Labour Comment “New Politics” -Going Nowhere Fast
The combination of a minority government and a populist opposition has given rise to a different politics in Ireland today. On the one side, it is characterised by government which no longer leads, which will not or cannot make hard decisions and whose ambition is to merely survive as long as possible, offending the least number possible. On the other side, is an opposition making popular demands which apparently carry no additional cost and involve no hard choices for users or, failing that, which can simply be funded by taxing the likes of Denis O’Brien and his friends and certainly not by a progressive and fair tax system. The question is, does this politics help address the biggest challenge facing the country today? Not Brexit and Donald Trump - although they will make our economy more vulnerable – but the need for a major uplift in the scope, quality and efficiency of our public services in Ireland. We have very significant deficits in our public services at a time when demand for services and expectations are rising.
For example: ● The Health Service requires a capital investment of €9 billion over the next decade which is double the present capital spend ● Increases in current Health Service budgets are barely sufficient to fund the existing inadequate level of service; just 0.6% of the 2017 budget is available to expand/develop services ● The current funding of third level education is “not fit for purpose” and an additional €1 billion p.a. is needed to make good the shortfall ● Iarnród Éireann needs over €600m in funding from the State over the next five years to maintain the quality and safety of its existing services ● The cost of achieving the government target of 47,000 social housing units over the next five years is estimated at €5.4 billion ● Irish Water plans to invest over €1.6 billion on waste water infrastructure over the five years from 2016
Meeting these and all the other requirements for improved public services - and improved quality of life – will require both large increases in capital investment and in annual budgets. Short term sticking plaster fixes or painless utopias are not the answer. Policy needs to be driven by fact based analysis not opportunism or emoting. We need a politics where government ensures that the long-term public interest prevails over noisy and selfserving sectional interests. We need a politics that leads the way in making the necessary and difficult choices in rationing goods and services. We need a politics that believes both in public service and in the provision of quality public services. And for our part, we the public, must accept that services have to be paid for, and all of us – not just someone else – have a duty to bear our share of the cost. And yes, that might well mean that more people will have to pay more tax! That’s called Better Politics!
Taking the right steps to better Childcare Parents in Ireland spend a higher percentage of their net income on childcare than parents in most other countries, writes Joanna Tuffy, Labour Lifelong Learning Spokesperson.
Joanna has consulted with local parents about childcare
The recent announcement of a new childcare package is welcome, but more funding is required to tackle the issue. Labour wants improvements in quality and capacity, a proper audit of costs, and universal provision to take take the right steps to reach international norms. Recent improvements include the second free pre-school year and paternity leave (initiated by Labour/FG). Outstanding issues raised at my local Early Childhood Care and Education meetings: ● High costs and overheads for providers ● No career progression options for qualified staff ● More clarity needed on new scheme ● Fear of higher fees ● Parents will have to move to registered childminders to avail of the new scheme ● Capacity issues For more info re childcare Schemes: www.dcya.gov.ie
David Eaton is a new Local Area Representative for Lucan and Palmerstown. He grew up and lives in Palmerstown. David’s priorities are: ▪ To provide a strong and consistent voice for the area ▪ Keep people up to date about local public services ▪ Engage with residents and community groups David writes about the issue of Third Level funding overleaf
Labour Comment Bring Transport for Lucan and Palmerstown into 21st Century “The
impact of chronic underinvestment in our transport network is increasingly evident in the degradation of the transport network” is the verdict of the Department of Transport in its submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as part of a review of public expenditure. It is also stated in the Department’s submission that failure to invest sufficiently in roads and public transport over the next few years will lead to long term costs for our economy and compromise our ability to achieve carbon emissions reductions. On foot of this review in 2015 €9.6 billion was earmarked by the Government in the Capital Investment Plan 2016 to 2021 to carry out short and medium term projects and to plan longer term projects.
The youngest son of a large working class family, I was the first person in my family to get a degree. I graduated from NUI Maynooth last year. Currently I am studying for a Masters of Public Policy at UCD. Going to University has been a wonderful opportunity and I believe will help me achieve my best potential.
If this plan is delivered Lucan and Palmerstown will benefit from extended bus corridors, new buses and a safer rail network. Investment that’s important for local job creation includes upgrade of roads into Grange Castle Business Park. Investment is also planned to ensure safety and efficiency of our rail networks. Targetted investment has been identified to tackle traffic congestion. A rail service from Adamstown commenced in 2007. Last October the first trains travelled from Adamstown to Grand Canal Dock Station. The extension of Dart services to Lucan and Luas to Lucan (which would also serve part of Palmerstown) are not planned until the end of the National Transport Strategy in 2035. This is almost 20 years from now. On top of the €9.6 billion in the Capital Investment Plan, billions more euro will be required to deliver all of the projects which are needed to bring the transport system for Lucan and Palmerstown into the 21st century. - Joanna Tuffy
The answer to Third Level Funding is not Student Debt - David Eaton
Student Grants and the abolition of tuition fees have helped improve access to Third Level Education for young people like me. But in recent years increases in participation rates by students from lower income families appears to have stalled. The recent increases in the Student Contribution has meant it is harder for parents with middle incomes to afford to send their children to college. The recent Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education (Cassells Report) described a Third Level Education system creaking at the seams. It recommends an additional €1 billion a year expenditure by 2030 to bring it up to standard. The Report outlines 3 options for future funding of Third Level Education. In summary they are:
Dublin Bikes Scheme should be extended The Dublin City Bikes Scheme was first proposed to Dublin City Council by Labour Cllr. Andrew Montague in 2004 and launched in the City Centre in 2009. It is one of the most successful rental bike share schemes in the world. Labour supports introducing a bike scheme to villages in County Dublin including Lucan and Palmerstown.
What do you think of the transport plans for Lucan and Palmerstown? What improvements would you like to see? Have your say at labourcomment.ie
Make the new Gardaí Community Gardaí The Garda Inspectorate has criticised the significant reductions in Gardaí assigned to community policing. “At least 1,500 Gardaí are in non-operational roles and could be released for patrol, investigation and community policing,” Deputy Chief Inspector Mark Toland said. In Ireland 83% of gardaí are deployed in front line services compared to 93% in other police services. The Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald, has announced new gardaí for Lucan and Clondalkin, but will they be deployed to community policing? They should be. Our streets need to be made safer.
If we want more accountability to the public of the Garda Síochána we need to devise a policing system that has more democratic accountability. Many other jurisdictions have models of democratic accountability that we can look to. For example, in Britain there are directly elected police and crime commissioners. We could, as was done in Northern Ireland through the Patten Commission, establish a policing commission that engages the public in devising a democratically accountable model of policing best suited to our needs in the Republic of Ireland - Joanna Tuffy
You can mail your local area representatives at joannatuffy@gmail.com or david.eaton@votelabour.ie
● A predominantly State-funded system with no fees for undergraduate, postgraduate and part-time ● Increased State funding with continuing student contribution and fees for postgraduate and part time ● Increased State funding with deferred payment of fees through income contingent loans It is notable that all three options involve increased State funding. Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have indicated they are open to the option of students loans. However, there is much evidence that the prospect of debt acts as a barrier to Third Level participation. I believe Education should be free and funded through general taxation. There are competing demands but investing in Third Level Education is key to a knowledge based economy.
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