The 37 bus terminus on the Diswellstown road will be moved to Power City on the Blanchardstown Road South. The move will be welcomed by residents of the Luttrellstown and Riverwood areas who have been concerned for many years about the traffic hazard caused by parked buses on the Diswellstown Road terminus where there is no bus bay. It will also provide a better bus service between Castleknock and the Clonsilla and Moutview areas.

‘We have been calling for a new 37 bus terminus for years due to safety concerns about buses parked on Diswellstown Road. Responsibility for bus stops and terminuses rests with Dublin Bus and there have been many proposals to move the terminus in the past. By taking this initiative the council have responded to the local community and it’s hoped to have the terminus moved in time for Christmas subject to the co-operation of Dublin Bus.’

The current terminus is on the Diswellstown road where buses simply park along the road forcing traffic to overtake on a dangerous stretch of carriageway. A request in May 2008 by Dublin Bus to move the terminus to the Blanchardstown Centre failed to get approval from the Minister of Transport because of government policies which ban competition on bus routes. Dublin Bus was invited to apply again but no application was received.

The work on the Blanchardstown Road South will involve changing the road markings to allow a bus lane alongside Power City between the Ongar Road and the Clonsilla Road roundabouts with bus stops on either side of the road.

Speaking in Dail Eireann in support of a Fine Gael motion calling for a three year freeze on charges imposed on business, Fine Gael spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD called for a National Competitiveness Action Plan to reduce the cost of business and stimulate the creation of new jobs.

The government’s approach to the jobs and competitiveness crisis is all wrong.  The policy measures they have introduced have been in welfarist in nature relying on government subsidies, grants, scheme and bailouts.  They are ignoring the route cause which is the loss of competitiveness which is itself largely due to the high cost of doing business. 

With unemployment rising and businesses going to the wall, it is clear that the government’s policies are not working.  According to information provided to me by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment only 9,000 jobs in 561 companies will be supported by the government’s €250 million temporary employment subsidy fund.

Instead of offering grants and subsidies to businesses to compensate them for the high costs imposed on them, the government should tackle the problem at its route by reducing business costs most of which are imposed by the government, its agencies, regulators and local authorities. 
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Astonishing revelation at heart of new deal to keep FF in power

The fact that Minister Gormley doesn’t know the cost of the renegotiated Programme for Government is an astonishing insight into the deal struck to keep Fianna Fáil in power, according to Fine Gael Spokesperson on Enterprise, Leo Varadkar TD.

“It’s quite astonishing that Minister Gormley, when questioned today on RTÉ’s This Week, was unable to say how much the renegotiated Programme for Government is going to cost. The reality is that this new deal is going to result in taxes being increased or important social services being cut. The fact that the Green Party don’t know the cost of this deal is extremely worrying for all taxpayers.

“When pressed on the issue this afternoon, all Minster Gormley had to say was that costs will be worked out ‘as part of a budgetary process’.

“The fact that no figures or costs have yet been detailed shows this agreement for exactly what it is; a tawdry deal to keep FF in power and John Gormley and Eamon Ryan in Ministerial office.

“Fine Gael will be scrutinising the programme this week in the Dáil and plans to hold the Greens, and Fianna Fáil, fully to account on this shoddy and half-baked deal.”

Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar, has slammed Fingal County Council for deciding to end the practice of giving free bin tags to low-income families and social welfare recipients.  At the moment, eleven thousand households in Fingal qualify for a waiver from bin charges.  This means that they do not have to pay the annual charge of €110 and that they get a number of bin tags free every year depending on the size of their household.  Under plans announced by the County Manager, these households will now have to buy bin tags.  They will still be exempt from having to pay the annual charge.  The change will come into effect from January 1st, 2010.

‘I am very angry at the County Manager’s decision to take the free bin tags away from the poor and the old.  With cuts in social welfare to come in the budget, the poor and old are going to be hit with a double-whammy from the government and council over Christmas and the New Year.  The council is controlled by Labour and the Socialist Party, I do not want to see them pointing the fingers at Fianna Fail and the Greens in central government.  In the local elections, they promised that this would not happen.  They control the council and are responsible for adopting the council’s annual budget, it is their job now to come with alternative savings in the council’s budget to make sure that this does not happen’

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan misled the Dáil by claiming that Rody Molloy’s €1.1 million golden handshake was within official guidelines, when internal Department of Finance memos reveal the deal was ‘not fully in accordance’ with guidelines, according to Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD.

“Brian Lenihan overruled his own guidelines by approving Rody Molloy’s €1.1 million golden handshake. Internal memos reveal that Department of Finance Assistant Secretary John O’Connell told his counterpart in the Department of Enterprise that although Mr Molloy’s terms were ‘not fully in accordance’ with guidelines, ‘I am to convey sanction to the proposed terms on condition that this is an exceptional case’.

“This flatly contradicts Minister Lenihan’s assertion to me in a recent Parliamentary Question that his Department: ‘was satisfied that the terms of the package were appropriate in the circumstances. I was advised orally by my officials about the final package and having confirmed that it was within the guidelines I did not object to the terms’.

“I believe this proves that Minister Lenihan misled the Dáil. He must immediately come into the Dáil and make a statement on this matter.

“These revelations are yet more evidence of how Fianna Fáil looks after its friends and cronies. There’s one law for the friends of Fianna Fáil, like Rody Molloy, and another for the rest of us.”

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Speaking after Tánaiste Mary Coughlan confessed in the Dáil that she knew about plans to allow disgraced former FÁS director general Rody Molloy to keep his car, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has challenged her to state whether she approved.

The Tánaiste told Enda Kenny in the Dáil today (Thursday) that: ‘I was aware that the former director general wished to retain the car’, adding that ‘I was aware of the situation’. This has ended weeks of speculation about what the Tánaiste knew about Mr Molloy’s full golden handshake from FÁS.

However, the Tánaiste did not respond when Deputy Varadkar asked her whether she expressed a view to the Board of FÁS about its plans to gift the top-range car to Mr Molloy.

Speaking today, Deputy Varadkar said: ‘I welcome the Tánaiste’s decision to bring to an end to weeks of speculation about whether she knew about Mr Molloy’s company car. But we still don’t know whether she approved of the entire golden handshake, which also included a €1.1 million pension deal’.

“The Tánaiste must now settle this matter by stating whether she felt that it was appropriate for Mr Molloy to walk away from FÁS with a massive pension deal and a company car.
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Mary Coughlan’s new FÁS Bill is a serious disappointment and falls far short of what is required to fix the organisation, according to Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD.

“This is a lost opportunity for root and branch reform of FAS, including its structures and functions. The focus in this legislation should have been on reforming FÁS to ensure that it can fully support and retrain the 430,000 people currently on the live register.

“This Bill will politicise the FÁS Board more than before. All 11 positions on the new Board will be in the gift of the Minister. The Tánaiste has ignored Fine Gael’s call that all new Board members should be vetted by the Oireachtas Enterprise & Employment Committee. We can have no confidence that this represents anything other than the continuation of the culture of cronyism and political appointments that have flourished under 12 years of Fianna Fáil Government.

“The new Bill requires that the Director General be accountable to the Oireachtas, but does not require that the Board should also be held accountable.
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Deep divisions have emerged between the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste over whether to back the FÁS Board, according to Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD.

Deputy Varadkar was speaking after Niall Saul, the head of the FÁS Audit Committee, confirmed that Tánaiste Mary Coughlan had planned to publicly support the existing FÁS Board, but was prevented from doing so by the Taoiseach.

“The Government is in disarray over how to handle FÁS. Brian Cowen’s decision to overrule Mary Coughlan’s plans to publicly support FÁS shows the Taoiseach does not have faith in the Tánaiste’s handling of the FÁS crisis.

“Ireland needs stable Government during this time of unprecedented crisis. But the Cabinet split on the FÁS Board highlights the instability at the heart of the Cabinet, and its inability to take difficult decisions as it prepares for the December Budget.

“Serious questions must also be raised about the Tánaiste’s ability to run the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment. With unemployment at 12.6%, and 430,000 people on the live register, her Department has never had a more crucial role to play. But Mary Coughlan’s floundering over FÁS shows she is the wrong person to get the country back to work.
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Finance Minister Brian Lenihan must spell out in clear terms how he intends to fulfill his promise to pursue Sean FitzPatrick for ‘every cent’ that he owes Anglo Irish Bank, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has said.

He was speaking following reports that former Anglo Irish Bank Chairman Sean FitzPatrick is unable to meet his full interest payments on an estimated €106 million worth of loans from the bank.

“This is yet another example of how the taxpayer is still being screwed over by bank executives, while the Fianna Fáil Government flounders.

“Brian Lenihan had claimed he would pursue ‘every cent’ owed by Mr FitzPatrick to Anglo Irish. He said:

‘I can tell you now that we are in control of this bank, we will insist on all persons who were loaned money to repay their loans. That is the first duty of a banker’.

“But we haven’t seen any results to date. We also don’t have clear details of what these loans were secured against.

“This is taxpayers’ money. It’s time for Brian Lenihan to clearly spell out how he plans to recover these outstanding loans.”