Speaking following the Minister’s comments today (Friday) at the annual conference of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, Cllr. Éilis Ryan (Workers’ Party) said:

“In a country which claims to provide ‘free’ third level education, it costs an astronomical €12,000 in postgraduate fees alone to qualify as a secondary school teacher.

“When you add to this a minimum of €12,000 a year in living expenses, a student wishing to become a secondary school teacher would need close to €40,000 in cash just to qualify. This is exacerbated by the fact that postgraduate fees do not qualify for maintenance grants, and the work experience element of teacher training in this country is unpaid.”

Cllr. Ryan said that teaching was effectively becoming yet another profession which only the most privileged could afford to enter, saying:
“Most students leave their undergraduate studies with significant debt or, at best, having used up whatever financing their parents could afford to give them.

“Almost none would be able to afford the €50,000 required to then go on to train in secondary teaching.”

Cllr. Ryan said that enabling young people to enter the teaching profession would be a far better use of the state’s resources than Minister Bruton’s proposed retraining scheme, saying:

“The combination of prohibitive fees, and a two-tier pay system which discriminates against young teachers who do qualify, means the majority of people who might like to become teachers simply cannot afford to.

“Perhaps the Minister should look at the obvious causes first, before introducing mad-hat schemes.”

Speaking on the matter, Cllr. Éilis Ryan (Workers’ Party, North Inner City Dublin) said:
“The utter discrimination imposed on women both by 2012 pension changes, and by historic ‘anomalies’ in how women’s work was treated, are only the most current example of the brewing pensions’ crisis Ireland faces.

“Even if the government does find a solution to this particular issue, what it demonstrates is the need for proactive overhaul of pensions generally in Ireland.”

Cllr. Ryan said that a mandatory pension scheme would have the dual benefit of providing income security for older people, along with a fund which the state could invest wisely and productively:
“In 2015, some 38,000 elderly experienced deprivation, an increase from the previous year. This is bound to increase as the population ages, and as the effects of an ever-weakening pension system – both private and public – are felt by those who retire in the coming years. A mandatory state pension scheme for all workers and employers is the only solution to this problem.

“Such a scheme would also have the benefit of providing a badly-needed investment fund for public investment. For example, a contribution at 6% of salary would provide the state with €1.6 billion annually in strategic investment. If invested in industrial development, it would lead to 30,000 jobs directly, and many more indirectly by stimulating economic growth.”

Cllr. Ryan concluded:
“It is time for Irish governments to end the permanent crisis non-management. It is time for bold, long-term solutions to the country’s gravest problems. One of these must be a mandatory state pension scheme to take care of the country’s older population in decades to come.”

Karen Collins: Event organiser

Workers’ Party activist and event organiser, Karen Collins, said the event was being held to give the people of Cork an opportunity to express their anger at the massive increase in homelessness and to demand a massive housing initiative.

Ms. Collins, a member of the party’s Mayfield Branch, said that too much of the discussion on housing was between academics and commentators and that the voices of ordinary people were not being heard or listened to.

She said, we now have 8,270 homeless people in this state according to Focus Ireland. 5,222 of these are adults and 3,048 are children.  One third of those in emergency accommodation are children but these figures, shocking as they are, do not represent any of the hidden homeless  people or those staying with families and friends, because they have been priced out of either renting or buying a home and with no realistic hope of social housing. They are voiceless and we are calling to the people of Cork to be their voice by joining our candle-lit vigil on Friday night”, said Karen Collins.

The event will commence at 7.00pm on Sunday evening and finish up around 8.30pm and all are welcome.  “This may be just a symbolic event but we hope it will shine a light on the cruel reality of homelessness in this city and country as we face another winter season”. said the Workers’ Party spokeswoman.

The Workers’ Party has said that the €750 million Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) initiative announced yesterday by the government, is just a cash cow for developers which will not result in any more homes being built.

Gavin Mendel-Gleason, Dublin North West representative for the Workers’ Party, said:

“The government aims for the €750 million fund to enable the construction of about 6,000 homes through private developers. This is only marginally higher than the 5,000 homes the same amount of money could build directly.

“But instead of building homes which we own, which will be affordable, and which present no risk, the government has opted to speculate its cash on property developers who haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory in the past.”

Mendel-Gleason said the government’s portrayal of the fund as a purely commercial arrangement, and not a giveaway to developers, was misleading, saying:

“If banks aren’t willing to bear the risk of lending to developers, what makes the state so sure its a good bet? Its as if we are planning for another property crash, except this time instead of having to bail out property developers from the banks, we will already be the lender – and we will be the ones who get burned.

“Lending state money to private developers means we get all of the risk – and they get all of the profit.”

Mendel-Gleason concluded by saying that no amount of lending or subsidies to private developers would make housing affordable in Ireland:

“Throughout the Celtic Tiger, supply increased and increased, but prices never came down. We are setting off on the same road again – bankrolling developers who can and will continue to charge through the nose for the homes they build.

“The only solution is for the state to begin building public housing for all.”

ENDS

For information contact Gavin Mendel-Gleason (085-1368737)

Cllr. Éilis Ryan (Workers’ Party, North Inner City) said:
“The government’s Fiscal Outlook, which it published yesterday with the budget, shows that government consumption – i.e. overall spending on public services – will rise by less than €1 billion between 2017 and 2021. At less than 3% growth, this is well below the Government’s estimation of 5% inflation at 5%.

“What this means is that, while Minister Donohue is keen to appear to be reversing the recession’s horrendous cuts, he is in fact not even allowing our public services to break even. In real terms, as the cost of goods and services grow with the economy, the money he intends to allot to health, education and other services won’t be enough to prevent even further cutbacks.”

Cllr. Ryan said the figures prove that Fine Gael’s cutbacks are ideological – not driven by necessity:
“We keep hearing this myth that the cutbacks happened because of the recession. And now we hear the myth that they are being reversed because the economy is growing.

“But the government does not even intend to spend enough on public services to keep up with inflation. This is further proof that Fine Gael’s cutbacks are pure, conservative ideology.”

Cllr. Ryan concluded by saying that the budget’s fiver-a-week
“Most people, both working and not working, will see a rise of around five euro a week in their take-home income. When compared to rising housing costs and, now it would seem, the government’s intention to continue reducing funding for public services, a fiver a week is of little use.

“A fiver a week can’t improve the quality of life of someone living homeless in a b&b with their kids, or on a waiting list for years for a hip replacement.

“What can do that is investment in decent public services. Clearly Fine Gael still havent learned that lesson.”

ENDS
For information contact Cllr. Éilis Ryan (086) 3108553

Cllr. Ted Tynan

The Workers’ Party have said described today’s budget as a charter for standing still which gives a miserly increase for social welfare while offering no realistic hope for those on housing lists.

Workers’ Party Cork Councillor Ted Tynan said that Minister Donohoe’s establishment of a so-called rainy day fund was risible.  “Today is the rainy day and it has been a fruitless day for those who thought they were finally going to get some relief after a decade of austerity or who had hopes for a realistic end in sight to their housing nightmare”.

Cllr. Tynan said the government seemed to be more concerned with property owners and developers than actually putting bricks and mortar together. While 8,000 social housing units might seem impressive it must be seen against a backdrop of 120,000 people on local authority housing lists.  “By the time that 8,000 is divided across the state it will be of limited benefit and is far from what is required”.

The Workers’ Party councillor said that media claims of a social welfare “hike” were far from accurate.  He said: “€5 a week increase in social welfare can hardly be described as a hike and in fact the new basic rate is still slightly less than it was a decade ago but has a considerably lower buying power.  In real terms those on the lowest incomes have gone backwards from an already straitened position”.

Cllr. Éilis Ryan

Responding to the announcement, Cllr. Éilis Ryan (Workers’ Party, North Inner City) said:

“It is offensive to suggest that young people should no longer assume they have the right to a secure home. And this is what Minister Murphy is effectively doing.

“The “shared living” arrangement which he is suggesting as a route towards increasing housing for young people, would mean fully grown adults sharing kitchens and living rooms with dozens of other people. This may be an arrangement some choose, but it is not anybody’s definition of a home.”

Cllr. Ryan also pointed out how expensive the proposed ‘co-living’ arrangements are elsewhere, saying:

“Minister Murphy pointed to ‘the collective’ in London as an example to be replicated. But rents at ‘the collective’ start at over €900 a month, for less space, autonomy and rights than traditional rental accommodation.

“Even by London’s standards, this is far from affordable. So why is the Minister telling us it will be affordable here?”

Cllr. Ryan concluded that, yet again, the government is doing everything within its power to avoid building public housing, saying:
“This ‘co-living’ proposal is transparently driven by the interests of developers. Who else other than a developer benefits from squeezing more adults into the one living space?

“It is laughable that the Minister expects us to believe that such ridiculous arrangements are more likely to provide decent homes for young people than the obvious solution – building public housing.”

Responding to news that the State has been referred to European Court of Justice (ECJ) for its non-compliance with the Commission’s verdict on the Apple tax case, Éilis Ryan, Workers’ Party councillor in Dublin, criticised the government and demanded that it drop its appeal.

Ryan said:

‘The government is throwing good money after bad on legal fees in pursuit of this appeal. It should drop the appeal immediately and move to collect the outstanding tax money owed to the state. This money is badly needed for expenditure on public services for ordinary citizens and taxpayers who make more than their fair share of a contribution to the public purse while big multinationals dodge their taxes.’

Ryan continued:

‘This appeal is borne out of class interests – the interests of those who benefit from our tax haven economy and whom Fine Gael are beholden to – the multinationals, the legal firms, the accounting firms. It goes against the interests of the majority of people in Ireland who could benefit massively from the €13 billion being collected and invested in a programme of state investment in jobs, housing and childcare.’

Ryan concluded:

‘Such a state investment programme could improve the quality of life of the majority of people in Ireland and begin to move the economy away from it’s current function as a haven for tax-dodging multinationals. Unfortunately the government seems intent on pursuing an economic strategy purely based on bending the knee to large multinational firms. When the European Union and its institutions are criticising you for pursuing a strategy that is too neoliberal, it is past time to reconsider.’

Responding to reports today (Tuesday), Cllr. Éilis Ryan of the Workers’ Party said:

“European interest rates are so low, that the Housing Finance Agency is already in a position to lend to local authorities to build housing at rates of in and around 2%. In that context, the idea that NAMA’s proposed 4-5% interest rates are ‘cheap’ is absurd.”

Cllr. Ryan continued by saying that ultimately, whether housing was private or public, the costs of financing would be borne by ordinary workers and families:

“The government and NAMA will no doubt defend this lending plan by saying it is targetted at commercial for-profit builders.

“But at the end of the day it is ordinary working people who will bear the cost of these interest rates – whether when purchasing a home, or through the cost to the state of buying Part V social housing from developers.”

Cllr. Ryan said that any funding which NAMA has is effectively state money, and should be used as such.

“NAMA and any money which it accumulates is without doubt state-owned. It is the Irish people who paid for its activities through the nose, after all.

“With that in mind, a far more cost effective plan would be for NAMA to lend what money it has for the building of a drastically expanded supply of public housing, at interest rates in line with those offered by the HFA. Cost rental public housing, available to all income levels, can cover its own costs and, as such, is a viable commercial enterprise for NAMA to undertake.

But this government remains intent on NAMA giving property developers yet another leg up.”

Cllr. Éilis Ryan (Workers’ Party, Dublin) said the Ryanair debacle has exposed just how vulnerable Ireland is in the absence of a state-owned airline, saying:

“What we have seen over the past number of weeks is how little control we have over private airlines. They are, in effect, a law onto themselves, and can start and stop services on whim. As an island nation, the fact that we have no state-run airline, means we are exposed to massive vulnerabilities.

“What if Ryanair wasn’t the only airline cancelling flights? Where would we be left?”

Cllr. Ryan said that it was time to recognise that the progressive sell off of Aer Lingus between 2006 and 2015 had been a catastrophic mistake:
“As Aer Lingus was gradually privatised over the past decade, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour said those who suggested the ‘doomsday’ scenario of Ireland being left without connections to the wider world, were scaremongering.

“But would they have believed that Ryanair would cancel the flights of 400,000 passengers in a matter of weeks? The reality is that private companies will do what they need to do to protect themselves. Aer Lingus’s multinational owners have no loyalties to Ireland.”

The Workers’ Party said that nationalising Aer Lingus was the only way to establish safeguards which ensure Ireland retains connectivity with the rest of the world, saying:
“We’ve seen with the banks, with landlords, with waste collection – regulating private companies is expensive and doesn’t work. If we want to have control over what flights operate out of Ireland, we must take Aer Lingus back into state hands.”