WORKING TOGETHER FOR WATERFORD €45,000,000 PAYOUT OF CRYSTAL LUMP SUMS The majority of former workers at Waterford Crystal have now received their lump sum payments from the Department of Social Welfare as part of the glass settlement. Former staff and their families will now have the peace of mind to plan for their futures. Having been in constant contact with the Tánaiste to advocate for former workers I’m obviously delighted that this stage has been reached. Extra money was secured by the Tánaiste to pay for the lump sums which are worth around Tánaiste Joan Burton meeting with former Waterford Crystal employees . Pictured from left, Martin Skelton, Nicky Sheehan, Deputy Ciara Conway TD, Cllr.John Pratt, Maria 45 million euro in total. O’Grady, Tommy Allen,Ian Paul, Michael Boyle and Andy Skelton. It has been a challenging process and credit must go to all those involved; UNITE, Kieran Mulvey at the LRC, the Tánaiste my colleague Minister Joan Burton, Liam Daly and the team at the Department of Social Protection on the Cork Road , the local Labour team - and most importantly of course to former workers and their families for their courage and dignity throughout the process.
HEALTH MATTERS CONWAY CONTINUES TO CALL FOR 24/7 CARDIOLOGY People in Waterford and across the South East need access to a fully functioning Cardiology service that is available 24 hours a day. I have continued to call for this service to be prioritised through the my work on the Oireachtas Health Committee in the Dáil. A second Cath lab is needed and we need to have a full staff of consultants and staff to keep this operational. I will be continuing to demand action on this issue.
FREE GP CARE Over 70’s can now sign up for free GP care and Labour T.D. Ciara Conway is encouraging people to register for the scheme. Anyone who is over 70 and who does not already have a medical card or GP visit card can now sign up for free doctor’s visits . The provision of free GP care to those over 70 was a key focus for Labour’s Minister for Primary Care, Kathleen Lynch, and builds on the recent successful launch of free GP care for under 6’s. The fact that we are now at this juncture proves that Labour is delivering in Government and recognises the need to support the elderly in our society.
COMMUNITY NURSING UNIT Funding for a 100 Bed Community Nursing Unit on the grounds of St Patricks Hospital Waterford has been ringfenced under the newly announced Capital Plan. A design team is being appointed and a planning permission application should be submitted shortly, with tendering due to begin early next year . This facility is much needed to provide residential and rehabilitation services to older people in Waterford and I welcome the announcement that the funding is there to see it through.
HOSPICE PROGRESSING A new 20-bed Specialist Palliative Care In-Patient Unit is to be built as part of the €20m redevelopment of University Hospital Waterford. Enabling works have been completed and a planning permission application has been submitted to Waterford City and County Council. Construction is planned to start in early 2016 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. Following fit-out and commissioning the unit is planned to open in early 2018 and will comprise of 20 in-patient palliative care beds, palliative care day care, and a further three floors of 24 single rooms on each floor. The Waterford Hospice Movement has committed to providing substantial capital funding towards the palliative care element of this development.
CIARA CONWAY TD
@ciaramconway
Constituency Office: 36 Mary Street, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford Phone: 058 24514 Email: ciara.conway@oireachtas.ie
facebook.com/ciaraconwaylabour @ciaramconway
WATERFORD IS GETTING BACK TO WORK ■ Live register in Waterford has fallen by 10.2 percent between May 2014 and May 2015
■ In the past year the live Register in Co. Waterford has been reduced by 1,288.
County & Local Office
Change since March 2011
Change over Change in two years last year
Change in last month
1 Year % Decrease
Waterford County -2709
-2365
-1288
132
-10.2
Dungarvan
-674
-534
-364
-11
-17.8
Waterford City
-2035
-1831
-924
143
-8.7
Infographic courtesy of Waterford City & County Council. Designed by Emagine.
IMAGINE ARTS FESTIVAL CONTINUES TO INSPIRE Well done to the Imagine Arts Festival team who are ploughing ahead with a fantastic programme despite a huge cut in funding from the Arts Council. A total of 62 different cultural events, many of them free, have been announced for the 13th Imagine Arts Festival, which takes place across Waterford from the 15th of October. I spoke out against the funding drop in the Dáil recently and am pleased to see that Festival Director Ollie Breslin has managed to keep the festival vibrant with help from local businesses and Waterford City and County Council. I’m calling on the Arts Council to reconsider their actions and to fully support this community arts festival when they’re awarding funding next Ciara Conway T.D. demanding Arts Council funding for Waterford’s Imagine Arts Festival in the Dáil year.
HOME RENOVATION SCHEME EXTENDED People in Waterford planning to have work done on their houses will be able to benefit from the news that the government is to extend the successful Home Renovation Scheme until the end of 2016 . This scheme has been of benefit to home owners and local builders and tradespeople alike. Homeowners can apply for a tax relief of 13.5% when they spend up to €30,000 on renovation and maintenance work - provided they use a tax-compliant contractor. Small jobs can be added together in order to reach the threshold. The works must cost a minimum of €4,405 (before VAT) and the tax break is being extended to December 31st 2016. Extending the scheme will allow extra time for homeowners and landlords to make the necessary changes to their properties, and provide additional support to the construction sector for another year. Anyone who wants further information about this scheme would be welcome to contact my office on 058 24514.
PATERNITY LEAVE My colleague, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin the Minister for Equality is working on providing two weeks of paid paternity leave in the Family Leave Bill. Ireland is one of 9 European Countries that doesn’t already have statutory paternity leave, so we aim to be able to change that . An interdepartmental government group is also looking at measures such as shared maternity leave. This proposal would see mothers allowed to double the amount of leave they take after having a baby and receive extra weeks off if they agree to split the time at home with their partner and of course it would give their partners more scope to be involved. These are good moves that would benefit families while we continue the work of improving the quality of and investing in our childcare and early years education centres.
WATERFORD CITY FIRE STATION
Waterford Ladies claim All Ireland Glory in Croke Park.Congratulations to the Waterford women who won the All Ireland Intermediate final, beating beat Kildare 3-14 to 0-10.
This state of the art building will become the regional centre for fire fighting, river rescue, public consultation and training for the whole of the south east of Ireland; provides a 24 hour response unit for the region.
GROW IT YOURSELF MOVEMENT GATHERS MOMENTUM
The Minister for Employment , Community and Social Support, Kevin Humphreys in Waterford, accompanied Ciara Conway T.D. to visit the ‘Grow It Yourself ’ project in Arclabs, Carriganore.
Building work will soon begin on the Grow HQ in Ardkeen. This will be the the base of the world wide ‘Grow It Yourself’ movement which was started by Michael Kelly here in Waterford. The Grow HQ will support 12 full times jobs and will lead the way in encouraging and educating people as to the benefits to growing some of your own fruit and vegetables.
BUILDING ON RECOVERY CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2016-2021 NORTH QUAYS EXPANSION INCLUDED IN WATERFORD'S 35 MILLION CAPITAL PLAN Under the Capital Plan there are proposals to develop and regenerate the Waterford City North Quays in a move designed to support jobs and tourism in the region. This is very welcome news as a lot of work has gone into proposals to develop the North Quays, and the sooner the funding is made available to put these plans into action the better.
million investment plan for Waterford, including regeneration projects for Tramore and Waterford City 3 €35 and further development of the Deise Greenway 3 Development and regeneration of Waterford City North Quays
Better Schools The Capital Plan will deliver €3.8 billion in direct funding for primary, secondary, and third level facilities. This will mean more places for children, better and more modern school buildings for them to learn in, and better funding for research at third level.
Better Connectivity Better broadband is vital to the development of local communities throughout Ireland. Better connectivity brings better quality of life and better opportunities for jobs and growth. The Capital Plan is investing significantly to deliver better broadband services.
Better Health Better health services means better facilities for vital treatments for those who need them most. The Capital Plan will provide €450 million funding for improvements to nursing homes, and for the provision of more Primary Care centres.
Constituency Office: 36 Mary Street, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford Phone: 058 24514 Email: ciara.conway@oireachtas.ie @ciaramconway
Ciara Conway TD
facebook.com/ ciaraconwaylabour @ciaramconway 0612