A Bill which sought to ban evictions on the basis of the landlords intention to sell or renovate was proposed by Solidarity/People Before Profit and addressed in the Dáil 12.12.18 by Bríd.
An ERSI report shows that this govt looks after the top earners – not the ‘early risers’ nor the ‘squeezed middle’! Figures show that the last budget left average households WORSE off than before. Lower income housholds lost most. And according to economist Michael Taft, the real winners over the last 8 years are the very high earners. Average housholds are paying more tax, and are poorer than before the budget. Some recovery!
I welcome the move to define what ‘family’ means for refugees, and I welcome refugees and their families – just as the Irish needed a ‘welcome’ in our darkest days. And I condemn the actions of fascist sympathisers outside the gates of the Dáil as we speak, the ‘Irexit’ bullies who assembled to ‘do down’ these vulnerable people.
Carbon tax should be paid by the fossil fuel corporations, not by ordinary people. A carbon tax thus applied could help pay for energy saving projects such as increased public transport and retrofitting homes. And if the government is concerned about climate change, it should support my Bill to ban fossil fuel exploration at sea
Tonight 5.12.18 Minister Harris gave a committment to Deputy Brid Smith TD that no institution, including the new National Maternity Hospital can conscientiously object to providing abortion services
Dec 5th – Brid seeks clarity but gets none on the fate of the NMH
The hypocrisy of the anti-choicers is very evident in the debate this evening, as is their attitude to those of us representing women’s right to abortion legislation NOW.
I asked about the tendering process for Broadband. The Minister waffled, so most of his responce is not recorded here. In particular he avoided any reference to my query regarding DENNIS O BRIEN, who is probably the only one that will end up getting what he wants of the debacle
I sit on the Dáil committee for Social Protection. Today we queried Department officials, and got less than satisfactory answers, on BOGUS SELF-EMPLOYMENT. It’s basically a scam that lets the actual employer off the hook of responsibility to their workers and has been better described as ‘social dumping’. And its allowed on state-funded projects! And what about worklplace inspections? compliance? prosecutions? From where I sat, there appeared to be little Social Protection and a lot of tip-toeing around exploitative companies and employers.