Sports Capital Grants 2015 and visit to Enfield Celtic F.C.

I was delighted to visit Enfield Celtic F.C. on Monday evening and hear their hard working Committee’s exciting plans for their recently awarded €100,000 Sports Capital Grant. Na Fianna Hurling and Football Club were also successful to the tune of €120,000. I was joined on my visit by my Dáil colleague Ray Butler T.D. and local Councillor Enda Flynn.

Other groups in Meath and Westmeah to benefit are:

Meath County Allocation €1,840,205

Ashbourne United Association Football Club Limited €30,000

Ashbourne United Association Football Club Limited €30,000
Ballinlough Gaelic Football Club €80,000
Ballivor G.F.C. €44,000
Bective GAA Club €31,000
Boyne Hockey Club €800
Castle Villa AFC €63,000
Castletown GFC €38,000
Clonard G.A.A. €123,000
Coolmine Gymnastics Club €14,000
Cortown GFC €8,000
Drumconrath GFC €31,000
DUNBOYNE AFC €15,000
Dunshaughlin Community Centre Ltd €18,000
Enfield Celtic FC €100,000
KNOCKHARLEY CRICKET CLUB €6,000
Meath Hill GFC €33,000
Na Fianna Hurling and Football Club €120,000
Navan Pitch and Putt Club €85,000
Omega Sub Aqua Club €16,000
Parkvilla Football Club €17,000
Rathkenny A.C. €18,000
Ratoath GAA Club €12,000
Ratoath Rugby Football Club €132,000
Ratoath Tennis Club Ltd €32,000
Ribbontail Paddlers Canoe Club €5,000
Skryne Gaelic Football Club €100,000
SLANE GAA CLUB €110,000
St Brigids GFC €27,000
St Mary’s GFC €123,000
St Michaels G.F.C. €62,000
St Patrick’s GAA Club €23,000
St Vincents GFC €40,405
Stackallen Lawn Tennis Pitch & Putt Club €14,000
Summerhill GFC €65,000
Trim Canoe Club €6,000
Trim GAA €65,000
Trim Tennis Club €63,000
Walterstown GFC €70,000

Regional Monies:

Meath and District League €121,643

Westmeath:

€590,298 is being made available to clubs and local organisations around Westmeath under the Sports Capital Programme 2015, announced by Minister of State Michael Ring.

In the Meath West section of Co. Westmeath €50,000 is being awarded to Lough Lene Gaels GAA in Collinstown, and Castlepollard Hurling Club is receiving €11,298.

Minister English welcomes 2nd phase of GLAS scheme

Local Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation and Meath West Fine Gael T.D. Damien English has welcomed the launch this week of the second tranche of GLAS, the new agri-environmental scheme which replaces REPS and AEOS.

The first tranche of GLAS, which closed on 26 May this year, proved a huge success, attracting almost 27,000 applications. The second tranche will increase this to at least 35,000 and up to 40,000. The overall target for GLAS is to attract 50,000 farmers into the new scheme over its lifetime and Minister English commented that it was clear that GLAS was well on its way to meeting that target.

For the second tranche of GLAS, a number of adjustments to the available actions are being made, and farmers and their advisors are urged to familiarise themselves with them.

Minister English commented: “The Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney T.D. has announced that he is publishing the Terms and Conditions for the second Tranche of GLAS immediately, along with the detailed Specification for Tranche 2 actions.  Farmers and their advisors in Meath West should read these carefully.  The live system for applications will then be opened will remain open for some six weeks. I urge Meath and Westmeath farmers to apply. As I have often said before the export value of Agricultural products is worth €493.8m to Meath and €216m to Westmeath. Agriculture is a huge industry locally & it supports thousands of direct & indirect jobs locally. GLAS and other iniatives from this Government help and support this important work by local farmers.”

Why Fine Gael is NOT a party of the elite

Fianna Fáil’s efforts to paint Fine Gael as a party of the elite are fatally undermined by this week’s budget…

FIANNA FÁIL’S NEWEST line of attack , which finance spokesman Michael McGrath has been pushing on this website, is that Fine Gael doesn’t care about ‘ordinary’ people.

Given that Fianna Fáil screwed virtually every ordinary person in the country, the irony of this statement will not be lost on many people. This week’s budget, as with its predecessors, provided clear evidence that ordinary people are at the heart of Fine Gael’s budgetary priorities.

We reduced the rate of USC on low and middle earners from 7% to 5.5%. Low and middle earners are the focus of our tax cuts. That’s why there’s no relief on earnings over €70,000.

We believe that people should be rewarded for their work and, from January, 42,000 lower earners will no longer have to pay any USC. This means that by next year 450,000 will have been removed from the USC net by this government.

There is also a 50 cent increase in the rate of pay for minimum wage workers on the way. A full time minimum wage worker will see their annual take home pay increase by €708, a 4.2% increase, while a person earning €55,000 will see their take home pay increase by €677 or 1.8%.

The Budget also provided a €550 self-employed tax credit for small business owners, many of whom are just about getting by.

There was also a €3 per week increase in the old age pension, a €5 increase of child benefit and the commitment to provide a second year of free pre-school care, which will significantly benefit working parents and people considering having children.

So much for not caring about ordinary people.

Fine Gael is committed to ensuring that there is work for everyone who can work and that people are incentivised to work.

We also implicitly understand that lower taxes lead to further job creation. More people at work means more money for the State to spend on services like health and education and on providing strong social protection to those who are out of work or unable to work.

Not a party of the elite

On Fine Gael, Micheal McGrath told TheJournal.ie recently: I don’t think they care too much about ordinary people.Source: TheJournal.ie

Michael McGrath is a very capable politician and will probably be the next leader of Fianna Fáil. But I don’t believe for one moment that he actually believes the guff he is spouting.

His comments reflect a clear effort to portray Fine Gael as a party of the elite, but Michael Noonan’s Budget emphatically debunks that notion.

When I go to a Fine Gael branch meeting I meet a lot of ordinary, decent individuals who care about their community and their country. I am fairly sure that McGrath meets the same kind of people at his local cumann as does every TD when they meet their supporters. I’m sure he and Fianna Fáil care about ordinary people – virtually everyone in politics does – but caring is not enough.

Politicians are not paid to care, they are paid to deliver. Fianna Fáil has failed on this front.

In government it presided over the economic equivalent of a head on car crash. Over 300,000 ordinary people lost their jobs, saw the value of their homes plummet, struggled to pay their mortgages and make ends meet.

This government had a plan. Like all rehabilitation plans it was hard, it required sacrifices, but thanks to the resilience of ordinary Irish people it worked.

Fianna Fáil’s alternative budget doesn’t stack up. Demographic changes mean that an extra €300 million a year is needed in education and health just to keep the current level of service. Around €267 million is needed to pay for the Lansdowne Road Agreement on public sector pay increases next year. Fianna Fáil did not account for either of these in its costings.

The Irish economy is in recovery but still has a long way to go. The challenge for the next government will be to ensure that the recovery is sustainable and that we don’t see a return to boom and bust economics.

The choice facing the Irish people in the forthcoming election is clear: Do you chose a government with a strong record of delivery and a vision for sustainable growth, or take a chance on a party without a plan?

Damien English is Minister of State for Skills, Research and Innovation and a Fine Gael TD for Meath West.

Minister English welcomes new Youth Employability Initiative

Local Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation and Meath West Fine Gael T.D. Damien English has welcomed a new Youth Employability Initiative by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and urged interested and qualified groups in Meath to apply.

The €600,000 Initiative will provide grants to voluntary youth services for programmes that target disadvantaged young people to improve their employability.

It will provide one-off grants for Department and Children and Youth Affairs funded organisations, services and projects under the Special Projects for Youth Scheme (SPY), Youth Information Centres (YICs), Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund (YPFSF), Local Drugs Task Force (LDTF) and Youth Service Grant Scheme (YSGS).

A Guidance Note and Application Form is available here http://dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20151009YouthEmployInitApplicationForm.pdf.

Minister English said: “Over 380,000 young people participate in youth services, programmes and clubs throughout the country. Young people who engage in youth work activities have the opportunity to attain specific skills, which can enhance employability. These skills include learning to learn, social and civic competence, leadership, communication, teamwork, and entrepreneurship.”

The new Youth Employability Initiative will target those young people who are most at risk of unemployment and who are not in education, employment or training and provide programmes for them to enhance these skills.   It is anticipated that up to 20- 25 new youth projects and an estimated 200-300 young people could be assisted under the programme.

Minister English’s Budget 2016 Speech

On Wednesday night 14th October I addressed the Dáil on Budget 2016:

This budget is designed to support the recovery, hard pressed families and begin future proofing the economy.

This budget is neither the hair shirt budget that some Economists have called for, nor is the silk shirt that the opposition seem to think we can afford, rather it is a prudent budget that will create jobs.

It will remove barriers to work and make work pay, grow the economy and keep the recovery going while reducing the current account deficit.

Business in Ireland has welcomed this budget. Danny McCoy of IBEC said “The budget is right for the economy at this time and signals a new phase of economic development. The crisis is behind us and we are planning ahead. The Government has taken on board the concerns of business, reduced tax and encouraged private investment.”

ISME and the SFA have also welcomed the Budget. The SFA Chairman, A J Noonan stated “This Budget is a strong endorsement by Government of the importance of entrepreneurship and small business in Ireland.”

But this is not just a budget for business and jobs, it is also a budget for our young families.

My constituency of Meath West has one of the highest concentrations of young families in the country, with a youth dependency ratio of over 38%.

You only have to walk around the streets of Navan, Trim or Enfield to see just how young our communities are. Our young population means we can look forward to a more hopeful future, but families cannot live on hope alone.

They need help now and this budget does just that.

Cutting USC, raising child benefit, and extending the free preschool scheme to accommodate all three to five year olds will benefit young families in Meath West and throughout the country.

These families endured a lot of the pain in the recession it is only right that they get some of the gain from the national recovery.

Talk to any parent on the doorsteps in Meath West – education and the future of our children is a major focus. This budget will reduce class sizes; it will recruit an additional 2,260 teachers.

This budget will deliver a better education to our children and will invest in career guidance. This will help our children chose the courses and the skills they need to get a good job and build a better future.

With this budget young school leavers will now have a lot more choice in their career paths.

We are investing an additional €10.5m to effectively double the number of Apprenticeship Schemes available in Ireland.

These 25 new Apprenticeship Schemes will cover areas such as

ICT,

Transport and Logistics,

Financial Services,

Tourism and Hospitality

and the bulk of these will be delivered in 2016.

We need to refocus the third level system to create a more enterprise responsive educational system; we need to provide the skills that students and industry require.

Future proofing the Economy is all about building skills at all levels including our pool of research skills.

Ireland’s future economic growth and prosperity will depend on our continued investment in science, technology and innovation.

This investment is all about developing:

A competitive knowledge based economy and society;

Driving innovation in enterprise;

Building human capital

And maximising the return on R&D investment for economic and social progress.

Investment in research and development is crucial for creating and maintaining high-value jobs.

In addition to the investment announced yesterday, my Department will be allocating an additional €29m specifically for investment in research and innovation to spend before the end of this year.

In addition to this, the overall 2016 capital investment will allow Enterprise Ireland to:

Support 100 Innovative High Potential start Up Companies in 2016 employing 2,000 people.

Issue six Competitive Start Fund calls with a target of financially supporting 85 innovative entrepreneurs.

Fund over 100 in-company R&D projects for companies that are valued in excess €100,000, and

Continue the development of Knowledge Transfer Ireland and the wider national Technology Transfer system to create 30 new spinout companies

For Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the 2016 allocation will:

Continue to fund the 12 SFI Research Centres, which represents an investment of €355m from the government and €190m from over 200 industry partners.

Train some 3000 researchers for key positions in Industry

Science Foundation Ireland will also undertake a recruitment campaign in partnership with the Irish Universities to attract world-class researchers.

I am pleased that Ireland’s participation in the European Space Agency (ESA) will continue to support a growing number of Irish companies in the rapidly expanding European and Global space markets. In this sector we will see:

A doubling of sales to over €80m

A rise in total employment to over 2,300, and

An expansion in the number of companies actively engaged with ESA to over 75

We are competing in an ever more competitive global environment. I am therefore pleased to report that work is almost complete on a new Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation.

It is now time for fresh strategic ideas to make research work to maximum effect for the country.

The vision for the new Strategy will be underpinned by 5 key goals:

an internationally competitive research system;

excellent research with relevance and impact for the economy and for society;

a renowned pool of talent in both academia and industry;

a joined-up research eco-system, responsive to emerging opportunities;

and a strong innovative enterprise base, growing employment, sales and exports.

We need to ensure that we have a world leading state-of-the-art research and innovation ecosystem in Ireland.

I am confident that the upcoming Strategy will provide us with the roadmap to deliver on this ambition for Ireland.

To conclude a Leas Ceann Comhairle,

This Budget charts a responsible, prudent path to fiscal stability, economic growth and opportunity.

The Budget marks a new stage in Ireland’s road to full recovery and a more sustainable future.

It will support that recovery and will begin to future proof the economy.

I commend this budget to the House and to the country.

Budget 2016 interview on Loosetalk with Michael Reade on LMFM

This morning i participated on Michael Reade’s Loosetalk programme on LMFM, one of Ireland’s major regional radio stations and my own local station in Co. Meath.  The discussion focussed on Budget 2016.

You can listen here:

http://www.lmfm.ie/Podcasts/Podcasts/Show?showalias=the-michael-reade-show-1#7133

Tonight with Vincent Browne Tuesday 13th October 2015

Media debates are an important part of my work as a T.D. and a Minister, highlighting the work of the Government, sharing information and debating ideas, suggestions and points of view.  On the night of Budget 2016 I appeared with my regular sparring partner Vincent Browne on a panel which also included Lucinda Creighton T.D., Leader of Renua Ireland, and Richard Boyd Barrett T.D. of People Before Profit, amongst other guests.

You can see the programme online here:

http://www.tv3.ie/3player/show/41/100207/0/Tonight-with-Vincent-Browne

Budget 2016 will support Meath SMEs – Minister English

Budget begins equalisation of tax treatment between self-employed & PAYE workers

Damien English, Fine Gael TD for Meath West and the Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation has said that Budget 2016 will support SMEs to grow and continue to create jobs in county Meath.

“Budget 2016 will support SMEs to grow and continue to create jobs. The introduction of a €550 self-employed tax credit marks a welcome start along the road to the equalisation of income tax credits between self-employed people and PAYE workers, addressing what was an unfair treatment of self-employed people in this country. The Earned Income Credit of €550 will be available to self-employed people who are ineligible for a PAYE credit on their salaries and will really benefit small retailers, publicans, farmers and tradesmen in Meath

“My Fine Gael colleagues and I recently ran a campaign called “Standing up for Small Business”, where we surveyed and held discussions with small businesses around the country. The need to equalise the tax treatment of the self-employed and PAYE workers was one of the biggest issues to arise out of that discussion, and I am delighted that the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has started this process today. This is a first step and if returned to Government we will complete tax equalisation for the self-employed in order to support job creators.

“I also know that Meath businesses wanted to see reductions in the general tax burden to help them to create employment. I welcome the cuts to the Universal Social Charge, meaning the marginal rate of tax for those earning below €70,000 will fall below 50% for the first time since 2009. Changes to the USC entry threshold will mean a total of 700,000 people will now be outside the USC net.

“Other measures in Budget 2016 to benefit small businesses owners in Meath include:

• Revised Capital Gains tax relief for entrepreneurs, which will apply a reduced CGT rate of 20% to the disposal in whole or in part of a business up to a limit of €1 million in chargeable gains,
• The 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector which will continue to assist small business owners working in the tourism sector, which has been such an integral part of our economic recovery,
• Reduction in costs for retailers to accept card payments, saving retailers €36 million in fees per year and incentivising electronic payments,
• The capping of motor tax at €900 per annum is significant for hauliers and will enable them to better compete with the UK, benefitting not just hauliers, but all exporting companies,
• Employers’ PRSI has been adjusted to cater for minimum wage increases to ensure that neither employees or employers are worse off.

“Small and family businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and have played a crucial role in the recovery that is now well underway. Over 125,000 jobs have been created nationally since the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs in 2012.  I know that not every family in Meath has felt it yet, but the measures contained in Budget 2016 will help small and family businesses continue to grow and create even more jobs. The knock on effect of this will mean that even more people across Meath will feel the benefits of the economic recovery.

“The last few budgets have been difficult, but they made it possible for Ireland to exit the bailout, reduce our debts, and move into a real recovery. That recovery is still fragile however and the top priority of this year’s budget is to secure the recovery, while providing relief and better services for the Irish people. It includes measures like a cut in the USC, more nurses and doctors for the health service, more affordable and quality childcare, and addressing the unfair treatment of the self-employed. These are sensible, affordable steps that will keep the recovery going and bring its benefits to more households so that people across Meath can enjoy a better quality of life.”

Free preschool for all children from age 3 to primary school and first ever paid paternal leave – English

Meath West Fine Gael TD and Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English has said that €85 million in childcare measures announced today in Budget 2016 will reduce costs for hard working parents, as well as improving the quality of the care available to their children.

“The Government has confirmed its commitment to investment in childcare, to ensure that we increase affordability, quality and accessibility for parents and children across Ireland. This is a real and meaningful first step, that will have both social and economic returns far into the future.

“Among the range of measures in Budget 2016, aimed at helping hard working parents are:

• An extension of the free pre-school year, meaning free pre-school for all children from age 3 to primary school (there will be three windows for parents to enrol their children in the scheme – September, January and April)
  · Over €15m will be used to make pre-school more accessible for children who special needs
• Two weeks of new paid paternal leave, which will kick in for fathers from next September
  · A €5 increase in child benefit, to €140 per child per month
• An extension of the Community Childcare Subvention Programme, which offers low income parents, reduced rates.5,000 extra childcare places through private and community providers this year and 8,000 next year
  · A €3 million capital fund will support childcare providers to develop after-school services
  · There will also be a number of measures to improve the quality of childcare provision, including an audit of all childcare, increased inspections and investment in training for childcare workers.

“In addition to these childcare measures families will also benefit from a reduction in class sizes in primary school to 27 pupils to 1 teacher (the lowest level they have ever been), 2260 additional primary and post-primary teachers in 2016 and an extension of free GP care to all children under 12.

USC cut will ensure recovery is felt in Meath West – English

Damien English, Fine Gael TD and the Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation has said that the significant reduction in the Universal Social Charge (USC) contained in the Budget will make life easier for families and individuals across the constituency of Meath West.

“This significant reduction in the USC will help ensure that every worker in Meath West and throughout Ireland benefits from the economic recovery that is underway. Reducing USC from 7% to 5.5% on people’s earnings between €18,668 and €70,044 will make a significant difference for working families and individuals. This reduces the tax rate on low and middle income earners to below 50% for the first time since 2009.

“With most new jobs now being created outside Dublin, the USC reductions will be felt by working people across the country. Of the 56,000 jobs created in the last year, over 70% have been outside the capital. So, reducing the USC will ensure that the benefits of the recovery are spread throughout Ireland.

“Minister Noonan has increased the entry point for USC payment to €13,000, meaning a further 42,000 workers will no longer have to pay the USC. Over 700,000 of the lowest paid workers will be exempt from the paying the USC from January.

“The USC cuts are sensible, affordable steps that will keep the recovery going and bring its benefits to more households. As a result of this Budget:

• a one income family with two children earning €35,000 will see their take home increase by €57 per month or €687 a year;
• a single person, working full time on the minimum wage, earning €17,542, will see an increase of 4.2% (€708) a year;
• a family with three children with parents working as a Garda and a nurse earning €55,000 and €50,000 respectively will have an additional €196 per month in their pocket (€2,300 per year); and
• a self-employed worker earning €40,000 will see a gain of €1,002 in his or her annual net income due to this budget, an increase of 3.5%

“Tax cuts are good for our people and our economy. They create jobs, they make work pay and they attract migrants home. And, as with the tax reductions in last year’s Budget, those who will benefit most from the reduction in the USC will be low and middle income workers. The top priority of this budget is to sustain our economic recovery and bring its benefits to every family.

“Today’s USC reduction is the second year in a row that we have reduced the tax burden on low and middle-income earners. If re-elected, we will get rid of the USC altogether over the lifetime of the next government.

“Ireland now has the highest economic and employment growth in the EU, and over 125,000 jobs (net) have been created since this Government launched the Action Plan for Jobs. Our recovery is real and is helping to improve lives, however I am aware that many people are still to feel the benefit. Today’s announcement will help change that situation for the better.”