McCarthy is a barrister and lecturer. He formerly worked as sea for a few years and is a qualified ship capatin. He lives in Ballincollig.

I lived through the last recession and period of austerity which followed as a self-employed person and am all too familiar with the terror everyone in that position feels while worrying if they will be able to make ends meet and provide for their family, without the benefit of a safety net.

There are a range of interlinked crises at play which must be tackled immediately as a matter of urgency, including the housing crisis, insurance premiums and a lack of early-years care funding.

At a bare minimum, we need to immediately legislate for a nationwide rent freeze, end the preferential tax treatment of so-called ‘Cuckoo’ funds and introduce a proper land-hoarding tax.