Meet the candidates, Joe Flaherty, Fianna Fáil (Longford Westmeath)

Here is our Q&A with Longford native, Joe Flaherty, who was first elected to the Dáil in 2020 for Fianna Fáil in Longford/Westmeath.

What is your proudest achievement as a TD over the past five years?

Every day elected and representing the people of County Longford is a huge honour. We have seen unprecedented investment in education across the country; significant growth in employment and the launch of the first affordable housing scheme for Co Longford

What one issue would be your top priority if you are re-elected to the Dáil?

Cost of living. Whilst the country is effectively at full employment, many feel they are running to a standstill as they cannot afford to get on the housing ladder and even with two incomes, households are struggling.

When it comes to housing, why should the Irish people vote your party back into power when homelessness is at a record level?

Record levels of commencements and planning permissions confirm that there is a strong pipeline in place for the next five years. While the rest of Europe has seen building decline, ours has grown to new record levels. Central to our approach has been radical reform of planning laws and giving active priority to first time buyers and those seeking social and affordable housing. We enhanced the Help to Buy scheme, established the First Home “Bridge the Gap” scheme, the Croí Conaithe scheme, and introduced the Vacant and Derelict Refurbishment grants. We know that much more needs to be done and with the new planning law and investment in place, we are ready to ramp up home building to the next level.

How do you intend to address the economic concerns that many people face due to the rising costs of groceries, insurance etc?

We will help families and business coping with high prices through:

* Lowering energy prices achieved by accelerated investment in low-cost renewable energy and cheaper distribution as well as a reform of how energy prices are set.

* Protecting family incomes through making sure that tax changes and social welfare benefit increases match, at a minimum, rising prices.

* Increasing the State pension to at least €350 per week to ensure a better quality of life in older age.

* Investing in projects vital to reducing the costs of getting most goods into shops.

* Tackling insurance costs through reform and ensuring fair competition in all sectors.

* Continuing to decrease the cost of public services.

* Reducing childcare fees to €200 per month.