SHAME ON YOU LEO
Protester heckles Taoiseach as we reveal truth on number of homes being built by Government
LEO Varadkar was heckled yesterday over the housing crisis – as we reveal the truth about council home building in Ireland. Protester Kevin Murphy, 22, tackled the Taoiseach at the Ploughing Championships. He asked why there were 4,000 homeless children and told our country’s leader: “Shame on you.” The Wexford man was then restrained by security.
The exchange came as the Irish Mirror reveals just 1,014
council homes were built last year – despite Mr Varadkar and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy often claiming it was in the “thousands”.
And a paltry 166 were put up in the first three months of 2018. Mr Varadkar said: “I think in any democracy protest is legitimate but protests in all cases should be done in accordance with the law.
“Ultimately protests don’t build houses or build them any quicker unfortunately. They can highlight this but they are not going to help us build houses any quicker. This year we will build about 20,000 new homes in Ireland, more than any year in the last 10.
“We will also increase our social housing stock by about 8,000.”
LEO Varadkar yesterday warned Brexit negotiations are entering a “rocky patch” over the next couple of weeks.
The Taoiseach was speaking at the Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, as it continued for an extra day after it was cancelled due to Storm Ali on Wednesday.
Mr Varadkar was asked about his stance on the tense Brexit negotiations after spending an hour walking around in the rain at Europe’s biggest farming event.
At around the same time the British Prime Minister was making a televised statement calling on the EU to show some respect after the leaders of the other 27 member states rejected her Chequers proposals as unworkable, with Theresa May admitting Brexit negotiations are at “an impasse”.
But Mr Varadkar believes a deal can be clinched but added the next few weeks will see a lot of tough talking.
He said: “I’m working every day as are other people across Europe and of course the UK government to avoid a scenario where we have a no-deal
hard Brexit next March. I think we can have a deal.
“We are entering into a rocky patch over the next couple of weeks but I’m determined to keep working to secure that deal that we need before the end of the year.
“We want to protect citizens’ rights and maintain the common travel area between Britain and Ireland, have a backstop in place to assure us a hard border won’t emerge in Ireland and also have a transition period that businesses, farmers and citizens have about two years to prepare for any permanent changes that make take place.”
In her speech, Mrs May appeared to blame the EU and called on Brussels to provide an alternative plan to hers, but the Taoiseach said the British government’s problems are of their own making.
He added: “Ultimately the problems that are being created for Britain and the British government are being created as a consequence of Brexit and nobody in Europe or Ireland is to blame for that.”
He added next month’s Budget will be a tight one saying: “There are a lot of moving parts. The Budget numbers are tighter than what people may expect.”
While the rain at the Ploughing Championships resulted in muddy conditions, in the parking areas the cars there were not as bogged down as the Brexit negotiations. Mrs May admitted as much after the rejection of her Chequers proposals with the Prime Minister calling on the EU to produce an alternative plan.
After her return from the summit in Salzburg, she said the United Kingdom and the European Union remain a “long way apart” on two big issues around Brexit. Mrs May claimed she rejected a proposal by the EU to keep the North in the customs union while the rest of the UK was out of it.
She said: “That is unacceptable. We will never agree to it. It would mean breaking up our country.”
At the same time the Prime Minister also reaffirmed her government’s commitment to no hard border in with the North, but gave no details on how this could be achieved.
She added: “The EU should be clear: I will not overturn the result of the referendum. Nor will I break up my country.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald described Mrs May’s statement as “nothing but tired rhetoric”
I’m working
to secure that deal we need before the end of year
LEO VARADKAR
Screggan YESTERDAY
while DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds welcomed her rejection of a border in the Irish Sea.
Ms Mcdonald said: “Theresa May made a statement today which was billed as a major one in respect of Brexit negotiations.
“It was, regrettably, no more than an exercise in tired rhetoric.
“Rather than accepting that her so-called Chequers Plan fails to resolve fundamental issues, Theresa May has engaged in deflection.
“Her focus has unfortunately remained on infighting within her own party and her pact with the DUP, instead of coming to an acceptable negotiating position.”
However Mr Dodds, whose party’s 10 MPS help prop up Mrs May’s minority government, praised the statement.
He said: “I think the Prime Minister’s very firm reiteration of not breaking up the United Kingdom, of the importance of what she has described as our precious union, is coming across very, very strongly.”
THE Taoiseach’s claim Brexit negotiations face a “rocky patch” in the next few weeks is something of an understatement.
While Mr Varadkar is still optimistic an agreement can be reached, the chances of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal have grown after the disastrous Salzburg summit.
Theresa May’s “it’s not my fault – it’s theirs” statement yesterday goes a long way to explain why the negotiations have reached a stalemate.
The crisis facing the British government is a direct result of the decision to leave and it is up to Downing Street to find a solution and not the responsibility of the EU.