The upcoming European and Local elections on Friday, May 24th are an important one. People will be canvassing for your votes, and so we have pulled together some key questions around particular themes that our members have been working on. These cover areas of human rights and anti-racism; international trade deals and Palestinian solidarity along with health equality and access to medicines
There is some overlap, but our members feel these are vital questions they think prospective candidates need to be able to answer. And the more of us that ask them on our doorsteps, meetings or hustings, the higher the pressure is applied, encouraging these candidates to either take or reject a progressive stand.
Human Rights and Anti-racism
What is your position on the narrowed remit of Operation Sofia, which has brought an end to search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and the end of the Irish Naval Rescue mission?
Are you satisfied that Ireland is compliant with the European Reception Conditions Directive which we opted into in June 2018? Do you believe Ireland meets its European obligations to asylum seekers concerning the rights to work, housing, and education?
What is your position on the policy of returning people to unsafe countries such as Libya, in breach of international law?
Are you or is your party a signatory of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) Anti-racism Protocol 2019?
Trade deals, social justice and Palestine
What is your position on ensuring that trade policy takes account of social and environmental issues, in particular, will you work to ensure the EU implements an effective ban on the importation into the EU of goods produced in the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
What is your position on Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, such as is contained in the proposed EU Canada trade deal, CETA, that allows corporations to sue governments for any changes they may make to social and environmental regulations?
What position will you take concerning the re-opening of EU-USA trade talks and in particular will you ensure that such trade talks will not be mandated while the USA is not in compliance with its climate change obligations?
Access to Medicines and Health
What measures will you take as an MEP to ensure EU investments in medicines Research & Development (R&D) are driven by public health need rather than profit and to ensure the accessibility, availability, and affordability of the results of R&D?
What measures will you take as an MEP to advance reform of the intellectual property rights system in the EU to ensure a healthy balance between public interest and private profit?
What measures will you take as an MEP to ensure transparency (in R&D, manufacturing, marketing, etc.) in medicines development and commercialization?
Here’s the full list of candidates in each constituency:
This area covers Dublin city and county and there are four seats available.
In this consituency there are four seats available and it comprises Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.
There are five seats in this constituency which covers Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.
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