ANN PHELAN TD Working for You, Making Recovery Local “Things don’t just happen, they are made to happen.”-JFK
€21M INVESTMENT IN ST LUKE’S HOSPITAL Following on from the very successful opening of the new Palliative Care wing in St Luke’s Hospital which included the provision of a bereavement room for the families of loved ones who had passed on, I am pleased to announce that I officially opened the new Day Services Unit, which will improve cancer diagnostics and the opening of the Dr Jim Mahon Library and Education Centre. A new MRI Scanner will be available in St Luke’s meaning that patients will no longer have to travel to nearby hospitals for such assessments. All construction works are completed on St Luke’s General Hospital and the equipping is well underway. The new Departments will be opened on a phased basis between the end of this September and Feb, 2016. The new Emergency Department and Medical Assessment Unit, is expected to open around Feb, 2016.
SUPPORTING POST OFFICES IN KILKENNY In my role as Minister for Rural Economic Development, I have worked relentlessly to help support a strong, modern and viable post office network. I am happy to confirm the extension of contracts to Bilboa Post Office and to Inistioge Post Office. I was delighted to be able to work with both communities and with An Post to ensure the retention of these vital services for Inistioge, Bilboa and the wider communities it impacts on. The rhetoric that is being spun by the media and other political parties that our Post Offices are closing in Rural Ireland, is simply not true. It is not Government policy to close post offices. 227 closed between 20062010 under Fianna Faíl and 27 have closed since 2011. The reason for these closures are due to natural causes ie, the Postmaster/mistress in question may have decided to retire or sadly, deceased and there was no one to take over the service. All efforts are being made by this Government to secure the viability of the Post Office service into the future. The Post Office Network Business Development Group was set up by my colleague Minister White, and is led by independent chair and businessman Bobby Kerr, the Business Development Group will draw up key proposals for maintaining and gaining business for a sustainable post office network.
453 JOBS CREATED IN KILKENNY DUE TO RETENTION OF 9% VAT I am delighted to confirm that the 9% VAT rate in the Tourism & Hospitality sector has been retained again in Budget 2016. It supports over 3,200 jobs in Kilkenny alone and contributes over €60M to the local economy. This is an issue I have been very vocal on for the past number of years. I engaged with local businesses within this sector and undertook a survey to establish the value of its retention for local business. Since its retention, over 453 have been created within Kilkenny. The Tourism and Hospitality Sector is a critical employer and driver of our local economies here in the Constituency.