FG to question Coughlan on commercial rents in Minister’s Questions today

Speaking in the Dáil during Enterprise Questions this afternoon, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD will call on the Government to bring in new measures to level the playing field between commercial landlords and their business tenants.

“Ireland is uncompetitive and costs are too high. This is driving businesses to the wall and costing us jobs. We all know that. The high costs facing businesses include high property costs. This is in spite of the fact that the cost of property has fallen dramatically since the recession began, and so have commercial rents. However, some landlords, particularly financial institutions are holding out and refusing to reduce rents.

“The landlord drove tenant farmers off the land during the great famine. The financial institutions are driving businesses to the wall during the great recession. Currently, the law favours landlords and Fine Gael is calling on the Government to level the playing field by supporting tonight’s Private Members’ Bill to abolish existing upward only rent reviews and to introduce a register of leases and side agreements, so that there is transparency about rents. …[more]

With 90,000 under-25s on the live register and a third of all young men unemployed, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD said the Dáil will tonight debate Fine Gael’s Eight Point Plan to end the ‘Young People’s Recession’.

Fine Gael’s plan will tackle unemployment and help young people to get into work, education and training. The debate will be held during Fine Gael’s Private Members’ time, and tomorrow night the Government parties will have a chance to vote on the Eight Point Plan.

Speaking before the debate Deputy Varadkar said: ‘Almost everyone has suffered in this recession, but it is primarily a young person’s recession’.

“Young people have borne the brunt of the unemployment crisis with almost 90,000 people under the age of 25 on the live register and a third of young men on the dole. Young people are most likely to have to emigrate. Those in employment are more likely to be on temporary contracts and be mired in debt and negative equity.

“If the Government does not act soon we risk losing a whole generation to debt and despair.

“Fine Gael has the youngest parliamentary party in the Dáil. We can identify with the problems facing young people. That’s why we using our Dáil time this week to promote our Eight Point Plan to get people back into employment, education and training with particular emphasis on youth unemployment.
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Unemployment reaches 12% – Varadkar

Unemployment has reached 11.9% in what Fine Gael’s Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar described as ‘the darkest day of the worst recession in living memory’, with 413,500 people now signing on the live register.

“Unemployment in Ireland is now the second highest in Europe at 11.9%. Only Spain has higher unemployment. This is further evidence that Ireland is experiencing a much deeper recession than any other country. This is due to a decade of gross economic mismanagement under Fianna Fáil.”

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Good business going to wall through lack of credit

With banks starving businesses of vital credit, and an ISME survey revealing that 58% of firms were denied credit by their banks in the last three months, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has repeated his call for the Government to set up a State-backed loan guarantee scheme for viable small businesses.

“Viable businesses are being starved of credit, putting their future at risk and thousands of jobs on the line. Banks have no excuse for withholding credit from viable companies. But companies, many of them long-standing customers, are still being turned away for loans which would have been granted without a second thought 12 months ago.

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Image via WikipediaFG to force Dáil Debate on rising unemployment crisis

Leo Varadkar TD, the Fine Gael Enterprise, Trade & Employment Spokesperson, has announced his Party will bring forward a Private Members’ Motion in the Dáil next week calling on the Government to face up to the spiralling unemployment crisis with new measures on training.

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Unnecessary form filling costs Irish businesses at least €500m a year

Fianna Fáil has finally agreed to do a U-turn on red tape by setting a specific target for reducing business regulatory compliance costs, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD said today (Monday).

“The Government has finally succumbed to months of pressure from Fine Gael and agreed a target to reduce the form-filling burden on business. According to a Parliamentary Question which I tabled in the Dáil, the Government has agreed to reduce red tape by 25%. I am pleased that Fianna Fáil has finally got around to agreeing a target, albeit without a clear timeframe for implementation. …[more]

Time to remove this anomaly

Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Dr Leo Varadkar TD has said it is very unfair that self-employed people have to pay €1,760 more in income tax than a PAYE worker on the same pay. The forthcoming Budget should begin to reduce this unfair penalty on the 350,000 people who are being discriminated against. …[more]