reforming the republic
Michael McNamara inspects flooding on his farm.
Michael McNamara - Candidate for the European elections
email mcnamara@reform.ie
Articles by Michael McNamara on this site: Regionalisation , The Nitrates Directive , Accountability , Sustainability , EU Law , Financial Regulation , Lisbon , Asylum law .
Policies
Agriculture
- EU Law such as the Nitrates directive and Animal By-Products Regulations must be applied nationally in a manner that no longer unfairly hampers Irish farmers.
Institutional Reform
- The Lisbon Treaty is an important and welcome step in the reform of the European Union
Financial Regulation
- Only pan-national financial regulation in an EU-wide context can restore the credibility of the Irish financial system
Immigration and Asylum
- Immigrants and their children are now part of the Irish nation. It is time for a modern, transparent and humane immigration system to be put in place in Ireland, as is provided for in EU Law and the Common European Asylum System.
Regionalisation
- We need to replace our current fragmented, ineffective and undemocratic local government with strong democratic regional and municipal government that can provide leadership locally and represent us in Europe, where Structural Funds are dispersed regionally.
- Support for SMEs is provided through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) and we need our MEPs and local government representatives actively seeking such support for Western and Northern firms.
- Broadband access should be guaranteed by EU Law to all Western and Northern homes and businesses.
- A public service obligation or PSO needs to be put in place to ensure permanent Shannon connectivity
- All politicians must be accountable to those who elect them and must govern in their name, especially local politicians, who are not now accountable for local government as, though elected, they are powerless.
- The current level of bureaucracy and duplication in local government is no longer sustainable.
Biography
Michael McNamara is a Clare-based farmer and practising barrister.
He has studied at University College Cork, the Catholic University of Louvain, Teagasc, and the King's Inns, Dublin and previously worked for RTÉ, the OSCE and the UN and has also worked as a consultant on EU democratisation programmes in the Middle East and South Asia.
He has been called to the Bar of Ireland and Northern Ireland and is a member of the Irish Maritime Law Association and the Irish Society of International Law, as well as the Irish Farmers' Association.
Michael with Aitzaz Ahsan, Leader of the Lawyers' Movement in Pakistan February 2008
