Last week I drove to Tullamore to meet with officials from the Department of Education’s Forward Planning Team. Having collected thousands of signatures, and submitted a proposal to the department which combines their figures with projections from Wicklow County Council’s Local Area Plan, I wanted to discuss the need for a new primary School in...
Is cutting waste a waste of time? It is according to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin during the debate on the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2013. I tabled a number of amendments to this bill around driving efficiency related savings, and eradicating waste before going after core...
Greystones Arts Festival is back after a six year break. It’s a multi-disciplinary arts festival that will be held over the June Bank Holiday – which looks like it’s going to be a mini heatwave. The festival will include music, street theatre from Ireland and Europe, comedy, music and workshops in all elements of carnival...
Last week, the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) took a stand. They refused to participate in a Central Bank pilot debt scheme aimed at over-indebted citizens. Announced last week, the scheme is aimed at helping borrowers with multiple distressed debts reach ‘fair and equitable’ solutions with their lenders. Sounds dull, I know, but some...
According to comparative international studies, Ireland is bottom of the pile when it comes to how we do our budgets. The Index Of Legislative Budgetary Capacity, 2006 gave Ireland zero out of ten on the amount of time given to parliament to consider a draft budget and zero out of 10 on the amount of...
There was a Pre-Ecofin council briefing from Minister Noonan at the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform on May 8, 2013. I asked Minister Noonan about financial tools and flexibility and I also brought up the fact that pensioners are being hit as part of the liquidation of IBRC. I am delighted that...
