Young Fine Gael and Fine Gael LGBT have both welcomed the restoration of the Gender Recognition (Amendment Bill) 2017 and the Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018 to the Order Paper of Seanad Éireann. These bills had lapsed at the dissolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas earlier this year. They will both now resume … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for the charging of VAT on condoms and menstrual cups to be abolished at the upcoming Budget. The organisation believes that the scrapping of this tax would constitute a majorly progressive step forward for Irish health policy. Director of Policy and YFG Vice-President, Garry O’Sullivan, has said: “At present, condoms … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for an end to the current costings of the Green Certificate, which provides students with the requirements of a qualified farmer for the purposes of Revenue and Departmental-linked schemes. The Green Certificate is a QQI Level-5 Certificate in Agriculture and Level-6 FETAC Specific Purpose Certificate that is offered in-person or … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for the Government to create an agency that would be dedicated to the promotion and development of offshore wind farms for the production of renewable energy. The Programme for Government commits to increasing Ireland’s offshore wind energy by 2030 from 3.5GW to 5GW, which is the equivalent of powering 5 … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for Bystander Intervention Programmes to be expanded to all Irish third-level institutions. The organisation believes this is a much needed and timely proposal, following a number of reported incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence in universities in recent times. In 2017, a Bystander Intervention Programme was developed and piloted … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for the Government to increase investment in employment for people with a disability. Currently, Ireland has one of the lowest employment rates of people with disabilities. Only 26% of people with a disability are employed here compared to the European average of 48%. In order to increase employment, we are calling … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling current restrictions on building heights to be reformed to allow for higher-builds in our cities. Current height restrictions have resulted in urban sprawl, which has further increased the demand for land and raised property prices in our cities. YFG believes that height restrictions should be expanded to at least 10 … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for the introduction of ride-sharing services in Ireland. While the organisation welcomes the Programme for Government’s commitment to introducing a pilot-scheme for ride-sharing services, YFG believes that this should be expedited so that licenses can be granted to services such as Uber and Lyft, provided measures are in place to … Continued
Young Fine Gael has called on the Government to set up a new Commission to examine the obstacles to accessing justice in Ireland. The ability of citizens to access our justice system is essential to the rule of law. However, as noted by the Chief Executive of the Free Legal Aid Centres (FLAC), Eilis Barry: “Ireland … Continued
Young Fine Gael is calling for a specific category of smart-farming technology to be included in the Accelerated Capital Allowance (ACA), which is a tax incentive that encourages companies to invest in energy-efficient equipment. The potential for smart-farming technology to improve farming efficiency and productivity is immense–especially in the areas of IoT agricultural sensors or … Continued