Joint statement by Labour Party and SDLP Party Leaders At a meeting of the PES Leaders in Paris on 7th July a common view of the consequences of the British vote on Brexit was presented to the gathering by the Leaders of the Irish Labour Party Brendan Howlin TD and the Leader of the SDLP…

  Senator Ivana Bacik today welcomed confirmation from the Tánaiste that Ireland will admit an additional 260 Syrian refugees for resettlement here by autumn 2016, but criticised the delay in admission of refugees from Syria under the government’s resettlement programme to date. Senator Bacik said: “In 2015, over 1.3 million people applied for asylum within…

Earlier today in the Dáil on behalf of the Labour Party I introduced the 35th Amendment of the Constitution (Public Ownership of Certain Assets) Bill 2016, which will seek to amend the Constitution so as to provide for the retention of certain specified public utilities in public ownership, by preventing the sale of state assets…

Three things are clear from today’s announcement by Education Minister Richard Bruton on his new Education (Admission to Schools) Bill. First, the Bill walks away from the commitment in Fine Gael’s election manifesto to “transform the School Admissions Bill agreed by the current Government, but not yet passed by the Oireachtas, into a new School…

Oireachtas health committee should convene hearings on fatal foetal abnormalities Labour Women, Labour Equality and Labour Youth are calling on the government to convene hearings of the Oireachtas health committee on the issue of fatal foetal abnormalities. Commenting Labour Women chair Sinead Ahern said ‘The Labour Party position on this issue is clear, last year…

I have genuine concerns about government amendments to the Water Services Amendment Bill 2016, that will give the minister power to unilaterally extend both the term of the suspension of water charges and the lifespan of the Water Commission. There is little doubt but that these amendments could result in our exposure to daily fines,…

The proposed “private sector ownership model” being brought forward by Minister for Communications Denis Naughten is being touted as the cheapest and quickest way to deliver broadband to rural areas however history shows this type of plan to be deeply flawed. Similar plans in the past have caused major long-term difficulties as they leave control…

Having attended the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland’s Pre-Budget Submission launch, Labour Spokesperson for Older People Emmet Stagg has called for support for the Society’s request for an increased allocation of €67m in the 2017 Budget to provide additional Home Care Packages for citizens suffering from dementia. Emmet Stagg said: “There are now some 55,000 people…