KEVIN HUMPHREYS TD #ALLABOUTJOBS Issue 1, 2015
MESSAGE FROM KEVIN As Minister for Activation my job is to make sure people get back to work and are job ready. Throughout 2015 I hope to keep you updated on what we are doing to get Ireland back working.
Inside... ■ Labour has stabilised Ireland's public finances ■ Getting Ireland Working - New €315 bn EU Fund for strategic investments to boost growth
■ Supporting SMEs - The Strategic Banking
LABOUR MINISTER LAUNCHES €3.8 BN SOCIAL HOUSING PACKAGE Labour Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly, announced a €3.8 billion social housing package in November. One of the main priorities for Labour in Government is to address the challenge of providing social housing for the people of this country; this strategy sets out how this priority will be achieved. The Social Housing Social Strategy 2020 includes:
■ Supplying 35,000 additional social housing units at a cost
Corporation of Ireland
of €3.8 billion over the next 6 years;
■ EU funding available for Irish SMEs
■ Estimated 29,000 Jobs in construction and promotion of mixed-tenure developments;
■ Meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through local authority provision via the private rented sector - using Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme;
■ Reforming social housing delivery and management in Ireland;
■ Establishing the Dublin Social Housing Delivery Taskforce, to respond to the current supply difficulties and focus on the delivery of social housing in the Dublin area;
■ Sets out road map to accommodate everyone on the Housing Waiting Lists by 2020 (90,000 households). Kevin at his Department's family research facility in Werburgh Street, Dublin 2. It is open to the public and might be of interest to anyone researching their genealogy.
If you would like Minister of State Humphreys to post you a copy of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, you can send him an email at kevin.humphreys@oir.ie.
MICROFINANCE IRELAND MAKES LENDING LOCAL Microfinance Ireland, a Government initiative which provides loans to micro-enterprises in Ireland, is partnering with Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to meet the increasing demand for business funding. Benefitting from advice and support during the application stage, start-ups and small businesses can apply to any of the 31 LEOs around the country for the new “LEO Microfinance” loan package. The lending is expected to support 500 jobs nationwide. For further information, contact Kevin Humphreys on 01 618 3224 or kevin.humphreys@oir.ie.
KEVIN HUMPHREYS TD
Tel: 01 618 3224
Web: www:kevinhumphreys.ie
Kevin Humphreys
Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2
Email: kevin.humphreys@oir.ie
Flickr: kevinhumphreystd
@KHumphreysTD
LABOUR HAS STABILISED IRELAND’S PUBLIC FINANCES In 2011, as Labour was elected to Government, Ireland was teetering on the edge of an economic abyss. Although there is still work to do, since then the country has seen several key milestones on the way to economic recovery. So far the Government has saved €10 billion in debt repayments and €40 billion in money we now won’t have to borrow. This has included reaching the following results:
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Exiting our EU/IMF bailout agreement after negotiating better terms
On December 15th 2013, Ireland successfully exited from the EU/IMF bailout programme. We have since been getting back on our feet as a country and stepping forward to the next stage of recovery. Leading up to this landmark, the Government renegotiated the deeply flawed EU/IMF programme, which was agreed by Fianna Fáil and the Greens. The terms of our loans were improved and an effective strategy for jobs was put in place. Ireland’s reputation abroad was repaired. The bank guarantee and the promissory note were ended. Anglo was liquidated.
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Tearing up the Anglo promissory note
In January 2009, the toxic Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide were taken into public ownership, forming the Irish Bank Resolution Company (IBRC). Anglo left the country with almost €31 billion in debts, which were in the form of “promissory notes”. Promissory notes are IOUs to the senior bondholders (mainly big institutional investors, who were owed the money). In February 2013, IBRC was wound up in a deal which is saving the country €1 billion a year. The debts were swapped for government bonds, which offer far better terms than promissory notes. There is just 3% interest to be paid on the new long-term bonds, compared to the 8% on the promissory notes. In addition, they do not have to be repaid until at least 2038, whereas we would be paying €3.1 billion every year under the old repayment scheme, which was negotiated by Fianna Fáil.
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Early repayment of IMF loans saving Ireland €1.5 billion
It was and remains a priority for the Labour Party to reduce the burden on hard-pressed people who had no hand to play in the disastrous crash. The coalition secured agreement from EU Member States and the IMF to complete the early repayment of €18 billion (almost 40%) of IMF loans. It will result in savings in excess of €1.5 billion and frees up resources for investment in activities that will grow the economy, create jobs and opportunities. This has knock on benefits across the economy and can lower the cost of debt for businesses and families.
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Reducing the debts associated with NAMA (including IRBC) from €43 billion to €15 billion
At one stage, it was projected that the taxpayer owed over €43 billion relating to NAMA. €30 billion of this arose from the senior bonds that NAMA issued in 2010/2011. An additional €12.9 billion came as a result of the liquidation of IBRC in February 2013. As a result of this Government, the debts associated with NAMA have been reduced from €43 billion to €15 billion.
GETTING IRELAND WORKING - NEW €315 BN EU FUND FOR STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS TO BOOST GROWTH In November the European Commission announced a €315 billion Investment Plan to get Europe growing again and more people back to work. It is hoped that it will attract up to 15 times the initial investment from private investors. The Plan has three main pillars:
1.
The creation of a new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will create at least €315 billion of additional investment over the next three years;
2.
The establishment of a project plan and accompanying assistance programme, which will direct funds where they are needed;
3.
A road map to make Europe more attractive for investment and tackle barriers to investment.
Ireland has submitted over 70 projects in the first-round of calls for interest in the EFSI. The majority of the list is made up by various energy, social housing and infrastructural projects. Across the EU, over 2000 projects have been submitted for consideration. However, it is important to note that the list is not exhaustive and that further projects can be added. For more information, or to find out if your project is eligible for inclusion, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Humphreys TD on 01 618 3224. You can also visit the relevant European Commission webpage: http://ec.europa.eu/news/2014/11/20141126_en.htm.
An tAire Humphreys ag lainseáil "Pathways to Work 2015" leis an Taoiseach agus an Tánaiste chun tacaíocht a thabhairt do chuardaitheoirí poist.
The Minister launches Gettingbacktowork.ie at Rathmines Citizens Information Centre
SUPPORTING SMES – THE STRATEGIC BANKING CORPORATION OF IRELAND One of Minister Humphreys's key commitments in the 2011 General Election campaign was to start a Strategic Investment Bank. Are you the owner of a small or medium-sized enterprise? If so, you might be interested to know that the Government has launched a new initiative, The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), to get more lending to smaller businesses. The SBCI is designed to access lower cost funding and pass on these lower costs directly to SMEs. The new initiative also has a mandate to increase the number of finance providers to SMEs and create competition. It will be a central tool supporting innovative Irish firms and allowing greater access to finance for Irish SMEs. The Strategic Banking Corporation will lower barriers to entry for new entrants. Such new entrants into the Irish SME lending market will be potentially funded by the SBCI, driving competition and innovation. New entrants could be existing international banks, insurance companies and pension funds as well as new Irish lending institutions. If you would like more information on the initiative, feel free to contact Minister Kevin Humphreys’s office on 01 618 3224, send him an email at kevin.humphreys@oir.ie or visit http://sbci.gov.ie/.
EU FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR IRISH SMES Irish businesses also have the option of looking to EU funding mechanisms. Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020). The SME instrument of the programme has been designed specifically for highly innovative SMEs with international ambitions. In the first round of selected projects under the SME Instrument this year, 10 Irish SMEs were successful. This puts Ireland well and truly at the top of the class in Europe with the greatest success rate (20%) followed by Austria (15%) and the United Kingdom (11%). Each selected business was awarded a grant of €50,000 to finance feasibility studies for their projects. The selected firms can also get up to three days of business coaching and may also be considered for further financial support from the European Commission worth up to €2.5 million. Important to note is that calls for proposals under the SME instrument are continuously open with several cut-off dates per year. For further details, contact Kevin’s office on 01 618 3224 or see https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/horizons-2020-smeinstrument
Kevin celebrates the 30th birthday of Terenure Enterprise Centre
Kevin Humphreys TD meets pupils of St. Louis in Rathmines at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition 2015
Kevin Humphreys TD Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Phone: 01 618 3224 Email: kevin.humphreys@oir.ie Web: www.kevinhumphreys.ie khumphreystd
Kevin Humphreys is Minister of State for Employment, Community and Social Support in the Department of Social Protection. He has special responsibility for Activation - to ensure those out of work are job ready, and given the supports they need to get back to work.
Ruairi Quinn TD
Cllr Dermot Lacey
Cllr Mary Freehill
01 618 3434 ruairi.quinn@oir.ie
087 264 6960 dermot.lacey@labour.ie
086 812 6378 marycfreehill@gmail.com
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