News – The Labour PartyThe Government’s Housing strategy leaked today and due to be published next week contains a lot of measures but no clear direction. It contains sops to the construction industry, for example upfront payment for Part 5 social houses and the use of public land for mixed tenure development, the majority of…

News – The Labour PartyNew research from the ESRI suggesting that young people find life much tougher than the over-65s comes as no shock to the young people reading it. Grace Williams, Labour Youth National Chairperson said on the report: “It has been clear for some time that young people are finding it difficult to…

News – The Labour PartySpeaking in the Dail today, Alan Kelly asked Health Minister Simon Harris to provide an up-to-date list of section 38 entities which receive funding from the HSE and for a full breakdown of the funding each organisation received from 2013 to 2015. He said: “I’m calling on the Minister to publish…

News – The Labour PartyOn the Order of Business today, Senator Ivana Bacik expressed her concern regarding the proposal to introduce a scheme of income contingent student loans to fund third level education, and called for a debate on the report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education chaired by Peter Cassells….

News – The Labour PartyA news report in the Guardian this week suggesting that the latest draft version of the TTIP agreement could all but end European efforts to save energy and switch to clean power, is very worrying. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/11/leaked-ttip-energy-proposal-could-sabotage-eu-climate-policy According to the piece, the EU will propose a rollback of mandatory energy savings measures,…

News – The Labour PartyIt is welcome that the Cassells report is proposing that whatever funding model is chosen for third level education, that part time students would be funded in the same manner as full time students. The report also proposes an extension of student supports to part time students. Part time third level…

News – The Labour PartyI welcome the publication of today’s GDP growth figures for 2015. Even when we strip away the effect of companies relocating assets to Ireland, the economic growth figures are stratospheric. Labour in government delivered national economic recovery and unprecedented growth. In introducing new collective bargaining laws, re-establishing wage setting mechanisms such…

News – The Labour PartyLabour Youth National Chairperson Grace Williams has called on Fianna Fáil to rule out supporting the introduction of student loans. Williams commented: “Fianna Fáil Education and Skills Spokesperson Thomas Byrne said on Morning Ireland his party are open to the idea of introducing student loans.  “This is a deeply regressive and…