Raising the huge delays families in Dublin are faced with in obtaining birth certs for their children, Dublin Central Senator Marie Sherlock said these delays are having a huge impact on many families who are unable to access social welfare supports including child benefit and GP cards. Senator Sherlock said there has been a failure…

Labour’s Finance Spokesperson Ged Nash has welcomed the publication of the terms of reference of the review of the retail banking sector in Ireland. However, he questioned how the process can be truly independent given the fact that the review itself is being undertaken by officials of the Department of Finance. He said: “I and…

Labour’s further and higher education spokesperson and health committee member Senator Annie Hoey has written to Minister Harris asking him to clarify if student exams will be going ahead in person, rather than online, in light of the increase in Covid cases. Senator Hoey said: “I have been inundated with contact from students’ unions and…

Labour health spokesperson Duncan Smith said the confusion surrounding derogations of healthcare workers must be clarified by government immediately. Deputy Smith said it is simply unsafe to expect healthcare workers to work if they are close contacts and will lead to massive outbreaks in hospitals and other settings. Deputy Smith said: “The Labour Party fully…

The Locked Out report published today should be a catalyst for government to change the HAP limits, said Labour housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan. Pointing to CSO data published yesterday, Senator Moynihan said older people are shown to be spending a greater portion of their income on rent and there is a older person rental crisis…

Labour Senator and health committee member Annie Hoey has hit out at the Minister for Health for conflating the cost of providing free antigen tests with paying nurses. Senator Hoey said: “I was shocked to hear the Minister conflate the cost of antigen tests with paying nurses. It is a strawman argument designed to elicit…

Labour health spokesperson Duncan Smith has called on government to outline its plan to clear the backlog in PCR tests. Deputy Smith said people must be getting confirmatory PCR tests as soon as possible rather than waiting a number of days to even get a test in the first instance. Deputy Smith said: “The increase…

Speaking during the Labour Party PMB on a Carbon Labelling Bill, climate spokesperson Ivana Bacik TD said an understandable and accessible carbon footprint label on products can empower consumers by enabling informed choices while putting a firm end to greenwashing by big corporations. Deputy Bacik said: “Consumers are increasingly demanding information about products’ carbon impact….