Type: Press

Labour Party Councillors have welcomed the publication of the Dublin Agreement. Leader of the Labour group on Dublin City Council, Dermot Lacey said: “The publication of the Dublin agreement is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our capital city. This ambitious plan for Dublin deals with many of the issues and challenges Dubliners…

Giving an initial reaction to the Government’s climate action plan, the Labour Party member on the Oireachtas committee on climate action, Seán Sherlock TD, said that Fine Gael’s numbers simply do not add up and that Fine Gael seems to have abandoned the international goal of halting global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.   Seán…

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has criticised the Government over State Claims Agency’s handling of their appeal of the Ruth Morrissey case. Deputy Kelly said: “The handling of the State’s decision to appeal the decision of the High Court in relation to Ruth Morrissey has been extremely cack-handed and raises serious moral questions…

Speaking in response to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s comments on the forthcoming Budget, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, called on Fine Gael to stop acting recklessly with the public finances. Deputy Howlin said: “This current set of Fine Gael ministers has not yet proven itself capable of making good decisions to manage…

Making a further response to the remarks made by Jeffrey Donaldson MP of the DUP, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, pointed out that the Brexit dilemma is not the Irish backstop but the UK’s own contradictory position on trade. Deputy Howlin said: “Jeffrey Donaldson has claimed that the only barrier to an…

The Leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, has responded to comments made by the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson MP at the IIEA this evening. Deputy Howlin said: “The Taoiseach’s position on the border backstop reflects the will of Dáil Éireann to preserve free and unfettered trade on this island following the UK’s departure from…

Labour Spokesperson for Defence Brendan Ryan TD has called on Government to establish a permanent body for the provision of physical and mental healthcare of members of the Defence Forces.  In an amendment to a Fianna Fáil motion on Defence, Deputy Ryan has also sought a dedicated recruitment drive for psychiatrists to the safeguard mental…

The Labour Party’s Rebecca Moynihan has called for the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, to issue stronger planning guidelines on student accommodation to stop purpose built student accommodation being turned into co-living spaces.  Councillor Moynihan said: “Media reports stating that developers of student accommodation are seeking to turn purpose built student spaces into…

Labour Party Leader, Brendan Howlin TD, has called the government’s position on a smoky coal ban “outrageous” when he raised the issue with the Minister for Climate Action in the Dáil yesterday. Deputy Howlin said: “The government has failed to implement the announced smoky coal ban for four years. This has a huge impact on…

Responding the second Scally Report, Labour Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has said there are serious questions to be answered by the HSE and the Department of Health. Deputy Kelly said: “Finally after a significant delay, we have been provided with the second report of Dr.Gabriel Scally’s inquiry into the Cervical Check controversy. This report due to…

Labour Spokesperson on Climate Change Seán Sherlock has welcomed the long overdue action of the Cabinet today to approve legislation to ban the use of microplastics in Ireland. This follows a commitment to do so last year and in return Labour withdrew our Prohibition of Micro-Plastics Bill 2016. Previous to that a similar Green Party…

Labour Party Health spokesperson Alan Kelly TD has said the Government can no longer continue to ignore the benefits of banning smoky coal. Deputy Kelly said: “A commitment was made in 2015 to implement a nationwide ban on smoky coal in 2016, yet here we are over four years later with no action taken by…

Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called on all progressives to join the protest against President Trump tonight in Dublin. Protesters are gathering at the Garden of Remembrance at 6 pm. Senator Ó Ríordáin said: “Tonight’s demonstration, supported by trade unions, students, community activists and several political groups, is our opportunity to send the President…

Following the announcement of an investigation into the actions of Gabriel Makhlouf while serving as Treasury Secretary in New Zealand, Labour Finance Spokesperson Joan Burton TD has called for the appointment of Mr Makhlouf to the position of Governor of the Central Bank to be suspended pending the results of that investigation. Deputy Burton said:…

Labour Party Leader, Brendan Howlin TD, has described the obvious desire of the Government and Minister Donohoe to lift the pay cap in the banks as an issue of ‘totemic’ importance that Labour will oppose. The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, has just received a report on the issue and judging by the way the…

Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has described a visit by Minster Charlie Flannagan to Coolock Garda station as a ‘self-serving photo opportunity’.  Sen. Ó Ríordáin said: “Today’s visit by the Minister for Justice to Coolock Garda station served to underline just how out of touch the Government has become with the communities devastatingly affected by the ongoing violence…

Labour Health Spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called on Minster Harris to find the resources to increase the number of home help assistance hours. This follows the refusal by the HSE to offer any increase on home help hours for 2019. Deputy Kelly said: “The news today that the HSE will provide no increase to…

Following a constructive meeting with the leader of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin said he was assured that a no-deal Brexit is off the table. Deputy Howlin said: “Following my meeting with Jeremy Corbyn I am confident that parliament will block a no-deal Brexit. Britain needs a general election…

Dublin West TD Joan Burton has objected to the extraordinarily brief time allocated for the public consultation for the Phoenix Park Visitor Strategic Review and the limited opportunity for local committees and residents to fully view a document of such length and importance. Deputy Burton regards the Park as a precious amenity and says the…

Reacting to the latest Brexit developments, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, said that the withdrawal agreement cannot gain a majority in the British Parliament. In those circumstances, Ireland’s best interests lie in advocating for a second people’s vote, with the option for the UK to remain in the EU, in order…

Labour Party housing spokesperson, Jan O’Sullivan TD,  has again called on the Government to admit the failure of their Rebuilding Ireland Plan as the number of people in homeless services rises again this month after exceeding 10.000 in March. Deputy O’Sullivan said: “The numbers are truly shocking and denying over 10,000 people, including close to…

Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has called for a ‘Mulvey’ report and whole of government response to address the ongoing killing spree on the Northside of Dublin. He said: ”The latest murder on Dublin’s Northside demands a comprehensive response from government before the situation spirals completely out of control. ”The template is already there from…

Reacting to the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD called for Ireland to move to an ‘Orange Warning’ as politics in the UK will be unstable for a time, especially following the EU elections there. He said that we must use all our influence to seek…

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called on the Minister for Health and the HSE to seriously examine  the ‘loco parentis’ clause in home care nursing contracts. Deputy Kelly said: “The loco parentis clause in homecare nursing contracts is putting undue pressure on families whose children have additional needs that require nursing care…