Fianna Fáil General Election Candidate for Kildare North Cllr Frank O’Rourke has called for more support to be provided to people who are self-employed.

Cllr O’Rourke pointed out that the current tax and social welfare system discriminates against the self-employed, and is discouraging people from setting up their own businesses.

“Self-employed people play an important role in the economy, but this is rarely recognised by the state. They do not have the comfort of being able to rely on automatic social welfare payments kicking in should they become ill or find themselves out of work. It is clear from talking with people from across Kildare that they feel this is grossly unfair,” said Cllr O’Rourke.

“While they receive the personal tax credit of €1,650, they cannot claim the PAYE tax credit – also worth €1,650 per annum. This has a particularly stark impact for lower income families. For example, a self-employed single person on an income of €17,500 pays almost 6 times more tax and PRSI as an employee on the same income.

“There is a strong case for addressing the unfair treatment of self-employed people. This should be done by means of an earned income tax credit as suggested by the Commission on Taxation. The cost of this would be €450m per annum when fully introduced. Fianna Fáil is proposing this be phased in over 3 years with an initial tax credit of €500 for the self-employed in 2016.

“Self-employed people also lack the safety net offered by our social welfare system. They do not have an automatic entitlement to the jobseekers benefit should their business not success. Fianna Fáil is proposing a series of measures to assist self-employed people. If an entrepreneur has made sufficient PRSI contributions they should have an entitlement to jobseekers benefit should they find themselves out of work. Such a measure would bring Ireland in line with our European counterparts.

“On a phased and voluntary basis we proposed to extent a full range of social protection payments including Jobseeker’s Benefit and Illness Benefit to self-employed PRSI contributors as part of our commitment to foster and entrepreneurship culture as well as enhancing social solidarity.

“People who are taking the leap and starting their own business need to be encouraged and supported, not penalised by rigid legislation. Fianna Fáil is committed towards supporting the self-employed and ensuring they are no longer discriminated against.”

New figures reveal 22% jump in housing waiting lists in Kildare – O’Rourke
– FOI request by FF reveals a surge in number of people needing housing –
– Govt using outdated figures that mask the true extent of housing crisis –

New figures obtained by Cllr Frank O’Rourke have revealed a surge of 22% in the social housing waiting list in Kildare in less than two years.

Cllr O’Rourke made the revelation following a Freedom of Information request made by Fianna Fáil to Kildare County Council to obtain the most up to date figures for the social housing waiting list in the county. The figures returned reveal that the Government has grossly underplayed the extent of the housing crisis.

“The official government figure states that there are 5,454 people on the housing waiting list in Kildare. However data revealed to Fianna Fáil shows that this has jumped by 22% to over 6,668 households” said Cllr O’Rourke.

“These figures are truly shocking. Minister Kelly claims that he has the housing crisis under control. However these figures reveal that the crisis is far worse than we imagined. The government is significantly understating the extent of the crisis, using figures that are actually two years out of date.

“The government has to start facing up to the reality of the housing emergency. Up until the end of 2014 it only built 1,252 new units nationally, compared to 15,000 units built between 2007-2010. This is the primary cause of this emergency. I have been fighting for greater investment in housing in Kildare to tackle this crisis head on. Unfortunately the Government has not been proactive on this issue and has allowed a major crisis to emerge as a result.

“The most worrying aspect is the fact that the housing crisis is accelerating year on year. The figures we have obtained clearly show this. However despite this the Government is seemingly more interested in prioritising tax cuts for the rich rather than investing in housing and public services.

“We have to start getting to grips with it by building homes that families want to live in. Fianna Fáil is proposing a new national housing roadmap to build 150,000 new homes by 2021 including 45,000 social housing units. I am urging the Government to give strong consideration to our fully costed plans,” said Cllr O’Rourke.

Fianna Fáil calls for expanded civilian recruitment with Gardaí 

Civilians should be posted to garda stations to carry out administrative work 

Fianna Fáil has called for an expansion of the civilian recruitment programme within An Garda Síochána to free up gardaí for community duties.

According to Kildare North general election candidate, Cllr Frank O’Rourke, sustained cuts to garda resources have left many gardaí who should be on the beat stuck in garda stations filling out paper work.

Cllr O’Rourke explained, “The gardaí are currently overburdened with paperwork and administrative duties. Given the huge reduction in garda numbers over the past 5 years, it is a shame that our highly qualified gardaí are often stuck to their desks doing basic work that could be carried out by clerical staff.

“The reality is that gardaí in every community across the country are being expected to do a lot more with a lot less resources.  We should be utilising their skills and training, by ensuring that they are out and about in the community preventing and investigating crime.  It is a complete waste to have them stuck indoors stamping forms and answering the phone.

“I am calling on the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald and the Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan to consider posting civilian employees to garda stations to carry out basic clerical work and allow gardaí to get away from desk work.  This could include answering phones and processing forms relating to motor tax, social welfare payments, electoral register changes and passport renewals.   It would allow our highly trained gardaí to get out into the community and do the job that they were trained to do.

“It is crucial that these clerical staff would not be seen as a replacement for qualified gardaí.  Rather, this system must be used in tandem with an accelerated garda recruitment process.  Garda numbers have fallen to dangerously low levels.  In my own county of Kildare, there is now just 1 garda for every 650 people. There is no doubt that the cuts to garda resources have had a direct impact on crime levels.  We need more gardaí and we need a better system to ensure that our trained professionals are not wasted on basic paperwork.”

Dear All,

As you are aware work is well underway to develop the first Local Economic and Community Plan for Kildare.  The general public are now invited to input into the plan from this week until Friday 11th September 2015. An extensive range of consultation and stakeholder engagement is planned over the coming weeks and months. I’d encourage you all to take a look at information provided in the links below, in particular the comprehensive baseline report produced with Maynooth University and also to carry out the short survey. A hardcopy of the report will be sent you next week. Continue reading →

Irish Cancer Society ‘Care to Drive’ Seek Volounteers

The Irish Cancer Society’s Care to Drive service is currently seeking volunteer drivers from all over Kildare to drive local patients to and from their treatments.

Tel: Rebecca on 01 2316642 or email transport@irishcancer.ie
Further information on how you can volunteer available on Irish Cancer Society website.

9,000 FREE higher education courses are now available through Springboard+.

Springboard+ allows unemployed people to re-skill in areas where we know there are sustainable jobs, and eligible participants are able to retain their social protection payment whilst on the course.

Continue reading →