(1.) Irish religious orders owe €1.5 billion in compensation to the survivors of clerical abuse. What action would you take to ensure – without fail – that they finally, universally, have to pay up?

We would seize the assets of the Church and take schools and hospitals into public control.

(2.) Will you commit to maintaining the Basic Income For Artists (BIA) scheme beyond its current trial period and do you feel there’s scope for it to be expanded?

Yes. We would make it permanent, expand the definition of artists to be eligible for funding to include most forms of creative arts, and extend it to others such as elite amateur sportspeople

(3.) Will you enact the Oireachtas Committee on Drugs’ recommendation to decriminalise the possession of all illicit drugs for personal use?

Yes. We have already introduced a bill to decriminalise cannabis for personal use.

(4.) Can you give a clear timeframe for closing down Direct Provision?

If in government, we would move to end Direct Provision immediately.

(5.) What would you do, concretely, to add to the pressure on Israel to end the slaughter in Gaza and Lebanon?

Expel the Israeli ambassador, cease all economic and trade links with Israel, and close Shannon airport to US troops. Stop the use of Irish air space to facilitate genocide. Pass the Occupied Territories Bill immediately and stop the Central Bank facilitating the sale of Israeli war bonds

(6.) Should vulture funds, institutions or pension schemes (and similar) be prevented from buying up new housing, apartments etc?

Yes.

(7.) Do you have a specific policy with regards to repurposing the 100,000-plus derelict buildings in Ireland for housing?

We would use vacant public buildings to accommodate homeless Irish people and asylum seekers; introduce punitive “use it or lose it” taxes on vacant and derelict buildings and sites; and use Compulsory Purchase Order powers to bring vacant homes back into use. We have led the campaign on South Dublin Council to compulsory purchase vacant houses.

(8.) What will you do, again concretely, to stop social media and tech companies from enabling – and earning vast amounts of money from enabling – the spread of misinformation, by people determined to undermine democratic institutions and manipulate public opinion with lies?

Algorithms should be put under scrutiny. It’s clear that Meta, Twitter, YouTube all skew rightwards, funnelling many people down far right rabbit holes. They should be forced to properly staff, support and remunerate moderation staff. Speed of intervention is key too. We would compel platforms to remove content much quicker than currently the case, with hefty fines for refusing to do so.

(9.) What’s your plan for tackling the mental health crisis among young people, many of whom have to wait months, even years to access treatment?

Mental health services are underfunded, yet in Ireland, the prevalence of mental health disorders is relatively high. The mental health budget for 2024 is just 6% of the overall health budget. The World Health Organisation recommends that national mental health budgets should be 12% of overall national health budgets. We would immediately double investment in mental health services.

(10.) How do you solve the Dublin Airport capacity crisis?

We are not sure there is a crisis. State aviation policy should not be set by the needs of Michael O’Leary. We need to reduce air travel to reduce carbon emission. We published a bill aimed at banning private jets from Irish airspace. Many business flights are unnecessary.

BONUS QUESTION:

(11.) Are there any parties currently represented in the Dáil that you’d refuse to go into coalition with?

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. One hundred years of these parties is enough. We have given a cast iron commitment that we will not prop them up. Other left parties should do so too and provide the public with a clear alternative between the establishment parties and a left government.

The General Election 2024 special is available to read in full in the new issue of Hot Press – while extracts will be shared on hotpress.com over the coming days.

Coming next, Fianna Fáil...