Newsletter - Winter 2013

Winter 2013

PAT DEERING TD Working for Carlow, Working for you...

Local Clinic Times (No appointment necessary)

Leighlinbridge: Doran’s Shop -

Friday 29th November 5.00 – 5.45 PM. Friday 31st January 5.00 – 5.45 PM.

Tinryland: Hall beside Church -

Friday 29th November 6.00 – 6.45 PM.

Tullow: Tara Arms -

Friday 6th December 6.00 – 8.00 PM. Friday 10th January 2014 6.00 – 8.00 PM

Borris: Step House Hotel -

Friday 13th December 5.00 – 5.45 PM. Friday 17th January 5.00 – 5.45 PM.

Glynn: John A’s -

Friday 13th December 6.00 – 6.45 PM. Friday 17th January 6.00 – 6.45 PM.

Fenagh: Kearneys -

Friday 17th January 7.00 – 7.45 Pm.

Ballon: Training Centre -

Friday 24th January 5.00 – 5.45 PM.

Kildavin: Conways -

Friday 24th January 6.00 – 6.45 PM.

Clonegal: Osbornes -

Friday 24th January 7.00 – 7.45 PM.

Old Leighlin: Community Hall -

Friday 31st January 6.00 – 6.45 PM.

Every Saturday morning by appointment in my Carlow Office.

CARLOW OFFICE HOURS:

Mon – Fri : 10.00 AM – 3.00 PM (lunch 1-2)

BAGENALSTOWN:

Monday 4.30 – 6.30 PM. Tues & Fri 10.00 AM – 1.00 PM.

Carlow Office: 16 Old Dublin Road, Carlow.

Bagenalstown: Church Road.

T: 059 9173446 F: 059 9164680 M: 087 9470736 E: pat.deering@oir.ie W: patdeering.ie

ike to I would l rtunity o p p o s i h take t a Happy l l a u o y to wish istmas. r h C l u f e and Peac

Pat with Minister Richard Bruton TD officially opening the â‚Ź3.5m extension for Burnside Eurocyl in Carlow in September.

Also in photopraph - Patrick, Tom, Robert and Anthony Byrne (photo Karl McDonough)

PASSPORTS

I would encourage all passport holders to ensure that their passports are valid and in date. Regularly people suddenly realise that their passports are invalid. A passport that has six months left to its expiry date is regarded as being out of date but not everyone realises that. Sometimes it’s too late when people discover this which means in many cases that travel plans have to be completely altered.

In recent times there have been some small changes in the application process for renewal of passports and the best advice that I can give anyone is to visit the website and see the changes for themselves.

If a person requires a passport within 10 working days the best course of action would be to make an appointment with the Passport Office on line https://www.passportappointments.ie and then call to the public office at the arranged time with their application and documentation.

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2014 As part of the Governments political reform and our commitment to reduce the number of politicians there will be significant changes in our Local Elections which are due to be held on 23rd May 2014.

Carlow Town Council and Muinebeag Town Council will be abolished.

In Carlow we will elect 18 County Councillors, down three from 21. Instead of five electoral areas we will have only two.

The new Carlow Electoral Area, which replaces the three outgoing Local Electoral Areas of Carlow East, Carlow West and Tullow will elect ten Councillors and the new Muinebeag Electoral Area, electing eight Councillors, will see the combining of the previously known Borris and Muinebeag Local Electoral Areas.

There will be no change to the electoral divisions which means, that provided your representative the last time out is still a candidate in the next election, you can vote for the same people again.

PAT DEERING TD

Constituency Office: 16 Old Dublin Road, Carlow. Tel: 059-9173446 or Mobile: 08

BUDGET 2014 This year the Government delivered its Budget in October. My annual ‘Know Where You Stand’ pamphlet will be available and delivered to your home in January 2014.

We all accept that the cuts have been severe over the past five years but the adjustment was necessary, we were spending far more than we were collecting in taxes and we all know this was not sustainable going forward. Leaving out bail outs or anything of the like, our day to day expenditure exceeded our income by a staggering €18.4 Bn in 2009, this will be down to €8 Bn in 2014 and €5 Bn in 2015. This adjustment could not have been achieved without pain.

Ireland’s debt position is under control now and a primary surplus is forecast for 2014 and we are to exit the EU/IMF programme and make a full and sustainable return to the markets with immediate effect.

Despite this, the Government has at all times tried to maintain front line services and be as fair as possible with the resources available to us, Budget 2014 includes: 1) Headline social welfare payments & pensions have been protected for a third budget in a row.

2) No change to weekly fuel allowance rates.

3) No change to child benefit system.

4) Free GP for five year olds and younger.

5) No income tax or USC increases.

6) €500m tax package to support entrepreneurs and create jobs.

7) 9% VAT on tourism & hospitality retained.

8) Air tax travel abolished from 1st April.

9) Home Renovation Incentive of up to €4,050 for renovation and maintenance work.

10) €30m to complete 500 additional homes under the State House Building Programme.

11) €20m for community mental health services.

12) No increase in class sizes 13) Provision for the recruitment of over 1,250 new class room and extra resource teachers.

The good news is, there are signs of recovery, economic growth is forecast at 2% for 2014 and 2.3% in 2015, exports have reached a record high (€177Bn is the value of Irish Exports) 34,000 jobs have been created in the past twelve months, property prices are starting to recover and consumer confidence is returning.

Job creation is at the heart of everything this Government does, and rightly so. It is only when we get our unemployed people back to work we will see real progress and a sustainable end to this recession.

bile: 087-9470736

EDUCATION

School Improvements - €28m is been made available as a once off payment to primary schools as part of the ‘Minor Works Grant Scheme’. This will allow small scale repair works to be carried out without major interaction with the Department.

An additional €40m has been allocated for the ‘Summer Works Scheme’ – this allows schools to apply for funding to carry out small and medium scale building projects such as gas, electrical and mechanical works, roof and window upgrades and structural improvements. Work can only be done during the summer months to avoid disrupting the operation of schools.

These schemes, as well as improving the learning environment will also create almost 3,000 direct and indirect construction jobs.

St. Mary’s National School, Bagenalstown will receive funding to replace its existing building and the preparatory work of planning and tendering process is already well under way.

Student Loan System – I have made representations to the Minister for Education & Skills to introduce a student loan system that would allow third level students to borrow the money for their education from the state and repay it from future earnings when they secure sustainable paid employment.

This would primarily benefit middle income families whose earnings are too high to avail of Student Grants and too low to be able to afford to pay for the education out of their own sources.

This system works well in the UK. I await a final decision on this.

HEALTH

Free GP Care for five year olds and younger was announced in Budget 2014 and is an important first step towards free GP care for all.

This announcement will lift the financial burden for young families of bringing sick children to their GP, without having to worry about the cost of the fee and the impact that spending this would have on other necessary expenses for the family. In addition it is hoped that an early visit to the GP will mean sick children will be treated earlier which will in turn relieve pressure on hospitals and contribute to better health overall.

HSE services available to help tackle suicide – there is help available for people who are feeling suicidal and for families and friends who are concerned about someone.

• HSE Free-phone 24/7 Suicide Prevention Helpline : 1800 742745.

• Farm & Rural Stress Helpline (24/7) : 1800 742 645 • 1life Suicide Helpline 1800 247 100 or text ‘help’ to 51444 There are many programmes available such as Self Harm Intervention Programme, Bereavement Counselling Service for Traumatic Deaths and Suicide Prevention Training Programmes such as safeTALK, ASIST, STORM etc.

The clear message is that there is help available – please don’t feel you are alone.

HOME RENOVATION TAX RELIEF

A positive measure announced in Budget 2014 is the introduction of a home renovation tax relief. Under the scheme homeowners who carry out repairs or renovations to their home between now and the end of 2015 will receive an income tax credit. It will be payable over the following two years and will be calculated at a rate of 13.5% on all qualifying expenditure over €5,000 up to a maximum of €30,000. Individual invoices can be less than €5,000 but you must spend a minimum of €5,000 (+VAT) in total to avail of the rebate.

This scheme is to encourage people to spend money on home improvements and receive the equivalent of the VAT paid through an income tax rebate and to eliminate the so called ‘shadow economy’ as only legitimate and tax compliant contractors can be used in this scheme.

Email: pat.deering@oireachtas.ie

During his visit to the IT, the Taoiseach unveiled the naming plaque for the new Dargan Research Centre building.

He also reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the Technological University of the South East.

Pat with Enda Kenny at IT Carlow during the Taoiseach’s recent visit to Carlow.

Also in photograph - Michael Doran (Vice Chair) and John Moore (Chair) of IT Carlow Board. (photo by Rory Kellett)

Michael Abbey, 32 Green Road, Carlow.

059-9131721/086-8582179

Tommy Bambrick, Royal Oak Road, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.

087-2254180

Eileen Brophy, 39 Idrone Park, Tullow Road, Carlow.

059-9143851/087-2648929

Fergal Browne, Church View, Rutland, Bennekerry, Carlow.

059-9135356/087-9884113

Michael Doran, Main Street, Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow.

059-9721184/087-2152788

Wayne Fennell, 19 Beechwood Park, Pollerton, Co. Carlow.

059-9134770/087-9241331

Denis Foley, 1 Chestnut Court, Royal Oak Road, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.

059-9721802/086-2626483

Fred Hunter, Raheen, Tobinstown, Co. Carlow.

059-9161173/087-2148172

Tommy Kinsella, Kilcumney, Goresbridge, Co. Carlow.

059-9775398/087-9377386

Joe Manning, Market Square, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.

059-9722030/087-2558033

John Murphy, Glisheen, Boggan, Kilbride, Co. Carlow.

059-9159238/087-2125275

Tom O’ Neill,146 JKL Ave, Carlow.

059-9130152/086-3864486

Pat O’ Toole, 12 Shillelagh Grove, Tullow, Co. Carlow.

059-9151940/087-8115722

PAT DEERING TD

Working for Carlow, Working for you...

Constituency Offices: 16 Old Dublin Road, Carlow. Church Road, Bagenalstown.

T. 059 9173446 M. 087 9470736 F. 059 9164680 E. pat.deering@oireachtas.ie W. www.patdeering.ie

0612

Your Local Fine Gael Team in County Carlow