KEEPING IN TOUCH DUBLIN WEST
JOAN BURTON TD Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
TAX EVASION: THE G8 CAN ACT WHEN THEY MEET IN IRELAND The G8 are the leaders of the world’s biggest economies and they meet this June in Fermanagh. This year they have become aware of the astonishing amount of private wealth that has been placed offshore to avoid ordinary business and personal taxes. Enquiries in the UK show how many international firms use complex tax arrangements to bring their tax bills to levels as low as 3 or 4% while many wealthy individuals have used tax havens in exotic locations to shield their income from tax altogether. All this has been known for some time but it is only now we realise just how enormous the cost is even to rich countries like the UK and Germany. Individual countries find it difficult to act against this trend. If one country acts alone, an army of lawyers and tax accountants mobilise to transfer money elsewhere. If the G8 acts jointly they could make a giant step towards tax justice in every country, big and small. Joan Burton has spent all her political career chasing reform in this area. “Yes we have a progressive tax code but it is just too easy for many super rich individuals and companies to reduce their tax bills to almost zero by using tax shelters and tax havens to hide what they own. If there was effective international action agreed in Fermanagh this summer we could, at last, have access to new funds to build schools, hospitals and roads. It could be a giant step in promoting economic growth and providing a way out of the current austerity in Europe. I hope Barack Obama, David Cameron and Angela Merkel seize the moment when they meet.”
A HISTORIC APOLOGY Following the Government’s apology to the women of the Magdalene Laundries, Joan spoke on the issue in the Dail. It wasn’t the first time she had done so. In 2010, while in Opposition, Joan had said the terrible ordeal of the women committed to the laundries was one of the last unresolved issues of hidden Ireland. Now, Labour has acted decisively to resolve this longstanding injustice. In her Dail speech Joan recalled the laundry that had been attached to her old school in Stanhope Street and visiting the women there when she was a child. “I hope this process will be helpful to them and healing for them, particularly as many of them are in the later decades of their lives. I hope it will help them… that Irish society has made a meaningful apology.” Joan meeting with constituents
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Spring 2013
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Joan officially opening the new Coiscéim 2 classroom with Prof Paul Reville of Harvard Joan Burton officially launches Worklink services University and School Principal Sean Dempsey at Sacred Heart National School Huntstown
Joan at the opening of the new extension at St Brigid's National School Castleknock
JOBBRIDGE SUCCESS STORIES Since the national internship scheme JobBridge was launched by Joan in July 2011, more than 16,000 people have participated in it. The results have been excellent - according to an independent evaluation of JobBridge by Indecon Economic Consultants, 61% of JobBridge participants have progressed into employment within five months of completing their internship. That’s one of the best progression rates for such a scheme anywhere in the world. Now, JobBridge is being extended to the arts, which will provide exciting opportunities for those interested in pursuing careers in the sector. The extension will see local authorities supporting internships for arts groups in their areas. For more, see www.jobbridge.ie
TESTIMONIALS: Aileen: Owner of a small enterprise
Niamh, 32, from Mulhuddart
Hello Joan,
Before I joined the JobBridge internship scheme I had limited knowledge and little connections in the field I wished to work in. My internship in an internet business solutions company not only gave me experience, confidence and important business connections but it also resulted in me securing a full time permanent position as a graphic designer at a prestigious hotel on the west coast of Ireland. The host company’s reference, along with the experience I had gained from the internship, was a huge factor in landing my job. Without these I believe I would never have even gotten as far as the interview process for the job which I am now 7 months into. It has made a huge difference to my life.
I just wanted to say how amazing we thought the JobBridge Programme was for us. Our intern G is finishing her internship on March 1st and we are taking her on after that time as a full time employee. It is such a great opportunity for people who have small businesses to expand and get to really know a person before committing to giving them a permanent job. I just wanted to let you know how great it was.
DRIVE AGAINST WELFARE FRAUD Every week now cases of welfare fraud are coming before the courts, an indication of Joan Burton’s determination to root out abuses in the system. New figures show that savings of €669m were achieved last year through a broad range of control measures. The savings refer to money that would have been paid out by the Department of Social Protection but for the control measures implemented. “I have always championed the welfare system as a safety net for those who need it most, and that safety net is more important than ever in the current economic climate. However, it's precisely because the State's limited resources should go to those most in need that we need to prevent fraud and abuse in the system,” Joan said.
MINISTERIAL REPORT CARDS The Irish Times, the Irish Examiner and the Star all issued report cards on Cabinet ministers on the Government’s second anniversary. In relation to Joan, the Irish Times noted: “She has managed to protect basic social welfare rates so far, despite having to impose swingeing cuts in her department.” The paper also told how some of her colleagues “admire her for taking a strong stand against the troika”. The Examiner and the Star rated ministers out of 10, and Joan was considered among the best performers, being given 7/10 in each paper. The Examiner said: “She has remained one of the few ministers with a coherent vision of the direction in which she wants to take her department.” The paper also noted how Joan “was the first person in Cabinet to suggest the €1bn savings from the promissory note deal should be used to ease budgets”.
THE IRISH RECOVERY STORY In a recent column, the Irish Times Business Editor, John McManus, discussed the significance of the visit of IMF managing director Christine Lagarde to Dublin. In particular, he pointed to the difference between the economic chaos of 2010 under the Fianna Fail-Green administration and the recovery that has now taken hold under Labour in Government. Mde Lagarde enjoyed a glass of Guinness in Doheny & Nesbitts pub on Baggot Street with Joan and Finance Minister Michael Noonan, before Joan co-hosted a lunch for her at Dublin Castle the following day for International Women’s Day. “If someone had told you in the dark days of November 2010 that, within two years, the head of the IMF would be raising a glass to Ireland in Doheny & Nesbitts, the chances are you would have just felt sorry for the deluded fool,” John McManus wrote. John went on to write that the IMF could help in the battle to win further concessions on Ireland’s bailout and bank-related debt, but stressed that this battle could be “every bit as tough as the promissory note saga”. Since then, the Government has secured the first bit – a seven-year extension on our bailout loans which eases our debt burden and gives us valuable breathing space. The most important of the measures now come up for detailed negotiations, to get relief for the cost of funding the surviving banks.
JOBS FAIR BLANCHARDSTOWN TOWN CENTRE
LABOUR ACTIVATION: THE NORTH COUNTY EXPERIENCE Long-term unemployment has become a particularly difficult social problem in Ireland as many employers are reluctant to offer jobs to people who have been out of work for a prolonged period.
Joan has been working to persuade employers to look to the Live Register as a source of new staff and has transformed Social Welfare offices into one-stop shops for both jobseekers and employers.
This service is called INTREO and is now in place in the Blanchardstown office. Employers will be told of the financial supports available for employing new staff. Jobseekers will learn about local vacancies and new training and upskilling programmes.
Opening of new Intreo office, Westend House, Snugsborough Road, Blanchardstown
ROYAL CANAL GREENWAY The Great Western Greenway in Mayo is a cycling and walking track connecting Westport and Achill Island. It has been a huge success for Mayo and has attracted thousands of visitors with many new businesses and jobs created. Now a similar scheme is under examination for the Royal Canal towpath which has the potential to offer a wonderful amenity to Dubliners and visitors. It will not be as easy to complete as the Mayo project as the canal towpath will require major engineering works to make it safe for both cyclists and pedestrians. The section between Castleknock to Clonsilla stations is a particularly sensitive environmental area which will require careful examination. The first phase will be from Ashtown to Castleknock and detailed plans have been published for this by Fingal Council. There has been a public consultation on these plans in March and the Government has allocated €600,000 for this initial phase.
YOUR LOCAL LABOUR TEAM
To contact Joan Cllr. Peggy Hamill Castleknock Area
Cllr. Mary McCamley Mulhuddart Area
Mobile: 087 993 0009 peggyhamill@eircom.net
Cllr. Michael O’Donovan Cllr. Aine Clancy Ashtown and Mulhuddart Area Navan Road Area
Mobile: 087 6501441 marymccamley@gmail.com
Mobile: 087 220 7798 michael.odonovan@fingalcoco.ie
Mobile: 087 7635406 aine.clancy1@gmail.com
WORKING FOR YOU
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Call her on 6184006 (office hours)
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Email her: joan.burton@oireachtas.ie with any query or your views on current local and national issues
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Write to her: Joan Burton TD, Leinster House, Dublin 2
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Visit her web site www.joanburton.ie to keep up to date on her activites in the Dáil and in Dublin West. 0612