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Find your match All Midlands-North-West Candidates
Saoirse McHugh

Saoirse McHugh

Independent

We need action on climate and the environment that improves the lives of everybody. All of us, no matter who we are or where we come from, deserve a safe home, a thriving environment and a chance at a great life. I promise to do everything I can to help build a happy and thriving future for us all.

Priorities

  • Environment

    The EU needs to protect and restore our seas, land, and wildlife and reduce GHG emissions as quickly and as fairly as possible.

  • Agriculture

    We need a integrated governance approach to food systems to coordinate policies on production, trade, environment, processing, distribution and health

  • Foreign policy

    The EU needs to sanction Israel and immediately stop supporting the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza

These answers were provided by the candidate

EU integration
1 of 21 questions
European integration has gone too far
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "In some aspects like defense it has gone too far and in others, like securing LGBT+ rights across the EU it hasn't gone far enough."

- Saoirse McHugh
EU enlargement
2 of 21 questions
It would be good if Ukraine joins the EU in the next five years
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "There will need to be an entire rewrite of the common agricultural policy done in the event of EU enlargement. This is a great opportunity for a common food policy to be brought forwards but this will take years and years of work which has not even begun to happen yet."

- Saoirse McHugh
Economic policy
3 of 21 questions
Corporation tax rates should be fully harmonised across the EU
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We should be working towards a world where corporations pay their fair share. Allowing corporations move money around to avoid paying taxes is basically allowing them rob money that should be going to countries infrastructure, climate action, sanitation, health, education etc"

- Saoirse McHugh
Economic policy
4 of 21 questions
The EU budget should be increased, even if this means wealthy countries paying more
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "I think the EU budget should be rearranged and redistributed before looking at increasing it. The EU shouldn't be spending any money on cruel border externalization. The Common Agriculture policy is 1/3 of the EU budget but 0.5% of farmers are receiving 16% of payments. "

- Saoirse McHugh
Commission President
5 of 21 questions
Ursula von der Leyen should receive a second term as Commission President
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Her political support for Israel while they are committing war crimes is inexcusable. She has the power to really pressure Israel into stopping the slaughter of people in Gaza but she is doing nothing. She has rowed back on the Green deal and is weirdly really anti-wolf"

- Saoirse McHugh
Defence
6 of 21 questions
EU member states, including Ireland, should collaborate more on defence and security
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "No, Ireland should be always pushing towards peace. That is what will keep people safe."

- Saoirse McHugh
Defence
7 of 21 questions
The EU should have a common army
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "No way. I do not want to be part of an EU that has a common army"

- Saoirse McHugh
Defence
8 of 21 questions
The EU should finance more weapons for Ukraine
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "I would like to see the EU really working towards a peaceful negotiation for Ukraine that would involve the total withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. There has been no attempt by the EU to get a ceasefire in Ukraine and stop the killing "

- Saoirse McHugh
Defence
9 of 21 questions
Ireland should retain its ‘triple lock’ rule for deploying troops
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Of course. our neutrality is one of the most popular policies out there and there has been a concerted attempt to roll it back bit by bit."

- Saoirse McHugh
Foreign policy
10 of 21 questions
The EU should suspend its trade agreement with Israel
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We shouldn't be trading with any country committing genocide and so the Israel-EU trade agreement should be immediately suspended. "

- Saoirse McHugh
Foreign policy
11 of 21 questions
Each member state should have a veto on EU foreign policy
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Immigration
12 of 21 questions
Ireland should participate in the EU’s new migration pact
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The new migration pact is a disgrace. it is not a solution or reform of migration policy, it is a continuation and hardening of the brutal migration policies that we have seen over the last few decades in the EU which has caused the drowning of over 35,000 people in the Mediterranean"

- Saoirse McHugh
Immigration
13 of 21 questions
Member states should share responsibility for asylum applications in the EU
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Yes, the EU needs to support countries where lots of people are arriving in order to protect the dignity, safety, and rights of people arriving seeking international protection"

- Saoirse McHugh
Immigration
14 of 21 questions
The EU should operate search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "of course. Letting people drown and intentionally causing them to drown due to pushbacks and ignoring mayday calls is disgusting. Saving lives should be the foundation of every policy, including migration policy"

- Saoirse McHugh
Immigration
15 of 21 questions
Ireland needs to do more to ensure asylum applicants have suitable accommodation
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Yes we have a duty to care for people seeking internationally protection and we also have a duty to process their applications in a timely manner."

- Saoirse McHugh
Immigration
16 of 21 questions
There should be checkpoints at the border with Northern Ireland to limit the number of asylum seekers coming to Ireland
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "This is such a stupid idea. We should resource processing of people's applications so where they arrive from doesn't matter"

- Saoirse McHugh
Environment
17 of 21 questions
The EU’s Nature Restoration Law, requiring rewetting of peatlands, should be adopted
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Yes, its beyond time that countries were forced to protect and restore nature so we have protection from flooding and drought, clean drinking water and air, a robust and resilient agricultural system, access to nature in urban areas, and clean rivers and seas."

- Saoirse McHugh
Environment
18 of 21 questions
The EU’s goal of a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is too ambitious
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The EU target should be higher due to capacity to act and historical emissions. The sooner that we slow climate breakdown, the better for everybody"

- Saoirse McHugh
Environment
19 of 21 questions
More windfarms (including onshore windfarms) should be built in Ireland
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Yes but they should be state owned, built in the right place, have a huge amount of public input at the design stage of the process, and run for the public good. I want to see the benefits of windfarms going to the public rather than being captured to power data centers and the like"

- Saoirse McHugh
Agriculture
20 of 21 questions
Ireland should continue to seek special treatment for Irish farmers on the Nitrates (water quality) directive
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "I don't really understand this question. I have no problem with Ireland continuing to receive the nitrogen derogation as long as water quality can improve"

- Saoirse McHugh
Agriculture
21 of 21 questions
The EU should reduce subsidies for high-emissions farming, such as beef and dairy
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The EU needs to rebalance all its subsidies so that it is subsidizing a local and resilient food economy in every country. In Ireland this would require a rebalancing of subsides as small farmers, fruit and vegetable farmers, and tillage farmers have been basically ignored "

- Saoirse McHugh