Over 11,000 residents of Dublin 15 face a cut in their weekly social welfare benefits next week as the cuts announced in the budget take effect. All recipients of social welfare payments under the age of 66 face a cut of more than €8 per week in their benefits from the beginning of the year. These include 11,581 recipients of the jobseekers benefit, jobseekers allowance, the one-parent family payment, carer’s allowance, illness benefit as well as recipients of the widow’s pension, maternity benefit and blind persons pension. In addition to these, the parents of the 24,000 children in Dublin 15 will have their Child Benefit cut by €16 per month. In total, €7.4 million will taken out of the pockets of Dublin 15 residents and the local economy in 2010.

‘I accept that €4 billion had to be cut from government spending in the budget. The government’s attempt to raise more money through higher income taxes, VAT and excise in the previous budget turned out to be counter-productive. However there were choices as to how the €4 billion in savings could be achieved. The government made the wrong choices. They could have implemented the Bord Snip recommendations on the rationalisation of state agencies, quangos and cuts to administrative spending. This would have saved €750 million. If they had done this, the cuts to child benefit, carers allowance, the blind persons pension and the illness and disability benefits could have been avoided’, said Deputy Varadkar

‘Over the past ten years, Fianna Fail used the temporary windfall in taxes from the construction industry and banking to fund increases in pay, pensions and benefits. Last year, these industries collapsed and the tax take collapsed with them. Since then, the government has already borrowed €30 billion to replace these lost taxes and to keep the money flowing. The pay and welfare increases that occurred during the Bertie years were never sustainable. Indeed, Fine Gael spent most of the last five years warning the government and public that it would all end in tears. Tax increases and spending cuts will be necessary over the next few years but there are still choices to be made. The government should target wasteful spending and administrative costs before touching benefits or increasing taxes.’

…[more]

Fingal County Council will be setting an example for the whole country if it approves a proposal to cut business rates and water charges at its Annual Budget meeting on January 7th according to Leo Varadkar TD, Fine Gael Spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment and local representative for the Dublin West constituency.

“Councillors will vote on a proposal from the County Manager to reduce business rates by 10.5% and water charges by 6%.  The proposal to cut local authority rates was first made by Cllr Kieran Dennison of Fine Gael who argued that rates should be cut in line with deflation.  When the recent revaluation of properties is taken into account, the County Manager is now proposing to do exactly that and will provide a €8 million boost to businesses throughout Dublin 15 and North County Dublin.

“Fingal County Council will be setting an example for the nation by cutting business rates and water charges.  Protecting jobs must be our number one priority and the best way to do this is to support private sector enterprises which provide 70% of all employment in the state.  By cutting rates and water charges, the council will be sending a clear signal to central government, the banks, landlords and semi-states and will put more pressure on them to reduce their prices and charges too.”

Mystic Minister’s Crystal Ball must be cracked

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan’s Budget claim that the economy has turned a corner looks totally wrong after both the construction and retail sectors have slumped for another month, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD said today (Tuesday).

“Minister Lenihan surprised many when he claimed in his Budget speech that the economy has turned a corner. Two days later, the retail sales index showed another fall of 9.1%.

“And this week the construction sector slumped again, with the Ulster Bank index falling still further. This sector is likely to contract even more after Brian Lenihan pulled the plug on the Government’s capital investment programme in the Budget.

“This isn’t the first time that Minister Lenihan has got it so wrong:

• During the debate on the NAMA legislation, Minister Lenihan claimed property prices had stabilised, yet they have continued to fall;

• When he brought in the bank guarantee, Minister Lenihan said Irish banks were strong and well-capitalised. But billions of euros have been poured into the banks to keep them afloat.

“Minister Lenihan’s record on economic predictions is appalling. I think he should take his crystal ball back to the manufacturer.”

A proposal by the HSE to close D-DOC in Hartstown at midnight on Wednesdays and Coolock on Mondays will leave the GP out-of-hours services in North Dublin inadequate and dangerous according to Deputy Leo Varadkar. D DOC provides out-of-hour GP services to North Dublin city and county from three centres in Hartstown, Coolock and Swords.

‘This proposal is the thin edge of the wedge and if it goes ahead, we will soon find that only one centre will be open after midnight on any given night. This means that there will only one GP and driver covering the entire northside of the city including Dublin 15. This level of service will be grossly inadequate and dangerous. Reductions in services are an inevitable consequence of the budget crisis but we are entitled to equality of service in north Dublin. If this cutback goes ahead, GP out-of-hours services will be vastly inferior to those provided in Kildare and Louth/Meath where there are three doctors available in the medical centre or in mobile covering an area with many fewer people’

‘I will seek a debate on this matter in the Dail next week’

…[more]

Fingal County Council has agreed to extend the deadline for submissions on the Blanchardstown Village Masterplan to January 15th from Thursday, December 17th. The request to extend the deadline was made by residents who attended a public meeting organized by Fine Gael to discuss the contents of the draft masterplan for the village. Meeting was held on Monday and was attended by over forty residents. The masterplan is not a planning application, it is a blueprint for how the village should develop over time.

‘The idea of a masterplan for future development in Blanchardstown has been broadly welcomed by residents. However, there were strong objections at the meeting to proposals for five storey buildings at prominent sites in the village. Residents want to maintain the low to medium rise aspect of the historic village. There were also very strong objections to the council’s proposals to create more pedestrian linkages between the Blanchardstown Centre and the Village by providing a pedestrian bridge linking the centre to the village and by creating walkways through Summerfield and Springlawn’, said Deputy Varadkar.

Cllr Eithne Loftus and Cllr Kieran Dennison will push these changes when the council considers the masterplan in the New Year.

51,000 young people joined dole queues in last two years

Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has revealed Ireland’s ten worst youth unemployment blackspots* after the CSO published new data showing that 51,000 people under the age of 25 joined the live register in the last two years.

“Budget 2010 must be about more than just balancing the books: it must be about jobs. Unemployment among under-25 year olds has shot up by 158% over the last two years. In these desperate times the Government has a responsibility to get people back to work, to implement a fair Budget, and to provide some hope that things will get better.

“But the torrent of leaked proposals from the Government have sparked nothing but fear, and talk of a job-creation package has long been abandoned. I recently published a Youth Jobs Plan, part of Fine Gael’s alternative Budget. This would reduce the number of under-25s on the live register by a third in the next 12 months. Our proposals for Hope for a Lost Generation would provide new jobs for more than 30,000 people, mainly under the age of 25.

“The Fine Gael Budget Perspective contains €245 million worth of labour market interventions to create 13,000 graduate internship placements, 10,000 second chance education scheme placements, 5,000 extra community employment places, and 10,000 jobs retained through a Government-backed workshare scheme.”

…[more]

Fine Gael proposes detailed and costed proposals to reduce numbers of young people signing on by 1/3

According to CSO figures released today (Tuesday, 8th December) the number of young people signing on the Live Register in Dublin 15 has increased by 135% over the past two years. In November 2007, 666 people under 25 were signing on at the Blanchardstown Social Welfare Office. In just two years, this had risen to 1,567.

According to local Fine Gael TD, Leo Varadkar, “these figures show in graphic terms the real cost of the failed economic policies of Minister Brian Lenihan and the Fianna Fáil/Green government. Youth unemployment is particularly worrisome, as it can lead to long-term unemployment, poor health and crime.”

“That is why last week, in my role as Fine Gael Spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I launched a detailed and costed policy document outlining how Fine Gael would tackle this crisis. This policy document aimed to reduce the number of young people signing on by 1/3 or 30,000 people – in the context of Dublin 15, this would see the number signing on reduced by more than 500.”

“The manner in which we would do this is through a variety of targeted measures aimed at supporting existing jobs, and through expanded training, and internship programmes. In total, we are looking at creating 38,000 opportunities for young people with 13,000 graduate internship placements, 10,000 second chance education scheme placements, 5,000 extra CES places and 10,000 jobs retained through a Government supported workshare scheme.”

Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Leo Varadkar secured a special ‘adjournment debate’ in Dail last night to discuss the lack of progress in securing a permanent school site for Mulhuddart National School and Tyrrelstown Educate Together.  A six acre site to the north of the existing village centre in Tyrrelstown has been identified and the landowner has offer to sell it to the authorities for a nominal €1. 

However, progress on securing the site has been painfully slow with the Department of Education, Fingal County Council and the developer all blaming each other for the delay.  Tyrrelstown Educate Together has already confirmed that it will only be able to accept one new class in September 2010 if progress is not made.  The debate was also addressed by Joan Burton TD of the Labour Party and Martin Mansergh TD, the Minister for the Office of Public Works, responded for the government.

Speaking in the Chamber, Leo Varadkar TD said:

‘Tyrrelstown is a case study is disintegrated planning.  The estate is almost ten years old.  There are 2,500 houses and it is home to 8,000 people, mostly young people with young families and large mortgages.  They shouldn’t have to worry about whether their child will have a place in school in next year …. The site for the school has been identified, the owner has already sought and received planning permission for two schools and a community centre but the site has not been acquired …. There is a triangle of denial and irresponsible among the council, government and developer who are all blaming each other for the delay.  The Minister for Finance promised that a school would be delivered in the run up to the last General Election and the recent Local Election.  His promise has not been kept.  This situation is a disgrace, it is an indictment of the government and an embarrassment to us all.’

The Minister was unable offer any good news and refused to comment on the legal negotiations between the developer and council.  He went on to indicate that the Department of Education had asked the council for more land to extend the temporary school complex.

The full debate including the Minister’s reply is below.
…[more]

Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has slammed union leader Liam Doran for telling critics of the proposed deal between unions and Government to ‘back off and keep their mouths shut’.

“The proposals being discussed by Government and trade unions will take 250 million hours out of the public service. This means fewer Gardaí on the beat, fewer hospital appointments and less education for our kids.

“It will also mean an across-the-board pay cut for all public servants with school cleaners and clerical officers taking the same cut as public servants on six figure salaries.

“Ordinary taxpayers, consumers, users of public services and their representative groups, and the Opposition have been shut out of these talks. We have a responsibility as politicians to speak up for them.

“Mr Doran’s ‘Uno Duce, Uno Voce’ remark is totally out of order. Ireland is still a democracy and we won’t be told to shut up.”