Type: Press
Labour’s fair tax plan will abolish USC for low and middle income earners
Labour’s fair tax plan will deliver for low and middle-income workers by abolishing USC on the first €72,000 of individual income and reducing PRSI for the lowest-paid workers. The plan will put more than €1,100 a year back in the pocket of a worker on €25,000, while ensuring someone earning €120,000 or more continues to…
Read more »Tánaiste welcomes further drop in unemployment
Behind every new job is a person or family benefitting from recovery The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D., has welcomed the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office showing 30,500 fewer people unemployed. The unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in January, down from 10.1% in the same month last year. The…
Read more »White welcomes Irish Postmaster Union’s decision on election candidates
Minister for Communications Alex White has welcomed the Irish Postmasters Union’s (IPU) decision to focus on the implementation of the Bobby Kerr report into the future viability of post offices, rather than fielding candidates in the forthcoming general election. Minister White said: “I established the Post Office Business Development Group, under Bobby Kerr’s chairmanship, to…
Read more »Launch of a new Leaving Certificate subject, Politics and Society
Jan O’Sullivan TD, Minister for Education and Skills, launched Phase 1 of the implementation of a new Leaving Certificate subject, Politics and Society, in Limerick on Monday 1st February. The launch event was organised by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and also featured workshops and other information sessions for the participating schools throughout…
Read more »Kelly announces new €40 million fire service capital programme 2016 – 2020
Alan Kelly, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has today, Monday 1st February 2016, announced details of a new €40m programme of construction / refurbishment of 26 fire stations for the five year period 2016 – 2020. The programme will see 16 new fire station construction projects initiated between now and 2020,…
Read more »White expresses concern at results of civil service Employee Engagement Survey
Minister for Communications Alex White today (Friday) said he was concerned at the widespread perception among civil servants that their work was not valued by the public. Responding to yesterday’s publication of the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey, which found that just 15% of civil servants believed the public valued their work, Minister White warned…
Read more »Costello welcomes funding for mental health & addiction needs of homeless
Deputy Joe Costello has welcomed today’s announcement by the Minister for Mental Health, Social Care and Primary Care, Kathleen Lynch, of an extra €2 million to address the mental health and addiction needs of homeless people in Dublin. Deputy Costello stated: “This additional funding will ensure that these often vulnerable people can access the range…
Read more »Deputy Pat Rabbitte delivers his final speech to Dail Eireann
“The Banking Inquiry has done the State some service for which future economic historians will be grateful” Dáil Eireann gave the members of the Banking Inquiry an almost impossible mission given the restrictions, constitutional and legal, in which they had to operate. We owe the Chairman Deputy Ciaran Lynch and each member of the too…
Read more »Disappointment as Independent disarray stalls new Sexual Offences Bill
It was disappointing to see that the Technical Group and Independents could not agree to work with all other parties in the Dail today to make sure that the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 is passed into law. Deputy Catherine Murphy, speaking for the Technical Group today, admitted that she was strongly supportive of…
Read more »Lynch announces funding to address mental health and addiction needs of homeless in Dublin region
Minister for Mental Health, Social Care and Primary Care Kathleen Lynch has today announced that an additional €2m will be allocated to the HSE budget this year to address the health needs of homeless persons in the Dublin region, who manifest chronic mental ill health and/or substance misuse and addiction problems. The allocation comes…
Read more »50,000 new apprenticeships will benefit young people
Labour Youth welcomes the launch of the National Skills Strategy by Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party, Joan Burton, which will provide 50,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships. In response to the launch, Labour Youth National Chairperson, Grace Williams commented: “The Labour Party has stood up for working people in this government. We have played…
Read more »Tánaiste renews contract with An Post for social welfare payments at post offices
The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, T.D. has announced today (Thursday, 28 January 2016) a further renewal of her Department’s contract for cash social welfare payments at Post Offices. The current contract was signed in December 2013 for an initial two years with an option for extension for a further four years…
Read more »Cahill welcomes politicians’ ‘helping hands’
Labour Senator Mairia Cahill has thanked all those TDs and Senators who took part in the briefing and photocall that she organised with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Women’s Aid and One in Four today. Speaking this afternoon, Senator Cahill said: “Today’s event was a great success, and I would like to thank those from…
Read more »Labour Youth condemns cruel Danish refugee law
Labour Youth has joined with the Young European Socialists in condemning the Danish parliament’s decision to seize assets from refugees. Labour Youth International Officer, Declan Meenagh said, “The passage of this cruel law is deeply shocking to Labour Youth. Many of us who would normally look to Denmark as a bastion of progressive values have…
Read more »Hayden welcomes publication of 2015 social housing report
I WELCOME the publication today of the 2015 Social Housing report by Minister Alan Kelly. This report published in collaboration with the Housing Agency enhances openness and transparency around the delivery of the social housing strategy and other programmes to tackle the current housing crisis. There are many aspects of the report to be welcomed…
Read more »Government approves legislative amendments required to introduce paternity leave
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Equality, New Communities, Culture and Drugs Strategy, today announced that the Government has approved proposals for the necessary legislative amendments to family leave legislation to allow for the introduction of 2 weeks paternity leave, as from September 2016. The 2 weeks’ leave will be accompanied…
Read more »Minister Kelly publishes 2015 social housing report outlining key priorities for 2016
– 13,000 new units across all schemes – 2,000 people exited homelessness – 420 Housing Staff Employed – 5,000 new units under construction rising to 10,000 per year Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Alan Kelly T.D. in collaboration with the Housing Agency, today (26 January 2016) published the Social Housing Output in…
Read more »Minister Kelly announces a further 1,000 social houses for construction
– 400 new local authority staff to support the construction of 10,000 homes per year The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly T.D., today announced a further allocation of funding of €182 million for the delivery of nearly 1,000 additional social housing units. These most recent approvals follow two large scale…
Read more »Unprecedented investment in Public Nursing Homes announced by Minister Kathleen Lynch
Kathleen Lynch T.D., Minister for Social Care (Older People and Disabilities), Primary Care and Mental Health today announced one of the most comprehensive programmes of investment in public nursing home facilities in the history of the State. The investment is planned for 90 centres across the country between now and 2021. This includes the replacement…
Read more »Gaelscoil Bharra gets the go ahead
The pupils of Gaelscoil Bharra, who have studied in dilapidated prefabs for the last twenty years are getting the go-ahead today for their new school. The Letter of Acceptance will issue to the contractor from the Department of Educations and Skills today. It is now a matter for the contractor to go on site. Work…
Read more »Ó Ríordáin heralds progress on paternity leave as major advancement for equality
Minister of State for Equality, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, has welcomed today’s cabinet decision to give the green light for two weeks paid paternity leave. Speaking following the announcement, the Labour Party Minister said: “I first raised the need for the introduction of paid paternity leave in September 2014, speaking at an event hosted by Startstrong…
Read more »Martin’s mental health snub shows FF don’t take issue seriously – Costello
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin was conspicuously absent from the launch of his own party’s mental health policy today. In fact, there was a distinct lack of Fianna Fail parliamentarians present at the event at all – just one Senator and one backbench TD bothered to turn up. This poor showing is not just hugely…
Read more »Disunited hard left have little in common – Byrne
The launch of the Anti-Austerity Alliance People Before Profit (AAA-PBP)’s “Common Principles” highlights again how little the hard left have in common. The one thing that does unite them is perpetual protest. For all their talk of a hard left alliance, this lot can’t even agree on a common manifesto or whether they want to…
Read more »Scale of Republican collusion still needs to be realised – Cahill
The shocking news in today’s Irish News by Security Correspondent Allison Morris shines a light into a murky web of collusion between high ranking IRA personnel and British intelligence services. My thoughts are with the families of the Shankill bomb victims today. These families are entitled to the fullest disclosure of the truth from the…
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