Reforming Politics

Margeret Aylward Community College in Dublin North West where the students of the Junior Certificate CSPE quizzed Eamon, and candidates Roisin Shortall TD and Cllr John Lyons about political reform, third level fees and healthcare. The standard of questions was very high, and there's clearly an impressive new generation of journalists on their way.


After answering the students' questions Eamon, Roisin and John visited the science labs at DCU to see the latest cutting edge developments in Information Technology.

Eamon Gilmore, John Lyons and Roisin Shortall at DCU today.

Gilmore for Taoiseach » The Labour Party

Gilmore for Taoiseach » The Labour Party

Click on the link above and view The Labour Party's vision of a fairer and better Ireland. It's well worth a look.

Labour issues pledge on taxes

 
Labour has vowed not to increase income taxes on people earning less than €100,000 a year if elected to government.


Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the commitment would appear in Labour’s policy document on taxation to be published tomorrow.

The party will also be proposing changes to the universal social charge to mitigate its effects on lower-income families.
Launching the party’s election campaign this morning, Mr Gilmore said Labour’s platform was based on three clear principles: jobs, reform and fairness.

The party’s plans for greater fairness in society would embrace a more just taxation system, an end to the two-tier health system and an approach to public sector reform based on outcomes.

He said Labour would cut another 18,000 public sector jobs but this would be achieved through voluntary redundancies and early retirement and as part of an overall reform package.

Other parties have suggested up to 30,000 jobs will have to go in the public sector, but Mr Gilmore said this could only be achieved through compulsory redundancies.

Asked whether he would make a commitment to voluntary redundancies a core demand for participation in any coalition, the Labour leader said the party was seeking a mandate from the people based on its approach.
Through the campaign, he said, Labour would focus on each principle in turn, by publishing its plans for change. The party’s manifesto will be published on February 11th.

Mr Gilmore said the opinion polls showed that Labour could win the election with only 6 per cent separating the party and Fine Gael in the latest poll.

Labour in government would stand up for Ireland renegotiating the EU-IMF deal and the budgetary “straitjacket” imposed by Fianna Fáil.

DCC Water Restrictions (as of 13.00 Monday 31st January 2011)

The daily water demand in the Greater Dublin Region is running at approximately 20 Million Litres per day greater than normal and this is putting great pressure on drinking water storage levels. As a result the current pressure reduction regime that is in place will be continued until Thursday next (Thursday 3rd February).


There is no plan at this stage to reintroduce shuts, however there will be a general pressure reduction across the city and this will be restricted in most cases to the over night period so as to minimise the impact on consumers, and close monitoring will continue.

The situation will be further reviewed on Thursday afternoon and a decision made at that stage as to what regime of pressure restrictions (and shuts if necessary) will be needed for the rest of the week.

At this stage Dublin City Council would like to thank all its consumers for their patience and cooperation during the period of the restrictions.

Broken mains are being found and fixed and this is helping to improve the situation. Many of these have been reported by members of the public and we ask that people continue to assist us in this regard (contact details are given below), as well as by reducing their consumption of water in every possible way. The restrictions are being reviewed on an ongoing basis and alterations are made where possible so as to minimise the impact on consumers.
A large number of internal leaks have already been identified on properties; we would ask all property owners to check for leaks on their property as soon as is possible, bearing in mind that some leaks may not be visible.
Dublin City Council appeals to the owners/operators of car washes which use mains water to discontinue their use for the duration of the current water supply crisis. Similarly, we ask owners of private cars to refrain from washing them for the moment.
The following locations may experience loss of supply due to localised problems.

Blackhall Place

Brunswick St

McKelvey Road

Brian Road

Kilbarron Drive

Labour seeks mandate to ensure bondholders share burden: Press Release by Labours Finance Spokesperson, Joan Burton

It appears now that Anglo Irish Bank are going to pay back bonds issued in 2006 for €750 million, a sum very close to the sum total of the welfare cuts in the Budget.


The investors who bought these bonds are being fully recompensed. They will share no part of the burden for the losses made by Anglo when the bank lent this money on to property developers.
Instead, because of Fianna Fáil's failed banking policy, those losses are being picked up by the tax payer
The €750 million being paid today was borrowed five years ago - on the 17th of January 2006 at the height of the property boom.

Most likely these were professional investors, who were supposed to be responsible for assessing the risks associated with lending money to Anglo. They were supposed to be responsible for making judgments about the bank that was borrowing their money, about who ran it, what type of lending it did, and the economy it was lending into.

They were supposed to be responsible for assessing those risks, because, if anything went wrong, they were supposed to carry some share of the burden.

Now it has all gone wrong, and still these investors are getting away scot free

The bond being paid tomorrow is senior unsecured debt.

It is not now covered by any State Guarantee.

Labour is campaigning for a mandate to ensure bond-holders such as these share the burden of the losses in the banks. Burden sharing for bank losses has become central to debates within the Eurozone and now has the clear support of the IMF. A new Irish Government will have to engage fully after the election in pursuing this option.

The Irish people didn't create the mess that is Anglo, but they are being forced by Fianna Fáil to carry the

Finglas Community March Against Further Cuts of Youth Services.

Cllr. John Lyons and Cllr. John Redmond at Finglas Community Protest Against Further Cuts to Youth Services in the Finglas Area.