Wage Rises for Low and Middle Income Earners

I appeared on the Last Word with Matt Cooper yesterday evening to discuss Labour calls for a conversation on increasing the minimum wage. Discussion starts from 1 min 30 seconds

HELP & ADVICE IS AVAILABLE FOR LEAVING CERT STUDENTS

Northside People feature on Helpline this week

Ahead of tomorrow's Leaving Cert results, I am reminding local students and parents about a free helpline which offers advice and support on the CAO process.  

Run by the National Parents’ Council, this free service is there to help during this difficult and stressful time for students who are receiving their results. It is important that students know that help is available for them, for any query they may have once they receive their Leaving Cert results.  

The phone service will see experienced guidance counsellors ready to handle a huge volume of calls over the next two weeks from students who are wondering about their options. Last year the service dealt with thousands of queries from all over the country.  

With this helpline, students and parents should be reassured that expert advice is just a phone call away. The Freephone number to keep close to hand is 1800 265 165, and will be open from morning to evening for the next few days.

As a local teacher for over a decade, I know it can be a very stressful time for students and parents alike and resources such as the helpline from the National Parents’ Council can provide much-needed support and information.

Plans for old Smurfit Site - Consultation for Local Residents

I've been informed that a public consultation about plans for the old Smurfit site on Botanic Road will take place on:

Date: Tuesday* 29th July 2014

Time: 5-8pm (as a drop in session)

Venue: The Maples House Hotel, 79-81 Iona Road

The consultation is being organised by Westhill, a UK-based property development company who recently purchased part of the old Smurfit site. 

I'm informed this consultation is being held prior to a planning application being lodged by the company in question.

I hope the developer can take on board any concerns residents may have about their plans and work with them to resolve any issues that arise. 

Residents will be able to view detailed plans, drawings and talk to the architectural and planning team on a drop in basis from 5pm to 8pm on the evening of Tuesday 29th. 

Please drop me a line in the meantime if you have any questions about the planning process or your rights as a local resident.

*Edited: Originally had stated Thursday 29th. Correction: consultation is on Tuesday 29th July.

BALLYMUN NEEDS A COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE - LYONS

The HSE and Department of Health need to put the needs of service users of Tús Nua Day Centre first and maintain a community-based service in Ballymun. 

This was the point I raised yesterday (see part of the debate in video above) about the closure of the Tús Nua Day Centre in a debate in Dáil Éireann with Minister of State Alex White.

I met a group of about 15 local people who rely on the Tús Nua service in Ballymun on Monday and they were very fearful about the future of the day centre.

Tús Nua is a safe haven for the 45 users of the services and a place where they can drop in to 4 or 5 times a week to talk to mental health professionals and to come to terms with problems they are experiencing.

Tús Nua helps local people deal with mental health issues through the likes of arts and crafts and cooking classes, as well as practical day-to-day advice around money management. It’s also an important social link to the wider community for a group of vulnerable people who may not otherwise leave their homes or engage with others at all.

I raised the importance of the service in the Dáil on Tuesday and the Minister stated in his response that the centre will not close until the HSE carry out an independent assessment of the needs of those attending the centre and find alternative placements and services for them.

If the HSE is committed to putting the needs of the services users first in the relocation of this service as they say, then they must work with the Social Inclusion Unit in Dublin City Council and other parties to find a more suitable centre in the local area for these people.

As I said when I raised this issue in the Dáil on Tuesday, the people who attend Tús Nua have already overcome adversity to begin engaging with a local service in Ballymun. If they have to move to another venue outside Ballymun, it will see these people put in an even more vulnerable position.

More information

A full transcript of the Dáil Topical Issue Debate and Minister’s response is available here.

Labour delivers new funding to deal with boarded up houses

I warmly welcome new funding of €3.9million to bring a 236 long-term vacant Dublin City Council homes back up to scratch and made available to families on the housing list.

Today’s announcement of a second round of funding means €7.1m will be given to Dublin City Council this year, to bring a total of 371 boarded up houses back into stock.

I speak to people on the housing list at my advice clinics every week who are fed up seeing boarded up houses in our community, at a time when there is a real housing shortage. Some of those houses stay that way for months, which has a knock on effect for the whole area.

Empty council homes also attract anti-social behaviour and illegal dumping, especially when they’re left empty for months on end.

This extra funding to the Council to renovate these void houses will be a great relief to neighbours who live beside these homes, as well as families who are on the housing list.

Nationally, Labour Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan is allocating €15m today for renovation works on 1008 local authority homes.

We need to invest more in social housing to tackle the huge problems there at the moment. My Labour colleagues and I will continue to push for more investment in social housing, and bringing ‘ready to go’ boarded up houses back into stock is a common sense approach as part of this aim.

€504,067 in Sports Capital Grants for Dublin North West

Today's funding of €504,067 in Sports Capital Grants to Dublin North West is a major investment in local sports clubs.

The Sports Capital Programme is the Government’s main way of supporting the development of sports facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment.

This year, there were 11 successful applications from clubs and sporting organisations in Dublin North West.

The largest allocation to the constituency was €200,000 for St. Kevin’s Boys Football Club followed closely by €147,565 for Erin’s Isle GAA Club in Finglas. This will greatly aid their continued development and ensure their success in the future.

It is also positive to note the allocation of €866,468 to Dublin City Council, which will go to amenities in city parks and recreational spaces.

The hard work of local communities and the standard of the applications made by local clubs have clearly paid off with these sports grants.

As a Government TD, I was delighted to have supported so many clubs in their efforts to get funding and the results are good news for clubs and sport in Dublin North West.

The clubs and groups which were allocated funding include:

€3,629 Charleville Lawn Tennis Club
€10,500 Clonliffe Harriers Athletic Club
€147,565 Erin’s Isle GAA Club
€697 Finglas Kempo Karate Club
€40,000 Glasnevin Lawn Tennis Club
€60,779 Home Farm FC
€27,141 McKelvey Celtic FC
€1,846 Sports Across Ireland
€200,000 St. Kevin’s Boys Club
€9,785 Whitehall Colmcille GAA Club
€2,125 Woodlawn Sportslink F.C.

€504,067 Total

More than two thousand clubs applied for funding and over 800 clubs received funding totalling €40.5m, which is a 33% increase in funding since the last round of Sports Capital Grants in 2012.

I have Pride in Labour

With the festivities of Dublin Pride weekend beginning tomorrow, I wrote this short piece about Labour’s role in achieving an Ireland based on equal citizenship regardless of sexuality or gender identity:

Pride for me has always been about people. It’s a human celebration and a statement that our society will only really be equal when all our citizens have the same rights.

As legislators, we work often behind the scenes over many months, to bring about positive change to our society. 

Over the next few months, the Dáil will look at key pieces of legislation for LGBT people, addressing issues around adoption and the modern family unit, equal rights in employment and official recognition of gender identities. 

While there is no doubt that Civil Partnership has been a major advancement for gay and lesbian couples, it falls short of full constitutional equality which is critical for the status, standing and dignity of all lesbian and gay people. 

A referendum on equal marriage in 2015 will allow each and every one of us to vote for equal citizenship and make a statement that we value the rights of gay and lesbian Irish people.

Prior to this referendum, the Children and Family Relationships Bill will address important issues like adoption rights, surrogacy and IVF, and will ensure our laws reflect the blend of Irish families that exist in our society today. 

This Bill will mean the children of lesbian and gay couples will be afforded the same rights as all other children.

As a teacher for 13 years, I recognise the ‘chill effect’ of Section 37.1 of the Employment Equality Act. Under the Act, religious-run educational and medical institutions can effectively discriminate against employees or prospective employees who do not ‘fit in’ with their ethos.  

This is not reflective of modern Ireland and I am very proud to be part of the Labour group of TDs and Senators that published a Bill to protect individuals working in our schools and hospitals against discrimination.

For far too long, the ‘T’ has been left silent in debates on LGBT rights. The Gender Recognition Bill, for the first time, will give our transgender citizens full legal recognition of their gender identity. 

Trans people have not been recognised or even acknowledged in our laws and this Bill is a statement that the State fully respects and recognises each citizen’s gender identity. If not for Labour in Government, I believe this important reform would not be happening and transgender issues would remain in the shadows of our society.

The Labour Party has championed LGBT issues when no one else would, and pushed for greater LGBT rights when it was not popular to do so. 

We were the first party to form an LGBT campaigning group and we have consistently been to the forefront in creating a more inclusive and equal Ireland. 

Labour in Government will continue to be a progressive voice on LGBT issues.

I am proud of this tradition and I’m proud to walk with my Labour friends and colleagues in Dublin this Saturday.

I would like to wish everyone a very happy Pride weekend!