Type: Press

What’s happening today? Tánaiste and Labour Party Leader Joan Burton, will this morning launch ‘A strong economy for a decent society’, Labour’s plan for economic and social progress. The Tánaiste will be joined by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, and Minister for Communications, Alex White and Deputy Derek Nolan. Joan Burton will…

The Labour Party yesterday launched ‘Standing up for Rural Ireland’, the party’s plan for balanced regional development. Among the key provisions of the plan are:  A new €200m investment in regional growth centres  An increased investment in transport and connectivity  Greater support for small scale agriculture food production and rural development …

Deputy Joanna Tuffy has said that Sinn Fein’s healthcare proposals cannot be taken seriously. Tuffy commented: “Sinn Fein launched their healthcare policy today but if anyone wants to see what Sinn Fein actually do to health services when they are in power, then look to the North. “Sinn Fein in the North have presided over…

The proposal from Fianna Fail to have unelected ‘experts’ appointed to Cabinet positions is barmy, anti-democratic, and is a throwback to the Haughey era of political patronage and favouritism. This proposal is contained in Fianna Fail’s set of political reforms that would actually set our parliamentary democracy back a number of generations, rather than deliver…

Labour pledges to ‘grow the green economy’ under a new €1bn Green Infrastructure Fund The Labour Party today officially launched its plan for green jobs. Entitled ‘Growing the Green Economy’, the main points of the plan involve:  Establishing a Green Infrastructure Fund worth €1bn; Expanding the better energy warmer homes scheme to retrofit 225,000 homes…

Working families around Ireland will be disappointed to see that Sinn Fein’s childcare proposals do not go further to reduce the onerous cost of childcare for people with young children. Their less than ambitious proposals will cap fees for parents at €4.50 an hour.  In contrast, Labour will reduce childcare costs for parents to €2…

 The Labour Party today launched ‘Standing up for Rural Ireland’, the party’s plan for balanced regional development. Among the key provisions of the plan are: A new €200m investment in regional growth centres An increased investment in transport and connectivity Greater support for small scale agriculture food production and rural development A new social enterprise…

I’ve spoken with my colleague, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, about this afternoon’s horrific events in the Regency Hotel. My first thoughts are with the family of the victim, and with those injured and caught up in the attack, including hotel staff. This was a barbaric act, and the fact that children were also put in…

If left-leaning people vote for Sinn Fein or the ultra-left in large numbers, they are likely to end up with a more right-wing Government, according to Minister Alex White, Labour candidate for Dublin Rathdown. Speaking in Galway at the official launch of Derek Nolan’s campaign to retain the Galway West seat for Labour, Minister White said:…

Speaking at the launch of the Labour Party General Election Campaign Colleagues, friends, members of the media, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you here to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre for the formal launch of The Labour Party’s General Election campaign. This is a symbolic part of the capital to hold our launch….

Speaking at the launch of the Labour Party General Election Campaign ‘Brilliant and balanced’ Not my words – those of the European Commissioner. Describing an economy that six years ago Fianna Fáil drove off the cliff. And the Commissioner is right. It is a remarkable turnaround. And we should be unapologetic about it. When we…

Labour will sustain and spread the recovery and create an economy and a society that works for working people, the Tánaiste and Labour Party Leader, Joan Burton TD, said today. Speaking at the formal launch of the Labour Party’s campaign in Dublin, the Tánaiste said Labour would continue to manage the public finances sensibly and…

No one believes Fianna Fail’s crocodile tears today over housing provision in the State.  They are an insult to the thousands of families who have been consigned to lengthy waiting lists thanks to the massive legacy issue that is Fianna Fail’s botched housing policy while in power.   Micheal Martin has a serious credibility problem…

Eamon Ryan’s comments on climate change are frankly unbelievable. He claims one of the only reasons he went into government with Fianna Fail was to deliver climate change legislation, which he then utterly failed to do.   I’m happy to discuss climate change with Eamon Ryan any day of the week.   In contrast to Eamon Ryan…

Wants everyone to forget that Fianna Fail crashed the country Two days into this campaign and Micheal Martin is already tying himself in knots over Fianna Fail’s ruinous economic record. Yesterday, Deputy Martin said the 2012 apology he made for Fianna Fail’s economic recklessness “stands”, yet wasn’t prepared to say if he would repeat the…

Earlier today Labour launched a comprehensive plan to ensure there is a job for everyone who wants one by 2018. The plan is built on investing in people, helping companies access the funding they need to grow, investing in innovation and providing better supports for start-ups. It is astonishing that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin…

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, has described this morning’s European Commission economic forecasts as a “ringing endorsement of the Irish economy and this Government’s handling of the crisis it inherited from Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil”. “If the Irish people need a further reason not to contemplate handing control of…

Tánaiste and Labour Party Leader Joan Burton, and Business and Employment Minister Ged Nash, launched ‘Standing up for Jobs’, the Labour Party’s plan for full employment by 2018 this morning in Drogheda. Labour plans to: Deliver a job for everyone who wants one by 2018 and will do this by investing in people, in skills and in the…

Earlier today Micheal Martin had the gall to claim that the economic recovery is down to the work of the previous Fianna Fail administration. Let us remind him of his comments at the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis in 2012 where he quite explicitly admitted that Fianna Fail was in the wrong: “We were in government…

While the Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, wants to pretend that the case of his friend Slab Murphy is irrelevant to the General Election campaign, the fact is that the nature of their relationship is something voters should think long and hard about over the coming weeks. We hardly need to go over the long…

€20m for pilot targeting people with acute health conditions Public consultation on minimum energy efficiency standards for rental accommodation Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) study of consumer switching Minister for Energy Alex White today (Tuesday) published A Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty, which outlines new measures to improve the living standards and conditions of citizens…

Leader, I am calling for a debate on the following issue, which concerns allegations of abuse within a foster home and what the HSE knew. I want to firstly put on record that my heart goes out to the woman at the centre of this, who has become known as Grace, and her family. She…

Jobless total at its lowest rate in seven years of 8.6% The Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash TD has welcomed new figures that show the unemployment rate is at its lowest level in seven years.   The figures published by the Central Statistics Office today show that 8.6% of people were unemployed in…

Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan visited Gaelscoil Bharra this morning to announce to the pupils and parents that the new school is to be built immediately. The news is most welcome because a generation of children of Cabra have been studying in dilapidated prefabs—too hot in summer, too cold and damp in winter. Local TD…