What are your thoughts on how the latest proposed amendments to the Irish Firearms Acts - as contained in the Criminal Justice (Misc.Provisions) Bill 2009 - contravene the EU directive on Firearms (91/477/EEC) by requiring all Irish firearms owners to only purchase ammunition or firearms from Irish registered firearms dealers instead of the current (and in force since 1964) laws that allow them to purchase from any registered firearms dealer in the EU so long as the appropriate paperwork is in place?
04.06.2009
Reply from Nessa Childers
Dear ,
Thank you for your question. This a very serious issue that effects more than 236,000 lawful individuals in this country. There is an urgent need for a single, comprehensive, updated and consolidated code on Firearms. I think everyone agrees new legislation to fight gun crime needs to be brought forward in light of recent killings. However, last month´s bill was too reactionary and showed lack of foresight and consideration. There is no evidence to show that legally held guns have been used in the commission of any crime. I am, of course, in favour of bringing the law up to date in the matter of licensing of firearms, their security and their use. I am not in favour, however, of measures purportedly introduced to tackle crime being used instead to put legitimate sports clubs out of business. Target shooting sports in Ireland is not insignificant as a sport and is a dimension of indigenous rural business in some counties. The Government must reconsider its position and take the opportunity to produce coherent firearms legislation that effectively tackles crime without punishing lawful firearms owners.
Regards,
Nessa
Jobs
02.06.2009
Question from jim
Do you think the EU Workers Directive should be implemented fully into Irish law?
04.06.2009
Reply from Nessa Childers
Dear Jim,
Thanks for your question. I am in favour of the Posted Workers
Directive(96/71/EC) and believe it should be fully transposed into Irish
law.
Regards,
Nessa
Culture
27.05.2009
Question from Nic
An aontaíonn tú gur chóir logainmneacha as Gaeilge amháin a bhaistiú ar eastáit tithíochta nua sa cheantar agus gur chóir coiste logainmneacha áitiúil a chur ar bun i bpáirt leis na húdaráis áitiúla, An Post, saineolaithe agus an pobal ginearálta, chun rogha ainmneacha Gaeilge a sholáthair d´fhorbróirí i gcás gach eastát nua sa cheantar?
Má thoghtar tú, an oibreoidh tú leis na húdarais áítiúla agus le pobal an cheantair chun a chinntiú go bhfuil an Ghaeilge ar chomhmhéid leis an mBéarla ar chomharthaí dátheangacha sa bhaile agus sa cheantar máguaird?
Má thoghtar tú, an gcabhróidh tú le suíomh agus áiseanna sásúla a chinntiú don Ghaelscoil áitiúil?An dtacaíonn tú leis na héilimh náisiúnta eile ar son na Gaeilge?
Reply from Nessa Childers
2 interested people are waiting for reply
Jobs
26.05.2009
Question from
I am very pleased to hear that you are a candidate and wish you the best of luck! I am certain that you would be a good choice.
As an emigrant who might return home soon, I am concerned about unemployment in Ireland and how it will affect our population. I hope it will not force our young people to leave home as it did in the 1980´s.
Are MEP´s able to implement policies, e.g., policies that draw on the experiences of other European countries, independently of the party they belong to at home?
Thanks and good luck again.
26.05.2009
Reply from Nessa Childers
Thank you for the post .
The jobs issue is certainly the greatest concern of voters this election. Job creation must be a priority and the EU can help on this front. I recently launched a job creation policy. For starters we can tap into resources such as the European Investment Bank to get credit flowing to small and medium businesses. To equip and prepare business for a modern green economy we should also tap into the EU´s Globalization Adjustment Fund. To create a knowledge base for sustainable employment I will campaign for the establishment of an EU Skills Programme. These are simple steps that we can take at EU level that I will fight for as an MEP. For the full jobs policy you can download the pdf file at www.labour.ie
As I said in the post below, Ireland must learn from the past experiences of our European colleagues - both positive and negative - so that we build on their successes and avoid their mistakes. This European dimension will be particularly helpful in areas such as immigration and transport.
Regards,
Nessa
Culture
19.05.2009
Question from án Ó
Nessa, just a quick thank you for being the only politician who actually put the fadaí on my name in your election mail (For legal reasons we are not able to put our townlands in Irish yet). It was refreshing! I´d trust you. Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat!
I want Ireland to finally be a healthier, more European place and to look beyond Britain for its policy inspiration to Scandinavia (for environmental policy) and France (for health policy), for instances. That progressive intellectual independence is sorely lacking to date. Will you be willing to advocate policies which have been used successfully in continental Europe and which may benefit us? You will probably be a lone voice, but there are a large amount of people who would love somebody who is strongly if not fully intellectually supportive of the socially and environmentally progressive policies in use on the continent.
20.05.2009
Reply from Nessa Childers
Thanks for the question, án.
If elected MEP, I will be sitting with the Socialist Group (Party of European Socialists), which includes the Social Democrats from Sweden, Finland and Denmark, the Parti Socialiste from France, the SPD from Germany and other progressive parties from across Europe. Indeed, our European Party Leader at present is the former Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who is famous for introducing the ´flexicurity´ model in Denmark in the 1990s.
Being a member of a group of such progressive parties from across the EU means that I will have access to those experiences to which you refer from other countries. Ireland must learn from the past experiences of our European colleagues - both positive and negative - so that we build on their successes and avoid their mistakes.
