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Paul Madden

Paul Madden

Independent

Rural East Galway has been underserved by successive governments as party politicians toe the line for Dublin-centric policies to the detriment of the regions. A strong independent voice is required to restore balance and ensure the rural way of life is protected for future generations.

  • Priority: Environment, energy, agriculture

    East Galway shoulders a disproportionate burden in electricity generation for the entire nation but reaps little benefit. We need fairer policies.

  • Priority: Taxes and spending

    Public spending is out of control in Ireland and there is a desperate need for accountability for systemic waste of public funds.

  • Priority: Social issues and education

    Our education system is not fit for purpose given the rapid advances of technology. We need to adapt emphasing creativity and critical thinking skills

These answers were provided by the candidate

Taxes and spending
1 of 31 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.
  • Strongly agree
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We should be prudent with public funds and mindful of future challenges. We know through many years that spending more doesn't fix the healthcare situation. The housing crisis was caused by historical neglect, there is no quick fix. "

- Paul Madden
Taxes and spending
2 of 31 questions
Taxes on people earning over €100,000 a year should be increased.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "While the income tax system is broadly fair, high earners should pay more. I'm not sure if €100k per year is the correct cut-off point but high earners should pay more. "

- Paul Madden
Taxes and spending
3 of 31 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: "USC was introduced as a short-term measure and disproportionately impacts low to middle income earners. It should be scrapped or at least incorporated directly into the income tax calculation which is more fairly distributed. "

- Paul Madden
Taxes and spending
4 of 31 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: "Tax on inheritance comes with significant tax-free thresholds. "

- Paul Madden
Taxes and spending
5 of 31 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: "Agree in principle but hard to implement"

- Paul Madden
Housing
6 of 31 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: "Grants are for developers ultimately, not buyers. "

- Paul Madden
Housing
7 of 31 questions
Planning guidelines should be relaxed to allow for more one-off rural housing
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "People should not be stopped building on family land. A better balance is needed. Rural Ireland needs to be protected. Successive Dublin-centric governments have treated rural Ireland poorly. "

- Paul Madden
Housing
8 of 31 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: "Not sure this is the best way to address the imbalance of commercial ownership of residential property. "

- Paul Madden
Housing
9 of 31 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
Comment: "Critiquing individual taxes in isolation ignores the overall context. How taxes are spent needs to be reviewed. LPT surcharges are being introduced in Galway but people aren't seeing the benefit. "

- Paul Madden
Transport
10 of 31 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: "From a rural Ireland perspective, that's a complete pipedream. We are almost entirely dependent on private cars for transport and the road network is in dire need of improvement. "

- Paul Madden
Transport
11 of 31 questions
The passenger cap at Dublin airport should be lifted
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Imposing caps is a ludicrous solution to the problem. Why is more not being done to boost traffic through Shannon airport? This would have a massively positive impact on congestion at Dublin airport as people in the west wouldn't have to cross the country to use the airport."

- Paul Madden
Environment, energy, agriculture
12 of 31 questions
Carbon taxes should continue to increase each year
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Taxes can't change the weather."

- Paul Madden
Environment, energy, agriculture
13 of 31 questions
Ireland should give up its exemption under the EU Nitrates directive
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "A ridiculous idea. Ireland is a proud producer of high quality food and this should continue into the future and farmers should be supported in maintaining high quality yields, which require nitrates. "

- Paul Madden
Environment, energy, agriculture
14 of 31 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: "Livestock farming is pilloried as an enemy of the climate which is utter nonsense. One single gas power plant proposed for Portumna has the capacity to output more CO2E emissions per year than the entire national herd. Stop attacking farmers, get real. "

- Paul Madden
Environment, energy, agriculture
15 of 31 questions
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals should be allowed in Ireland, to improve security of supply
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Build the offshore wind farms as promised. Security of supply is largely a myth. If we didn't have data centres in Ireland, we would have a 25% energy surplus. We need to strike a fair balance, serve the people first and only serve data centres with renewable wind energy. "

- Paul Madden
Social issues and education
16 of 31 questions
Abortion should be allowed in a wider range of circumstances.
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "I am pro-life. While I accept that abortion is legal in Ireland, I believe policy should ensure that a decision to have an abortion is an absolute last resort for the mother. "

- Paul Madden
Social issues and education
17 of 31 questions
Policies to increase the representation of women in politics have gone too far
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Public representatives should be elected on merit, not by quota, regardless of whether they are male or female. "

- Paul Madden
Social issues and education
18 of 31 questions
New laws on hate speech should be introduced to protect vulnerable communities
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Restrictions to free speech are anti-democratic. In the hands of the wrong government, such laws can be used to control public opinion and limit personal freedoms. Open discourse is vital to a free society even if you don't always like or agree with what people have to say."

- Paul Madden
Social issues and education
19 of 31 questions
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have too much power in Irish policy making
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "There is undeniable overreach of NGOs in policy making and it's about time politicians stood firm to lobby groups and acted in the best interests of the community as a whole."

- Paul Madden
Social issues and education
20 of 31 questions
Religious instruction should only take place outside school hours in Irish primary schools
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Any form of one-sided ideology should be taught external to the school curriculum unless it is presented in a balanced way with respect to alternative views. This applies as much to gender ideology as it does the religious ideology. "

- Paul Madden
Social issues and education
21 of 31 questions
Gender diversity and transgender issues should be taught in Irish primary schools
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "While I agree that different perspectives should be acknowledged, I don't accept that gender ideology should be presented as a singular truth in schools as appears to be the case recently. "

- Paul Madden
Immigration and asylum
22 of 31 questions
More resources should be given to improving conditions for asylum seekers
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We should focus resources on doing managing lower levels of asylum seekers rather than what is currently happening where we take in migrants and leave them in tents and then pin-drop them into random communities with zero integration planning or local consultation. "

- Paul Madden
Immigration and asylum
23 of 31 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: "I agree, it should be done per head of population across all communities, including leafy Dublin suburbs. Again the burden is being shouldered by rural Ireland. "

- Paul Madden
Immigration and asylum
24 of 31 questions
Accommodation centres for asylum seekers should not be located in economically disadvantaged areas
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Asylum seekers should be housed evenly across all socio-economic groups. "

- Paul Madden
Immigration and asylum
25 of 31 questions
Rules on immigrant work permits and student visas should become more restrictive
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "If migrants are approved to be here, they should work or study and play their part in society. "

- Paul Madden
Crime and policing
26 of 31 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: "Let's talk about who creates the demand for illicit drugs in society..."

- Paul Madden
Crime and policing
27 of 31 questions
Gardaí should take a more robust approach to dealing with political protests
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "Protesting is a right"

- Paul Madden
Foreign policy and defence
28 of 31 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
Comment: "Proportionate to what we can afford, we should provide support to war torn countries. "

- Paul Madden
Foreign policy and defence
29 of 31 questions
The EU should suspend its trade agreement with Israel
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We are turning a blind eye to genocide and ethnic cleansing for economic reasons. It is an appallingly selfish mindset. "

- Paul Madden
Foreign policy and defence
30 of 31 questions
Ireland should retain its ‘triple lock’ rule for deploying troops abroad
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Foreign policy and defence
31 of 31 questions
Ireland should collaborate more with other EU member states on defence and security
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Irish unity
32 of 31 questions
A referendum on Irish unity should be held in the next five years
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion

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