MCCARTHY MICHAEL A4 NEWS 2321_Layout 1 23/11/2012 13:14 Page 1
MICHAEL McCARTHY TD
KEEPING IN TOUCH Winter 2012 Dear member, We are living in challenging times. Never before has an Irish Government faced such a mammoth task of untangling the deep-rooted economic problems created by the previous administration while also restoring sovereignty to our State. Labour entered Government in the knowledge of the challenges that it would face but it did so to fulfil an ambition to get people back to work, to reform our public services and to bring fairness into the political system. Despite being the minority party in Coalition, our party’s imprint on Government policy over the past 20 months has been considerable. So far, the Labour Party has managed to: ■ Restore the minimum wage; ■ Exempt 330,000 workers from the Universal Social Charge; ■ Maintain the rates of all headline social welfare payments; ■ Maintain income tax rates; ■ Protect the Croke Park Agreement. The party has also played a critical role in: ■ Imposing a pay cap on public sector salaries; ■ Reducing the pay of Taoiseach and Ministers; ■ Abolishing State cars for senior Ministers; ■ Decreasing future public service pension costs; ■ Cutting Oireachtas Committees from 25 to 14; ■ Tackling the mortgage arrears problem with the Personal Insolvency Bill; ■ Severing the link between banking and sovereign debt; ■ Deferring the promissory notes deal; ■ Protecting children with the passage of the Children’s Rights referendum; ■ Reforming the local Government system; ■ Increasing mortgage interest relief for homes bought between 2004 and 2008. With the next Budget just around the corner, be assured that although difficult decisions lie ahead, Labour will ensure that these are done in the fairest and most equitable manner with the least impact upon those on lower incomes. We will continue to make every effort to impress these values on the budget and on Government policy in general. In the meantime, thank you for your ongoing support as a local Labour member. I sincerely value your input and voice during these challenging times. Please feel free to contact me if I can ever be of assistance. Regards,
CONTACT MICHAEL:
Constituency Office: Market Square, Dunmanway, Co. Cork
Phone: 023 885 5705 Dáil office: 01 618 3844 Email: michael.mccarthy@oir.ie Web: www.michaelmccarthy.ie
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LABOUR MINISTERS PROGRESS REPORT HOWLIN TACKLES PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM WHILE MAINTAINING INDUSTRIAL PEACE
LABOUR'S JAN O'SULLIVAN INTRODUCES MORTGAGE TO RENT SCHEME'
As Minister for Public Service Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin faces a major task in re-shaping our public services so that they can be more responsive, while also reducing the amount of money spent on those services and the numbers of people delivering them.
Earlier this year, the Minister for Housing and Planning Jan O’Sullivan introduced the Mortgage to Rent scheme, which was a crucial milestone in the Government’s plan to tackle the mortgage arrears problem. It is a viable solution which affords people a level of dignity and respect by allowing them to remain in their family home, paying rent, while the ownership is transferred to a housing body.
At present, the reduction in staff numbers is ahead of target - 30,000 people have left public sector employment since 2008. This has ensured an annualised and sustainable reduction in spending of €1.5 billion. Much work remains to be done, but in the meantime, securing these savings against a backdrop of industrial peace is a key achievement for a Labour Party Minister, given the wave of civil unrest in other Eurozone countries.
From day one, the Labour Party have consistently reiterated the importance of doing everything to ensure that people can stay in their home, avoiding the devastating prospect of repossession. This scheme is proof that we are true to our word.
‘REFORMING’ LABOUR EDUCATION MINISTER
BURTON PROTECTS CORE SOCIAL WELFARE PAYMENTS Social Protection Minister Joan Burton protected primary weekly social welfare payment rates in Budget 2012, which was a major achievement for a Labour Minister given the pressure on the public finances. Rates for weekly payments such as Jobseeker’s Benefit and Allowance, Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Carer’s Benefit and Carer’s Allowance and Widower’s Pension did not change last December. The monthly Child Benefit for each of the first two children was maintained at €140, while the State Pension remained at current levels.
Since being appointed Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn has developed a well-earned reputation for being a reforming Minister and has implemented some of the most radical changes the education sector has seen in years. His achievements to date include a radical reform of the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert cycle, the establishment of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism, the roll-out of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, an ambitious change agenda for higher education, and introduction of the prefab replacement scheme, the biggest ever initiative to replace rented prefabs in the history of the State. The Minister also gave five local school building projects in West Cork the green light in his School Building Programme announced back in March. These include the new Clonakilty Gaelscoil, the Skibbereen Post-Primary School amalgamation project, and the amalgamation of St. Joseph’s and St. John’s in Kinsale, while funding was also ring-fenced for Clon Community College and Kinsale Community School.
Michael McCarthy TD Phone: 023 885 5705 Dáil office: 01 618 3844 Email: michael.mccarthy@oir.ie Web: www.michaelmccarthy.ie
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0612
Constituency Office: Market Square, Dunmanway, Co. Cork