MATT CARTHY TD

Government must reverse scandalous transport charges for children with disabilities – Matt Carthy MEP

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has called on Minister of State for Disability Issues, Finian McGrath, to immediately intervene to ensure the reversal of new transport charges on children and adults with disabilities using the Rural Transport Scheme to HSE services.

Carthy said families of those affected have been left shocked and upset at the recent introduction of charges on return journeys to HSE Centres.

The Midlands North West MEP says those in receipt of disability allowance, and who are solely reliant on the service will be particularly hard hit, calling it a further attack on the most vulnerable in society.

Matt Carthy said:

“The imposition of new charges on people with disabilities using the Rural Transport Scheme on return journeys to HSE Centres was recently brought to my attention by a number of affected families in Cavan and Monaghan.

“Communication from the Disability Services Manager in Cavan Monaghan on the 21st March, informed people of a daily charge of €4.00 for return journeys to HSE Centres, to be implemented from 1st April.

“There was no consultation whatsoever with service users and they and their families are ​understandably upset and shocked at this move.

“Of the many HSE Centres affected in my own constituency, CRANOG Resource Centre in Castleblayney is one. The majority of users here receive fixed weekly allowances, such as Disability Allowance, where €4.00 a day represents a significant amount of money out of their weekly budget, especially for those attending a centre on multiple days.

“I have written to Minister of State for Disabilities Finian McGrath, urging him to consider the impact this charge will have on people who rely on the Rural Transport Scheme to access vital services and to intervene to overturn this decision and to allow such service users to use travel passes for such journeys.

“There is a genuine fear now in families that their loved ones may not be able to avail of services simply because of the cost. I am aware that in the case of one family, the cost annually would be €2,000.

“This is a further attack on some of the most vulnerable people in our society.  Any TD that continues to support this government, which oversees reckless wastages in our public finances while penalising the most vulnerable in our society, is culpable.  They must join me in demanding that these charges be reversed immediately.”

ENDS

Sinn Féin MEPs are needed to prevent Irish involvement in EU army – Matt Carthy

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said that continued representation for his party in the European Parliament is the last hope for Irish people that want to protect our Neutrality and avoid any Irish participation in an EU army.

Carthy was speaking from the European Parliament following the publication of Sinn Féin’s “Defending Irish Neutrality” policy document on Monday:

“The European Commission plans to allocate €13 Billion over the next five years for an EU defence fund – a euphemism for an EU army.  This at a time when they propose to cut vital funding streams such as CAP and Cohesion and at a time when public services in countries like Ireland are stretched to breaking point.

“Sinn Féin will oppose increased Irish contributions to an EU budget that is concentrated on developing a war machine.  Instead, we will defend Irish neutrality.

“Military neutrality is an important plank of Irish foreign policy.  Protecting Irish neutrality will save our taxpayers millions, keep our citizens safer, safeguard our international reputation and allow us to play a positive role in peace building across the world.

“Last week Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rejected a Sinn Féin motion that would allow the Irish people the chance to enshrine neutrality in our constitution.  This is not surprising; Fine Gael MEPs have become chief cheerleaders for the European Militarisation agenda while the leader of Fianna Fáil’s group in the European Parliament described the creation of an EU army as “our project”.

“These parties, often with the support of Labour, Independents and Green party have led governments that have systematically eroded our neutrality since the 1990s.

“Sinn Féin is the only party that has a consistent position in opposition to the development of a centralised EU military framework and in support of Irish neutrality.

“The next European Parliament term will be a decisive period in the future of the EU and Ireland’s role within it.  If voters want our neutrality to be protected and for the EU to become a force for peace rather than conflict then they should vote for Sinn Féin candidates as we are the only party that can be trusted on these matters”.

ENDS

Carthy welcomes EU support for CAP yellow card system

Sinn Féin MEP for the Midlands North West, Matt Carthy, has welcomed the support from the European Parliament Agriculture & Rural Development Committee for the enhanced use of a yellow card system to end farmers being fined for minor errors.

Speaking from Brussels, Carthy commented: “This week we voted on the third and last CAP file, specifically on how the new Common Agriculture Policy will be monitored and managed. This is particularly important for farmers because it establishes the rules in relation to penalties.

“Those of us who regularly engage with farmers are aware of those who have received massive penalties for minor rule breaches or honest mistakes.

“This leads to palpable anxiety among our farming community and is totally unnecessary.  In my amendments to the text of this regulation, I proposed that increased use of the yellow card system, which would give farmers certainty that they will not lose payments for first offences, which are minor or genuine mistakes.

“Fine calculations must, in my view, consider the contribution of the farmer to the mistake, the economic situation of the farmer and the ability of the Department to identify and rectify the error at an earlier stage.

“The issue of who is targeted for inspection is also important.  In this week’s vote, we agreed that the target groups for inspection shouldn’t be simply random but must include the risk posed by the farmer’s activity.  This reflects my position that we should not overburden those farmers whose activities pose little risk.

“Unfortunately, my desire to cap the inspection sample at 1% of farmers was not adopted, but a compromise was agreed that a minimum of 1% would be put in place and Ireland would be free to set this as a maximum control group per year.

“Changes have also been made to the agricultural crisis reserve.  The current system actually disincentives farmers to call for the use of the fund.  Funds are taken from farmers at the start of the year and returned to them at the end of the year, provided the fund was not used. It does not make sense for farmers to call for the fund to be used when they have no certainty that what they get back will be equal to what was taken.

“The position adopted by the Committee has incorporated my proposal to take the money to constitute the fund directly from the EU budget, outside of the CAP envelope.

“This means that €400 million will be placed in the fund ever year, which will roll over if it is not used. This will greatly limit the circumstances in which farmers’ payments will be cut to supplement the envelope.

“I hope these changes will bring our farmers some much-needed relief with regard to monitoring and crises funds, in a time where they face challenges in so many other areas”.

ENDS

Small victory against the Vultures as Carthy welcomes cancellation of vote on EU Directive on non-performing loans

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has welcomed the announcement that the proposal for a Directive on non-performing loans, which would increase the sale of home loans to vulture funds, will not be voted on by the European Parliament during this mandate.  Votes scheduled for the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee this week and the Parliament’s plenary session next week were cancelled today, Tuesday.

Speaking from Brussels, Carthy said: “I am resolutely opposed to this proposal, which will give free rein to vulture funds and debt collectors across the EU.  So I welcome the cancellation of the vote on the Directive that was scheduled to take place this week.  The cancellation of the vote means that the Parliament cannot adopt a position on this proposal until the next mandate.

“It is my firm view that this proposed Directive needs to be withdrawn.  It was proposed on the basis of an impact assessment that took absolutely no regard of the rights of EU citizens such as the right to housing assistance under the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

“It will lead to more evictions, more harassment of homeowners by debt collectors, and more housing stress and homelessness.  It is grossly unfair because it puts the blame and the punishment for the 2008 crisis on the shoulders of ordinary families and homeowners instead of the financial institutions that caused the crisis.

“In an Irish context, we have made only limited progress to date in terms of regulating vulture funds and protecting consumers and mortgage-holders – usually in spite of Fine Gael opposition.  Yet even this modest progress made in the Dáil, such as on ensuring direct Central Bank regulation of the vulture funds instead of only the middlemen, will now be under threat by this EU Directive.

“The process by which this package – the Regulation and Directive – have been dealt with in the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee has been extremely disappointing, with the two largest groups, the EPP and S&D, colluding to prevent the smaller groups from having a meaningful say in shaping the reports.  On the Regulation, they prevented us from even voting on the amendments of the smaller groups at committee level.

“The proposed timeframe for the more substantial Directive was unacceptably short, and was deliberately designed by the two large groups to exclude the rest of the Parliament from having meaningful input into the Directive. This is an appalling and anti-democratic approach to such a crucial proposal – another reason why I welcome the cancellation of the vote.

“Now that the Parliament cannot adopt its position on this file until the incoming mandate, I will continue to work with consumer protection groups and housing campaigners in the coming months to call for the total withdrawal of this extremely damaging proposal.

“Sinn Féin have been leading the battle against the vulture funds at an Irish and EU level – it is therefore imperative that we have MEPs elected in May so that we can continue to fight for ordinary families in their battles against banks and vultures.”

ENDS

Matt Carthy MEP to host “Stop the Vultures!” public meeting in Navan this Friday

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy will host a “Stop the Vultures! Time to Protect Homes” public meeting in the Newgrange Hotel in Navan, Co Meath, this Friday 12th April at 8pm.

The Midlands Northwest MEP has been central to the campaign against the EU directive on non-performing loans which he says will strengthen the free rein giving to the banks and vulture funds and will force more families out of their homes. Ahead of the Navan event he spoke of the government’s lack of action on Ireland’s housing crisis.

“Sinn Féin is standing with communities and campaigning for policies that will benefit the Irish people and not the banks and vultures at the local, state and EU level.

“In Brussels we are fighting tooth and nail against a new proposal on mortgage loans, which would allow the banks to throw their customers to the wolves and give further free rein to the debt vultures across the EU.

“Even the UN special rapporteur on housing has recognised that the housing policies pursued by the Irish government have directly caused the extreme rise in homelessness we have witnessed.

“The unprecedented housing crisis in this state has been caused by a series of public policy failures – a failure to cap rents, a failure to build social housing, and a failure to implement an effective vacant homes strategy.

“At the same time the housing and homelessness crisis has been worsened by the government’s policies of inviting in the US vulture funds, and creating a virtually tax-free environment for both the banks and the vultures.

“Instead of regulating international speculators, the government has welcomed in the hedge funds with open arms, which has driven up housing and rental costs and priced an entire generation out of ever owning their own home.

“At every stage in this unfolding disaster, the government has been supported by Fianna Fáil.

“Fine Gael, supported by Fianna Fáil, are actively encouraging this crisis to escalate and we must fight back. We in Sinn Féin are here to stand with the people to protect their homes.

“I encourage the people of County Meath to join us this Friday to hear our analysis on how we can resolve this issues and also to share their own views as to how we can deliver a change in housing policy at an EU and national level.”

Local Sinn Féin Councillors Sinead Burke and Eddie Fennessy will also address the meeting.

ENDS

Emergency Brexit measures need to be outlined urgently – Matt Carthy MEP

Sinn Féin MEP for the Midlands North West has said it is incredible that neither the Irish government or the European Commission have outlined what contingency supports will be in place for vulnerable sectors such as Irish agriculture in the event of a no-deal scenario. Speaking following receipt of a communication from Commissioner Hogan regarding the Irish Government’s application for emergency aid, Carthy said:

“In January I wrote to the Commission asking whether they had already launched preliminary studies on the adverse impact of Brexit on the Irish agricultural sector.  It is vital that provision is made so that we can utilise the best tools for mitigating potential loss of markets, trade diversion and the withdrawal of the UK from Free Trade Agreements.

“It is incredible that we are now days away from a potential ‘no-deal’ Brexit and Commissioner Hogan is still saying it is too soon to make a call on what market support measures will be at Ireland’s disposal.

“It is true that there are already some structures in place, but from experience there are also impediments to the triggering of many of these options.  Many crisis management tools require disruption across EU markets, not just in one, and we know from experience of the Dairy crisis from 2014-2016 that many of these tools take months to activate, and longer even after that to actually arrive in farmers’ pockets.  By the time potential support is received, severe damage has already happened at farm level.

“The British government has already announced that it is planning on putting in place completely ruinous tariffs on Irish agriculture in the event they crash out of the European Union. We also know that there will be immediate shocks arisen from sharp currency fluctuations and other unforeseen consequences arising from a hard British exit from the EU.  Vulnerable sectors such as our farming community will need support – and they’ll need it fast!

“It is unfathomable and inexcusable that the Commission has not yet decided what tools will be available under its Brexit Contingency Plan.

“The Irish Government needs to up its game; they need to spell out to the commission that a ‘wait and see’ approach is not good enough.  They need to force the Commission to come forward with genuine options in the nightmare scenario of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit”.

ENDS

Text of communication between Matt Carthy MEP & Commissioner Phil Hogan:

Question for written answer P-000126/2019

to the Commission

Rule 130

Matt Carthy (GUE/NGL)

Subject: Emergency aid in light of Brexit

On 3 January the Irish Government announced that it would be seeking emergency aid to cope with the adverse impact of Brexit on trade, specifically for the beef, dairy and fishing sectors.

Can the Commission confirm that it has received a formal request and provide the details of that request?

Given the fast-approaching date of exit, can the Commission state whether it has already considered this request and launched preliminary studies on the amount of funding necessary to avoid crisis in these sectors?

Written Answer

EN

P-000126/2019

E-000414/2019

Answer given by Mr Hogan

on behalf of the European Commission

The Commission is in close contact with the EU27 Member States, including Ireland, concerning Brexit and the potential impacts on trade in such sectors as agriculture and fishing.  In this respect, the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has met the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and presented him with the potential impact of a disorderly Brexit on the Irish agri-food sector.

On 13 November 2018, the Commission adopted a Communication on contingency planning in case of a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, in order to mitigate the most disruptive consequences for EU27 in case of a withdrawal without an agreement in place. The Communication confirms the Commission’s commitment to protecting the interests of EU Member States and of those sectors most at risk from Brexit and acknowledges that “the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU will impact all Member States to varying degrees, but none more so than Ireland.” This reflects the fact that Ireland is especially exposed to disruption due to its strong trade links and shared land border with the United Kingdom.

The Communication also confirms that the Commission stands ready to support Ireland to find solutions addressing the particular challenges. This includes preparations for a no-deal withdrawal scenario. The Commission has already adopted a series of contingency measures including for EU fisheries. Information on the website includes a series of relevant preparedness notices as well as details of various legislative initiatives and other legal acts. While a disorderly Brexit would present additional challenges, not least to the agri-food sector, the Commission has tools at its disposal to address these challenges, notably the various market support measures.

It is still too soon to say what specific form any EU assistance could take, not least as the circumstances in which the United Kingdom will leave the EU are not yet known nor what the exact economic consequences of the departure will be.

Government completely out of touch on carbon tax – Carthy

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said that the agreement between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Green Party to impose a carbon tax hike shows how out of touch the parties are with ordinary families struggling with the cost of living.

The Midlands Northwest MEP said: “Families are struggling across the state with the rising cost of living and already very high energy costs. There are 15 per cent of people on incomes below the poverty line and these are the people who will be hit hardest by a hike in the carbon tax.

“This is a regressive consumption tax that will disproportionately harm those on lower incomes. While Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour, and the Green Party may believe that ordinary working people and families shoulder the burden while industry polluters continue to pump millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere, Sinn Féin hold that a fair, green alternative is possible.

“The carbon tax is not only unfair; it is also going to fail because unless you put in place measures to give families the alternatives such as major new investment in public transport, for example, a carbon tax will not change behaviour and is just a punitive tax. It should absolutely be opposed.

“Carbon taxes are ineffective at reducing emissions, and the international evidence in conclusive on this fact. Emissions have continued to rise. Last year saw an EU record high in emissions. It merely provides the illusion of doing something.

“We need to discuss the idea of a wealth tax for wealthy individuals and corporations. A wealth tax along this line could then be ringfenced to invest in real climate action measures, such as a major expansion of public transport, the retrofitting of houses, and developing green infrastructure across our Island.

“We want to make it very clear we will not support such a tax. The way to fight climate change is not by penalising ordinary families and working people.” ENDS

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy continues to raise Irish Brexit concerns in Brussels

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said that the British political system has made a ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario a live prospect.  This has created huge concerns in Ireland and required a detailed response from the EU and Irish government as to how vulnerable sectors and regions would be supported in such a scenario.  Discussions are now also needed, he said, as to the mitigation options to avoid any hardening of the border in Ireland.  All avenues to avoid such a catastrophe, including the hastening of a poll on Irish Unity, must form part of those discussions, he stated.

Carthy was speaking this week after he hosted a delegation of the Sinn Féin leadership, including party president Mary Lou McDonald and vice president Michelle O’Neill, to Brussels where they held a series of high-level meetings.  The meetings included a dialogue with EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier, who has warned that the inability of Westminster to agree on a withdrawal strategy makes a no-deal Brexit more likely on April 12, when the new deadline expires.

The Midlands Northwest MEP said: “The British parliament’s refusal to acknowledge the reality of Brexit and the need for the Withdrawal Agreement and backstop leaves only uncertainty and confusion. Their actions increase the likelihood of a no-deal crash-out Brexit.

“Ireland did not vote for Brexit. We do not consent to a hard border. We believe that the ‘backstop’ contained within the Withdrawal Agreement is a vital insurance policy to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and must be upheld.

“Throughout the Brexit process Sinn Féin has regularly met with EU negotiators, officials and leaders.  We have placed Irish concerns at the heart of the Brexit process.  This week we raised with Mr Barnier the need to continue to protect Irish interests, our economy, our agreements and the rights of citizens in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“The British parliament refuses to endorse the Withdrawal Agreement as negotiated by its government so we must plan for the default position of a crash-out Brexit.

“That means that the EU and the Irish government need to spell out how vulnerable regions and sectors will be protected and supported in a ‘no-deal’ scenario.  The positive words we have heard from Brussels must be followed by firm commitments, including financial support.  There must also be a clear statement that, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, there can be no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland, and there can be no undermining of citizens’ rights.

“The EU recognises that the Good Friday Agreement provides for constitutional change and in the event of a unity vote all of Ireland would retain EU membership.

“The route back to the EU is clear – it means the ending of partition and the avoidance of a hard border in Ireland.

“The Irish government needs to intensify planning for a no-deal crash with an imperative to ensure no return to a hard border, and that our agreements the rights of citizens are safeguarded.

“This strategy must be an all-Ireland one and, most importantly, it must include the option of a poll on Irish Unity.” ENDS

ATM robberies require cross-border co-operation – Matt Carthy MEP

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said that the recent spate of attacks on ATMs across the north and border region is wholly unacceptable, not least for the huge cost implications for small, local businesses and the disruption it causes communities.

Carthy said that cross-border policing efforts, supported by local communities and the construction industry, must be focussed on stamping out this gang or gangs

Speaking after the latest such attack, which occurred in Castleblayney, the Midlands North-West MEP said:

“It has become an almost daily news report in recent weeks that an ATM has been attacked and removed in the region.  Local shop owners are now living in constant dread that their premises may be next.  There are also fears among local communities that an innocent person could get caught up in one of these attacks and be injured or killed in the fallout.

“The criminals involved in these attacks are clearly operating on a cross-border basis.  The response therefore must also involve a cross-border policing effort, supported by local communities and the construction industry, in order to stamp out these callous opportunists.  As an immediate step, policing resources and personnel must be increased in these areas.

“There is a real concern among communities that these events will lead to the removal of ATM facilities from rural towns and villages, areas that have already had other services withdrawn. Such a move would have a detrimental effect on how people live and do business in these rural communities.  Assurances must be provided by government and the banks that everything possible will be done to avoid such a scenario.”

ENDS