Posts Tagged ‘North Tipperary’

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 »

Regulator Must Extend Mobile Phone Coverage “Drive Tests” beyond National Primary Routes

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Tests carried out by the Communications Regulator to verify that mobile phone coverage is properly available throughout the country should be expanded, the Oireachtas Communications Committee has said. Tipperary North TD, Noel Coonan is a Committee member.

At a meeting, the regulator told Committee members it performs six monthly “drive tests” throughout the country to ensure good phone coverage exists and to identify coverage black spots.

However, under questioning from the Committee, it was revealed that these tests are carried out on national primary routes only and ignore national secondary, tertiary and county routes.

Committee member, Noel Coonan TD said;

“A significant proportion of the population live nowhere near national primary routes, including many people in North Tipperary. Therefore, the Committee feels that these drive tests can’t give a comprehensive picture of levels of phone coverage throughout the country and cannot conclusively authenticate if mobile phone companies are fulfilling their minimum requirements under their license.

These tests should be extended to other types of roads such as secondary, tertiary and county roads around the constituency so the complete situation regarding areas where coverage is poor can be identified.

We heard today from Committee members about areas in their constituencies which are bedevilled by bad coverage, so having a more thorough idea of where these areas are would help the operators to address these shortcomings,” concluded Deputy Coonan.

Com Reg conducts six monthly drive tests which consist of a car with specialist equipment driving around the country assessing mobile coverage.

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

Unemployment in North Tipp Jumps by Almost 4,000 People in Two Years

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Dole QueueDeputy Noel Coonan has slammed this Government for its failed and flawed policies as unemployment reached 7,712 in North Tipperary for the month of August, an increase of 3,950 on August 2008. The local Fine Gael TD said this jump of almost 4,000 in two years represents a Celtic Tiger that has long lost its roar in North Tipperary as constituents become more disillusioned with this dysfunctional Government.

“Nationally, unemployment has reached 13.8% and Ireland is experiencing a double-dipped recession. Alongside this, 36,438 households are now in mortgage arrears. While other countries are emerging from recession, Ireland remains in a cloud of gloom. The Government pumps billions into the banks and fails to put jobs first. Only this week Anglo Irish Bank reported losses of €8.2billion for the first six months of the year, yet this Government continues to sign blank cheques for the banks and dip its hands into taxpayers’ pockets,” said Deputy Coonan.

CSO figures for the month of August show Thurles is faring the worst at the moment with 3,201 people signing on; an increase of 65 people in one month. Meanwhile, there are 3,074 people on the dole in Nenagh and 1,437 in Roscrea.

“The number of professionals and middle class people signing on has grown sharply and nationally a shocking 2,500 people joined the dole last month. While the Enterprise Minister said the unemployment figures are frustrating and disappointing, this is no resolution for the thousands of families in North Tipperary who are unable to pay their mortgages and stuck in financial misery,” said Deputy Coonan.

The Government’s recently announced ‘work-for-dole’ initiative aims to get 10,000 dole claimants working in areas such as after school services and childcare in return for their benefits but Deputy Coonan said there are 445,000 people now on the dole and this gesture only causes a small ripple in a vast ocean.

“This initiative is welcome but it is too little too late. Fine Gael has been pushing the Government for measures to get people off the dole for some time. The large number of people signing on causes an extra €50 million strain in terms of additional social welfare payments that have to be doled out and also in lost taxes,” said the local Fine Gael TD.

Over the last two years since August 2008, Deputy Coonan said an additional 1,667 people have joined the dole queue in Nenagh. An extra 1,609 people have signed on in Thurles and the corresponding figure is 674 for Roscrea.

Fine Gael has called for urgent action from the Government to help young people who have been displaced to re-skill and gain work experience. The Opposition Party also wants an ambitious investment programme in the economic arteries of the future, measures to cut the cost of employing people and to promote flexible working arrangements which keep people attached to the workforce and a scheme to get credit flowing to small business.

Noel Coonan TD

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Deputy Noel Coonan Receives Assurances that North Tipperary Constituency is High Priority for Fine Gael in Government

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Over 300 People Attend Public Meeting Hosted by Deputy Noel Coonan in Damer Court Hotel

Deputy Noel Coonan has received assurances from Party Leader Enda Kenny that Roscrea and the North Tipperary constituency is high priority for Fine Gael in Government and the party will do its utmost to ensure the region flourishes. Roscrea town was chosen as the location for the inaugural meeting of Fine Gael’s National Campaign on the Party’s Jobs Plan NewERA which was launched last Thursday.

Speaking before an audience of over 300 people in the Damer Court Hotel on Monday night, Deputy Coonan said he believed the large turnout sent a clear message to Deputy Kenny and Simon Coveney TD, Communications Spokesperson, that “our concern is to make Roscrea a leading provincial town in Ireland as we continue to feel the brunt of the recession especially with the recent closure of Taro Pharmaceuticals”.

Deputy Coonan also asked the Party Leader if North Tipperary features prominently on his priority list to which Deputy Kenny said his “presence here tonight in the Damer Court Hotel signifies that they are priority.”

Deputy Coonan, who hosted and chaired the event, kick-started the meeting saying: “This is the first in a series of meetings to outline Fine Gael’s jobs policy and it will give hope to those who have lost their jobs or struggling to hold onto jobs. We provide a positive outlook for the future which is especially important in North Tipperary, a region which has been ravaged by job losses. I have made North Tipperary a high priority of mine in the Dáil and Deputy Kenny and Deputy Coveney have responded to that priority by coming here tonight to give confidence to the people.”

Deputy Enda Kenny was warmly greeted by the crowd and applauded for his approach: “We are proposing to take €4billion out of the economy in 2010 and this detailed and costed plan was outlined in our alternative budget which was a radical approach to sort out the mess and eradicate waste such as quangos. But in this alternative budget we did not propose taking money from the blind or the disabled or those earning below €30,000 who would have their pay preserved.

“I also think the way budgets are presented is wrong, it’s like a charade. The budget is read out, there is a bit of discussion on it and it is voted through. Fine Gael would make the budget proposals more transparent to the people of Roscrea so everyone knows what is going on and there can be a discussion about the budget before it is published. The Live Register rose by 28% in 12 months in Tipperary and I want to see the people of this town having work on their doorstep so they can plan their life,” continued the Party Leader.

Deputy Simon Coveney effectively explained how NewERA can work for the people of North Tipperary and gave the hard facts on how Fine Gael will make Ireland a more prosperous place to live.

“We will help employers pay salaries, we will keep people in a job and we will make companies more competitive by reducing the tax burden on employers. We will target those who are suffering because they are left shouldering the national debt through no fault of their own. We need to build a telecommunications infrastructure and not hotels and apartment blocks. Roscrea has to compete with other counties and countries in terms of broadband speed or this provincial town, like many towns, will be left behind.

“We need a programme to deliver energy infrastructure. Ireland is ranked 29th out of 30th in terms of broadband speeds. This Government goes on about a smart economy but what does that mean if we cannot even communicate with effective broadband speeds,” continued the Communications Spokesperson.

North Tipperary’s Fine Gael Mayor Denis Ryan addressed the gathering saying: “In Roscrea we have suffered greatly. The West and East coasts have developed the most while the Midlands has been neglected and the real test to see whether there are green shoots in our economy is if jobs are being created.”

Numerous members of the audience eagerly partook in the question and answers session.
Ends

Noel Coonan TD

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Posted in North Tipperary | No Comments »