Archive for November, 2010

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Disheartening IMF Rescue Package is Poorly Negotiated

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Deputy Noel Coonan has described the €85 billion EU-IMF bailout package for Ireland as a “heavy burden on the shoulders of every taxpayer for the next ten years”. The international rescue package has been accepted by our inept Government but the local Fine Gael TD said the package has not been accepted by the people of North Tipperary and South Offaly who continue to be weighed down on a daily basis by insurmountable mortgages and repayments.

“What further worries me is that this Government is using the National Pension Reserve Fund to help provide an additional €10billion in capital to the banks on top of what we have already sacrificed for their ineptitude. The banks could end up receiving €35billion in total to clean up their mess and this will all be shouldered by taxpayers,” said Deputy Coonan.

“It’s immensely disappointing that this Government did not negotiate an interest rate of less than 5.8%. This average rate charged by the EU and IMF has cast a black shadow over our independence which we fought so hard to achieve. We will receive loans from Britain, Sweden and Denmark and right now I feel the country’s spirits are at a new low with the continual dismal news of budgets and bailouts cancelling Christmas for everyone.”

Fine Gael believes the EU-IMF rescue deal had the potential to secure an EU agreement on a jobs growth package and also an agreement to share the costs of rescuing the banks with the bond holders but “this Government failed on all counts”, according to the Tipperary North TD. The package comes with a number of strict economic guidelines and the loans will take 10 years to repay.

Deputy Coonan continued: “This Fianna Fáil-led Government, and the two North Tipperary Deputies who have supported it, have recklessly governed our country. They led us to believe that we were living in a Celtic Tiger bubble that would never burst. They are not and were never fit to be at the wheel and sailed our sacred boat straight into turbulent and chaotic waters. Consequently, we have lost control of our ship and placed ourselves in the hands of international nations.”

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Posted in Nenagh, North Tipperary, Roscrea, Templemore, Thurles | No Comments »

Government Sweeps it’s Scythe over North Tipperary

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Speaking following the publication of the Government’s four year plan, Deputy Noel Coonan said the document hugely lacks any jobs stimulus plan and the €1 cut in the minimum wage is another example of the Government targeting people at the bottom of the scale.

The local Fine Gael TD said: “The reduction in the minimum wage by 12% to €7.65 is one aspect of the four year plan that Fine Gael in Government would seek to renegotiate. This will not, as the Government claims, increase competitiveness. Instead it will cause hardship to those already struggling to survive on basic pay and act as a deterrent for those seeking employment. With close to 7,000 people on the dole in North Tipperary and small businesses closing their doors we desperately needed a job and investment stimulus package.

Fine Gael will publish our budgetary strategy next week and Leader Deputy Enda Kenny has already received confirmation from the European Commission that any incoming Government will not have to strictly adhere to the proposals in this plan. This Recovery Plan is a pitiful roadmap to recovery and is filled with treacherous crevices that have the potential to cause much harm,” continued Deputy Coonan.

“We have only seen part one of this Government’s horror show as more details of cuts and taxes will be published on Budget Day less than two weeks away. This is similar to the Grim Reaper arriving in his black robe and twice sweeping his scythe over the country to devastate those most vulnerable in society and those who need assistance most,” concluded the Fine Gael TD.

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Posted in Nenagh, North Tipperary, Roscrea, Templemore, Thurles | No Comments »

Deputy Coonan Receives Assurances that Borrisoleigh’s CWO will be Reinstated in the ‘Very Near Future’

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Deputy Noel Coonan has been informed that Borrisoleigh’s Community Welfare Officer will be reinstated from Templemore to Borrisoleigh in the ‘very near future’ as suitable accommodation is being finalised for the move.

The local Fine Gael TD has constantly questioned Health Minister Mary Harney on this issue ever since the Borrisoleigh CWO was removed from the area in 2008 when the HSE deemed the accommodation unsatisfactory from a health and safety prospective and no other HSE premises was available at the time. Almost 170 people from Borrisoleigh then signed a petition calling for the officer to be reinstated.

“For the last two years I have been calling on the Health Minister to address this issue as a matter of priority. The moving of the CWO to Templemore was a regrettable inconvenience for people who could not drive or who relied on a public transport service to Borrisoleigh which is non-existent,” said Deputy Coonan.

“I’m disappointed that the Government discommoded so many people for so long in Borrisoleigh and I will continue to lobby the Minister until this issue is completely resolved. Unfortunately the HSE, in response to my parliamentary question, failed to outline a definite date for the return of the officer who currently offers a clinic twice weekly and whose service is invaluable in these financially strained times,” concluded Fine Gael’s Deputy Agriculture Spokesperson.

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Posted in Nenagh, North Tipperary, Roscrea, Templemore | No Comments »

Deputy Noel Coonan Says An Taoiseach Must Dissolve the Government and Let the People Decide

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Speaking on Monday following the Green Party’s announcement that it is pulling its support for Government, Deputy Noel Coonan said An Taoiseach must dissolve this hopeless Government with immediate affect and “let the fate of our country be decided by the people of the country”.

The local Fine Gael TD said: “It is the people of the country who should decide who formulates the four year fiscal plan and the forthcoming Budget. It is not about Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, the Greens or Independents. It is simply about the people and what is in the best interests of this country. And I believe that a General Election and a mandate from the people is what is needed right now and what is in the best interests of our State.”

On Monday, the local Fine Gael TD also expressed deep and utter disappointment at this Government who, having brought this country to its needs, has now surrendered control of our finances by a formal request for a multi-billion euro loan.

“This Government has finally admitted it is incapable of dragging our country out of a recessionary hole after weeks of misleading information and denial. An Taoiseach has conceded that Ireland needs financial help from other countries and I’m appalled that the Taoiseach is still refusing to accept responsibility for this disaster. His mandate is no longer credible.

“The public has lost confidence in this present Government and its backers. The Government is still refusing to shoulder the blame for this colossal mess and people have no reason to vote for them in the next election,” continued the Fine Gael TD.

This is the first time that such a bail-out has been sought in the State’s 88 year history. Deputy Coonan said if Fine Gael could turn back the clocks, it would have engineered a very different functioning and stable fiscal plan. Fine Gael would have used the period of stability provided by the Bank Guarantee to restructure the banks and impose losses on the banks’ investors.

Right from the start, Fine Gael was the first party to recognise that Anglo Irish Bank could never survive as a commercial entity and needed to be wound down. We were also the first party to argue that it was completely unfair for the Irish people to shoulder all of the losses of our dreadful banks, and that it was only fair that the people who had lent recklessly to the banks should also share in the pain. It’s a basic rule of capitalism that if you lend recklessly to failed institutions you must take the consequences.

Deputy Coonan said this bail-out “must not destroy more jobs and central to that is protecting the 12.5% rate of corporation tax.” This week Fine Gael will put a Private Members’ Motion to the Dáil seeking cross-party support for the protection of the tax as a vital instrument for growth and job creation.

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Posted in Nenagh, North Tipperary, Roscrea, Templemore, Thurles, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

3,000 Back to School Clothing & Footwear Applications Await Decision

Friday, November 19th, 2010

The school year started over two months ago but information released to Deputy Noel Coonan has revealed that 3,000 Back to School Clothing and Footwear applications remain outstanding and without payment in the North Tipperary/Limerick region.  The Health Service Executive (HSE) also told the local Fine Gael TD that in future the scheme will be administered by the Department of Health instead of the HSE.

“This lengthy delay in issuing payment is putting immense pressure on families coming up to Christmas and I’m relieved to see the HSE has finally recognised that the administration of the scheme has been unsuccessful and needs to be changed. The Government is well aware of when the school year commences so I find it inexcusable that yet again this year so many families in my constituency are awaiting payment several months after seeking the financial aid to buy needed uniforms and footwear,” said Deputy Coonan.

“The poor handling of this popular scheme is another example of the Government’s gross inefficiency and serious lack of consideration for financially strained families. HSE staff are inundated with applications this year and working hard to wade through them all. There was a 20% increase in applications from 2009. It is the Health Minister Mary Harney who is calling the shots and should be held accountable for the hardship experienced by families throughout the constituency of Tipperary North as a result of this mess up.”

In response to Deputy Coonan’s parliamentary question, the HSE said that with regard the future, the Department of Social Protection will transfer the community welfare service from the HSE to the Department who will then be responsible for the organisation of the Back to School Scheme.

Approximately 16,000 applications were received for the scheme this year in the North Tipperary, Limerick and Clare region and in excess of 13,000 payments have issued. Work is ongoing and the HSE hope to finalise the remaining applications in the coming weeks.  

“While the delay is partly due to incomplete applications where further information was requested, I believe the HSE would have known this would be the scenario and should have been adequately equipped to deal with the predicted delay in receiving information from applicants,” concluded Deputy Coonan.

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Posted in Nenagh, North Tipperary, Roscrea, Templemore, Thurles | No Comments »

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