Deputy Penrose stated in response to the increase of the special 9% rate of VAT to 13.5% that the impact of same will be clearly felt in rural based hotels and rural pubs who have restaurants which allowed them to sell food on the premises. Speaking today Deputy Penrose said: “I have been contacted by…

There was much fanfare from Fianna Fáil that the budget this week was going to be a Housing Budget. It wasn’t. The amount of extra money announced was minuscule in the context of what is needed and most of it is directed towards landlords and developers rather than those who need homes. It falls so…

Yesterday, what we heard from Minister Paschal Donohoe was a budget without a purpose.We heard a weak, spiritless and conservative budget. There was no vision. And there should have been one. Budget 2019 is not like recent budgets.This was the first budget since 2007 where the Government genuinely had real scope to bring about positive…

Labour Children spokesperson Séan Sherlock has criticised the failure of the Minister for Children to clearly outline to parents what the changes in Budget 2019 on Affordable Childcare Scheme will mean. There is no one-stop-shop or information source available where parents can find out what they are entitled to under the Affordable Childcare Scheme. Deputy…

Labour Spokesperson on Health, Alan Kelly TD has called on the Minister to provide free access to counselling for young people under 25. Speaking today Deputy Kelly Said: “Today is World Mental Health Day and should give us all pause to consider how far we have come in destigmatising Mental Health issues in Ireland and…

Labour Spokesperson on Climate Action Seán Sherlock TD has slammed the Government for negating its responsibility to act on Climate Change. “This was a missed opportunity to tackle the scourge of single-use plastics. Ireland is the third worst performer in the EU on carbon emissions. On average, we produce 13.5 tonnes of CO2 per person. That’s…

Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin has said that the Government have completely ignored Rosslare Port in Budget 2019. Deputy Howlin said: “Giving his Budget 2019 speech, Paschal Donohoe managed to name every major port in the country when it comes to Brexit preparations bar Rosslare Port. This is shocking and a sign that this Government…

If it looks like an election budget, if it sings like an election budget, if Leos’s choir cheers it like an election budget, well then it is an election budget. As I listened today I couldn’t help feeling a sense of déjà vu. It was Minister Pascal Donohue who was delivering the speech but it…