BRENDAN RYAN TD KEEPING IN TOUCH Summer 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.
FROM CRISIS TO RECOVERY – FOUR YEARS OF LABOUR IN GOVERNMENT In 2014, Ireland recorded the fastest growth in Europe. We will do the same in 2015. The sacrifice and hard work of the Irish people have put our country on the path back to prosperity. The latest progress report on the Programme for Government underlines the economic turnaround since 2011. And what the report shows is that this was no accident or coincidence. We set out plans to restore the public finances, create 100,000 new jobs and get people back to work. Many questioned those plans and said it couldn’t be done. But our plan is working, and the evidence is clear:
■ 97,000 new jobs created since 2011 ■ Budget 2015 cut taxes on work while increasing funding for public services ■ €3.8 Billion Social Housing Investment to deliver 35,000 new homes ■ Low Pay Commission to make recommendations on minimum wage ■ Exports up 2.4% in 2014 with tourism and manufacturing growing ■ Annual budget deficit has fallen from €22 billion in 2010 to €5 billion ■ New €7 billion Strategic Investment Fund to invest in Irish jobs
■ Unemployment
rate down a third to 9.9% from a peak of 15.1%
■ 31 new Local Enterprise Offices supporting jobs and businesses ■ 28,000 places provided under the Youth Guarantee Scheme ■ 110,000 mortgages in arrears have been restructured by banks Having brought about economic recovery, our task now is to secure it and spread the benefits. Labour is focused on the social recovery where every person, family and community will feel the benefit of renewed prosperity. Every step of the way, Labour will continue to guard the public purse, ensure no return to crisis but focus on putting money back in your pocket and delivering reliable public services.
BRENDAN RYAN TD
Tel: 01 618 3421
Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2
Email: bren.ryan@oir.ie
brendanryanlabourparty
@BrendanRyanTD
LOW PAY COMMISSION The Low Pay Commission has been established to advise the Government on the appropriate rate of the National Minimum Wage on an annual basis and is being chaired by Dr Donal de Buitéir. 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.
GOVERNMENT PUBLISHES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LEGISLATION
Brendan and his team campaigning in the recent Marriage Equality Referendum. Fingal had the second highest Yes vote in the country of 72.6%
The Government has published Collective Bargaining legislation which will provide a mechanism for workers who seek to improve their terms and conditions in companies where collective bargaining is not recognised by their employer. When enacted it will ensure that such workers, aided by a trade union, can advance claims about remuneration, terms and conditions and have these determined by the Labour Court based on comparisons with similar companies. Any determination by the Labour Court may also be enforced by the Circuit Court, should any employer refuse to engage. When the legislation is enacted it will fit Ireland’s constitutional, social and economic traditions and its international obligations, and will ensure continued success in creating jobs and attracting investment into the economy.
LABOUR'S €3.8 BILLION 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; ■ 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). 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
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