KEEPING IN TOUCH Michael McCarthy TD Spring 2015
DELIVERING FOR WEST CORK 1. €250 MILLION REGIONAL 2. TÁNAISTE JOAN BURTON VISITS WEST CORK Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party Joan Burton recently visited West Cork. She met with a ACTION PLAN FOR RURAL number of local and community groups and visited St. Mary's National School, Dunmanway. She was also joined RTE’s Operation Transformation contestant Veronica Horgan at a tree-planting IRELAND ceremony in Dunmanway Community Gardens and travelled to Kinsale to meet with the town’s The economic recovery we are seeing needs to be felt throughout the entire country not just in our urban centres. Rural Ireland has a part to play in business development and job creation that is why over the next Michael with IFA representatives discussing the five years up to Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020 €100 million in Enterprise Ireland funding will be made available. IDA Ireland will also roll out a €150 million capital investment programme to help attract more multinational jobs into each region.
Chamber of Tourism and Business.
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West Cork rising star s shine for Cork City
Adrigole G AA star’s fa ncy footwor k for Graha m and 13
VIEWERS ship chatsh of BBC 1’s flagof the show ow Norton Show’ The Graham last when on Friday night the first man the host went on Irish dancin got a few tips he into the g from a West the audience to Cork GAA audien ce picked from vid. The tims’ to show pick some ‘vicstar was a fellow Londo West Cork off their dancin Adrigole’s last week. er didn’t hesitatn-based teachlocal. skills to guest, g But little did was spotted Liam Harrington Liam, a son e to show fancy footwo supremo Micha Irish dancing by eagle-eyed of Willie Margaret rk when askedhis know they wereLiam and Kate appea fans Harrington and to perform Unbeknownsel Flatley. sitting rance to an entire Reen, is some Irish from ing t to Norto row of accom beside topper, Liamon the ratingsdancalong with n, talente a brother of anothe plished flew home his friend Kate. Irish dancers, r d Adrigole play with Adrigo to player, Da- Graham was thrille mote Flatle there to prole when kicked d to discover they y’s Lord Dance. were both of the league off their Divisi they Irish. on 4 campaign Not one bit in fine style with a fazed by his ulloug win away over Aghab e on Sunda y.
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OPERATION
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CONT AMIN ATIO N of fuel tanks the a course on within among the the Astrid was shore in a Force 300m of a lee reasons cited the disaste 6 wind’. r near Oyster for Futhe on July 24 haven Mayda rmore, an incorr 2013, a damni ect report has ng from y message was sent out stated. the ship, The Marin gency service delaying emere Casualty tigation Board s by Inves‘The ship was ten minutes. that the ship, has concluded not certifie as a in passen d its condition ger on the day, EU or intern ship for either been at sea’.‘should not have nor were the ational voyages, It said that engines failed crew approp the ately ricertified, fuel contam as a result of the and the ship should not ination, leading have the eventu been at sea,’ to the report al sinking of added training vessel, the sail The author . after a major rescue of its s sugges ted Transport 30 Minister should the the Cork coast. passengers off plore mecha exnisms to ensure The repor ‘that sail training ships week, conclu t, issued this tering Irish waters and entamination des that the concomply with ports of the fuel was due the tanks of to the Intern requirements when water ‘huma n error’ tions and EU ational ConvenBrighton, 12 was taken on in Law.’ In what appear ‘insufficient days earlier, and s to be a reference to that to remove action’ was taken night’s Gathering Cruise it, once discov event, the ered. sugges It further report concluded ts that: the route taken appea that in any promo ‘Ships engaged have been red to must tional activit influenced ies ‘desire’ for by the has ensure that the Maste over-riding the Gatheringphotographs of authority andr must not compr planned route event, and the passage planni omise good haven to Kinsalfrom Oysterof the ship ng or the safety e was ‘inad Veronica Horga board when and persons onin Dunmanway n brought Tánais engaged in te Joan Burto such just , last Friday
one more week
3. PROTECTING SMALL SCHOOLS
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ensured that THER E is food safety consumer and spring spawn among Westa ‘sever e crisis’ unfortunatelcomes first. ‘But ing season said. producers, Cork’s mussel ,’ he control over y they have no according Irish Shellfi the length In her questio to of sh Association. the these natura l blooms can time mission, Deirdrn to the ComCallin g on sist in the ocean. per- the e Clune said the Minis for support shellfish indust ter ‘Producers ry was measured’ producers for the industry, are not arguin in its reactio ‘very with the scienc said the sector g had not both West e or in which sought to disput n and Cork closed them criteria the closure e why suffered highly and Kerry has down. s fact, of some bays IFA memb In unusual algal blooms this were ers work very necessary on public closely with winter. grounds. health the The IFA’s as the Food agencies such analys is shows that up to ‘What they ity, Marine Safety Author10,000 tonnes is to explor are looking for Institu top quality of BIM mussel crop to ensure te, HSE and is availa e what assistance been lost ble from to the eleme have safest shellfis we have the European funds are now unusab nts or world, h system in the eries like the European Fishle ’ he said. Fund and But he called the Europ Maritime ean on Minist er she said and Fisheries Fund,’
4. SUPPORTING CORK AIRPORT
The Government has agreed on two new policies to better support small schools, particularly those in isolated areas. This includes improved changes to staffing schedules for some small schools and a voluntary protocol for 1 teacher schools with reducing enrolments. This package will provide communities with security about the future of their small schools. The future is now bright for small schools in West Cork and I am very happy that we have been able to address this issue and provide some security.
Cork is the economic hub of the south-west region and its air connectivity is crucial to attracting foreign direct investment. The airport is an excellent facility but it needs new routes and the necessary policies and initiatives to improve and attract traffic to and from Cork. I will be pursuing this in the Dáil.
Michael with Airport CEO Niall McCarthy
5. INVESTING IN BROADBAND Members of the business and community sector in West Cork recently met with the Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources Alex White. I was delighted to facilitate this meeting. It is imperative that businesses and domestic users alike in West Cork have access to good high-speed broadband and I look forward to continuing to work with Minister White to deliver next generation broadband to every home and business by 2020.
6. NEW SKIBBEREEN COMMUNITY SCHOOL The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan recently performed the official sod turning on the site of the new multi million euro community school at Gortnacloughy, Skibbereen. Construction is already underway at the 19 acre site, which will cater for 900 post-primary school students in May 2016. Up to 120 people will be employed during the peak of construction with more than half of those coming from the locality.
CONTACT MICHAEL:
7. REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT Figures from the CSO confirm that the number of people in the Cork area signing-on has fallen by 4,542 or 11.9%. Unemployment is now at 10.1%, down from a crisis peak of 15.1%, and we will drive this down to a single rate figure in the coming month. In West Cork, Bandon recorded a decrease of 17%, Clonakilty 12.3%, Skibbereen 11.3% and Bantry 7.6%.
8. TOURISM ON THE RISE 2014 was another excellent year for Irish tourism. There were a total of 7,604,400 visits to Ireland, an increase of 8.9%. The retention of the 9% VAT rate and the success of the Wild Atlantic Way has helped to create new jobs and stimulate the economy. It is important now that we continue this growth and ensure that the industry thrives in 2015.
Constituency Office: Market Square, Dunmanway, Co. Cork
Tel: 023 8855705 Email: michael.mccarthy@oir.ie
www.michaelmccarthy.ie
@mmccarthyTD
DELIVERING FOR IRELAND 1. TAX CUTS AND USC CUTS FROM JANUARY 1ST
2. FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY IN THE EUROZONE
The cuts which took effect in January are the first step in easing the burden on low and middle income workers.
Just a year after exiting the Troika Bailout programme, Ireland now has the fastest growing economy in the entire Eurozone. This fast economic growth is creating jobs and income for the citizens of our country.
3. BUILDING HOMES FOR FAMILIES Budget 2015 prioritised building new homes for families. We have already re-started social housing programmes, refurbishing boarded-up homes, and we are developing a construction programme to increase the number of homes built to nearly 40,000 by 2020.
4. REVERSED THE CUT IN THE MINIMUM WAGE & ESTABLISHED LOW PAY COMMISSION One of the first things Labour did was to reverse the cut in the minimum wage which Fianna Fáil introduced. Under Labour leadership, the Government has also set up a Low Wage Commission to work towards better pay for those on low wages.
6. PROVIDING SPORTS GRANTS FOR CLUBS AROUND THE COUNTRY
5. BUILDING SCHOOLS & HOSPITALS Since 2012, despite being in serious financial difficulty, the Government has commenced or completed 319 new schools and major extensions. It has also opened 37 new primary healthcare centres and is working on a further 33.
7. RE-STARTED RECRUITMENT INTO THE PUBLIC SERVICE, INCLUDING GARDAÍ
Since 2012, the Government has given over €70 million in grants to Sports Clubs around Ireland. I would urge all sports clubs in West Cork to register now for the 2015 Sports Capital Grant Programme ahead of the deadline in April 2015.
The Government has ended the recruitment moratorium, and has re-started public sector recruitment, including recruiting several hundred new Gardaí.
8. INTRODUCED CLIMATE CHANGE BILL The Government recently published the Climate Action and Low Carbon development Bill 2015. This is the first time that a coherent and legislative response has been developed to the threat of climate change. As Chairman of the Environment Oireachtas Committee, I worked with key groups, organisations and leading specialists in the field, with this work forming the basis of this legislation. This legislation will set us apart, as it will make Ireland one of the few EU members states that have adopted climate change legislation to date and one of the first EU countries to put a legal obligation on its Government to develop policies to plan for existing and future climate change commitments.
THE NEXT STEPS... The last few years have been very difficult for people across Ireland. Now that the economy has been stabilised and the Government's finances are getting in reasonable shape, it is very important that those that have struggled the most in recent years get the most benefit. I am arguing for further reductions in the USC from the bottom up, and that eventually it should be phased out for low and middle income workers.
Michael McCarthy TD
Advice centre every Friday constituency office at 11am
Constituency Office: Market Square, Dunmanway, Co. Cork Tel: 023 8855705 Email: michael.mccarthy@oir.ie Web: www.michaelmccarthy.ie 0612
@mmccarthyTD