The allocation of €30m in once off-funding over three years to the post office network is welcome but ignores the need for a long-term sustainability strategy that is key for postmasters/mistresses to decide if they will continue to keep the doors open, says Denis Naughten TD. “As the architect behind the strategic plan to save An Post and its network …
As oil hits $120/barrel we need to look again at how we construct carbon taxes which are failing both families and our environment
A carbon tax is supposed to be an environmentally-focused tax to drive behavioural change in the use of fossil fuels. In such circumstances, the most effective tax is the one that brings in little revenue because it is doing what it should, which is to drive behavioural change. The focus of an environmentally focused tax should never be on revenue but rather on motivating …
Carbon taxes are penalising families not driving climate change
The carbon tax is supposed to be an environmental tax to drive behavioural change when it comes to the use of fossil fuels. In such circumstances the most effective tax is the one that brings in little revenue because it is doing what it should do, namely, driving behavioural change. Today, a carbon tax has no impact on behaviour because …
Pensioner receives €3,262 hike in electricity bill due to estimations – Naughten
A pensioner living on her own has received a shocking electricity bill which has gone from €123 to €3,385 because her supplier has failed to read her meter for the past 24 months, Denis Naughten told the Dáil this afternoon. “To add to her shock, she is being charged all of these arrears at the current electricity rate compounding the …
Builders to tell Housing Minister to refurbish vacant homes – Naughten
Time to remove “demand test” from Government’s refurbishment scheme The construction industry will tell Government it must do far more to bring vacant property back into use when it meets with Minister Darragh O’Brien later today to discuss the current housing emergency, says Denis Naughten TD. “This is the very point that I have been making for some years,” …
Just 1 in 90 vacant homes available to rent in the middle of housing emergency – Naughten
Denis Naughten has told the Dáil that there is a fundamental flaw in our housing policy when there are 90,000 empty homes across the country in the middle of a housing crisis yet there are just 1,043 available to rent according to daft.ie. Using his constituency of Roscommon Galway as an example he pointed out: “County Roscommon has 4,090 vacant …
Data centres pushing up electricity costs for families – Naughten
Irish families are paying for some of the most expensive electricity in Europe in part due to the fact that they are subsidising the supply of electricity to data centres, a practice which must be stopped by the Government, says Denis Naughten TD. Addressing the issue in the Dáil last Thursday he told the Minister for Finance that Irish …
Update on autism education provision locally
There is currently a very serious shortage of autism school places for local children. I’ve worked in the past with a number of local primary and post-primary schools to establish specialist classes to meet the needs of local students, rather than forcing them to travel long distances to avail of an education. The ASD issue has been highlighted …
Children being abandoned on waiting lists in Roscommon & Galway
Last week I raised the appalling waiting list for local children in the Dáil. This is what I said: There are 436 children awaiting physiotherapy appointments in County Galway, some of whom have been waiting 176 weeks for such appointments. There are 95 children awaiting these appointments in County Roscommon. On speech and language waiting lists, 971 children were awaiting …
Government has to stop families being charged for data centre electricity
Our electricity prices are among the most expensive in Europe, with Irish families paying, on average, €180 extra for electricity annually. This is partly as a result of Irish families being forced to subsidise the cost of electricity, grid connections and backup supplies for existing and already planned speculative data centres. The Government decided in 2018 to stop the …