Mannix Flynn

1. Are you for or against the elimination of the local property tax?

YES. The Local property tax was meant to be used for local councils, but very little of it has reached that destination. It is an unfair tax on many households. We need to re-examine the whole area of property tax and find a fairer, more equitable way and ensure that the monies collected go directly to public services.

2. Are you for or against repealing the 8th Amendment?

My position on child-protection is clear and on-record; I welcome a referendum.

3. Are you for or against the creation of a directly elected mayor for the Dublin area, with greater powers over, housing, transport and revenue raising?

FOR. This issue was brought before the councillors of Dublin and the Dublin regional councillors and it failed to be passed. I believe the issue now should be put to the people of Dublin and the Dublin region (which covers the four councils).

4. Who should be responsible for setting minimum apartment standards, local authorities or the national government?

Local authorities. Local authorities make the development plan and they are the people on the ground to make the decisions and see them through. It would be right and proper for Dublin City Council and city councillors to have this statutory obligation.

5. Are you for or against ending religious patronage of all schools?

YES. This needs to be balanced in order to include non-religious schools. Religious patronage of schools, like church and state, should be separated.

6. Are you for or against the provision of medically supervised injection centres in Dublin?

AGAINST. I don’t believe that these are an effective way to deal with the drug-addiction problem. What we need are more detox beds and residential rehabilitation centres, and a greater emphasis on drug-use prevention in our communities and in our society.

7. Are you for or against giving asylum seekers the right to work?

FOR. Every person should be given the right to work and contribute to society. More importantly, it is an affront to their dignity not to be allowed to work and provide for themselves.

8. What, if anything, should be done about Irish Water?

Abolish Irish Water. It was hastily constituted without the full, informed consent of people. It is the wrong vehicle to deal with the issues surrounding water, water security and provision.

9. Are you for or against the immediate introduction of a vacant-land levy in Dublin?

FOR. One of biggest hoarders of lands and vacant lands in Dublin is Dublin City Council. Will the levy apply to the council? Big developers and operators can afford to sit on sites and pay levies. They can write it off in their taxes. I would much prefer to see good incentives to develop rather than ineffective consequences.

10. Are you for or against banning zero-hour employment contracts?

FOR. Zero-hour contracts need to be abolished immediately.

11. Are you for or against ending unvouched expenses for TDs and councillors?

For ending them. I am in favour of transparency and accountability. As councillors, we have to account for every single penny. Many councillors don’t have expenses. We get an attendance fee based on attending meetings, etc. All of our monies are published on the DCC website quarterly.

[Editor’s note: you can read more on councillors’ allowances and expenses here.]

12. Are you for or against bringing in a new system of independent building inspections carried out by government inspectors to ensure that buildings are built to code?

FOR. The recent history of pyrite and fire-safety issues are hard lessons. To ensure that this does not happen again in the future, we need robust, independent inspection of all aspects of building, particularly housing. We also need to ensure robust penalties for those who breach guidelines with sub-standard work.

In preparation for 26 February, we asked candidates running in Dublin for their views on a dozen issues. You can read what all the candidates had to say here.