Sinn Féin Will Honour Its Commitments

'In Government, we will abolish Property Tax,' pledges Pearse Doherty      

PEARSE DOHERTY TD has said Sinn Féin will not enter into any Government in the 26 Counties without a key commitment from such a Government being the abolition of the Local Property Tax.

He was speaking at a meeting in the Bell Centre in Darndale, north Dublin City, on Tuesday evening to officially launch Sinn Féin's candidates for the upcoming local elections in Dublin Bay North. He said:

"Abolishing the Property Tax when we get into government is one commitment we are giving and one we will stand over. We will not enter any Government unless we can deliver on that issue."

The Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson also hit out at those who have dismissed the party's economic policies without any debate:

"I am sick and tired of former Fianna Fáil ministers talking about 'fairytale economics' because I know our policies add up. They were costed by the various Government departments, who agree that they add up. But it's a very clever tactic by them to talk about 'fairytale economics' because then they don't have to get into a debate."

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Where Now The Fine Gael & Labour Party Commitment To Eradicate Homelessness By 2016?

Harrowing human stories represent the Government’s abject failure to address homelessness in Dublin – Dessie Ellis TD    

19 February, 2014 - by Dessie Ellis TD

Sinn Féin Housing Spokesperson Dessie Ellis TD has stated that harrowing human stories provide the sharpest representation of how the government has failed to address the worsening crisis of homelessness in the capital city.

The TD for Dublin North-West said that emergency accommodation in Dublin is at capacity every night and temporary assistance from the Civil Defence has been sought this month.

Deputy Ellis said:

“We now have a situation in which sixteen families a week are being made homeless in Dublin. The stories of human hardship coming out of this crisis provide the sharpest representation of how the government has failed to adequately address homelessness in this city.

“One such story is that of a family who were designated as homeless four months ago. Due to the lack of any other option, they spent three months in Bewleys Hotel by Dublin Airport and the last two weeks in the Metro Hotel.

“They have two daughters aged two years and six months.

“They were told at 11.45am this morning that they had to leave at 12pm. The family contacted the homeless section of Dublin City Council who then started a search for new accommodation.

“However, at 3.30pm the family were told that the police would be called and they would be asked to remove them. The homeless section also said that the family would have to leave but that they would continue their efforts on behalf of the family.”

Deputy Ellis continued by saying that the family’s hardship is the direct result of a government that is unwilling to acknowledge the scale of the housing crisis.

He said:

“This government has failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the crisis and subsequently they have failed to direct sufficient resources and funding into combatting homelessness.

“Services are struggling to keep up with the demand for emergency places and follow-on placements including independent-living housing.

“It is a national scandal.”

Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community

Do You Think They Are Worth Every Penny?

Here’s where 28 government ministers are going for St Patrick’s Day

theJournal.ie

Alan Shatter in Mexico, Michael Noonan in Canada and Alex White is off to Russia

THE GOVERNMENT HAS released details of where governments ministers will be heading for the St Patrick’s Day’s festivities next

month with some 28 ministers jetting off to 23 different countries.

These include Social Protection Minister Joan Burton attending events in New York with controversy likely to arise over whether or not she takes part in the St Patrick’s Day parade.

Burton has already indicated she will not participate over the parade’s ban on gay rights slogans.

Some of the other trips include Justice Minister Alan Shatter heading to Mexico, while the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore will be in France, Finance Minister Michael Noonan is going to Canada, and Environment Minister Phil Hogan is going to the United Arab Emirates.

Russia is also back on the St Patrick’s Day agenda for the first time since 2010 with junior health minister Alex White off to the country whose anti-gay propaganda laws have caused controversy in recent months.

Separately, Taoiseach Enda Kenny will be in Boston, New York and Washington DC next month with the traditional bowl of shamrock being handed over to US President Barack Obama at the White House.

The ministers are taking part in what the Department of Jobs is calling the St Patrick’s Day “Promote Ireland” programme with a total of 28 Ministers taking part in over 100 business events and 80 “high-level political meetings” in 23 countries.

Only Education Minister Ruairí Quinn and Minister of State Brian Hayes are not travelling this year.

Here’s the full list of where they’re headed…

1.           France – Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore

2.           Canada – Minister Michael Noonan

3.           China – Minister Brendan Howlin

4.           Italy – Minister Richard Bruton

5.           New York – Minister Joan Burton

6.           San Francisco – Minister Jimmy Deenihan

7.           London and Birmingham – Minister Pat Rabbitte

8.           United Arab Emirates – Minister Phil Hogan

9.           Mexico – Minister Alan Shatter

10.       New Zealand and Eastern Australia – Minister Simon Coveney

11.       Japan and Korea – Minister Frances Fitzgerald

12.       Boston and Cleveland – Minister James Reilly

13.       Atlanta and Savannah – Minister Leo Varadkar

14.       Washington DC – Attorney General Máire Whelan SC

15.       Lebanon – Minister of State Paul Kehoe

16.       Scotland – Minister of State Jan O’Sullivan

17.       Pittsburgh and Philadelphia – Minister of State Dinny McGinley

18.       Spain – Minister of State John Perry

19.       Netherlands – Minister of State Michael Ring

20.       Vietnam – Minister of State Kathleen Lynch

21.       Germany – Minister of State Fergus O’Dowd

22.       Chicago and Kansas City – Minister of State Sean Sherlock

23.       Romania – Minister of State Ciaran Cannon

24.       Western Australia – Minister of State Alan Kelly

25.       Russia – Minister of State Alex White

26.       Norway – Minister of State Tom Hayes

27.       Belgium and Luxembourg – Minister of State Paschal Donohoe

28.       Singapore and the Philippines – Minister of State Joe Costello

Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community

Irelands Rising Inequality = Declining Health

Healthcare inequality growing across European Union

The so-called ‘healthcare inequality’ has grown across the European Union as many governments cut their health service budgets, Press TV reports.

Countries using the Euro currency have been most severely affected by the financial crisis that started in 2008, with widespread health service reforms being implemented in EU countries including Greece, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Ireland, Press TV reported Thursday.

Healthcare experts recommend that most EU countries plan for the future and spend healthcare budgets more efficiently.

“We have obviously GDP growth, which is slowing. We have budgets, which are under pressure. We have debt and deficits. So the challenge, really, is how to reconcile this continuous pressure on public budgets, which health is placing, with the broader macro-economic context,” said Francesca Colombo, health division director with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

At the individual level, critics say the rich can afford to pay for private treatment, while those less well-off have no alternative and are easily excluded.

“Our member organizations are reporting on a daily basis of some of the barriers to access to healthcare, increasing co-payments, difficulties in accessing medicines, specialists, etc. This simply cannot go on. It is unacceptable in today’s Europe and we need to address it collectively,” said Nicola Bedlington, director of the European Patients Forum.

Europe is struggling with an economic crisis that erupted in early 2008, leaving millions unemployed and in financial distress.

The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered massive protests in many European countries

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community