CONAGHAN MICHAEL BALLYFERMOT NEWS 4786.qxp_Layout 1 12/11/2015 15:39 Page 1
MICHAEL CONAGHAN TD
BUDGET 2016 SPECIAL
KEEPING IN TOUCH with Ballyfermot
Winter 2015
MARKIEVICZ PARK AWARDED €150,000 The approval of this grant to Markievicz Park will no doubt be of enormous benefit to all in the district of Lower Ballyfermot. The grant will be used to make improvements to the park for local residents, local sport clubs and the frequent park goers. I would like to commend the great efforts of the Markievicz Park Management Committee who gave their time to ensure that the park was upgraded and maintained over the years. Without the commitment of the hard work of the committee we would never have achieved the work done.
BUDGET 2016 NEW INVESTMENT TO GARDA This Budget is about making life better for our people. The recovery is starting to show what Labour in Government is delivering and what we can deliver if returned to Government. Families have a little more at the end of each month. This Budget delivers for low and middleincome workers, families, retired people and vulnerable groups – because we want a strong economy and a decent society. Labour’s effect is clear across this Budget. We have: ■ Reduced the USC for middle and low income earners ■ Increased child benefit for all families ■ Reduced the pupil-teacher ratio across our schools ■ Provided an effective free second year of pre-school education ■ Granted a €3 pension increase and a Christmas Bonus for many vulnerable people. ■ Funding for 600 new Gardai in addition to the 550 recruited since September. ■ Additional €28 million has been given to public transports services.
Michael Conaghan TD
SERVICES Additional allocation of €5.3 million for a further 260 new Garda vehicles. Support Gardai to carry out: ■ More Visible and responsive patrols of motorways ■ Increased surveillance of criminal gangs ■ Enhanced night time policing “This investment will support Gardai to carry-out more visible and responsive patrols of motorways, increased surveillance of criminal gangs and enhanced night-time public order policing in our cities and provincial towns”- Minister Fitzgerald
NEW TOURISM TRIANGLE PROPOSED FOR WEST DUBLIN CITY A New Cultural Strategy will be proposed to Failte Ireland and Dublin City Council to create a new tourism product in Dublin West City which will benefit the area of Drimnagh, Inchicore and Ballyfermot. The purpose of this proposal is to tap into the very large numbers of tourists who currently visit the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Goal. The idea is to ‘hold’ some of those numbers and guide them to other historical attractions such as Richmond Barracks, Railway works, Memorial Park, Drimnagh Castle and Chapelizod Village. Within that triangle there exists an enormous untapped potential for city tourists. There is a history and culture here which if properly preserved could present a significant contribution to the area’s economy.
Dáil Éireann
Phone: 618 4033
Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Email: michael.conaghan@oir.ie
facebook.com/ MichaelConaghanTD
CONAGHAN MICHAEL BALLYFERMOT NEWS 4786.qxp_Layout 1 12/11/2015 15:39 Page 2
How the Budget will Affect You..
FIANNA FÁIL AND SINN FÉIN CONTINUE TO DENY RECOVERY
PENSIONS
On Fianna Fáil’s watch around 300,000 jobs were lost and unemployment and emigration soared. Of course, Sinn Fein in government in the North imposes a much higher property charge on residents with an average charge of around €1000 per household per year.
Better living standards require fairer taxes for low income earners. In Budget 2016 we are reducing the USC for low and middle income workers, and providing increasing support for older people and vulnerable groups. Senior Citizens will get an extra weekly increase of €3 in their pension from January 1st.
CHILD BENEFIT In Budget 2016 we are increasing child benefit, introducing more paternity leave, providing an effective second year of preschool, and extending the rollout of the free GP care to children 6-11. There will also be a child benefit increase of €5 bringing the basic rate to €140 per child per month.
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASED The recovery is built on jobs and creating employment and this remains our number one priority. We are continuing to support small businesses, and increasing minimum wage to an extra 50c an hour now the second highest in Europe, making an increase to €9.15 an hour. A single worker on the minimum wage will see a €708 increase in annual income.
CHRISTMAS BONUS The Christmas Bonus this year 2015, will be increased to 75%. For a single person this will bring the Christmas Bonus to €172 and for a couple to €330.
FUEL The Fuel Allowance has been increased by an extra €2.50 per week for long-term welfare recipients, increasing payment to €22.50 per week from January 2016.
RESPITE CARE GRANT I welcomed confirmation in Budget 2016 that the Respite Care Grant will be restored to its previous level of €1,700. This is great news for thousands of carers across the country, who each do a rewarding but difficult job, and deserve to have this critical payment restored. As implied in the name, the grant is intended to enable 77,000 Carers to take a break from their very vulnerable work. This measure is just one which demonstrates Labour’s effect across this Budget.
Labour is proud of its part in rescuing the economy. Protest politics is now a three-a-penny gimmick but the protestors never come up with a workable solution. Labour stayed the course and, despite all the criticism, Labour has helped to bring the country from bankruptcy to survival and now to growth.
HOMES Alan Kelly T.D as Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government is now investing the largest amount of funding ever for housing in the history of the state. There will be €3.8 billion in funding for social housing construction between now and 2020. Altogether 17,600 people will have their housing needs addressed in 2016. The allocation to address the homeless issue has been increased to €70 million and 9,500 social housing units will be built by 2018. The Labour Party recognises that housing provision and affordability remains a major issue for many families. In Budget 2016 we are continuing to provide for immediate housing needs. Fianna Fail in the last government opted out of building houses for social housing and this has contributed to the housing crisis.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS A strong week for jobs announcements, with the number of new jobs identified bypassing the 1,000 mark. In total, 1,391 jobs were announced in 14 companies in Dublin, Cork, Dublin and Limerick. 2,384 jobs were advertised on JobsIreland, Government's jobs website this week. 99,956 jobs advertised have been advertised on the website so far this year.
DID YOU KNOW… JobsPlus is an employer incentive which encourages and rewards employers who employ jobseekers on the Live Register. It is designed to encourage employers and businesses to employ people who have been out of work for long periods. Eligible employers who recruit full-time employees on or after 1 July 2013 may apply for the incentive.
Michael Conaghan TD Phone: 618 4033 Email: michael.conaghan@oir.ie
0612
Michael Conaghan T.D sits in his clinic every Tuesday 10am-11am in the Civic Centre in Ballyfermot.