Latest news with #Aontu
The Irish Sun
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Sinn Fein ‘actively consider' Mary Lou McDonald as Presidential election candidate & insist speculation not media ploy
MARY Lou McDonald running in the Presidential election is not a media ploy and is being actively considered by Sinn Fein, deputy leader Pearse Doherty insists. It comes as two groups of opposition parties in the Advertisement 3 Mary Lou McDonald still holds the desire to become Ireland's first female Taoiseach Credit:3 Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty did not rule out putting himself forward for the Aras Credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Sinn Fein leader However, after receiving a report on what the party membership wants Sinn Fein to do when it comes to the Aras election, the leader has changed her tone. On Monday, she said the party was Advertisement READ MORE IRISH NEWS However, deputy leader The "I'm doing the same thing again today so that's the honest answer – nothing is ruled out and nothing is ruled in.' Deputy Doherty said the option of running Mary Lou McDonald for the Presidency is under 'active consideration' with a final decision still some way off for the party. Advertisement MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN Exclusive The deputy leader did not rule out putting himself forward for the Aras – or taking Mary Lou's position as leader of the party if she was elected President. Inside Michael D Higgins' political life and varied career - from humble beginnings to President of Ireland election Asked if he wanted to be leader of Sinn Fein, he said: 'I think there is quite a number of hurdles and ifs and buts and maybes before that. 'Our key focus is obviously today in terms of the cost of living crisis we have and the motion we have down in terms of student fees. 'Obviously the Presidential campaign is going to be a very, very serious campaign and it will be an option to put forward a different view in terms of how Ireland should be going forward and whoever we decide to run or back in that campaign will have my full endorsement and whatever flows from that we will deal with that when it comes.' Advertisement LEFT LEANING CANDIDATE Despite the talk of Mary Lou for President, Sinn Fein will still meet with the leaders of other opposition parties today to discuss the idea of coming together to back one left leaning candidate. Labour, the Greens, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and Sinn Fein are all involved in these talks with Galway TD Catherine Connolly and Senator However, Independent Ireland and Aontu have also held discussions with other independent TDs about banding together themselves to back their own runner in the race. Aontu leader Peadar Toibin today said there are two names being considered and a decision on the joint candidacy is expected by the end of the week. Advertisement He said: 'We are talking to two very, very interesting characters. Individuals who would be well known in Irish society and individuals who we share a significant level of values with. 'We don't agree with everything they have done or said in the past put I do think either of them would make a significant contribution to the Presidential debate. 'We're not at liberty unfortunately to give any names. We will be meeting with one of those individuals today and I hope that the process will be completed by the end of the week.' Nominations to become Advertisement 3 Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald speaking outside the High Court in Dublin yesterday Credit: Cate McCurry/PA Wire
BreakingNews.ie
19-06-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Over 3,700 empty council-owned homes in Ireland, Dáil told
There are over 3,700 empty council-owned homes across Ireland, the Dail has been told. The Government is to issue a circular to local authorities to say health and safety should be the only thing to delay empty council-owned homes being allocated to people. Advertisement Aontu leader Peadar Toibin told the Dail on Thursday that there were 3,779 vacant council-owned homes across Ireland based on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to local authorities. He compared keeping council homes empty to exporting food during a famine. 'We also FOI-ed the local authorities as to the number of local authority homes that are empty in this state,' Mr Toibin said during Leaders' Questions. 'In the jaws of the worst housing crisis in the history of the state, there are 3,779 council owned homes that are empty. Advertisement 'Now, having empty homes in the middle of a housing crisis is akin to exporting food in the middle of a famine.' Tanaiste Simon Harris said he agreed that council-owned homes 'lie empty for far too long'. 'I've had a lot of discussions with a lot of people who are saying 'Hang on, if only I have to get into that house. I don't need the divil and all done, I just needed to be safe and I just need to be warm.' 'That's why government intends to issue a circular to all local authorities to make it clear, health and safety should be the only grounds for the delaying of the giving out of a local authority home, not the bells and whistles.' Advertisement Mr Toibin also accused the Government of understating homeless figures by 892 people and of understating the housing waiting list figures by over 16,000. Aontu leader Peadar Toibin (Brian Lawless/PA) He said he had sent Freedom of Information requests to every local authority in the country asking how many people are homeless in their area. He said this produced a figure of 16,472, which was above the official homelessness tally of 15,580. He also said that when local authorities were asked how many people were on their housing waiting lists, they came back with a figure of 75,000, which is above the official government figure of 58,824. Advertisement 'Your ability to account the number of people who are on the housing waiting list at the moment is out by the population of Tullamore,' he said. Mr Harris said that the anomalies were likely a result of duplications, as people may engage with more than one local authority for housing needs, particularly those living at county borders. 'These figures aren't figures calculated by the government in a party political sense. These are figures calculated by the state in a robust, impartial manner,' he said. Mr Toibin responded to say that it was not possible to be on two housing waiting lists simultaneously. Advertisement 'There wasn't as much pirouetting and spinning at my daughter's ballet recital as I just saw there,' Mr Harris replied. 'This is far too serious to engage in conspiracy theories here.' Mr Harris also accused Sinn Fein of being the biggest property owners in the Dail while being quizzed on whether rents would rise. Sinn Fein's health spokesperson David Cullinane, during a press conference at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin, during the launch of their new health policy (Archive/PA) Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane called on the government to 'stop it, scrap it' in relation to changes to rent pressure zones (RPZs). Mr Cullinane said that the rent changes will hurt students and workers 'stuck in an ever spiralling rental trap'. 'You talk about a balance. The balance here is tipped in favour of the vulture funds and the cuckoo firms and the investors. 'More money for them, more profit for them, which is always the case under Fine Gael, who represents a cosseted, privileged class, from my perspective. 'But see, when it comes to ordinary people who have to pay increase costs on groceries, on insurance and now on rent, they're the ones who are paying the price.' In response, Mr Harris said Sinn Fein were the largest property owner in the parliament. Tanaiste Simon Harris speaking to the media (Liam McBurney/PA) The Fine Gael leader quoted the party's director of finance Des Mackin, who told the Irish Times in 2020 that the party owned 40 to 50 properties across the island, with seven in Belfast. 'Don't talk to me about the privileged classes when the largest property owners and investors in this house is the Sinn Fein party,' Mr Harris said. 'The biggest property owners in Dail Eireann, the biggest property investors are Sinn Fein, so don't give me this 'We're on the side of the working people'. 'It's just a load of bull that people see right through.' Ireland Housing target of 41,000 'not realistic', Minister... Read More Mr Harris cited the Central Bank analysis that indicated the RPZ changes would have 'a positive' impact on supply and said that Sinn Fein's call for reference rents would have seen rents rise for existing tenants. He said the government would announce next month investment in 'key enabling infrastructure' to deliver homes, including water, wastewater and energy supplies. He also said that the government would take 'more measures to protect students' in the budget.
Belfast Telegraph
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Aontu deputy leader accuses Sinn Fein of ‘smoke and mirrors' tactics over voting rights bill
Gemma Brolly calls on party to explain why it hasn't backed presidential election proposals Aontu is calling on Sinn Fein to explain why it hasn't signed a bill in the Dail to give Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland the right to vote in the Republic's presidential election. The party's deputy leader, Gemma Brolly, said she was 'hugely frustrated' at Sinn Fein's failure so far to respond to correspondence from Aontu leader Peadar Toibin on the issue. Sinn Fein has been contacted for comment.
Irish Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Daily Mirror
Semi-synthetic cannabis will be criminalised 'within weeks'
Semi-synthetic cannabis will be criminalised and made a Schedule 1 drug 'within weeks', Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has confirmed. It follows a call from doctors to outlaw the drugs, which are commonly obtained in vape form, following a rise in their popularity among teenagers and young people. Aontu TD Paul Lawless asked Minister Carroll MacNeill the date for when legislation will classify hexahydrocannabinol, known as HHC, as a schedule 1 controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs legislative framework, with a particular focus on its use in vaping and the risks of accessibility to minors. The Minister confirmed the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 will be 'amended to include HHC as a Schedule 1 drug subject to the strictest levels of control'. She added: 'While I cannot put a precise date on this, I expect it to happen within the next weeks.' Controlled drugs in Schedule 1 have the most restrictions on them because of their strong potential for abuse. Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD, marijuana, MDMA and ecstasy. Deputy Lawless told us he welcomed the impending ban as he questioned how these products were being marketed to young people. He said: 'I welcome the news that the government will classify HHC as a controlled drug but we also need legislation to deal with how these products are marketed. 'They're being displayed like sweets in a sweetshop. The HHC vapes are brightly coloured and with scents of cotton candy and bubblegum. They are strategically designed to get children and young people hooked on them at an early age. 'These companies know what they're doing and there needs to be legislation to deal with this. When a young person in Mayo says HHC has torn their life apart, we have to listen. 'The fact that this substance can still be bought legally across the country is deeply alarming. The Government has a responsibility to act swiftly.'
The Irish Sun
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
‘Absolutely disgraceful', rages TD over ‘sex slave' Islamic preacher banned from UK hosting 3-hour talk in Ireland
AN ISLAMIC preacher banned from the UK who claims it is lawful to have sex with female slaves captured in war is set to host an event in Dublin today. Uthman ibn Farooq had lined up a speaking tour of Advertisement But his three-hour talk in Aontu leader Peadar Toibin told the Irish Sun that he believes the remarks from Mr Farooq, who is based in The TD said: 'The views being articulated in terms of slaves or those who've been captured in 'I am a supporter of free speech but free speech does not include incitement to violence and the authorities must prevent this happening.' Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper decided that his presence in the A Home Office spokesman said: 'Our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and our communities. We have robust safeguards to ensure that all available measures are used to refuse entry to those intending to sow hatred and division in our communities. We make no apology for this.' In a He replied: 'Allah made [it] that those people taken under a war as captives, who were trying to kill you, [who] you're now going to support and keep in your house and spend [ Advertisement Most read in Irish News 'This is somebody who you can have those relationships with. So if Allah made it hala [lawful], then it's not sinning, that is not adultery because Allah made it.' His EVENT BILLING It is being billed as 'a powerful, one-day event on reclaiming your faith and escaping spiritual darkness'. The advertising boasts: 'Shaykh Uthman ibn Farooq brings a gripping journey from heedlessness to faith in this exclusive Dublin event.' Advertisement Ticket information online states that all ages are welcome and that 'separate seating for men and women' is available. On a previous visit to Britain last month, Mr Farooq told a mosque audience in Birmingham that Groups in the UK welcomed the preacher's ban there, including Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Faith Matters and Tell Mama which supports victims of anti- A spokesperson for Trinity College said: "I can confirm that this event was organised by a student society. We have no further comment." Advertisement 1 Uthman ibn Farooq was refused entry to the UK by the British government
