Type: Press

I 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 as Registered Employment Agreement…

Labour 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 ill thought out position….

Earlier today the Living Wage Technical Group reported that the living wage rate for 2016 is €11.50. I am calling on the government to act on this recommendation and to set out a roadmap to introduce a living wage to Ireland.  The introduction of a living wage in London has been effective in improving working…

Labour Youth has reiterated its call for state funded higher education following the publication of the Cassells Report today presenting options for funding higher education.  Labour Youth National Chairperson Grace Williams commented: “We welcome the inclusion of publicly funded higher education as an option within the Cassells Report. However, it is crucial that this option…

The funding of third level education is a critical issue and there is no doubt that in the wake of the economic crash in 2008 and the fiscal crisis that it brought about, third level education was among those sectors worst hit. However, I’m not sure that the headline recommendations contained in the Cassells Report,…

“Plan is designed to dismantle publicly funded emergency care” states Willie Penrose TD. The proposals emanating from an expert group and being submitted to the Department of Health and the HSE to close nine A&E units across the country are dangerous and could put lives at risk. The proposition stymied by the last government but…

Lacey elected first labour cathaoirleach of eastern and midlands regional assembly At the Annual General Meeting of the  Eastern and Midlands Regional Assembly on Friday 8th July former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey was elected as the first ever Labour Party Cathaoirleach of the Regional Assembly. The Assembly established under the Local…

I would like to welcome the positive response to calls that I made last week for the provisions of the Paternity Leave legislation that is currently in the Oireachtas, to be extended to expectant families who are due to give birth in September. In government, Labour provided for two weeks paid paternity leave for the…

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…

A recent report by Charlie Weston in the Irish Independent that banks in some instances are refusing to restore tracker mortgages to customers who had them wrongly removed, highlights the need for the authorities to take a harder line with financial institutions. Banks have cheated thousands of customers out of their tracker mortgages, and their…

Labour Senator Kevin Humphreys has asked Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar to clarify when the new paternity leave scheme will come into force. Senator Humphreys said “The previous Labour –Fine Gael government introduced two weeks paid paternity leave for the first time under Budget 2016. It was expected to come into force in September and…

The shooting dead of a man yesterday in Bridgefoot Street who was a resident of Cabra is another gangland killing in the Inner City in the growing saga of such crimes. This killing may or may not be related to the recent feud which caused the deaths of seven people from the North Inner City…

I read with interest in the Irish Times today, that Sinn Fein has raised $354,111 in America in the six months to the end of April, for political activities. This brings to over $12,000,000, the amount that the party has raised in the US since 1995. By the way, this includes money donated by Donald…

Alan Kelly TD, questions strongly whether the Government are acting constitutionally when it comes to the current Water Services Bill before the Dail.Deputy Kelly said: “Personally, I believe there is a strong possibility that this Bill is contrary to EU law, which has constitutional primacy over acts of the Oireachtas. I believe that Minister Coveney…

Labour Equality will this evening (June 29th) host a public meeting to discuss the ongoing refugee crisis at the Teachers Club, Parnell Square. The talk will include contributions from experts in the area and speakers on the night will include Senator Ivana Bacik, Labour Party Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Jim Clarken CEO of Oxfam Ireland…

Longford/Westmeath TD, Willie Penrose is delighted to be appointed Labour spokesperson for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Rural Affairs, and Social Protection. Deputy Penrose recently raised the issue of Brexit and the significant negative impacts on Ireland’s agri-food sector in Dáil Éireann. He questioned the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Michael Creed on his…

The understanding that the derogation exempting Ireland from water charges was ended by the Fianna Fail/ Green Government, is borne out by a statement today issued by EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella in response to a Parliamentary Question by Marian Harkin. It is clear from Commissioner Vella’s reply that the derogation ended on the adoption…