Type: Press

‘Living Wage’ Motion Remarks, Willie Penrose TD It is very timely that we should be discussing the National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage. Labour’s position is unambiguous: No one working full-time should be living in poverty. Labour supports the Living Wage, and we want to see a genuine living wage become the minimum standard…

Labour spokesperson on Employment Affairs and Social Protection Sen. Ged Nash has called on the Government to reverse their decision to block an increase in the minimum wage and proceed with a 30 cent increase in January, and said there is already provision in the law for employers to defer an increase if there is…

Following the violent killing of Timothy Hourihane, Labour Cork City Councillor John Maher has called for the Government to respond to the homelessness crisis in Cork which has seen a 30% rise over the last year, demanding that the Minister for Housing visit the city and meet with stakeholders as winter approaches. Cllr Maher said:…

Labour Transport spokesperson Senator Kevin Humphreys has questioned whether any building projects will be delayed as a result of a reported cost overrun on the planned construction of the N5 Westport to Turlough Road. It comes after Cabinet today gave the green light the project at a cost of €241m- €71m more than was quoted…

The Labour Party’s proposed legislation to legally oblige housing authorities to recognise homeless families as family units, with specific regard to the best interests of children, will now proceed to committee stage in the Dáil. It’s after the green light was given to the Housing (Homeless Families) Bill by the Committee on Housing, Planning and…

Reacting to the shocking killing of a homeless man in Cork on Sunday, Labour Housing spokesperson Deputy Jan O’Sullivan said: “This is a shocking incident that the Gardaí are investigating, and I echo their calls for anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity or know any details to speak to An Garda Síochána. “On…

Labour Party Education spokesperson, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, has said it is time for the Government to do more to implement a National Autism Strategy. Senator Ó Ríordáin said: “It is time for us to change the narrative on autism supports in this county and how we can improve supports to people with autism and their…

Labour Councillors on Dublin City Council have written to the Lord Mayor requesting him to convene a special meeting of the Council, under the terms of Standing Orders 6.1.c, to receive a report from the Chief Executive on the issues raised in the recent Court proceedings and newspaper reports about possible criminal payments by Dublin…

Reacting to the government’s response to the revelations of payments being made by Dublin City Council to deal with intimidation, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, said that this is now a matter of accountability about what members of the government knew, and when they knew it. Brendan said: “I agree with…

Labour Finance spokesperson Joan Burton responded to the ESRI analysis of Budget 2020 saying it confirmed the Labour Party view that this budget is regressive and fails those on low and fixed incomes, and that FG and FF must take responsibility for what they have done, and the Minister should respond to the potential hole…

Reacting to the decision of secondary school teachers in the TUI to take industrial action over pay inequality, Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called on the Government to act on their promises on pay inequality. Senator Ó Ríordáin said: “I am calling on the Minister to proactively re-engage with the unions to find a…

Cllr Joanna Tuffy will tonight be selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Dublin Mid-West by-election. Speaking ahead of this evening’s convention, Cllr Tuffy said: “I’m honoured to be selected as the Labour Party’s by election candidate here for Dublin Mid-West and promise if elected to bring experience, honesty and compassion to the role…

Labour spokesperson on Transport, Senator Kevin Humphreys, has again called on Cabinet to urgently approve the purchase of additional railcar carriages for Irish Rail to deal with overcrowding on commuter trains in Dublin. Senator Humphreys said: “As I have been saying for some time now, we have a chronic situation of overcrowding on commuter trains…

Commenting on the revelations about payments to deal with intimidation on Dublin City Council building sites, Labour Justice Spokesperson Seán Sherlock said the Local Government Audit Service must investigate if public money was misused, and added that there may have been a criminal breach of the Private Security Services Act 2004, and that rather than…

The confirmation today that the Government has finally moved on a HIV PrEP programme is welcome and builds on a long campaign that has sought improved and free access to PrEP to combat the transmission of HIV. Labour LGBT spokesperson Karl Hayden said: “For some time Labour has been calling for greater investment in public…

Labour spokesperson on Transport, Senator Kevin Humphreys, has said the Government has missed a trick by not outlining plans to expand and extend the hugely successful public bike scheme in Budget 2020. Senator Humphreys said: “The public bike scheme, which was first proposed by Labour in Dublin back in 2004, has been incredibly successful in…

Labour Education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has criticised the cut of €20m to the Education capital programme which will directly impact on children who will now have to spend more time in prefabs, and said it was reckless of FG to raid the capital budget because of failures to adequately fund services. Sen. Ó Ríordáin…

Reacting to the situation in North Syria, and to yesterday’s statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, called on the government to seek sanctions against Turkey at next week’s European Council meeting. Deputy Howlin said: “Military action by Turkey against the Kurdish people in Syria is…

The Labour Party’s Bill to scrap voluntary contributions is being debated at Committee Stage in the Seanad this evening. Speaking ahead of the debate, Labour’s Education spokesperson, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said: “Conversations between parents and teachers should be about education- not money. “But the current status quo means parents are facing major financial blocks…

Labour Justice spokesperson Seán Sherlock has called on the Minister for Justice to clarify why he has resiled from his own Programme for Government commitment to recruit 800 garda trainees a year and what the reason for only taking in 700 next year is. Deputy Sherlock said: “The budget announcement for the Department of Justice…

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has questioned the Government’s ability to deliver free dental care for children under 6. Deputy Kelly said: “Like many measures announced by Fine Gael in yesterday’s Budget, their proposals on providing free dental care for under 6s is scant on detail. “We know that they aim to have…

Reacting to Budget 2020, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, said that Fine Gael’s failure to raise the Bank Levy means that banks are making massive profits while the government has delivered an effective cut to social welfare. Brendan said: “The banks are making profits of hundreds of millions and are not…

Labour Party Health spokesperson Alan Kelly TD has said that the Health budget will do little to solve to main crises in our health services. Deputy Kelly said: “Today’s budget will do absolutely nothing to solve the main concerns of patients and front line staff in our health service. “This Fine Gael Government has gone…

Responding to the lack of policy announcements about Education in Budget 2020, Labour Education spokesperson, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said: “I’m really disappointed to see that there has been no reduction in record class sizes in Budget 2020 for most schools, with some movement on the ratio for small schools, aimed at shoring up Fine…