ROB CARRY

HOUSING
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In my ten years working in the media, I spent much of my time writing about the property market for publications both in Ireland and overseas. But my real education in Ireland's housing market came when myself and my partner decided to buy a house here some three years ago.

Before finally purchasing our first home in June of this year, we spent years in private rental accommodation and house shares. We paid astronomical rents, had to move at the whim of landlords and lived with strangers – all while desperately trying to pull together the funds for a deposit on our own home.
 
It was a long, tough process – made more difficult by the fact that I am self-employed. That meant a whole raft of additional hoops to jump through.
 
We are now settled into our new home but the experience has left me with a thorough understanding of exactly how difficult it is for people right now.

High Demand
 
The Government has tried to solve the housing crisis by simply building more homes. But with tradesmen emigrating en masse for Australia and elsewhere, Ireland has hit a construction ceiling of roughly 30,000 home completions per year (for both 2022 and 2023).
 
30,000 is nowhere near enough.

We have a current housing shortfall of 250,000 homes so at current building rates, it would take nine years to catch up to current demand.
 
But here’s the problem – inward migration is around 150,000 per year.
 
At that rate, there is no possibility, even if the Government could magically double home completions, that we can possibly catch up.
 
It's irresponsible at best for the Government to allow 150,000 people into a country that doesn't have any houses. 
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Tackling this inward migration figure is the only way Ireland can solve the current housing crisis. Increasing supply isn’t enough – we need to tackle demand.
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Poorly planned, high density developments are now springing up all over Wicklow. Once quiet towns and villages are being ruined by inappropriately large estates and flat blocks. Worse, the much needed infrastructure that should come with these developments rarely seems to materialise.
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There's a better way.

Prioritising Irish Buyers
 
Housing shortages in Wicklow have been particularly acute. There’s a whole generation of people who can’t afford to live close to their families, their work and their communities. Instead, young people are choosing between their parents box room or a flight to Australia.
 
Not good enough.
 
The problem is that the Government just can’t address the elephant in the room. They are unwilling to acknowledge that massive extra demand brought about by reckless migration policies is squeezing supply.
 
So instead, the Government is locked into this race to build as many hap-hazard, high-density homes as it can all over Wicklow.
 
Then these homes get snapped up by overseas buyers and investments funds - and locals are still at square one. People from Wicklow looking through the fences at homes they can never afford.
 
We need to cool demand from overseas buyers if we’re to give locals any chance of living here - and there are clear, simple ways we can do that.

Social and Affordable Housing

There are already strict regulations in place for one-off rural home builds. Would-be owners have to demonstrate a long standing connection to the locality before they can build. Family in the area, membership of local sports clubs, kids in the local school.
 
With the number of people from outside Ireland on the social housing list increasing by one third in just a single year, I propose that we bring in the same stipulation for both social and affordable housing in Wicklow. 
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Restrictions
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New Zealand, Thailand, Cyprus, Denmark and Switzerland are among scores of countries that essentially restrict non-nationals from purchasing property. Locals get priority.

In Thailand, for example, migrants are not allowed to buy either land or houses. They can buy an apartment, but only if over 50% of the units in the development are Thai-owned. They can set up a company and use this as a mechanism to buy property, but again, half of the board members will have to be Thai in order for this to be legal.
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That one measure has protected the Thais from becoming a nation of tenants to overseas landlords and also from being priced out of their own housing market. If a similar policy was adopted in Ireland, it would have an instant impact. 

With a massive drop in demand, homes would immediately become dramatically more affordable and more widely available. There would be no more need to keep throwing up blocks of flats around Wicklow and beyond.

Your Home in Your Community

And best of all - you will have the option of buying a home in the community you grew up in... with your family nearby.

Unfortunately neither the Government nor the opposition is in a position, ideologically, to bring in a measure like this at present.

They don’t have the guts to face down pressure from NGOs. Independents like myself are the only ones who are in a position to force the implementation of a policy like this. The current strategy of both the Government and the opposition is to keep throwing up endless housing estates for new arrivals to snap up. 

Sinn Fein recently launched a housing policy but it is both grossly inadequate and unrealistic. It proposes, for example, to build 300,000 homes over the next five years. That's a doubling of house building. But our construction sector is already at capacity and Sinn Fein never clearly outlines where this doubling of construction workers will come from.

Further, the current shortfall in housing is estimated at 250,000 homes - but that doesn't factor in the 150,000 inward migrant arrivals and how that impacts demand - that's 750,000 people over the course of it's plan - and they're never mentioned in the report. 

YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH
 
Our young people are suffering. I believe mental health services should be available to all who need them – with no wait and at no charge.

At our martial arts club, we coach literally hundreds of young men and sadly, it's this group that is most at risk of suicide.

Earlier this year, I launched an initiative aimed at providing my students with some support. I contacted private mental health providers in Bray and negotiated a reduced rate for therapy for our members. Next, I set up a series of fundraisers and we able to raise enough money to provide free and immediately available therapy.

And that's just the start. I recently put together a committee of community leaders from around Wicklow and we've been working on registering a charity with the aim of making free, fast mental health services available to as many young people as we can. Watch this space - I'll have more news on that very soon.

BUSINESS

As a small business owner, I'm very much aware of the challenges facing the self-employed and those operating in what is an extremely tight business market. Costs are high - and growing. We need to take pressure off businesses by restoring the 9% VAT rate and taking a pro-active approach to grants. Councils should actively contact every business and self-employed worker and take them through every grant they might be entitled to until a payment lands in their account.

Businesses are also under pressure to put more money in the pockets of their employees - but the Government can help on this front by immediately abolishing the USC.

Businesses are closing at an alarming rate all over Wicklow - we need pro-business voices in the Dáil who have experience in this area.

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HATE SPEECH
 
As a former journalist, I am acutely aware of the importance of free speech. It is a corner stone of any democracy. People should be free to voice their opinions – even unpopular ones – without fear of imprisonment.

Through the draconian Hate Speech Bill, the Government is attempting to suppress our right to freely express what we think. We can’t allow that to happen.

We’ve seen the consequences of this type of legislation in the UK, where people have been given lengthy sentences simply for sharing a Facebook post. That is utterly unacceptable and must be opposed.

Ireland already has strong laws around incitement as it stands. It is currently illegal to incite violence against someone. But the Government wants these laws to go even further.

Sadly, Sinn Fein, our main opposition party, failed to stand up to the Government on Hate Speech – and last year in the Dail they voted in favour of the bill.

If elected, I will stand up for your right to free speech.
 

SUPPORTING OUR CLUBS
 

Bray is home to some amazing sports club that provide an invaluable service to our local community – but they don’t get the help and support they need. I believe sports clubs are the best way of improving everything from the mental health of our young people to reducing anti-social behaviour.

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They teach our young people how to be part of a broader community, improve fitness, confidence and team work. As a sport-loving county, we need to have some incredible clubs and organisations. But they need to be better supported.

 

Grants are key to keeping these clubs operating at their best. We need to increase funds available while also making them more easy to access.

IPAS

Polls show that the vast majority of the people of Ireland believe we have taken in two many refugees – it's my view that the Government has an obligation to reflect the views of the people.

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We’ve been generous and welcoming but at this point it’s quite clear that we are being taken for a ride. These people are not fleeing warzones. They’re 'fleeing' from the UK and the EU.
 

We are being too generous and as a result, unscrupulous individuals are asylum shopping across Europe before coming to Ireland to lodge an application. This is totally unsustainable. The IPAS system needs to be closed to all new applicants. We need to close off pull factors by winding down supports – that means no more free accommodation, free food, free laundry and no more pocket money.
 

The Irish people are a charitable bunch – but we don’t like being taken for fools. Enough is enough.
 

If elected, getting the Trudder House IPAS centre closed – along with those in Blessington, Wicklow Town, Bray and elsewhere – will be an absolute priority for me.

The Irish Government will point to 'International Obligations' but other European countries - like Denmark - receive a fraction of the asylum claims we do, and their acceptance rate dwarfs ours. Poland just announced that it is no longer accepting asylum applications. The Government can end the asylum free-for-all - it just doesn't want to.

 

There are people out there in real need who I believe should be helped. After all, the biggest victims of fake asylum applicants are genuine refugees fleeing war zones.

So, the current asylum calamity should be completely scrapped and replaced with a program refugee system. That would involve Ireland taking women and children directly from war zones and giving them temporary protection in line with our capacity.

The tens of thousands of men turning up from countries in which there isn't any actual war should be detained at the port of entry and repatriated to the country they arrived from. 

 

Real refugees should be helped. Those scamming the system by disposing of their passports or passing through multiple safe countries to avail of our overly generous benefits, should be detained until deported.
 
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

On my first canvas – at the first door I knocked on – I spoke to a woman who had two children with additional needs. She was angry – and with good reason.

One child had been waiting for over a year for an autism assessment. Her second child had been assessed, diagnosed with autism but had not yet received any additional care.

Worse, she was finding it almost impossible to get her kids a suitable school place. Her situation was so difficult – but her family had been abandoned by the State.

And she is far from alone. The waiting lists for similar assessments are gargantuan and Special Needs Assistance is near impossible to come by. I spoke to family after family that is struggling with the same problem.

It is hard not to come to the conclusion that like housing, our system is utterly swamped. It simply cannot keep up with huge demand.

Ireland's population is rising too fast for our infrastructure to keep up and here are the consequences – children waiting for years for autism assessments and not being able to secure access SNAs or an appropriate school place.

 

There are two solutions to this issue. Firstly, the Government needs to improve the capacity of the HSE, the Department of Education and various other bodies involved in providing care and education by increasing funding. In addition – I’ve seen firsthand the amazing work done in Festina Lente and the National Learning Newtwork. These organisations and others like them need to be better supported and financed to grow and improve their operations.

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Secondly, we need to reduce the pressure being put on these services by irresponsible and unsustainable immigration policies. 

UNITED IRELAND
 

As a life-long Republican I believe in a United Ireland as an absolute priority. The terms of the Good Friday Agreement oblige the British Government to hold a referendum on unity if it looks like it could be carried.
 

That time has come – we need an island-wide, cross-party campaign to push for a unity referendum within the life time of the next Government. It's time.

TOURISM

Ireland’s tourism industry has suffered in recent years. The recovery from Covid lockdowns was still getting underway when the Government decided to take up a huge amount of our accommodation inventory for use as housing for asylum seekers.

In Bray, for example, the town’s three biggest hotels – The Royal, The Esplanade and the Wilton – are now in use as accommodation centres. The nearby Grand Hotel in Wicklow, also. And from Laragh to Arklow to Baltinglass – scores of other accommodation facilities are now taken up by the Department of Integration.

This short-sighted measure has had a terrible knock-on impact on ancillary tourism businesses like tour operators, cafes, restaurants and gift shops.

It is entirely inappropriate for the Government to use a struggling industry as a means of covering for its own lack of foresight and planning.

Wicklow is one of the most stunningly beautiful places in Europe – but our tourists have nowhere to stay. It’s time to get back to normality – let’s make all of our hotels available again.

Myself and my family have spent countless days visiting Glendalough. I’ve been a regular visitor since I was a small child. Sadly, this one-of-a-kind landmark is in serious need of investment.

Walkways are rundown, historical treasures are being damaged and the natural environment is being eaten away by invasive species.

We need to invest significantly in the upkeep of a treasure I feel we just can’t afford to lose.

I believe a complete revamp of the Glendalough site is needed and I believe it should be funded by overseas visitors.

Many sites worldwide, Angkor Wat in Cambodia for example, allow locals to visit for free but charge a fee to overseas visitors. I think this is fair – Glendalough is the property of the Irish people.

Further, I think very few non-Irish nationals would object to paying an entry fee into what is a real jewel in the crown of the Wicklow Mountains – especially if that money is to be spent on the site’s upkeep.

I believe this system could be rolled out to sites county – and countrywide. It’s a model that could fund and protect our heritage long into the future.

HEALTH

There are very few families that have been untouched by cancer. I believe all cancer sufferers should be given a medical card - with no means test - as soon as they are diagnosed. They should then retain this card until they are given the all-clear.

This can be paid for by withdrawing the automatic entitlement to a medical card currently enjoyed by asylum seekers. Unlike Irish people, they do not need to undergo a means test prior to receiving their card. Far from being the noble gesture the Government seems to think it is, this is putting massive pressure on everything from GP care and cancer treatments to elective surgeries and dental care. 

These medical cards should all be immediately withdrawn.

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GARDAÍ

There’s a recruitment and in particular, a retention crisis in the Gardaí right now with numbers falling while the population the force serves continuing to rise. I am backing improved pay for trainees and the restoration of pre-existing pension arrangements in a bid to encourage more members to stay in the force.
 

It is impossible for many gardaí to afford to live in the areas they are called on to police. Like nurses and teachers, we should have a €500 monthly accommodation payment made available for either private rental accommodation or towards mortgage repayments.
 

Australia is currently recruiting more Irish people to join its police force than Ireland is. That’s not acceptable. We need an aggressive recruitment drive in Australia – a campaign to bring our gardai who have moved to Australia home. We should have similar campaigns for our nurses and teachers.
 

FAMILIES AND CHILDCARE

Childcare costs are astronomical in Ireland and I believe this is a key factor in our falling birth rates. Ireland needs to adopt a far more pro-family approach. At present, we have a Universal Childcare Subsidy scheme in place that covers a small percentage of childcare costs once you hit a certain threshold. That should be increased to 100% of all childcare costs for lower and middle income families.
 

We also need to massively improve the supports for parents of children with autism. Time and again, I’ve met parents struggling to secure an assessment for their child, adequate additional needs are and suitable school places. Ireland is letting these families down.

The Carer Allowance and Carer Benefit need to be re-examined to establish if we can do more for people who provide what is a vital service to the State. With the cost of living increasing, carers and those they care for can't be left behind. 

OUR ELDERLY

After years of inflation, it’s time to make a real commitment to our elderly. The State Pension needs increase by €25 per week at every budget.

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That will give our parents and grandparents who have more than done their part some much needed peace of mind that at the very least, they won’t find themselves worse off in the future.
 

One of the biggest challenges facing our elderly is isolation. In many cases, this is as a direct result of the housing crisis and their adult children being unable to afford to live near aging parents.
 

Rather than breaking up these family groups with all the misery that entails, the Irish Government through the various Local Authorities can help keep them together.
 

All social housing should be reserved for people from the locality so that we can keep extended families and communities together. This should also be the case with affordable housing – locals first.
 

This one measure will cut social housing waiting lists by 50% in some Local Authorities with no additional cost.

 

NEUTRALITY AND DEFENCE

Ireland’s neutrality is sacrosanct. No Government has the right to tamper with it or water it down. Ireland should not provide any civilian or military assistance to another nation engaged in a military conflict.

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However, a recent report on Ireland’s Defence Forces made a string of recommendations from improved pay and conditions to upgrades in equipment and intelligence capacity.

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The recommendations made in the Report on the Commission of the Defence Forces need to be implemented as a matter of urgency. We are losing some amazing members of the Defence Forces – some of whom were students of mine for many years in my gym and martial arts club.

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To help pay for the cost of these measures, Ireland’s overseas aid budget, currently at €2 billion, should be cut by 90 per cent.