Michael Leahy's General Election fundraiser 2024

My name is Michael Leahy I'm an Architect and Planner by profession. I set up practice in 1986 and have long experience of running a business and as an employer. I am the former President of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce and was a board member for Bord Pleanála from 2012 to 2017. I have strong involvement in the local community including charitable and cultural groups, rural regeneration and ensuring affordable housing availability so the people can purchase their own homes is an important part of our program.

I'm raising money for this Dáil election because I believe it is important to bring an end to the left-wing, anti-family and socialist policies now adopted by practically all of our parties, or what I refer to as the "uni-party". In that spirit, I will use this campaign to advance the following issues:

(1) END MASS MIGRATION:

Open doors migration has forced young Irish people out of the housing market. Ireland has a derogation on immigration under the Lisbon treaty and we will insist on enacting it. Ireland is Full.

(2) PROMOTE SMALL AND LOCAL BUSINESS:

Small businesses are drowning in a sea of regulation, with complex reporting requirements, and unending state interference. It is essential that we simplify the process of running a business or running a farm. We will defend the use of cash and resist mandatory digital currencies. The rates burden on small business needs to be reduced. we need to ensure that business people can keep more of the money that they earn. We support a reduction in the hospitality VAT rate to 9% and a reduction from 23% to 21% in the business VAT rate reducing the 17.5% over three years.

(3) PROMOTE RURAL IRELAND AND PROTECT FARM INCOMES:

Agriculture is under attack, and food prices are going through the roof. We will fight to repeal MERCOSUR, the cattle cull and unfair trade practices in the meat industry.

(4) PLANNING:

Our planning system has become a minefield of regulation largely because of the inefficient manner in which we transpose European directives. Increasingly builders are getting out of the market because, despite the high prices they are forced to charge they cannot make a profit. We need to expedite the certification of new building materials and to reduce the regulatory burden on building as well as simplifying the planning codes. We also need to enable people in rural Clare to build on their own land. Given technological developments in terms of remote working and wastewater disposal systems, the previous arguments against living in the countryside have largely disappeared.

(5) TAXATION:

It is wrong to only have two tax bands whereby people move into the higher tax band on an income of €44,000 per annum. We support the introduction of a third and possibly a fourth tax band to ensure that people are not discouraged from working overtime or from moving up the salary scale.

The inheritance tax thresholds are still lower than they were before the financial collapse. We believe inheritance tax threshold should be immediately increased to €800,000. We also believe that it is time to reduce the capital gains rate from 35% but more importantly to introduce proper indexation so that people do not suffer severe financial loss when they dispose of an asset. All such indexation must be linked to rates of inflation. Present taxation policy facilitates the destruction of wealth and the transfer of resources from the individual to the state and to the incoming dependent migrant class.

(6) HOUSING:

The emphasis of government policy must not be on social housing but in ensuring that young Irish couples can afford to purchase their own house. Any proposed increase in housebuilding must take cognizance of the need for additional labour but should not be used as an excuse to further import non-nationals into the country. We need to encourage the many people who have left this country to come back and we propose a two year tax-free period for any returning migrant with appropriate skills.

We propose a full VAT refund for first-time house buyers as well as double mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers provided they are of Irish nationality. We need to simplify the regulatory environment for builders as well as housebuyers. In order to prevent these measures from causing inflation in house prices we propose a return of the system of certificates of reasonable Value for all houses which avail of government assistance.

The impact of vulture funds has dramatically attacked the ability of the individual house buyers to house themselves. There is no reason whatever why the corporate tax rate of 15% should be available the companies who engage in residential rental. We propose that the favourable treatment to vulture funds over small landlords be immediately ended and either that the tax rate for a small landlord be dramatically reduced or that that for the vulture funds be increased. We must drive the vulture funds out of the housing market to make way for our own people.

(7) DEFEND FREE SPEECH:

Ireland's "hate speech" laws have caused alarm worldwide. The Fine Gael leadership have brazenly stated that as soon as the election is over they will move to implement the so-called hate speech legislation despite the uproar there was on this matter over the past months. What we call the "parties of the centre" in Ireland have come to represent a real threat to our democracy on this matter. Without open debate, democracy dies.

(8) DEFEND IRISH NEUTRALITY:

The role of neutral Ireland is to act as an honest broker between the main powers to bring an end to conflicts like Ukraine. The EU is not NATO. and we must resist efforts to drag Ireland into military alliances which are not in our national interests.

(9) END THE ZERO CARBON AGENDA:

Too rapid an energy transition, with carbon taxes and fuel levies, harms food production, farmers' livelihoods, industry and business. It also drives inflation and cost of living increases. We support alternative energies but will promote a sensible energy policy that will protect ordinary people.