Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason has said more must be done to support families with childcare.
The party’s childcare spokesperson said:
“Todays review of childcare services report from the Department of Education is yet more evidence of the need to cut costs to support families struggling to afford childcare.
“Childcare is a huge issue for workers and families with parents paying more than £550 per month, which can act as a barrier to parents going to work or advancing a career as often childcare costs eat up much of their pay.
“More needs to be done to cut the cost of childcare and make it affordable for parents and families. Developing a strategy to deliver this is essential and requires additional funding.
“Parents and children can’t wait. Childcare providers can’t wait. We need the Executive now. We need ministers in place and working together to deliver better public services and to cut childcare costs for hard pressed families.”
Sinn Féin MLA Nicola Brogan has welcomed confirmation that full-time hours are to be sustained for children attending the nursery at Arvalee Special School in Omagh.
The West Tyrone MLA said:
“I welcome confirmation that children attending Arvalee Special School will continue to have full-time hours.
“It is a relief for parents and children that the earlier decision by the Education Authority to cut hours for pre-school pupils at the school from four to two and a half has been reversed.
“These cuts would have had a very detrimental impact on these children with special educational needs.
“It is important that discussions continue between the EA and the school now to ensure correct and support services are in place to support children attending Arvalee.
“I will continue to support the school in these efforts and to press for Arvalee and our other Special schools to secure the financial resources they need.
“The initial flawed decision was another example of the impact of savage Tory cuts to education and the refusal by one party to get back around the Executive table to work with others to support children who need help the most.”
Note: https://assets.gov.ie/261405/7a77dc32-4925-4f01-8c04-66e0a4c8791b.pdf Relevant figures on page 13
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Media and member of the Public Accounts Committee, Imelda Munster TD, has said that the suspension of RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes will not make the issue of hidden payments go away.
Deputy Munster said that RTÉ bosses must be held accountable for undisclosed payments of €345,000 to a senior presenter, and said that Ms Forbes must make herself available to come before the Public Accounts Committee.
Teachta Munster said:
“The suspension of Dee Forbes will not make this scandal go away.
“The revelations of undisclosed payments of €345,000 to a senior presenter are an absolute disgrace and RTÉ bosses responsible must be held accountable.
“While Ms Forbes has been suspended, she remains an RTÉ employee until next month and must make herself available to appear before the Public Accounts Committee.
“The revelations of hidden and undisclosed payments are just yet another example of deplorable levels of transparency and a questionable culture that has dominated our national broadcaster for far too long. This needs to change now.
“Ordinary workers and journalists working in RTÉ have been so badly let down by the dishonesty of those responsible for these payments and they and the public demand answers.
“I echo the calls made by the chair of PAC, Brian Stanley TD, yesterday that RTÉ bosses give a full account of all details surrounding the circumstances that led to this understatement in their accounts.
“That must include Dee Forbes making herself available to the committee to answer questions.”
Sinn Fein Senator Paul Gavan has delivered a key report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), calling for urgent action to tackle the ongoing blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin Corridor.
The corridor is the only route connecting the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
Speaking to the Assembly, Senator Gavan said:
“The Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh have had their only access route to Armenia and the rest of the world cut off via a blockade since December 12th, and have also had their gas and electricity supply cut off by the government of Azerbaijan.”
“In addition, there is constant hate speech coming from senior Azerbaijani politicians, including a declaration that the Armenians are 'a cancerous tumour on the body politic of Europe'. These kind of statements are entirely unacceptable and must end.
“There is no small irony in the fact that whilst Azerbaijan deny that there is any blockade of the Lachin Corridor, they refused to allow me to travel there to access the corridor. In fact they have refused entry to everyone; including the Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Refugee Council and UNESCO."
At the end of an urgent debate on Senator Gavan’s report on ‘Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor’, the PACE expressed its extreme concern over events and called on Azerbaijan to allow an urgent fact finding mission to the region.
The Assembly also passed a recommendation from Senator Gavan requiring the Council’s Committee of Ministers to respond to the report.
Senator Gavan concluded:
"The only conclusion I could reach was that the Azerbaijan government were intent on forcing the 100,000 Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to permanently leave their homeland of Nagorno-Karabakh - a policy that is an affront to every value of the Assembly.”
Sinn Féin education spokesperson Pat Sheehan has said that massive hikes in cleaning costs are yet another blow to schools and their already squeezed budgets.
The West Belfast MLA said:
"Around 350 schools are facing up to a 50% hike in cleaning costs in the coming academic year, for some this will mean bills in excess of £90,000.
"This is deeply concerning and comes at a time when school budgets are already facing unprecedented cuts.
“This is yet another consequence of immoral and indefensible Tory cuts which have decimated our public services and which are having a direct impact on our schools.
“The British government must end the cycle of cuts and properly invest in our education system.
“We also need an Executive established now so that local parties can support our school communities and invest in our education system.”
Sinn Féin MLA Liz Kimmins has said that new proposals to stabilise Daisy Hill are an improvement but insists there is still much work to be done.
The Newry and Armagh MLA said:
“Today’s proposals are an improvement over previous suggestions from the Trust and will help to stabilise the current crisis at Daisy Hill.
“We’ve met with both the head of the Health Department and the Trust many times in recent weeks pressing them to secure the best possible plan to secure services at the hospital.
“This crisis has come from the total failure in management by the Trust and while these proposals are a step in the right direction, they have much work to do in order to rebuild the confidence of both hospital staff and the community.
“They must now demonstrate their commitment to securing the long-term future of Daisy Hill in real actions, not just words.
“We will meet the head of the Southern trust tomorrow morning and make it clear they need to get to work immediately on stabilising our services and delivering a real, long-term plan for the future of the hospital.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, has responded to figures published by the European Commission showing that Irish workers and families face the highest prices in the European Union.
Deputy Doherty today wrote to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities calling for the regulator to undertake an intensive and intrusive supervision of retail pricing in light of falling wholesale energy prices, as Irish households continue to face soaring energy bills.
Speaking today, Teachta Doherty said:
“Figures released by the European Commission confirm what workers and families have known for a long time – we live in a Rip-Off Republic.
“The figures show that we are the most expensive state in the European Union – with the second highest energy costs and the highest health costs in the EU.
“This is what households are dealing with as they struggle under the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation.
“Despite working hard every day, our economy is not working for them.
“This is the Government’s legacy and the Government’s failure.
“Figures released by the CSO today show that since March, household energy prices have risen by 60 percent despite wholesale prices falling by 64 percent in the same period.
“We know that electricity prices in Europe have fallen sharply in recent months while Irish electricity prices remain sky-high.
“This is not acceptable.
“That is why I have written to the energy regulator calling for it to undertake intensive and intrusive supervision of prices energy companies are charging households and their relationship with falling wholesale prices.
“Households are struggling – they deserve transparency and every effort to drive down energy costs.
“For too long, workers and families have suffered from the high cost of living under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.”
Sinn Féin TD and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Brian Stanley, has demanded immediate explanations and accountability from RTÉ following today’s revelations of hidden and undisclosed payments of €345,000 to a senior presenter.
Teachta Stanley said:
“As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, I have written to the members of the committee requesting that we seek an immediate explanation from RTÉ following today’s revelations of hidden and undisclosed payments of €345,000 to a senior presenter.
“The PAC is demanding the full details surrounding the circumstances that led to this understatement by RTÉ in its accounts.
“What has happened is utterly unacceptable and yet another serious breach of trust between our national broadcaster and the public. There must be accountability.
“Just last year, RTÉ was forced to make a settlement of €1.2m to Revenue for unpaid employee PRSI and the broadcaster is now under investigation by the Department of Social Protection for the misclassification and bogus-self employment of over 100 employees.
“Today’s revelations of hidden and undisclosed payments are just yet another example of the poor levels of transparency and questionable culture that has dominated RTÉ for too long, and this needs to change."
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Claire Kerrane TD, has called on Government to urgently address ongoing delays to the new Forestry Programme describing its absence more than half way through the year as "outrageous".
Earlier this week, Minister McConalogue stated that his Department had received correspondence regarding their application to the European Commission for State Aid to fund the Forestry Programme 2023-2027.
The Minister stated that his Department will respond to this correspondence "in as efficient a timeframe as possible". This further delay comes following the absence of a new Forestry Programme since the end of 2022.
Speaking today, Teachta Kerrane said:
“We are more than half way through 2023 and there is still no Forestry Programme in sight.
“The Minister’s comments this week suggest that we are now to expect further delays as the European Commission have submitted a query about his Department’s application for State Aid.
“The Forestry sector had been assured that the application took time to submit in the first place to ensure it was got right to avoid such delays. Clearly, that was a failure.
“While the Commission of course must review the application for State Aid in full, the blame lies with the Ministers in prolonging these delays due to their failure to submit the application on time.
“We are now in a situation where there is no timeframe for when the new Programme will be in place. At the same time, confidence amongst farmers and foresters in the sector is at an all-time low.
“I recently submitted a Freedom of Information request on the Department’s correspondence with the Commission about the Forestry Programme. The information I received dates back to July 2022 and here we are, almost a year later, with no progress.
“Despite this, there seems to be no urgency on the matter from either Minister. These delays are unacceptable.
“It is not known if the additional information sought has been submitted yet, but Minister should have his Department respond to queries from the Commission immediately and as an absolute priority.
“The Government have dragged their feet on Forestry and now here are facing another year of missed targets in an area where Ireland should and could be leading.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Mairéad Farrell TD, has said that the focus on delivering student accommodation cannot neglect the issue of affordability.
Teachta Farrell was responding today to announcements by Minister Simon Harris that new accommodation is to be brought onstream.
Teachta Farrell stated:
“The situation of student accommodation is a disaster and reflects the government’s wider failures in the housing system.
“I know the Minister is trying to increase the supply of student accommodation, but we can’t just have the same approach where all we get is a supply of accommodation that’s completely unaffordable.
“Supply without affordability will either price people out or force them to go into debt just to keep a roof over their heads.
“Take for example my home county of Galway. For those studying in University of Galway for the academic year their monthly rent will be just shy of €820 for a single bed room.
“Let’s say that the student has to pay this themselves. An 18-year-old earning a below minimum wage rate (€9.04), due to the discriminatory nature of the minimum wage legislation, would have to work for 22 hours just cover this cost.
“That’s before they pay for food, study materials, and any kind of social life. It’s also before they find time for all their course commitments.
“It is no wonder so many of our students are stressed out and considering emigration.
“If Minister Harris goes down the same route as Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, and just keeps telling us that it’s only about 'supply, supply, supply', well the simple response from students and parents will be that 'yes supply is important but it must be matched with; affordability, affordability, affordability'."
Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan has roundly condemned the British Government’s so-called “Legacy” Bill during a debate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Senator Gavan was speaking during a debate in the parliament on British reform of its human rights legislation.
The well-attended sitting saw critical contributions on the British Government’s legislative plans from a wide number of member states.
The parliament then voted overwhelmingly in favour of a report calling on the British Government to ensure that it did not pass legislation that could place Britain in breach of its international obligations with regard to human rights.
Leading the debate for the United European Left Group, Senator Gavan said:
“This Bill of Shame would, uniquely in the world, and against all principles of domestic and international law close down all routes to justice for people bereaved during the conflict.
“There is not one single political party anywhere in Ireland that supports this atrocious Bill, and it should be scrapped without further delay.
“I urge the British delegation to listen to the concerns of families, civil society groups and politicians from all parties, citing the dangers that the Bill poses to the human rights protections as set out in the Good Friday Agreement.”
Senator Gavan also called on the British Government to halt its Illegal Immigration Bill.
He added:
“Anyone who arrives into Britain irregularly seeking refuge or sanctuary from war, oppression or climate disaster will have their right to seek asylum deemed ‘inadmissible’.
“Human beings could be detained indefinitely and then removed either to their own country or a so-called ‘safe third country’ i.e. Rwanda.
“This flies in the face of the European Convention of Human Rights and every value of the Council of Europe. This Bill is a badge of shame for Britain amongst the international community.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Children, Kathleen Funchion TD, has echoed calls for a full investigation by HIQA and Tulsa into allegations contained in a new report showing older men are targeting vulnerable young girls in state care homes.
Speaking this morning, Teachta Funchion said:
“Findings gathered in Protecting Against Predators, a UCD policy-commissioned report, are extremely disturbing.
“It is totally unacceptable that children as young as 12 are being targeted by organised criminal gangs of older men intent on causing harm and committing crimes.
“Dr Mary Canning, co-author of the report, describes the findings as ‘harrowing’, I would echo that. I am alarmed at serious concerns in the levels of targeting, grooming and sexual exploitation of children. It is difficult to hear.
“I am concerned that people working in these settings feel they are faced with an incredible challenge in dealing with these situations - and the concerns raised around inadequate training to deal with these issues, given their criminal nature.
“Children in State care deserve to be protected from this criminality and kept safe so that they can have a better and brighter future full of potential. We cannot allow children to be at the mercy of these criminals to ruin their childhoods and their futures.
“They are among the most vulnerable children in our society, to learn of the potential scale of grooming and sexual exploitation by older men in care homes is outrageous and must end.
“I am calling on the government to immediately commission a thorough investigation into these serious allegations.
“Any investigation must include the Gardai, HIQA and Tulsa, examine the role these agencies play in supporting staff and provide a full picture of the prevalence and extent of this criminal activity.
“Crucially, it must also examine the supports that staff need to stop this practice, and to ascertain whether the training they are provided with is adequate to deal with this ominous threat.
“We need to be proactive to this issue and target resources to the supports needed to ensure these young girls are not led into a life of sexual exploitation.
“I will also be writing to the Minister today, in support of calls for a national policy response from government and that the recommendations of the report are taken seriously."
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education, Sorca Clarke TD, and spokesperson on Higher Education, Mairéad Farrell TD, have said that government must now take action to make education genuinely free and accessible to everyone.
They were commenting after a Sinn Féin motion on the issue, which called on government to cancel its planned increases in student fees and to expand the Free Book Scheme to include secondary schools, was passed in the Dáil this evening.
Teachta Clarke said:
“I welcome that the government has this evening passed Sinn Féin’s motion, which called on them to cancel their planned increases in student fees and to expand the Free Book Scheme to include secondary schools.
“But what we now need to see from government is action. Education costs are an even bigger worry for many this year as the cost of living crisis continues, and there has been an appalling legacy of underfunding by successive governments in the education sector.
There are things that the government can and must do to ease the pressure on parents and students.
“Primary and post-primary education in this state is intended to be ‘free’, under constitution and legislation, but is a total myth in reality.
“Government can and must extend the School Books Scheme to post-primary schools - that would at least be one meaningful step to ease the financial burden on parents of post-primary students who are already worried about back-to-school costs now.”
Teachta Farrell said:
“There are too many young people who are simply locked out of education.
“There should be no barrier, such as contribution charges or any other charges, that hold back anybody who wants to access third level education.
“We must work towards making education genuinely free and accessible to everyone - student fees should be phased out completely.
“But in the short term, I am calling on government, having passed our motion tonight, to cancel the planned increase to student contributions charges and instead reduce fees in Budget 2024.”
Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan has welcomed the unanimous call from Dublin City Councillors for freedom for Julian Assange.
Julian Assange has been incarcerated in Belmarsh prison in England for the past four years awaiting extradition to the US on charges of espionage.
Sinn Féin Councillor Larry O’Toole introduced the motion at the most recent meeting of Dublin City Council, which called for the release of Julian Assange and for all charges against him to be dropped.
During the debate on the motion, Cllr O’Toole explained: “If Julian is convicted on charges of espionage in the US he faces 175 years in jail. Yet his only ‘crime’ was to reveal to the world the truth of illegal US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The motion was adopted unanimously by Council members. Welcoming this development Senator Gavan, who has raised the Assange case on numerous occasions in both the Seanad and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said:
“I congratulate Cllr O’Toole for bringing forward an excellent motion which is aligned to the call from the National Union of Journalists for freedom for Julian.
“There is a growing awareness that there is something fundamentally wrong with any society that tries to shut down or punish a man like Julian for exposing war crimes.
“The continuing imprisonment and torture of Julian is an affront to all of the values that true democrats hold most dear. Dublin City Council have sent a powerful and united message of solidarity to Julian Assange this week.
“I have no doubt other councils will follow. These charges must be dropped, and Julian must be freed.”
Sinn Féin’s Leader in the Seanad, Seanadóir Niall Ó Donnghaile, has called on the British government to reconsider their planned introduction of electronic travel authorisation requirements for all-Ireland tourism.
His comments follow remarks by Minister Steve Baker in the House of Commons today, where he ruled out calls for an exemption to the requirement for tourists visiting Ireland.
Speaking today, Seanadóir Ó Donnghaile said:
“It would be entirely inappropriate and unworkable for the British government to require a travel authorisation for people from ‘third countries’ travelling from the south to the north of Ireland.
“This would result in non-British and non-Irish nationals facing restrictions when travelling across Ireland.
“Ireland’s tourism is all-island. This unnecessary paperwork would be an inconvenience and also add additional cost, which risks disrupting tourists visiting all of Ireland. This undermines the tourism industry and risks reducing numbers visiting the north, with knock-on effects for the northern economy.
“This policy would also impact on some of those travelling between jurisdictions for work or study. Its ramifications will be far reaching.
“A key gain of the Irish peace process was the ability to travel throughout Ireland unobstructed. I am concerned that these new requirements unsettle that dynamic.
“For years now, I have been outlining my opposition to these proposals. It has been clear from the outset that they were designed with a view to pursuing the narrow agenda of the Conservative party in Britain, with no consideration as to how this work would in reality in Ireland.
“I am urging the British government to put an immediate halt to these unfair, unreasonable and unworkable proposals.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance, Pearse Doherty TD, has called on retail banks and the Central Bank to ensure a clear pathway for mortgage prisoners whose loans are held by vulture funds to be reintegrated to the mainstream mortgage market.
Speaking today, Teachta Doherty said:
“There are tens of thousands of borrowers whose loans were sold by retail banks without their consent.
“These sales were opposed by Sinn Féin but supported and facilitated by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
“Many of these households are now facing interest rates as high as 8 percent, with many seeing their mortgage repayments rise by thousands of euros this year.
“Today the Finance Committee heard from two borrowers whose mortgage loans were sold to Pepper, with their interest rates now between 7 and 8 percent.
“They eloquently described the difficult position they and their families now find themselves in.
“Their lived reality is in stark contrast to the Taoiseach’s false promise that they would be no worse off with vulture funds than with the banks that held their mortgage loans.
“These households need support, and they need it now.
“Sinn Féin has proposed temporary and targeted mortgage interest relief to support households struggling with spiralling mortgage costs.
“But it is clear that the retail banks and Central Bank must act to free households from the clutches of vulture funds.
“Banks should never have sold these mortgage loans.
“They have a moral responsibility to purchase these mortgage loans and provide a clear pathway for these borrowers to re-enter the mainstream mortgage market.
“These borrowers have no option to fix, and many are currently paying higher mortgage repayments than they would were they with retail banks.
“These borrowers must be facilitated to switch.
“I have written to the retail banks and the Central Bank calling for a clear pathway to be provided to allow this to happen.
“This will require a coordinated approach between the banks, MABS and the Central Bank.
“It will also require a clear requirement for vulture funds to facilitate mortgage holders to switch to mainstream mortgage lenders.
“It is time to fix this wrong and support households struggling under spiralling mortgage interest rates.”
Sinn Féin Seanad group leader, Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, has said the government is running out of time to get their Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 fit for purpose.
He said the government’s arrogance in refusing to engage with opposition amendments on the bill is threatening to undermine the good work of many organisations who have campaigned on this issue.
He added that the bill must strike the difficult balance between freedom of speech and inclusion, and that Sinn Féin’s support for a single statute on hate offences does not extend to supporting unsatisfactory or bad legislation.
Seanadóir Ó Donnghaile said:
“Sinn Féin fundamentally believes in the right to free speech and the right to peaceful protest. However, we recognise that this right should not be abused to incite hate, violence or hatred against vulnerable people.
“An ICCL study in 2018 commented on the lack of consideration of hate within the prosecution of crime. The government bill before the Oireachtas has been around for several years and the current Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party coalition have stated their intention to enact this during this Dáil term.
“Sinn Féin has worked constructively at pre-legislative scrutiny, committee and report stage to try to make sure this legislation is fit for purpose and does not erode the right to free speech, right to protest or freedom of expression. Unfortunately, their arrogance continues to undermine the good work of many organisations who have campaigned on this issue.
“Opposition parties, including Sinn Féin, the Justice committee and others, have all voiced a number of major concerns about the bill as it stands.
“We, along with other parties, moved a number of key amendments related to the definition of hatred, possession of materials likely to incite hatred, the public order offences within the bill and the ‘demonstration test’.
“The government has failed to address these concerns, through accepting amendments or moving any of their own.
“The bill today passed Seanad second stage and Sinn Féin has put the government on notice that they are now quickly running out of time to get this important piece of legislation fit for purpose.
“We will be moving amendments at committee stage in the areas where we have concerns to try to ensure that the legislation is fit for purpose and strikes the correct balance between protecting vulnerable groups and persons alongside protecting these key rights.
“The bill must strike the difficult balance between freedom of speech and inclusion. The government must get this right, and our support for a single statute on hate offences does not extend to supporting unsatisfactory or bad legislation.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty TD has responded to figures published by Eurostat showing that Irish living standards fell further behind European countries.
The figures show that, measured by household welfare, Irish living standards fell further behind the European average in 2022 and stood in the bottom half in the European Union.
Speaking today, Teachta Doherty said:
“In 2022 Irish households struggled under the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation.
“Coupled with this, they have had to deal with persistent government failures in housing, health, and high living costs from energy to childcare.
“Figures released by Eurostat show a continued slide in Irish living standards compared to our European partners.
“Irish living standards fell further behind the European average and stood in the bottom half of the European league table.
“This continues a downward trend since Fine Gael took power in 2011.
“It exposes the growing gap between our economy’s performance and Irish living standards.
“The failure of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party to convert much touted economic gains into higher living standards is a clear failure.
“A deepening housing crisis, access to healthcare, childcare costs and the high cost of living continue to hit the pockets and quality of life of Irish workers and families.
“This drift is a growing threat to the competitiveness of our economy, impacting the ability of firms to attract and retain staff.
“Sinn Féin are committed to tackling these failures and delivering a broad-based rise in living standards for Irish households.”
First Minister Designate Michelle O’Neill said today that the mother and family of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe are entitled to transparency and truth about the death of her son in June 2020.
And she pledged Sinn Féin’s continued support for the family’s campaign for truth and justice.
Michelle O’Neill was speaking on the third anniversary of Noah’s disappearance in 2020.
Michelle O’Neill said:
“Today marks the third anniversary of the disappearance of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe.
“Serious questions remain unanswered concerning very many aspects of Noah’s disappearance and the subsequent investigation.
“The response to those questions must be comprehensive.
“Noah’s mum Fiona and his family have campaigned for the truth about the circumstances which led to Noah’s disappearance and death.
"They deserve no less.
“I would appeal again to anyone with any information which can shed light on what happened to Noah to bring it forward to the police or to the Coroner’s Court responsible for the inquest.
“Justice should be done for Noah, Fiona and the Donohoe family and it is also important that justice is seen to be done.
“Sinn Féin will continue to stand with Fiona and her family against anyone who would seek to deny the ability of a mother, who has lost her son in the most tragic of circumstances, to achieve truth and justice.”
