Dáil Speech on Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2013 – High End Pensions Protected despite Budget Promises – Golden Circle of Government Wins Again In last year’s budget speech, Minister Noonan said: “I want to clarify the Government’s policy: “Tax relief on pension contributions will only serve to subsidise pension schemes that deliver income of up to €60,000 p.a. This will take effect from 1st January 2014….” “… The Pension Levy…will Read More
Separated Parents to Pay €2,000 extra in income tax in 2014
I wrote the following article for the Irish Mirror on 4th November, 2013… This coming week in the Dáil, TDs will be dealing with the Finance Bill. Believe it or not, one of the biggest losers in the Finance Bill is actually separated parents. Out of the blue on Budget day, Minister Noonan announced an end to the One Parent Family Tax Credit. This tax credit is Read More
Gold-Plated Pensions for the Golden Circle – How the top paid in the Public Service protected themselves in Budget 2014
I wrote the following piece for the Irish Mirror on Monday, 4th October, 2013…. Now, I know pensions policy is not the most exciting thing to be reading about in the newspaper. But I’m going to tell you about it anyway. Just to make your blood boil. You see an awful lot of taxpayer’s money- between €2 and €3 billion as a matter of fact – is spent Read More
Do they Know it’s Christmas Time at all? Revenue must accept its mistake and extend Property Tax payment deadline
I wrote the following piece for the Irish Mirror on Monday 4th November, 2013… Wouldn’t the Revenue Commissioners break your heart? They didn’t cover themselves in glory when introducing the Local Property Tax this summer – giving guidance on property values that they couldn’t even stand over themselves. And making it very difficult and, in some cases, very costly to pay the tax. Anybody would think they didn’t Read More
Address to Older Person’s Protest October 22nd 2013
Well done on showing up and taking a stand. It’s a pity we are not meeting in better circumstances and that you are being forced to protest against these disgraceful cuts. Let’s get one thing clear from the start. Older people have been playing their part in getting the country back off its knees. Often without complaint and without protest, they put up with Read More
4,000 Children Waiting Three Months or More for a Social Worker
There is a growing crisis in our child welfare services. The number of child welfare cases referred to social workers in Ireland continues to grow but the number of social workers hasn’t increased to match. Nearly six and a half thousand children are in State care. But the dreadful reality is that we can’t be sure that all of these children are safe. Various HSE and HIQA reports have highlighted Read More
Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill
Following is the transcript of my contribution to the Second Stage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill Speech on Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill I welcome the opportunity to speak to the Bill, and I speak as a Deputy who does not label herself as either pro-life or pro-choice. I strongly disagree with attempts to pigeon-hole people into one or either camp. For too long the debate on abortion Read More
Government must engage with Waterford Crystal Workers on Pension Provision
Today in the Dáil Deputy Patrick Nulty (Dublin West) and Deputy Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West) jointly raised the implications of last month’s European Court of Justice ruling in relation to the court case taken by former Waterford Crystal workers regarding their pension protection. The ruling contained a number of clarifications regarding the transposition of EU Directive 2008/94EC which concerns the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency Read More
Scrapping the Seanad
A referendum is expected in the Autumn on whether or not to abolish the Seanad. The Oireachtas Commission, the body that oversees the running of the Dáil and Seanad, told me recently that tax-payers would save about €20 million if the Seanad was abolished. That’s probably less than most people would have expected. Nonetheless, I think it’s time we took the bull by the horns. As a country with Read More
Councils Prevented From Dealing With Anti-Social Tenants Because Of Delays In Changing The Law
Councils around the country cannot effectively deal with tenants who engage in serious anti-social activity because the Government has delayed in providing new laws. A ruling in the Supreme Court in February, 2012, found that the then legal procedures for eviction were not in keeping with the European Convention on Human Rights. Since then, Councils have been in a legal limbo on how to handle seriously disruptive tenants. The law Read More