RYAN BREN SPRING NEWS 4125_a4 19/02/2015 17:06 Page 1
BRENDAN RYAN TD KEEPING IN TOUCH Spring 2015
MESSAGE FROM BRENDAN As Chair of the Internal Labour Committee on Housing, tackling the crisis in that sector is a top priority. I welcome Minister Kelly's long term plan to resolve the Housing crisis and the first return to direct public provision of social housing since the last time Labour were in Government in the mid 1990s. As we move towards economic recovery and get people back to work, we need to ensure the most vulnerable in society have access to secure housing. As the first social housing units are being built in Fingal (in Swords and Balrothery) in over 15 years, we can begin to see progress being made.
LABOUR MINISTER LAUNCHES €3.8 BN 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 of €3.8 billion over the next 6 years;
BRENDAN IN THE DÁIL
■ Estimated 29,000 Jobs in construction and promotion of
In January, Brendan called for the Fair Deal nursing home scheme to be demand led and for a proper plan to be put in place to deliver long term nursing home places. Minister Kathleen Lynch has since echoed this in the media. I am looking to pursue this matter to ensure a proper plan is in place before the end of the term of this Government in 2016. In February, Brendan raised the need to reclassify schools in order to allow more schools receive DEIS supports. The DEIS scheme tackles disadvantaged schools and has been in operation for 10 years. The economic crisis has recast what is categorised as deprivation and disadvantage and has broadened it from the more traditional definitions. Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan in her response to me has indicated she will begin this process in the near future.
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). If you would like Brendan to post you a copy of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, you can send him an email at bren.ryan@oir.ie.
UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS DOWN IN FINGAL Balbriggan Area
Swords Area
January 2014
January 2015
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4188
8.3%
BRENDAN RYAN TD
Tel: 01 618 3421
Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2
Email: bren.ryan@oir.ie
January 2014
January 2015
4185
3455
brendanryanlabourparty
17.4%
@BrendanRyanTD
RYAN BREN SPRING NEWS 4125_a4 19/02/2015 17:06 Page 2
LOW PAY COMMISSION The Low Pay Commission is being established to advise the Government on the appropriate rate of the National Minimum Wage on an annual basis. It was a commitment outlined by the Tánaiste in the Government’s statement of priorities agreed in July 2015. Up until now, the National Minimum Wage could be changed following a recommendation in a national agreement, a recommendation by the Labour Court or unilaterally by the Minister. Labour Minister Ged Nash has spearheaded the LPC and said, “The setting up of the Low Pay Commission represents the delivery of an important Government commitment and continues the dignity of work agenda I am pursuing in my portfolio." We in Labour want to see the minimum wage progressively increased where the economic circumstances, the demands of job creation and social conditions and requirements converge. It represents a floor beneath which no working person should be allowed to fall.
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:
■ 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.
■ 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.
■ 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.
■ 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.
Brendan Ryan TD Working with your local Labour team Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Phone: 618 3421 Email: bren.ryan@oir.ie Web: www.brendan-ryan.ie @BrendanRyanTD brendanryanlabourparty Cllr Duncan Smith Swords LEA 087 9862686 duncansmithfingal@gmail.com
Cllr Brian McDonagh Howth-Malahide LEA 086 3858979 brianmcdonaghlabour@gmail.com 0612
Cllr Ken Farrell Balbriggan LEA 087 7551927 ken.farrell@fingalcoco.ie