Type: Press

Labour Youth and Labour Equality are raising concerns today given reports in the media suggesting the current government are discussing a tax break to Irish emigrants earning over 75,000 per annum. This measure comes as part of a new incentive to seek the return of, what is being reported as, “highly skilled emigrants”. 
Responding to…

Limerick City Labour T.D. and Spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Jan O’Sullivan has called upon the Minister for Finance and constituency colleague Michael Noonan T.D. to review and amend the current legislation governing the ‘Living Cities Initiative’. The scheme was first introduced as part of the 2013 budget with a specific remit of incentivising…

Labour TD for Tipperary Alan Kelly has welcomed his colleague Willie Penrose’s proposed legislation to guarantee more airtime for music of Irish origin on the country’s airwaves. Under the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2016, a quota of at least 40 per cent of the airtime allotted to music on Irish radio stations would contain a distinctive…

The Labour Party will this week table a proposal during Private Members’ Time in the Seanad in an effort to resolve the Dublin Bus dispute and other industrial relations issues in the public transport sector. According to Ged Nash, Labour Party spokesperson on Labour Affairs and Workers’ Rights, this proposal would see the establishment of…

Brendan Howlin has congratulated Jeremy Corbyn on his re-election as Leader of the UK Labour Party. “The challenges facing the people on these islands have been brought into stark relief after the result of the Brexit referendum, and a strong Brtitish Labour Party is needed now more than ever. “I want to congratulate Jeremy Corbyn…

The Easter Proclamation 1916 – A comparative analysis Liam de Paor With an essay by W.J. Mc Cormack The words of the Proclamation were put together by P.H. Pearse and revised by James Connolly and Thomas MacDonagh. The document is short and exhortatory. Nonetheless, teased out, it unfolds patterns of thought and, perhaps more revealingly,…

Launch of Protection of Employment (Uncertain Hours) Bill 2016 A new Bill published today by Senator Ged Nash has the potential to transform the lives of working people by providing greater certainty and employment security for thousands of atypical workers in sectors such as hospitality, retail and the care sector. Speaking at the launch of…

The time has long passed for the IDA to start getting big jobs to small towns across Ireland, according to Labour Leader Brendan Howlin who is attending the Ploughing Championships today, as new figures show that rural counties are being left behind when it comes to investment by large companies. “As Ireland gathers to celebrate…

Labour TD for Tipperary and Vice-Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Alan Kelly has today stated that Minister Michael Noonan must come before the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions on Project Eagle/NAMA. “The idea that the Minister for Finance would just send his Secretary General in his place to the Public Accounts Committee on…

Labour Party Education spokesperson Joan Burton has today welcomed the restoration of pay equality for teachers. “The announcement today that pay equality has been restored for all teachers is a hugely welcome one, and sees the further reinstatement of equal pay for equal work as a core principle. “Earlier this year, my colleages Brendan Howlin…

This afternoon’s meeting of party leaders to discuss the NAMA affair produced a reasonable initial level of consensus. Everyone agreed that an investigation into Project Eagle was warranted, and that it should be a statutory investigation. Equally, there was general agreement that the statutory investigation should, if agreement is possible with the Northern Ireland authorities,…

Labour TD for Tipperary and Vice-Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Alan Kelly has today welcomed the decision of Government to publish the Report of the C&AG into Project Eagle and the decision in principal to investigate Project Eagle. “It is imperative that the inquiry commences at the earliest possible juncture. Obviously the Public Accounts…

Senator Ged Nash has said that the proposals contained in an expert review carried out this year by former Labour Court Chair Kevin Duffy and company law expert Nessa Cahill must be implemented without further delay. Speaking in the wake of the liquidation of the remaining HMV stores, he said, “I commissioned this report in…

The HSE winter initiative finally unveiled by Minister Harris and the HSE will not fix the growing problems in our health service accordingly to the Labour Party health spokesperson Alan Kelly. “The winter health initiative has been announced far too late by the HSE and will do little to address the severe overcrowding problem in…

This week the Dáil debated the implications of the European Commission’s decision on the tax affairs of Apple and their relationship with the Irish Government Local Labour Party Willie Penrose has criticised the decision by the European Commission. “. It is no wonder people continually question how the EU operates and feel detachment from it….

Brendan Ryan, Labour Party spokesperson for Transport, has described as “astonishing” the fact no meaningful talks have taken place since workers at Dublin Bus announced they are engaging in six days of industrial action over September. “Today sees the beginning of strike action by Dublin Bus workers which will impact on over 400,000 commuters. I…

Ahead of industrial action planned by Dublin Bus workers tomorrow, Labour spokesperson for Dublin, Senator Kevin Humphreys has offered his support for striking workers and has called on Minister Shane Ross to intervene. “With this strike costing Dublin businesses €2.1 million a day and 500,000 bus journeys being affected, it is high time Shane Ross…

Ahead of industrial action planned by Dublin Bus workers over the course of the next month beginning tomorrow, Labour Youth calls on Minister for Transport Shane Ross to meet with the unions spearheading the action. On the issue, National Chairperson of Labour Youth, Grace Williams commented, “It is absolutely outrageous that Minister for Transport Shane…

The continuing delay by Minister Harris in confirming a detailed plan for the HSE winter initiative is nothing short of unacceptable, according to the Labour Party health spokesperson Alan Kelly. “We have now reached September with absolutely no confirmation from the HSE of the details of their long-promised winter initiative. Minister Harris has spent weeks…

Following the publication of the report of the Áras Attracta Swinford Review Group, Labour Party Spokesperson on Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch has welcomed the recommendations by Dr Kevin McCoy and his team. “In December 2014, I was shocked and distressed by the revelations of extremely poor and unacceptable standards of care and mistreatment of vulnerable…

Today, Labour TDs have published their amendments to the Government’s Motion re: Appeal the European Commission’s decision that Ireland provided unlawful State aid to Apple. To insert the following after paragraph (iv): “(v) strongly supports the ongoing work of the OECD and the EU through the BEPS process to tackle aggressive cross-border tax planning; (vi) insists…

Finances gained from sale should be invested in the North Fringe The saga that is Priory Hall is nearing finality. The apartment complex in Donaghmede is being rebuilt by Dublin City Council from the ground up at a cost close to 30 million euro. Former apartment owners who had at one time planned to build…

While the Government motion to be debated in the Dáil this week has yet to be circulated to opposition parties, based on sections of that motion that have been circulated to the media over the weekend, the Labour Party is today making clear that amendments to the Government motion will be tabled to demand more…

Notwithstanding the past three days of panicky kerfuffle in Government circles, it was always inevitable that the Apple state aid decision would be appealed, if only by Apple. And it would have been a daft state of affairs if Ireland was not party to that appeal, particularly when it is likely many other EU states…