Fine Gael NewsToday and yesterday, the Dáil is debating a Fine Gael motion expressing support in the Mahon Tribunal. I was one of the Fine Gael speakers, and my speech is available below. The full debate will be up on the Oireachtas website in the coming days.
The loss of 350 jobs at the Allergan plant in Arklow to a cheaper overseas location shows the urgent need for a national upskilling programme for Irish workers, Fine Gael Enterprise, Trade & Employment Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has said.
“I would like to express my sympathy to the 350 Allergan employees who now face a very uncertain future. This is about more than low-cost facilities in overseas locations competing directly with Ireland. This is about Ireland’s growing cost base, declining competitiveness and lack of infrastructure.
In advance of today’s debate on the Dáil’s support for the work of the Mahon Tribunal, I was on RTE’s Prime Time and TV3’s Nightly News discussing the issues around this subject last night.
Thanks to RTE’s online service, the Prime Time show can be viewed online. The whole show and my debate with Fianna Fáil’s Conor Lenihan on the subject can be accessed here.
I am pleased to welcome the start of the roll out of brown bins across Fingal, a process which will see the issuing of brown bins to 29 bin routes (c 46,000 households) by the end of July.
Based on the schedule announced by Fingal County Council, Brown Bins will be rolled out to various areas in and around Dublin 15 over the coming months. This is detailed by estate and road in the attached excel file. …[more]
Please find below a letter I have sent to the New Schools Advisory Committee of the Department of Education in relation to the two interdenominational national schools being opened in Dublin 15 next year. I have strongly welcomed the decision to establish these schools on a pilot basis in Dublin 15 next year. However, there are a number of issues which I detail in the letter which unless dealt with may see the pilot failing.
Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has called on the Fianna Fáil Government to get its act together on competitiveness after the CSO revealed a worrying downward trend in Irish exports.
“The latest external trade figures from the CSO expose the falsehood behind the Government’s claim that the current economic downturn is merely a healthy correction in the housing market. Ireland is experiencing a more wide-ranging downturn, with evidence of a downturn in the crucial trading sector which delivered Ireland’s prosperity prior to the housing boom. …[more]
Fine Gael has arranged for a display on of the plans for the new road to link Diswellstown Road and Luttrellstown Road and the mini-pitch in Riverwood to be put on display in Diswellstown Community Centre (beside St Patrick’s School) on Thursday, 31st of January from 7:30 to 8:45pm. Both myself and Cllr. Eithne Loftus will be in attendance. Details of both are below.
Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Dr Leo Varadkar TD has welcomed Dublin Chamber of Commerce’s proposals to transform Dublin into a ‘knowledge city region’ by 2012 and pledged Party support for many of its recommendations.
Deputy Varadkar said the report on ‘Developing a Knowledge City Region’ is an important reminder of the scale of the task facing Ireland after years of Government inaction. He will represent Fine Gael at the Chamber of Commerce seminar to be held in the Digital Hub on Wednesday morning.
Over 1,500 individuals and groups submitted projects for inclusion in the BT Young Scientists Exhibition of 2008. 500 projects were selected including projects from three local Dublin 15 schools; Hartstown Community College, Castleknock College and Mount Sackville.
Please find below a copy of a letter I sent out to residents in Mount Symon Lawn and Park, relating to a planning application lodged by Pontederia Limited. …[more]
