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Elaine Mullally

Elaine Mullally

Independent

I have always been an active community member and currently serve as a Peace Commissioner. I believe that engagement with the public across all towns and villages in Laois will be essential to achieving “More for Laois.” Unlike our current TDs, I will not go missing for five years if elected

  • Priority: Social issues and education

    I will campaign for improved services for children and families affected by autism and special needs, who urgently need support at the local level.

  • Priority: Immigration and asylum

    I will actively advocate for much stronger management of our immigration system, particularly in Portarlington and other towns across Laois.

  • Priority: Housing

    I will campaign for greater investment in housing, particularly for those trying to get onto the property ladder or returning after years abroad.

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: "Climate change and the ageing population are completely different policies, because they are together in this question, makes it a difficult question to answer. The failures in our health system are due to a huge expensive middle management level and consistent wastage of money. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Taxpayers are already contributing enough to the exchequer. If we reduced wastage the government wouldn't need to keep squeezing more money out of people. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "The USC was introduced as a temporary measure and should be abolished. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Inheritance tax is an unjust tax on those who have already paid tax. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Not a straight forward question, child benefit is completely different to energy credits. Is the question suggesting middle income families be deprived of child benefit or energy credits ? This seems very harsh on the people who essentially keep this country running."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Make houses more affordable . Ireland needs to mass build homes on a huge scale."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Living in a rural area, this is a huge problem for the people of Laois. People should be allowed to build near their family and on their own land. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Rents are insanely expensive but pushing out small landlords will not benefit the rental market in the slightest.The way to bring down rents is to increase supply especially within town and city centres. I support long term leases as is the norm across Europe to allow some security in people's lives"

- Elaine Mullally
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
Comment: "As we have the lowest funded local Gov in Europe and a centralised tax system. The Government needs to increase funding and investment to local Authorities. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Thankfully we have a good road infrastructure in Ireland (in most areas) the public transport system needs major investment."

- Elaine Mullally
Transport
11 of 32 questions
The passenger cap at Dublin airport should be lifted
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "As an island we need global connectivity. We are losing out on new routes due to this, which harms tourism and trade."

- Elaine Mullally
Environment, energy, agriculture
12 of 32 questions
Carbon taxes should continue to increase each year
  • Agree
  • Neither agree nor disagree
  • Disagree
  • No opinion
Comment: "We need to see a full breakdown of what the carbon taxes are being spent on. At the moment these supposed "ring fenced" taxes are being added to general taxation. Carbon taxes hurt working class and middle income families the most."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Agriculture is a vital part of our indigenous economy. The nitrates directive will hurt farmers. I will do everything to support small and medium family farms. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "So we are to import our beef from Brazil ? If we killed every cow in Ireland , it wouldn't have any real impact on global emissions, but the carbon footprint of our food would increase. "

- Elaine Mullally
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
Comment: "Ireland needs to focus on energy security and as part of that LNG plays a role. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "What other circumstances are needed ? We already have very liberal abortion laws."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Representation is important , but a lot of the parties engage in tokenistic efforts, with their HQ's adding women as last minute additions to ensure they can access tax payer funding. "

- Elaine Mullally
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 a cornerstone of society. We already have legislation preventing incitement to hatred and violence. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "We have good charities, but too many off our NGO's have become extremely political as ex FG TD for Laois Charlie Flanagan stated this year 'he would have more influence on Government policy if he was a middle-ranking official with an NGO than he has as a Government backbencher' This needs to change"

- Elaine Mullally
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: "We need a choice of different schools. Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Educate Together/MultiDenominational and secular schools. Religious schools should be free to teach religion. Non religious schools don't teach religious instruction. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Schools should teach critical thinking, vital life skills and prepare young people for the world outside. The recent SPHE text books have pushed this issue too far and many parents are deeply unhappy with it."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "This is a vague question. Our processing times are too long and people get bogged down in appeals. Ireland should be much quicker to process these cases. Allowing those who are genuine to get to work and integrate while deporting those who don't have a genuine claim."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "No. This leads to resentment, hatred, violence and harms community cohesion. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Too many centres are placed in economically disadvantaged areas. While the leafy liberal suburbs of Dublin has very few asylum centres. If we sped up processing times we wouldn't need so many centres. Nor would we be spending 5 million a day on asylum seekers/refugees"

- Elaine Mullally
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: "We see thousands of our young people leave the country especially nurses, doctors and teachers to be replaced with cheaper labour from other countries. We wouldn't need so many work permits if our own people could stay. English language schools should be regulated more."

- Elaine Mullally
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: "This is another muddled question. Anti social behaviour is not just an issue in poor areas. People have lost a sense of pride in their community and respect for those they share their town/city with. "

- Elaine Mullally
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
Comment: "Define a political protest and what do you mean by "more robust" ? By their very nature all protests are political . "

- Elaine Mullally
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
Comment: "War is horrible, we need to see peace and an end to this war and for Ukraine to be able to rebuild and for people to be able to return home safely. "

- Elaine Mullally
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
Comment: "We are a neutral country. War is horrible & benefits nobody. If we did this, we can be certain we'd lose US FDI and see thousands of job losses. I'd like the government to try and bring young Israelis and Palestinians , together like we did during the 90's with Protestants and Catholics in NI"

- Elaine Mullally
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: "Our Neutrality is very important "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "This is not a Yes or No answer. Each situation would have to be judged on it's own merits for Ireland. Eg the EU Migration Pact is something we shouldn't have signed up to, but efforts to crack down on cross border criminality or terrorism is important. "

- Elaine Mullally
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: "We need to continue to do everything we can to break down barriers in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. Unity will come , it has to be at a time when we know the result wont drag the entire island back to violence. Interfaith and intercommunity work is vital to lay the groundwork."

- Elaine Mullally

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