Charles Williams: oh be quite, this is about one little boy. Not a political / social statement. Sleep tight little Charlie xx

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    Mute sue
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    Jul 29th 2017, 10:45 AM

    @Charles Williams: not the time or place Charles

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Jul 29th 2017, 11:23 AM

    I think we should let the Charlie story rest now, there is something that just does not sit right in me debating it anymore, it feels wrong. The childs health is no longer something that can be affected by the debate so it would just become a cheap ego contest over who was “right” when really this was not about who gets proven right or wrong.

    It is however appropriate to call out the hypocrisy of many of those, especially in the US, who complained about “socialized healthcare” not keeping him alive when they have the only developed country where you can go bankrupt from medical expenses. Thanks to McCain it won’t happen but they were 1-2 votes away from 32million people loosing their health insurance and it was calculated to cause thousands of deaths, including kids.

    30
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    Mute gerry fallon
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    Jul 29th 2017, 8:10 AM

    There really are no words fitting.
    That poor couple will take a long time to get over Charlie’s death.Its time now to leave them to grieve in their privacy.I hope the Journal and other media just move on now.

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    Mute Frank Dubogovik
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    Jul 29th 2017, 8:26 AM

    For such a short life there was so much love packed into it….rest now little fighter.
    R.I.P.

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    Mute Margaret Henry
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    Jul 29th 2017, 8:37 AM

    Their real journey starts now . Thank God little Charlie is at peace and no longer suffering . RIP

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    Mute DaisyChainsaw
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    Jul 29th 2017, 11:22 AM

    @Margaret Henry: Sure it was god’s will that he suffer in the first place.

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    Mute JeanieD
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    Jul 29th 2017, 11:48 AM

    @DaisyChainsaw: Troll sick one at that.
    RIP little boy and may your grieving parents find comfort and solace in the knowledge that so many people truly cared.

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    Mute DaisyChainsaw
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    Jul 29th 2017, 12:38 PM

    @JeanieD: What’s trolling about it? If god is going to be thanked for relieving Charlie of his suffering, then he has to be blamed for giving Charlie the fatal disease to suffer in the first place.

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Jul 29th 2017, 12:57 PM

    @DaisyChainsaw: Let it go. If you understood the Theology around suffering you would know that what you say is not the case. Regardless let people express their condolences in the manner that they see fit. If religion brings them solace it’s no skin off your nose. The one thing I do know that it’s not possible to expect tolerance if your give it. I’m not religious but I’ve made an effort to try to understand where they are coming from. The baby has died and it’s time to move on.

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Jul 29th 2017, 12:58 PM

    @Catherine Sims: * if you don’t give it* that should have read.

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    Mute Liam Whelan
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    Jul 29th 2017, 1:24 PM

    @Margaret Henry: This god you speak of, if you thank him for letting Charlie be at peace now then who do you fault for him having this disease in the first place? It certainly wasn’t the parents who placed this disease upon him so does your god take full responsibility for it? And if so can he tell you as to why he done it? Because I would love to know why any “all loving” person can do things like this to innocent children day in day out. I think you know what you can do with your “thank god”.

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    Mute Margaret Henry
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    Jul 30th 2017, 1:12 AM

    @Liam Whelan:

    I lost a young child myself Liam Whelan . So I think I’m qualified to speak on this . When I said Thank God his suffering is over I meant just that .

    If you have watched your young child suffer in pain for months through operations and treatments you would thank God when it finally means they are no longer suffering even when that means they are no longer with you

    its not about you in all this it’s about your child who is suffering

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    Mute Celtic_Horizon
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    Jul 29th 2017, 8:31 AM

    RIP

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    Mute Tony
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    Jul 29th 2017, 9:43 AM

    Look after your parents now Charlie. Rest little one.

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    Mute Louise Dunne
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    Jul 29th 2017, 10:37 PM

    R.I.P. gorgeous little boy. Beautiful photo to treasure forever.
    That picture of him smiling up at his dad is haunting, i can’t equate that with all I’ve read about his condition. looking at that picture no wonder they were keen to try various treatments.

    9
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