FAS Work Placement Scheme FÁS is running a Work Placement Scheme for individuals who are unemployed, incuding graduates and young people. The criteria for this work scheme is that the recipients of most social welfare payments for 3 months, including Job Seekers Allowance and Job Seekers Benefit can apply for Work Placement Schemes of 9 month duration. Unemployed persons not in receipt of social welfare payments can also apply. The work placements can be provided in all sectors of the economy including the private sector, the public sector and the community and voluntary sector. Participants will keep their social welfare entitlements during their work placements. If you are interested in this scheme or any other initiatives aimed at Job Seekers including training courses and job opportunities, contact your local FÁS office and register your interest. Information is available at www.fas.ie. You can also contact the local FÁS office at Ballyfermot Hill, Ballyfermot, Phone 01 6055900.
Issues for Clondalkin I work closely with Cllr. Robert Dowds who is Labour's councillor in the Clondalkin Electoral Area (also including Balgaddy, Brittas, Newcastle, Rathcoole and Saggart). Issues he is working on as the local Labour representative include: 1. New pedestrian crossing soon to be installed across Monastery Road to help people coming from Luas Red Cow. 2. Taxis. Proper taxi rank to be installed on Orchard Lane near Freyne’s Chemists, Clondalkin with a taxi rank on Orchard Rd. after 8pm each evening. To be installed early 2011. 3. Attempting to get New Nangor Road pedestrian crossing moved to junction of Cherrywood Crescent to help people crossing from Nangor Medical Centre & shop to Lealand & Westbourne. 4. Working with Liffey Valley Football Club to get them access to decent changing facilities in Ballyowen Park. 5. Making a submission to An Bord Pleanala to ensure that any residential development on the SIAC lands on Monastery Road fits in with existing housing. Please feel free to contact me as your local TD or Cllr. Dowds as your local councillor if there are any other issues you would like Labour to higlight. Cllr. Robert Dowds is holds an advice centre at the Clondalkin Civic Offices (opposite the Mill Centre) each Wednesday at 3.3O pm. You also can call to my office in Clondalkin Village.
Updates... PACKING WASTE FOR BROWN BIN The issue of how to package waste in the brown bin was dealt with in a reply to a question at a recent Council meeting. The County Manager advised councillors that "Under no circumstances should plastic bags be placed in bins as this can contaminate the loads. There are products available on supermarket shelves that are 100% compostable and state on the wrapper that they are suitable for use in council brown bins. These products are available in different sizes: there are several sizes available for small kitchen bins and pedal bins with larger sacks available for garden waste. Manufacturers also offer compostable liners for lining the bin and this liner is generally discarded from the bin with the waste material disposed into the freighter during each collection. Biodegradable plastic bags cannot be placed in the brown bin. Customers are advised to check the product label to establish how long the bag takes to break down – bags taking 12 to 18 months to break down are not suitable for the brown bin but could be used in the black bin for containing residual waste. In terms of the waste hierarchy, use of old paper to wrap food waste is generally an environmentally and economically preferable option and should be recommended as a first option in all instances." GET BIN COLLECTION UPDATES The Council has a service of keeping in touch with residents about their local bin collection. This is particular helpful if a collection is missed. If you wish to register for up to date text information regarding your refuse collection please email info@sdublincoco.ie or call 01 4149000 with your name, address and mobile number. The Council also publishes updates on bin collections and its various waste management services on its website at www.sdcc.ie. HELP FOR LOCAL MORTGAGE HOLDERS If you are having difficulties repaying the mortgage on your home there may be advise and assistance available to you. The Citizens Information Service has a local advice centre at Ballyowen Castle Community Centre, or can be phoned at 1890 777 121. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) may also be able to help and their helpline is 1890 283 438. Some mortgage holders may be eligible for Mortgage Interest Supplement and information about this Supplement is available from Community Welfare Officers based in the local health centres and at www.citizensinformation.ie. You should contact your lender as soon as you get in to difficulties as codes of conduct have been introduced to help those who are finding it hard to repay their mortgages. There are also a number of recommendations including those of the Financial Regulator that may be of assistance in future. Please note that this leaflet is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be a legal interpretation of your rights and entitlements.
YOUR LABOUR TEAM WORKING FOR YOU Please feel free to contact your local Labour representatives about any issue covered in this edition of Labour News or any other issue.
Joanna Tuffy T.D.
Cllr. Robert Dowds
Cllr. Caitríona Jones
Cllr. Eamon Tuffy
Dublin Mid West Phone 6183822 Email joanna.tuffy@oireachtas.ie Web www.labour.ie/joannatuffy
Clondalkin Phone 087 6520360
Lucan and Palmerstown Phone 087 2034427 Email cjones@sdublincoco.ie Web www.labour.ie/caitrionajones
Lucan and Palmerstown Phone 086 386 3173 Email etuffy@sdublincoco.ie Web www.labour.ie/eamontuffy
Email rdowds@sdublincoco.ie Web www.labour.ie/robertdowds
LABOUR NEWS
Joanna Tuffy TD
Autumn, 2010
UPDATE ON COURSES FOR UNEMPLOYED PERSONS If you are in receipt of the Job Seekers payment, are under 35, are interested in upskilling your education to gain employment, and your current level of qualification is less than FETAC Level 5 (equivalent to the Leaving Certificate), check out (with Co. Dublin VEC at 4529600, or CDVEC at 4535487, or at www.codubvec.ie or at www.cdvec.ie, under Labour Market Activation Fund Programme recently announced by the Department of Education and Skills) the new programme of courses starting in September. Courses will be available in Retail/Security, Care Provision, Business, IT, Sports and Fitness, Tourism and Travel, Arts and Creativity, and General Employability Skills. A full course, leading to full FETAC Certification, will last 32 weeks, 20 hours tuition per week, you keep your JS payment, and there is no course fee. There will be 1500 places between the 2 Dublin VECs. Details of locations are being finalized: County Dublin VEC will run these courses in the Adult Education Centres in Tallaght and Clondalkin, in Deansrath Community College, Clondalkin, in the Life Centre, Lucan, and in some other locations. Some education/training providers
other than the VEC may be delivering courses in this area and it is important to keep checking for the most up to date information about these courses from the Department of Education and the relevant agencies.Further information about these courses also available from West Dublin Adult Education Service at 628 3557/8, The Life Centre, Esker Hill, Lucan, County Dublin These initiatives are welcome though long overdue. I also welcome the fact that the European Social Fund (ESF) is being used to provide funds for these courses. ESF funded courses played a role in Ireland’s economic recovery in the past. Much more needs to be done by the Irish Government to provide further opportunities in training and education as part of its efforts to tackle unemployment and this is an issue I intend to continuously highlight in the Dail.
Joanna Tuffy TD
Inside this edition of Labour News ■ Closing Date for College Grants extended
■ Free Enterprise Innovation Course in Tallaght
■ FAS Work Placement Scheme Joanna Tuffy T.D
■ Cllr. Caitríona Jones raises concerns about new housing scheme
LABOUR AT LIFFEY VALLEY
■ Cllr. Eamon Tuffy and
Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore TD called to Liffey Valley Shopping Centre this summer as part of a days activity by Labour in Dublin. This photo shows Eamon with the local Labour TD Joanna Tuffy talking to constituents in the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre.
■ Assistance and advice
thinking local about jobs Available for Mortgage Holders
■ Issues raised by Cllr. Robert Dowds
■ Long Overdue Management Company Legislation
■ Updates
LABOUR CRITICAL OF NEW SOCIAL HOUSING SCHEME The Social Housing Leasing Initiative is a new Council housing scheme that draws on new methods for the delivery of social housing. South Dublin County Council is participating in this initiative in two ways. Firstly a number of Affordable Housing units are being used temporarily for the delivery of Social Housing. These are houses built as affordable properties that have remained unsold to purchasers despite the efforts of the Council and under the new scheme can be offered for sale to the tenant at the end of the lease period. Secondly, the Council is to enter into leasing arrangements with private property owners. The council will make arrangements with private landlords to lease the properties for periods up to 20 years. There are positive aspects to this new scheme in that its implementation could shorten the wait for many on the housing list and it may allow tenants more choice and flexibility with regard to where they will be housed compared to traditional social housing schemes. However, while there are some potentially positive aspects to the scheme, Cllr. Caitríona Jones fears that this short term gain may yield future difficulties both in terms of the quality of life for tenants and in cost implications for South Dublin County Council. “Essentially I believe that this move is a step towards privatising social housing and this ultimately is a cause for concern.” The Labour Party Spokesperson on Housing, Ciaran Lynch T.D., has also raised concerns about this scheme. He has accused the Fianna Fáil/Green Government of being “hellbent on outsourcing the provision of social housing to their developer pals”. Cllr. Caitríona Jones will be seeking further information about this new scheme from the Council. In the meantime information about the scheme is available from the Council at their offices in Tallaght and Clondalkin or if you phone the Council at 4149000 or access the Council website at www.sdcc.ie. Please also feel free to contact your local representatives if you wish to raise any questions about this new scheme at upcoming meetings of South Dublin County Council.
CLOSING DATE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION GRANT APPLICATIONS IS EXTENDED South Dublin County Council has extended the Closing Date from 31st August to 26th November 2010.
LONG OVERDUE MANAGEMENT COMPANY LEGISLATION Long overdue legislation in relation to the regulation of apartment management companies is making its way through the Dail and Seanad. The need for this legislation is something I, and other members of my party, have been calling for, for some time. There are two bills, one is the Multi Units Development Bill which has reached committee stage in the Seanad and is aimed at regulating management companies (of which apartment owners are members) and the other one is Property Services Regulatory Authority Bill which has been passed by the Seanad and is due to come in to the Dail, which is aimed at regulating the property managing agents that are employed by management companies to maintain common areas etc.
IT TALLAGHT OFFERS FREE ENTERPRISE EVOLUTION PROGRAMME Are You: Interested in broadening your innovation and entrepreneurial skills, on the Live Register for more than 3 months, and have a recognised degree or Level 7 award. Then a new programme starting this September in the Synergy Centre, IT Tallaght, may meet your requirements. The course will provide you with the understanding and knowledge to develop creative export led enterprises, or provide solutions for organisations facing innovation problems. The course will start in late September, last for 24 weeks, and involve intensive course work for 4 days a week in the first 12 weeks; you will be able to gain 60 credits and achieve a Level 8 Diploma in Enterprise Innovation. There is no course fee and eligible participants may retain SW payments. There will be 40 places in September 2010, and a further 40 places in a second run in January 2011. If interested telephone 4042101, or 087 6714117, or e-mail orla@enterpriseevolution.ie. Visit www.enterpriseevolution.ie for details including regarding eligibility.
COUNTY DEVELOPMENT BOARD THINKS LOCAL FOR JOBS Cllr. Tuffy was selected to continue as Chairperson of the County Development Board(CDB), a role he held prior to the 2009 local elections, and which includes in its membership representatives of the Council, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, FAS, the Department of Social Protection, the VEC, South Dublin Chamber of Commerce, An Garda Siochana, the Country Enterprise Board (CEB), South Dublin Tourism, and the Community and Voluntary sectors. At every meeting of the Board, the Department of Social Protection representative presents a detailed report on the latest Liver Register Figures, broken down by local areas in the County at a level of detail greater than provided by the CSO, reports on the profiles of persons joining the Live Register, and other relevant information. This is followed by a discussion which usually includes a discussion at which the representatives of FAS, IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the CEB report on current initiatives and actions with local impact being undertaken by their organizations. The representatives of the two Area Based Partnerships in the County also report on employment/training initiatives undertaken by them. The CDB agreed, during the previous term of the Council, on Cllr. Tuffy’s proposal that the role of Employment Task Force should be carried out by the Board’s Economic Development Working Group (as provided for in Department Guidelines issued to the CDB), the Chairperson of which (who happens to be the Chamber of Commerce CEO) reports on this at each meeting. To date 2 specific initiatives to support job retention/job creation have come from the CDB: (1) The Intellectual Enterprize Zones Initiative, renamed recently the Innovation Enterprize Zones Initiative (www.IEZ.ie). This project offers individuals who have left high to middle level skills employment the opportunity, through access to office space, Internet, networks, to explore opportunities for self employment/ business start up. The IEZ project has about 150 participants in South Dublin, Communities of Practice have been set up by members (e.g. IT specialists, Training specialists, Construction specialists etc.). The IEZ project is driven by the County Manager in collaboration with FÁS Tallaght, the Institute of Technology Tallaght, the CEB and the Departments of Social Protection and Enterprise and Employment. The IEZ concept is now being taken on by the other Local Authorities in Dublin. (2) A few months ago Cllr. Tuffy, with the then Mayor Cllr. Mick Duff, launched Think Local 2010. This is a CDB initiative to support local businesses and other providers of services in the County, including local Swimming Pools, Leisure Centres etc, so as to maintain existing jobs in South Dublin. The general aim of Think Local 2010 is to encourage residents of South Dublin to switch some of their spend, in retail, leisure, entertainment, services, which they had been spending outside the County to local businesses and providers.(see www.thinklocal.ie).