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THE NEW LEADER of the DUP has launched a scathing attack on two senior figures in the Irish Government, Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney.
After his ratification as leader last night, Edwin Poots described his relationship with the Dublin Government as “really, really bad”.
Poots, who has replaced the outgoing Arlene Foster as leader, said that he has respect for Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
But he took aim at Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, both of whom were key figures in the Brexit negotiations under the last Irish Government.
Poots appears to have taken issue with an incident from 2018, in which Varadkar brought a copy of the Irish Times newspaper to a European Council meeting in Brussels, to highlight his concerns over the Irish border issue.
That paper had featured a story on its front page about an IRA bombing of a border customs post in 1972 that left nine people dead.
Asked about his relationship with Dublin following his ratification as leader, Edwin Poots replied: “I would say that I have respect for Micheal Martin.
“But I have to say that for Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney, who took photographs of blown up border posts to impose upon Northern Ireland people the harshest form of customs and an internal market that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world, that was quite frankly disgraceful.
“They are going to starve Northern Ireland people of medicines no less, cancer drugs and other materials, such as the food that’s on our table.
“And I say that’s a shame on the Irish Government that they [did] that, and that belongs to Fine Gael, under the leadership of Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney.
“So relationships are really, really bad for the Irish government as a consequence.”
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Headline should read “opposition pushes policy they know will worsen housing crisis in order to get more votes”
@Tom D: The opposition are a bigger part of the problem by driving more and more small landlords out of the market with their populist anti landlord pie in the sky policies.
@Jim Connolly: Correct, students. It’s the people who never had control of anything that are the problem. Now, repeat.
@Jim Connolly: good man Jim Ur right that’s why rents are sky high even higher than mortgages but it’s the opposition’s fault
@derek doogan: correct, well founded fears of a SF Govt has led to 10s of thousands of landlords exiting the market.
@Tom D: as a proud landlord I’ll be voting for FG they are the only ones who seem to care about owning your own assets
@Proud Landlord: I’m with you there. FG are the only ones giving any support to people who want to work and have an asset that they can call their own and not be looking for handouts. There is no real party in Ireland now that represents self sufficient hard working citizens.
@Proud Landlord: the party that’s been in government for 12 years.. who has made all the decisions and created the mess. Because the problem is some others who never had power.
It really takes a special kind of special to fall for this, but landlords seem to readily eat it up. Bit of a pattern there really.
Looking for a winter ban is tokenism from opposition. They want to be able to paint government as anti renter. We don’t need eviction bans, we need tenants rights.
@Live from Ireland: to trash a house without consequence!
@Keyser Söze: SF/IRA and the rest of the looney left have nothing to offer. My assets means my rules
In most European countries renters have laws to protect against eviction.. they have secure contracts with some security of tenure. Here in Italy people get a 3 year contract initially, after that they are entitled to a 4 year tenancy..and so on . people can not be evicted during their contract,and rents can’t be increased beyond the cost of living index. There are a very few homeless people in Italy.
In other European countries there are similar laws to protect renters rights… it’s not rocket science for this government to look at some of the other EU countries and model a fair scheme suitable for Ireland. There can only be one reason why this is not happening…. they don’t care.
@Ronan Skelly: What happens if the tenant stops paying?
@Ronan Skelly: my house my rules
@David Corrigan: Balaclava and a baseball bat?
FF/FG government are the largest landlord members in the government outside of the vulture funds so nothing will be done to damage their profits.
@Albert John: SF/IRA is full of landlords. Think there needs to be an investigation into the unexplained wealth of SF/IRA members on the average wage….
We followed the RTB process to the letter.
It took 20 months to evict a non paying tenant.
Oh, and wheres the “tsunami of evictions” we were warned about?
@Paul: RTB should be disbanded, a useless quango that contribute nothing apart from being anti landlord.
@Paul: Really interested to know, did you eventually get paid the missing rent and your legal fees and indeed any material damages to the property.?
Re:Tenant Rights. There’s now an NCT for all HAP houses every four years which a LL must obey. But what of tenants? Should a tenant have an official documented history (not some sketchy phone number or letter reference) that a LL can refer to?
Well done to the government, the far left want to steal our assets. Finally some backbone by sticking up for the best people in our society
If a landlord gets a “Badun”, who doesn’t pay the rent for a year and it needs a further big lump of legal fees to get them out, what then.? The PTRB find in favour of the landlord, but has any landlord ever recovered the judgement sum.? If the tenant has it, he wouldn’t have been behind his rent in the first place.
Why do we not convert the RTB into a public version of Airbnb. It works. They take the rent, make a deduction. Pay the landlord monthly regardless while the tentant is there , and deal with any legals “in house. ” No more need for false “good bye” references.
If the Government guarantees the rent, or offers to buy the property from the landlord, then sure, bring in an eviction ban.
Otherwise it’s just a deadbeats paradise.
Out of touch apathetic sods!
@Joanne Stokes: that’s the far left clowns for you
Get out the door!
have your say