Type: Press

Labour Councillor for Kimmage Rathmines in Dublin City Council has outlined the lack of accountability and action from Waterways Ireland in responding to plastic pollution on the Grand Canal where small beads of polystyrene have been floating in the water from Sally’s Bridge at Clogher Road down to Portobello Dock for nearly two weeks. Cllr…

Labour Finance spokesperson Joan Burton responding to the final examination report from the Central Bank on the tracker mortgage scandal said we still don’t know who will be held responsible for the decisions that caused this, and called for an independent investigation now to tell us how it happened. Deputy Burton said: “The examination action…

Responding to the claim by both British Conservative leadership candidates that the border backstop is ‘dead’, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, called on the Taoiseach to hold firm and to retain the solidarity of the European Union for the Irish backstop. Brendan said “It is unbelievable that both contenders to be…

Labour Climate spokesperson, Seán Sherlock has said the absence of any outside voices on the Climate Action Delivery Board will limit the ability of it to deliver real results, and called for Minister Bruton to include external watchdogs to sit on this cross-Departmental working group to ensure the updates on targets are credible and ambitious….

Labour spokesperson on Education, Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has reiterated his proposals of State provided school books at no cost to parents and bans on voluntary contributions. This follows today’s report of findings from the Irish League of Credit Unions which found that a third of parents are forced to deny their children school items…

Labour Employment Affairs spokesperson Sen. Ged Nash has called on Minister Regina Doherty to do more than token gestures to tackle bogus self-employment but instead change the law to make employment status an unambiguous matter of the law, and ensure those found guilty are labelled as tax defaulters. Sen. Nash said: “Unfortunately for far too…

Commenting on the terms of reference of they CervicalCheck rapid review, Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD has branded the terms of reference a joke. Deputy Kelly said: “While a review of this situation is very much needed, many aspects of this review that are found lacking real substance. The fact that the role…

Labour Party Health spokesperson Alan Kelly has said the latest CervicalCheck IT glitch, is another example of who knew what and when for Minister Simon Harris. Deputy Kelly said: “This weekend, I have spoken to Sharon who has brought this story into the public domain. I have also read all of her documentation around this…

The 25th Annual Tom Johnson Summer School, organised by Labour Youth, begins this evening 12th July in NUI Galway. Marking the centenary of the First Dáil the theme is “Defending Democracy” and will see a broad range of speakers and panellists engage with Labour members and activists in debating the burning issues of today.. Speaking…

Commenting on the CervicalCheck IT glitch, Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD said: “How many ways can one screening programme cause so much undue stress and anxiety among Irish women? “It is completely unfortunate that an IT glitch of this scale happened in the wake of the CervicalCheck screening programme but the question needs…

Speaking in the Dáil today Labour’s Housing spokesperson, Jan O’Sullivan TD raised the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle for Credit Unions to invest in social housing. Deputy O’Sullivan was critical of this government’s 3-year delay on this issue. Deputy O’Sullivan said; “Since the summer of 2016, there has been a commitment from Government, with full…

Labour Spokesperson for Defence, Brendan Ryan TD, has described the level of staff turnover in the Defence Forces as ‘unsustainable’ and has criticised the government for not facing up the primary cause of the staffing crisis; core rates of pay. These criticisms were made during the Dáil debate on the Public Service Pay Commission review…

Labour TD for Longford Westmeath Willie Penrose has called on Government Ministers to direct resources to assist the 78 seasonal Bord Na Móna workers laid off this morning in Longford, and ensure that a just transition is put in place for any future job losses. Deputy Penrose said “News of 78 job losses of seasonal…

Senator Ged Nash, who set up the statutory Low Pay Commission (LPC) said the government is struggling to meet its own Programme for Government target of a national minimum wage of €10.50 by the time it leaves office. Responding to reports that the minimum wage will rise to €10.10 an hour next year, Senator Nash…

Reacting to the Government’s Brexit contingency plan update, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, called on the Government to prepare major Budget measures to counteract the likely impact of Brexit on jobs. Deputy Howlin said: “This Fine Gael government seems to have forgotten a number of key lessons from the 2008 economic…

Labour Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called on the HSE to end their recruitment unofficial recruitment embargo. Deputy Kelly said: “Months after I revealed that there is a recruitment embargo in the HSE, it is clear that the HSE are still leading people up the garden path when it comes to filling jobs. “We…

Labour Senator Ivana Bacik has reiterated her call for action by the Minister for Health to tackle the issue of Exclusion Zones to protect women who seek access to abortion services. Senator Bacik said; “Since the passing of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 many of us in opposition have been asking…

Labour Senator Kevin Humphreys has described as the level of air pollution in Dublin as public health issue. He has pointed to the lack of public transport as a primary cause of this issue and has called on Minster Ross to take action. Senator Humphreys said: “Revelations from the EPA that Dublin air quality has…

Labour spokesperson on Defence, Brendan Ryan TD, has welcomed news of the restoration of certain special allowance for Defence Force members but has called on the Minister for Finance to find a route to increase core pay. He has also called for a full-time Minister for Defence to be appointed to Cabinet. Deputy Ryan said:…

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called on the Dáil to make time next week to debate the health capital plan. This follows a promise made to Deputy Kelly at last week’s meeting of the Public Accounts Committee that the health capital plan would be published and debated in the Dáil before the…

Speaking in the Dáil today, to question the Government on Defence Forces pay and conditions, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, demanded to know why the Government had refused to allow the Pay Commission to consider the issue of core pay, and only permitted them to look at allowances and other non-pay…

Reacting to the Living Wage Ireland 2019 update, Labour Party spokesperson on Employment Affairs, Senator Ged Nash, has called on the Government to take calls to meaningfully increase the minimum wage in line with the cost of living seriously. Senator Nash said: “We know from national statistics that around 137,000 people – one in every…

The Labour Party’s spokesperson on Workers’ Rights, Senator Ged Nash has echoed the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s call for stronger collective bargaining and trade union legislation in Ireland. Senator Nash said: “The Labour Party is proud of its track record of work and delivery for low paid workers. “Improvements to sectoral collective bargaining laws…

Labour Finance spokesperson Joan Burton TD has questioned the recent Government fearmongering about health spending when the June Exchequer returns show the Department of Health coming in €45m below target. She again called for a Standing Commission on Taxation following the revelations that the Goodman Group paid almost no tax on €170m in profits, and…