Constituency Fund
• I commit to creating a minimum €10,000 Constituency Fund if elected, similar to local council Ward Funds, for community groups, arts, sports and charitable organisations as a renewal of the public service nature of a TD’s role
Reform of Political System
• A regularised working year for TDs, incorporating constituency and policy-driven work programmes in a regular working week, including a more structured and defined ratio of local/national responsibilities
• The abolition of expenses, to be replaced with a standard salary inclusive of travelling/accommodation costs for TDs outside Dublin; Incentivised arrangements for TDs to use public transport
• Empowerment of Dail Committees with legal powers to replace Tribunals of Inquiry
• The abolition of the Seanad and a re-formation of the Council of State to give additional legislative review powers to the President in conjunction with a newly constituted representative body, comprising nominated leaders from social, economic and cultural sections of society
• Reconstruction of local authority Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) to ensure a better level of input into policy matters by business, social, community interests
Employment
• Reversal of the cut in the minimum wage to be replaced with more progressive job creation measures, such as reduction in employers’ contributions (ie the cost of creating jobs) or the introduction of employer recruitment incentives (rates reductions, Employers PRSI discount etc)
• A re-organisation of the top-heavy state training authority FAS to ensure allocated funding is not recklessly wasted as before and that it is reaching those in need of up-skilling or community employment opportunities so they can benefit from their hard-earned training and work history
• Investigation into a scheme that would provide working hours for trades-people and professionals currently unemployed that would help address the deficit in services of city and county councils, while giving people a source of additional income. The recruitment embargo in force from central government means there should not be repercussions for existing staff and union practices.
• Redefine the very nature of employment and work…reward rather than penalise groupings in society (eg carers, home-helps) who are ultimately saving the state money by their less formal and more localised method of delivering vital community services
Health
• The diversion of a portion of PRSI payments into a universal contributory healthcare mechanism similar to practices in France and Australia
• A review of the centralisation of certain services and the re-opening of the maternity wing of the Bons Secours Hospital in light of the fact that the CUH unit is over its projected annual patient numbers
• Public hospitals for public patients: private hospital for private patients
• Improve diagnostic waiting times for families of children with autism
• The establishment of a regional rehabilitation hospital in Cork
Education
• A commitment not to introduce Third Level fees for the less well-off (including all households with social welfare income only) courtesy of a means-tested gradual scale for household incomes over a certain amount, eg €70,000+ pays a certain portion of fees, €90,000+ a greater portion etc.
• The establishment of a grant penalty system where grant-support can be halted or financial penalties imposed on students who cause difficulties in the communities they live in
• The introduction of book rental schemes in all primary and secondary schools (to save families the annual cost of buying books)
• State schools’ sporting and recreational facilities to be opened up on a planned basis to outside groups (subject to operation and insurance guarantees) during out of school hours, to serve the growing needs of such organisations
• Reading clubs which are part and parcel of life in many DEIS schools to be rolled out as mandatory in all schools, to increase literacy levels across the board and further help to educate young children out of potential poverty
Social Protection
• Copper-fastening payments to old age pensions, particularly those surviving only on the state contribution and a commitment to increases in 2014
• No reduction in social welfare payments to those below the poverty line (€225 per week) and those most in need [this to be part-funded by a graded levy on income earners over €100,000]
• Create new brackets of social welfare entitlements, so that payments can be tailored to match family or individual circumstances
• The appointment of additional suitably trained Community Welfare Officers to deal with increasing problems at the front-line
• The provision of book and uniform vouchers as part of Back to School Allowance payments to ensure state aid is spent correctly
Housing
• Outlawing of evictions and practice of repossessions, providing immediate assistance to mortgage holders in difficulty because of a range of circumstances. Force banks to re-negotiate strangling fixed-rate interest rates as part of their mandatory contribution to social and economic recovery
• A refocusing of government housing strategy away from private ownership as the ‘be all and end all’ to a broader focus of the role of the home in society to address the problems being caused by: (1) the chronic shortage of social housing in Cork city and County;(2) the types of houses being provided and the unsuitability of some locations; (3) the lack of more accessible subsidised rental properties in a tripartite arrangement involving national & local governments and prospective tenants
• Investigate the best working mixes of private and social housing, replicating best practice from estates around the country and county…exclusively private or social housing developments do little to forge community spirit
• Offer buy-out and re-rental clauses to single occupiers of affordable houses to recognise possible changes in personal circumstances than can occur after contract signing
• Changing of the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) qualifying period to six months, signalling a move away from short-term rent allowance.
• A total review of the existing Rent Allowance system by maintaining qualifying criteria but establishing a procedure that distinguishes between those content to remain on council waiting lists for rent allowance purposes only and those who do so as part of the waiting procedure to secure council housing
• Empower councils with extra legal weaponry to remove problem tenants from its properties
Environment
• To ensure the immediate clean up of the former Irish Steel site at Haulbowline, to prevent lasting health problems which are significantly higher than average in the harbour area
• The provision of funding to allow for the full implementation of the Lee CFRAMS Study to protect Cork from fluvial and tidal flooding, to prevent the devastation caused on an almost annual basis
• Provide funding to Cork city and county councils, and groups associated with maritime activity and promotion, to develop and maximise Spike Island and the Cork Harbour as a central maritime resource
• Support the continued vigilance of local rivers, lakes and ponds to ensure they are maintained to the highest order for recreational use
