Gallagher backs rural schools in the fight against closures

 

Sinn Féin Representative for the Kells area Michael Gallagher has said that Meath Sinn Féin will stand against any closures or cutbacks to rural schools. Speaking at a protest rally outside the Dáil last Wednesday evening, Gallagher said that the forced amalgamation and closure of rural schools was another slap in the face by the FG/Lab government to the rural people of Ireland. The protest was attended by several hundred people from around the country and was addressed by speakers including Sinn Fein's education spokesperson Seán Crowe.
 
Gallagher said:
 
"This policy of amalgamation led to the closure of rural schools in the 1960's when Fianna Fáil introduced it. If repeated by the current government it is certain to lead to closures again. I applaud the people from Heronstown, Kilbeg, Mayo, and Carrickleck for coming in such large numbers to the Dáil to support their local schools, their teachers and their students. Meath Sinn Féin will be firmly behind them in the campaign against rural school closures."

 

Cllr Ferguson welcomes mood of meeting

 

Cllr Conor Ferguson welcomed the mood of the Don't Register/ Don't Pay meeting held in Kells-People's Resource Centre. Ferguson congratulated the groups on a successful well attended meeting that was apolitical, and gave citizens advice on how to resist the Household/Septic  tank charges, He said ' it's not right that ordinary people should pay a €100 household charge on there dwellings, this household charge serves no other purpose other than bail out the bankers and investors.   The €100 will not go to council amenities as stated by the FG/Lab government, as the government has already capped any money the county councils will receive'.
  Speaking on the Septic Tanks he stated 'he was one of two Kells town councillors with septic tanks, and that it was impossible for anyone to visually inspect a septic tank without lifting all the soil around it. If a inspector can do this for €50 fair play to him, but this has all the hallmarks of another stealth tax on the Irish people.' He said there was an excellent mood from the room in fighting these charges, he thanked the committee for the meting and pledged the support of Kells Sinn Féin to their cause. 
  The Don't Register/Don't pay group will host a number of meetings around county Meath and are looking a mass group not to register for the charges by 17th of March. As only 5% of people done so in the last month there goal seems achievable.
   

Government fail to tackle unemployment - P Toibín TD

Sinn Féin spokesperson on jobs, enterprise and innovation Peadar Tóibín TD has said that the figures released today by the CSO demonstrate that the Fine Gael/Labour government is failing to tackle unemployment.

Deputy Tóibín was responding to the publication of the latest CSO Quarterly National Household Survey which shows that by the end of the third quarter of the year there were 314,700 people officially unemployed, an increase of 15,700 on the previous year.

Deputy Tóibín said:

“Unemployment under this government is increasing, long term unemployment is increasing and emigration is increasing.

“The few small scale initiatives launched by the government are grossly disproportionate to the immense scale of the crisis. The €20 million job training programme launched in the budget will create 6,500 short term training spaces at a time when over 5,000 people are losing their jobs or becoming unemployed each month. At the same time the government will put 150 times this figure into the Anglo Promissory note in January.

“In the budget last week we saw VAT increases and the failure to act on upward only rents that are crippling business. Nothing was done to reform rates, energy costs were increased and business credit remains frozen. Broadband and transport costs will increase without any increase in capacity. By cutting grants for external insulation the government actually stifled growth in a sector that was growing over the last 12 months.

“Growth and jobs should be foremost on the government’s agenda but the evidence proves otherwise. We in Sinn Féin believe that this economic crisis will not be resolved until job creation and growth are moved centre stage. We have detailed in our alternative budget a costed method of creating 60,000 jobs while safeguarding 96,000 others.

“These figures demonstrate that this government is failing to tackle unemployment. It is time for them to start taking job creation seriously.”

   

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