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Ciarán Hogan

Ciarán Hogan

Aontú

These answers were provided by the party

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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Some should be put aside for sure and some should be used to pay down the debt. But the government should use more of the money to invest in housing and transport infrastructure. "

- Aontú
Taxes and spending
2 of 32 questions
Taxes on people earning over €100,000 a year should be increased.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "We do not believe that there is a need to increase the tax rate on those over 100,000 at this time. This may change at a different stage of the economic cycle. We do need to look at the range of tax reliefs that are used by those with assets of over €10m."

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Aontú seek to significantly reduce the USC over the lifetime of the next Dáil. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Tax on inheritance should be reduced in line with inflation. House inflation has significantly increased and Tax on inheritance needs to reflect this."

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Child benefit as it currently exists should be universal. There should be a second child benefit which is targeted towards children in low-income families. Electricity Credits are a fraud. Electricity cost in Ireland is the highest in the EU. We need to reduce the cost of electricity asap."

- Aontú
Housing
6 of 32 questions
The government should focus on making houses more affordable rather than providing financial supports to first-time buyers.
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Aontú would delete VAT on housing products. We would delete connection charges and utility charges. We would reduce the cost of credit to construction. "

- Aontú
Housing
7 of 32 questions
Planning guidelines should be relaxed to allow for more one-off rural housing
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "It should be introduced. The ESRI then need to measure scientifically if it does indeed lead to a reduction in rental properties. If it does then it should be reversed. "

- Aontú
Housing
9 of 32 questions
The Local Property Tax should be scrapped, even if it means less money available for local councils
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Councils should be funded adequately from central government. Income tax is more progressive than a Home Tax."

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Both need to happen in tandem. One of the big weaknesses of this government has been the inability to build transport infrastructure. "

- Aontú
Transport
11 of 32 questions
The passenger cap at Dublin airport should be lifted
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Aontú are not opposed to the passenger cap being lifted but, Ireland exists outside the M50 and hundreds of thousands of passengers using Dublin are coming from the hinterlands of Cork, Shannon and Knock airports. We need more flights into these international airports. "

- Aontú
Environment, energy, agriculture
12 of 32 questions
Carbon taxes should continue to increase each year
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Carbon taxes should not be increased when fuel prices are so expensive. The cost of fuel on the consumer must be taken into account. Also many people still have no public transport alternatives. Carbon Tax increases without alternative transport are punitive. "

- Aontú
Environment, energy, agriculture
13 of 32 questions
Ireland should give up its exemption under the EU Nitrates directive
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Farm incomes are on the floor. The market is distorted. Factories and supermarkets are making massive profits while pushing down farm prices. This forces farmers to stock higher. A fair share of food profits will make farming more economically and environmentally sustainable. "

- Aontú
Environment, energy, agriculture
15 of 32 questions
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals should be allowed in Ireland, to improve security of supply
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Ireland is the only country in Europe without a gas reserve, The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown how dangerous this is. Aontú does not support fracked gas. "

- Aontú
Social issues and education
16 of 32 questions
Abortion should be allowed in a wider range of circumstances.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Aontú supports the right to life for everyone. 85% of abortions are for socio economic reasons. Many mothers feel that they do not have a choice to have their children. Aontú seek to ensure that all mothers have the economic confidence to be able to raise their children to their full potential."

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "50% of Aontú’s candidates are women. Which is the best record of any party. We achieved this on the basis of merit. We do not agree with quotas. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Aontú support freedom of speech. We are the only Dáil party that has opposed all elements of the Government’s censorship laws. The competition of ideas is the engine of a democracy. The best ideas percolate to the top. We abhor hate. We call on everyone to engage with one another respectfully."

- Aontú
Social issues and education
19 of 32 questions
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have too much power in Irish policy making
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Many NGOs do good work. But Aontú believes that there should be a review of all funding to all NGOs to ascertain the cost benefit for citizens. Many are nearly completely dependent on government funding. This leads to group think. This was seen in the family and care referendums. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Education should be based on science and fact. Ethos is also important to many families. Ethos is the value framework through which factual information should be communicated to children. Politicians should not be allowed to force their ethos on families with a uniform education system. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "We should not teach children counter-scientific misinformation, e.g. that men can give birth to babies. People are entitled to believe gender ideology and to present themselves in any manner that they wish. But gender ideology is leading to great harm to the rights of women and children. "

- Aontú
Immigration and asylum
22 of 32 questions
More resources should be given to improving conditions for asylum seekers
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "We need to quickly differentiate between those who need help and those who don’t. Those who don’t need help must be returned to their home country. This process would significantly save the state money and allow the state to treat those who do need help, more humanely. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "The planning process needs to be returned to the asylum accommodation. People are entitled to have a say over the development of their communities. That is what the planning system is for. Not consulting with communities has created a vacuum which is a Petrie dish for rumour and hate. "

- Aontú
Immigration and asylum
24 of 32 questions
Accommodation centres for asylum seekers should not be located in economically disadvantaged areas
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "The government has placed far more asylum accommodation units in disadvantaged areas or rural areas with few resources. There needs to be a real and immediate dividend provided to communities who accept asylum accommodation. This includes housing, doctors, teachers, transport, and Gardaí."

- Aontú
Immigration and asylum
25 of 32 questions
Rules on immigrant work permits and student visas should become more restrictive
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "The government is adding the population of Galway city to the country each year without providing the necessary schools, houses, hospitals etc. The process must be sustainable. It currently is not. Migrants on work permits make a significant contribution to Irish society. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "The solution includes both. We do need to tackle disadvantage, but there must also be a cost to crime and anti-social behaviour. There must be enforcement of the law. This cannot be done with falling Garda numbers. It cannot be done with without proper prison capacity. "

- Aontú
Crime and policing
27 of 32 questions
Gardaí should take a more robust approach to dealing with political protests
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree Candidate position
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Political violence is not acceptable and should be tackled. Where the law is broken enforcement should happen. But peaceful protest is a human and democratic right. Gardaí must also ensure that they don’t make martyrs unnecessarily of those who seek to provoke for political gain. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Foreign policy and defence
29 of 32 questions
The EU should suspend its trade agreement with Israel
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Aontú believes in the two-state solution. We abhor the violence of Hamas and call for all hostages to be released. We completely oppose the disproportionate response from Israel. Pressure must be brought to bear to being Israel to real peace negotiations."

- Aontú
Foreign policy and defence
30 of 32 questions
Ireland should retain its ‘triple lock’ rule for deploying troops abroad
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Ireland should not participate in military alliances. We would have no influence over their decisions, yet we would have to send our young men and women to war. Ireland has no military competency. We do have a competency in peace keeping and peace negotiations. These should be our objectives. "

- Aontú
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 Candidate position
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Ireland should oppose an EU Defence Union. This would turn the EU into a military block and it would lead to Irish troops being involved in military actions. This would be a dangerous step for Ireland. "

- Aontú
Irish unity
32 of 32 questions
A referendum on Irish unity should be held in the next five years
  • Agree Candidate position
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion Your position
Comment: "Ideally a referendum on Irish Unity should be held in 2030. Brexit and demographic changes have increased the likelihood of Irish unity. All Ireland self-determination is in Ireland’s economic and political interests. We need to start to prepare for this eventuality now. "

- Aontú

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