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Eddie Punch

Eddie Punch

Independent Ireland

Time Clare got its fair share

  • Priority: Taxes and spending

    Stope the waste of taxpayers money. If we managed the children's hospital project on-time and in budget we could afford a new Model 3 Ennis hospital

  • Priority: Transport

    Shannon airport connectivity to main EU hubs and a rail connection to the airport covering Shannon town centre

  • Priority:

    Stand up for our SMEs. 9% VAT for hospitality, support tourism through Shannon airport and Failte Ireland to focus on west, Save Ennis town campaign

These answers were provided by the candidate

Taxes and spending
1 of 32 questions
Money that is currently being saved for future policy challenges (such as climate change and an ageing population) should be spent now on things like housing and healthcare.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We need a new hospital in Ennis urgently with full A& E and model 3 status, probably with 350 beds+ We need local authority housing but we also need to reduce government caused inflation in construction - concrete levy plus VAT is a cost of €500+ per day on a readymix truck, reduce carbon tax"

- Eddie Punch
Taxes and spending
2 of 32 questions
Taxes on people earning over €100,000 a year should be increased.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We have extremely high taxes in this country, USC should be abolished, focus on waste of taxpayers' money and demand accountability for bike shed, security hut, health care budget going from €16 billion to €25 billion in a few years and no discernible improvement "

- Eddie Punch
Taxes and spending
3 of 32 questions
The Universal Social Charge (USC) is a necessary source of revenue and should be kept.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "It was meant to be temporary and FG promised to abolish it. There is a very unfair discrimination on self employed under USC and this must be remedied urgently, even if USC remains"

- Eddie Punch
Taxes and spending
4 of 32 questions
Tax on inheritance should be reduced, even if it means cutting back on public spending or increasing other taxes.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Its not a matter of increasing taxes, its a matter of getting value for money. I firmly oppose additional taxes when we have already blown over €2 billion on childrens' hospital when it was budgeted for €650 million. Inheritance tax has been increased substantially in real terms"

- Eddie Punch
Taxes and spending
5 of 32 questions
Universal payments, such as child benefit and energy credits, should be replaced with more targeted measures aimed at the less well-off.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Focus should be on why we have such expensive electricity and why we are not capitalising on the Atlantic floating wind opportunity. Child benefit should focus more on education resources for all children but we must not penalise those who work hard and pay for everything"

- Eddie Punch
Housing
6 of 32 questions
The government should focus on making houses more affordable rather than providing financial supports to first-time buyers.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Government needs to make planning faster, politicians should not be objecting to housing planning, government is taking too much tax from construction (concrete levy, VAT on top, carbon tax for building materials, development levies etc) "

- Eddie Punch
Housing
7 of 32 questions
Planning guidelines should be relaxed to allow for more one-off rural housing
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "It is nonsense to have a war on rural houses that can be built by people in their own communities, which are less inflationary, and which add to housing stock. Stopping people building in their own communities adds to the demand for new houses in urban areas and thus inflates prices further"

- Eddie Punch
Housing
8 of 32 questions
A rent freeze should be introduced across the country, even if it risks landlords leaving the market
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We already have a rent cap of 2% or inflation rate, whichever is the lower. This, plus RTB bureaucracy is driving small landlords out in favour of institutional international investors, who with lower taxes and block purchases/ developments are able to by-pass rent caps and drive rents up "

- Eddie Punch
Housing
9 of 32 questions
The Local Property Tax should be scrapped, even if it means less money available for local councils
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Transport
10 of 32 questions
The provision of public transport (trains, light rail, buses) should be prioritised over building roads
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "It's not either or. We need the M20 motorway (Cork-Limerick) done as priority for balanced regional development, also the Limerick Northern distributor road finished out. We should also do the Shannon airport rail link, with Apple tax"

- Eddie Punch
Transport
11 of 32 questions
The passenger cap at Dublin airport should be lifted
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Shannon airport is continuously being sidelined and the demand is there for connectivity to EU hubs/ cities like Amsterdam. No increase in Dublin airport passenger traffic (already has 85%) when up to 40% of tourists have a final destination beyond M50 and 40% of population is in Shannon catchment"

- Eddie Punch
Environment, energy, agriculture
12 of 32 questions
Carbon taxes should continue to increase each year
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Carbon taxes are fine if you have a Luas on the doorstep. Without realistic public transport alternatives they are just tax. They are also insane when applied to agri diesel and problematic on construction- carbon taxes like this just add to the cost of your dinner and the roof over your head"

- Eddie Punch
Environment, energy, agriculture
13 of 32 questions
Ireland should give up its exemption under the EU Nitrates directive
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "The exemption to the nitrates directive is essential for grass based farming. Farmers are continuing to invest heavily in water protection, they have already reduced chemical nitrogen below 2030 target, and Uisce Eireann is still a long way from eliminating raw sewage damage to our water "

- Eddie Punch
Environment, energy, agriculture
14 of 32 questions
The government should introduce measures to significantly reduce the extent of livestock farming in Ireland
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Fact: National herd is still at same number of animals as in 1973 when we joined the EU and in that time world population has double and they all need to be fed. We cut the national herd, demand for high quality protein like meat and dairy continues to grow globally and S America expands to fill it"

- Eddie Punch
Environment, energy, agriculture
15 of 32 questions
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals should be allowed in Ireland, to improve security of supply
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Social issues and education
16 of 32 questions
Abortion should be allowed in a wider range of circumstances.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "People voted for abortion on the basis it would be safe, legal and rare"

- Eddie Punch
Social issues and education
17 of 32 questions
Policies to increase the representation of women in politics have gone too far
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "40% gender quotas is leading to parties selecting female candidates on basis of getting taxpayers funding rather than merit "

- Eddie Punch
Social issues and education
18 of 32 questions
New laws on hate speech should be introduced to protect vulnerable communities
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Free speech is being threatened and Gardai need to focus on rampant anti-social behaviour, drug gangs poisoning communities and destroying future of young people. Focus needed on policing the streets, housing estates and protecting vulnerable people in rural areas "

- Eddie Punch
Social issues and education
19 of 32 questions
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have too much power in Irish policy making
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "€6 billion of taxpayers money is too much, it should be stripped down to those NGOs providing essential services or helping communities. Taxpayers money should not be used to advance lobbying or advocacy or to litigate against the state or private enterprises "

- Eddie Punch
Social issues and education
20 of 32 questions
Religious instruction should only take place outside school hours in Irish primary schools
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Parents should be free to decide and to choose "

- Eddie Punch
Social issues and education
21 of 32 questions
Gender diversity and transgender issues should be taught in Irish primary schools
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Primary school should never be used for this, and parents should be the arbiters of what is taught in secondary schools not ideologically minded academics from abroad "

- Eddie Punch
Immigration and asylum
22 of 32 questions
More resources should be given to improving conditions for asylum seekers
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "First we must admit there is a limit to how many we can accommodate, or otherwise we end up with people in tents. Second, we must enforce decisions on asylum fairly and firmly. Third, those who come here without passports/ ID should be deported immediately."

- Eddie Punch
Immigration and asylum
23 of 32 questions
Communities should be obliged to take their fair share of asylum seekers, even if there is local opposition
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Communities should always be listened to. "

- Eddie Punch
Immigration and asylum
24 of 32 questions
Accommodation centres for asylum seekers should not be located in economically disadvantaged areas
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We should never place a disproportionate burden on any county or community - cities are better placed but rural areas can do a good job provided the numbers are realistic (eg not more than 5% of population of a town) and that the increased services needed are in place"

- Eddie Punch
Immigration and asylum
25 of 32 questions
Rules on immigrant work permits and student visas should become more restrictive
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "It depends - we should prioritise permits for those areas we urgently need workers- construction, health, food, hi-tech. Student visas for third level education are necessary and beneficial, would seriously review visas for studying English courses"

- Eddie Punch
Crime and policing
26 of 32 questions
The solution to anti-social behaviour lies in tackling poverty and disadvantage rather than tougher policing
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "People in working class areas are sick of being patronised by go-gooder middle class commentators and they want a crackdown on anti-social behaviour in their areas."

- Eddie Punch
Crime and policing
27 of 32 questions
Gardaí should take a more robust approach to dealing with political protests
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Foreign policy and defence
28 of 32 questions
Ireland should continue to provide financial and political support to Ukraine in response to the ongoing war
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Foreign policy and defence
29 of 32 questions
The EU should suspend its trade agreement with Israel
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Foreign policy and defence
30 of 32 questions
Ireland should retain its ‘triple lock’ rule for deploying troops abroad
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "UN security council is dysfunctional but we don't want troops deployed because our government want to play big on the international stage. Perhaps we need to look at a new triple lock that does not depend on Russia or security council "

- Eddie Punch
Foreign policy and defence
31 of 32 questions
Ireland should collaborate more with other EU member states on defence and security
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Yes on cyber-security and organised crime, serious violent crime. No to common defence or moves towards it. But we need to seriously increase investment in our own defence and security capabilities. "

- Eddie Punch
Irish unity
32 of 32 questions
A referendum on Irish unity should be held in the next five years
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "I want a unity referendum, but I think 10 years is a more realistic timeframe"

- Eddie Punch

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