#OurFuture - Labour's Alternative budget

Posted on October 05, 2017

We have made clear that we don't believe there is enough space for any tax cuts in this Budget. Instead, we have argued for the construction of 5,000 public homes, and the funding of Sláintecare (a new national strategy to build our public healthcare system) as the central points of our proposals.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are having a phoney war over tax cuts that will amount to between €2 and €4 per week for middle-income families. We have said that cutting school costs, reducing college fees by €1,000 next year, eliminating hospital inpatient charges, and increasing the public subsidy of childcare would save families a lot more

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Opposition to Enda Kenny’s visit to Trump chimes with Labour values

Posted on February 08, 2017

In the Irish Times, Brendan Howlin has written about why Labour will continue to oppose Trump.

Five years ago, Fianna Fáil was struggling. They were attracting less support than they had received even in the 2011 election, and they were riven with internal divisions that resulted in Eamon Ó Cuív being sacked from the Fianna Fáil frontbench.

That a party which so spectacularly mismanaged our economy and oversaw the arrival of the troika has once more gain significant public support is encouraging for those of us in the Labour Party who worked to undo that damage, and who believe the the values of social democracy endure.

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Time to get real on Brexit, Enda

Posted on February 04, 2017

Joan Burton TD held a seminar in the Mansion House on the spring economic outlook. In this very well attended meeting we heard speakers from ESRI, IBEC and UCD. Joan also made the case for Ireland to have a special status in Brexit negotations.

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Brendan Howlin on the Irish Times podcast

Posted on February 02, 2017

 Listen below to the The Irish Times podcast with Brendan Howlin. In the podcast, Brendan chats to Hugh Linehan and Fiach Kelly about #LabourRebuild, our upcoming party conference and the state of social democracy in these changing times. Have a listen below,

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#IrelandInspires

Posted on March 12, 2014

If you haven't seen it yet do take a minute to watch this St Patrick's Day video which was developed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Fáilte Ireland in coordination with the State agencies. 

The video was launched yesterday by the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore who said it 'is about our people, our companies, our culture, our creativity and our country'.

"There's no better time to send a positive message about who we are," the Tánaiste added. 

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Emer Costello MEP writes about her Youth Guarantee seminars

Posted on December 11, 2013

In this post Emer Costello MEP writes about her recent Youth Guarantee seminars. 

On Friday 22 November I held a regional consultation seminar on the Youth Guarantee at the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght. This year, I have held five events across Dublin, in Tallaght, Swords, Dun Laoghaire and the City Centre, to encourage those working in youth support and education to give their suggestions on how the European Youth Guarantee might be rolled out. The findings from these events will be submitted to Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, ahead of Ireland’s application to the Youth Guarantee programme before the end of the year.

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Eamon Gilmore TD: We need to keep working together to ensure future of peace in the North

Posted on October 30, 2013

In the Irish Independent today the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore TD writes about working together to ensure the future of Northern Ireland. 

The Haass process is about encouraging further progress. It is 15 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed. It was a momentous achievement, but translating it from paper into political, societal and economic reality continues to take time and great effort – not least by community groups, non-governmental organisations and individuals across Ireland.

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€3.5 billion Euro anti-poverty fund adopted

Posted on May 22, 2013

In this blog, Dublin MEP Emer Costello talks about the new €3.5 billion anti-poverty fund which could help many Irish charities.

Sadly, food poverty remains a huge problem throughout the European Union today. The EU statistical agency, Eurostat, defines ‘extreme material deprivation’ as people who do not have three basic meals per week. According to Eurostat there are over 40 million people in Europe suffering from 'extreme material deprivation' including over 300,000 in Ireland. With the current economic crisis facing Europe, these numbers are only increasing.

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This year marks the 40th anniversary of Ireland's membership of the European Union

Posted on May 09, 2013

Speaking ahead of Europe Day, the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore spoke of Ireland’s 40 years membership of the European Union saying that despite recent setbacks ‘our experience has been hugely positive’.

“We have developed our economy, modernised our society and widened our horizons.  The experience has seen Ireland grow and mature, leaving behind the sense of isolation that undermined our early decades of statehood.  The economy is more diverse, more open to trade and exports and better equipped to overcome the difficulties we now face.”

The Tánaiste also spoke of how we have benefited from the solidarity of our EU partners and contributed to the solidarity to the Union.

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We need to act to restore that trust and to empower our citizens - Gilmore

Posted on January 11, 2013

Photographs by Dave Nowak (www.facebook.com/PhotoNowak)

As part of the European Year of Citizens 2013 the first Citizen's Dialogue of the Year was held yesterday in Dublin and attended by 200 people. Also in attendance was the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the President of the European Union Jose Manuel Barroso. The objective of the year is to ensure that people know their rights as EU citizens and how to exercise them to the full.

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