News – The Labour PartyThe Budget includes an astonishing proposal to reduce Ireland’s Debt to GDP ratio to 45% by 2025. Ireland has made great progress in bringing down our debt to GDP ratio in recent years from a peak of 120% to 76% in 2016. However Minister Noonan’s Budget speech contains an astonishingly conservative…

News – The Labour Party    Labour provided a bigger increase to pensioners in 2016 than that provided in the 2017 FG-FF Budget No increase in Child Benefit provided in Budget 2017 while all other major payments going up Social Welfare budget only increased by 1% Under 26’s getting only €2.70 extra a week Labour…

News – The Labour PartyLabour TD and Spokesperson on the Arts, Joan Burton, has expressed her disappointment with the overall reduction of 16 per cent in the Arts Budget for 2017. The estimates show that the provision for current expenditure in the sector has fallen by a million euro on 2016 levels, while capital spending…

News – The Labour PartyLabour Senator and Spokesperson on Rural Development, Denis Landy, says today’s Budget shows the Government is more focussed on a welfare scheme for sheep support, than a renewal of rural communities. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Pascal Donohue, allocated 25% of the Rural Development Programme to the welfare of sheep…

News – The Labour PartyThe childcare package announced today is underfunded and fails to address the chronic issue of low pay in the sector, according to Labour TD and spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs, Jan O’Sullivan. “In the Budget for next year, the sum that Katherine Zappone has secured for investment in a new…

News – The Labour PartyLabour Senator and Spokesperson on Labour Affairs and Workers Rights, Ged Nash, says the Government’s 10 cent increase in the National Minimum Wage outlined in Budget 2017, is a slap in the face for 70 thousand of Ireland’s lowest paid workers. “The government has failed to meet its own commitments to…

News – The Labour PartyLast Friday, after the main opposition parties had published our alternative budget proposals, it was reported in the Irish Times that an “extra €200 million to expand the so-called “fiscal space”, is understood to have been found through “savings””. Following on from this report, we have sought clarifications from either Paschal…

News – The Labour PartyLabour Tipperary TD and Spokesperson on Health, Alan Kelly, says any move to cut rapid-response emergency ambulance services in Tipperary and Clare is completely unacceptable. In a statement to media today, the HSE confirmed the National Ambulance Service has started a review in the Mid-West region, including the provision of rapid…