Earlier this morning I circulated the following letter to TDs: Dear Colleague, I am writing to inform you that I have submitted my nomination to seek the role of Ceann Comhairle of the 33rd Dáil. The reason I am putting my name forward for the role of Ceann Comhairle is because one of the consistent messages I …
€7m investment in Roscommon’s Tourism Heartland
Over my term in Government I was determined to ensure that Government investment was directed into Rural Ireland. I was instrumental in the establishment & funding of the new Department of Rural Affairs which has directed nearly €1m in investment into Roscommon’s tourism heartland from Rooskey to Ballyleague to Tulsk and Rathcroghan. On top of that €5m will be invested …
€4.4m investment in West Roscommon
Over my term in Government I was determined to ensure that Government investment was directed into Rural Ireland. I was instrumental in the establishment & funding of the new Department of Rural Affairs which has directed over €4.4m in investment into West Roscommon. Here is a list of the projects funded: Location Project Value € Family Visitors Resource Centre …
Illegal Dumping
The issue of illegal dumping has been raised with me during the election campaign. As far as I am concerned illegal dumping across our countryside, roads and rivers is both environmental and economic treason and must be treated as such. During my term as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment I introduced the anti dumping initiative and to date …
Childcare staff need to be paid properly
We need to pay childcare staff properly without pushing up fees for parents. I believe a solution needs to be found that will ensure childcare staff are paid a living wage without pushing up fees for parents. This is a sector that is experiencing real difficulties. We saw what happened in December when providers faced a hike in insurance premiums …
Supplementary Postal Votes must be in within 2 days of Dail being dissolved
If you are in a nursing home and wish to vote you must get this form signed by a doctor and submitted to the County Council withi 2 days of the Dail being dissolved: Application for Inclusion in the Supplement to the Special Voters List – SVS1 If you are at home but you are unable to get to a …
Confidence vote on Housing Minister
This no-confidence motion was a political stunt by the Social Democrats to garner support in last weeks by-elections. If they had been serious about the housing crisis they would not have tried to undermine the national broadband plan which would help to make vacant homes in towns, villages and rural areas attractive to families who can work remotely thus bringing …
New bingo laws
On foot on numerous representations that I have received regarding possible changes to the running of bingo by community groups across the Country, I have been engaging directly with Minister of State, David Stanton. Below I’m attaching a briefing note which he provided to me. He has also stated that while a community group/charity who are running their own bingo …
Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation, FGM, is a barbaric practice perpetrated on young girls. While the practice is concentrated in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, it is a universal problem which continues to persist among immigrant populations living here in Europe. As someone who was deeply involved in progressing the law to criminalise Female Genital Mutilation in Ireland …
Government should offer families €10,000 to leave Dublin
The first thing we need to do is to look to our existing 1.75m houses across the country and see how we can ensure that as many of these as possible are occupied, particularly those in the towns & villages across Ireland. In fact it would pay the Government to offer a family €10,000 to leave Dublin, to relocate to …