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ARCHIVE CONTENT
Presidential Contest is Over, Party is Ready to Move On
Gay Mitchell's Presidential Bid
Process begins to put Shannon Airport on the right footing – Carey
Vote Yes for fairness on Judges’ pay and give Power back to the People
Carey welcomes announcement of major cargo facility at Shannon Airport
Barry welcomes change to JobBridge criteria

Wednesday, 2 November, 2011
Presidential Contest is Over, Party is Ready to Move On
The Fine Gael Party chairman, Charlie Flanagan has said that the lessons of the Presidential campaign will be digested and taken on board. Following a meeting of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party this evening, he said the Presidential campaign had been discussed, but was far from the dominant item on the agenda.

"The party has discussed the matter, and a number of different views were expressed. As is customary after each election - good, bad or indifferent - I have been commissioned, as Director of Elections, to prepare a report on the campaign. I will do this in the coming weeks.

"I hasten to add, that the situation in Greece and the Eurozone crisis is of far more concern to Fine Gael parliamentary party members, and the general public. This was discussed in far more depth tonight, and remains the primary concern of anyone who has Ireland's best interests at heart."

Friday, 28 October, 2011
Gay Mitchell's Presidential Bid
"Gay Mitchell has fought a brave, committed and honest campaign. The Fine Gael party is proud of him for having had the courage to stand as a candidate, in what has been a bruising campaign for all concerned.

We have no doubt that he will continue his long record of unbroken public service - as an MEP and elsewhere. We would also like to thank all of the party representatives, staff and activists who worked so hard on this campaign.

We congratulate Michael D Higgins, who we expect to be a fine President. The Taoiseach and the Fine Gael party look forward to working with him.

The Irish people clearly now have a particular view of the Irish Presidency and of the type of person they wish to see fill the role. The party will take this on board and reflect upon it.

In the crucial weeks ahead the party will continue with the job it was mandated to do in Government - repairing the damage done to our economy and in so doing, getting people back to work. "

October 23rd 2011
Process begins to put Shannon Airport on the right footing – Carey
Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has strongly welcomed the announcement from Minister Leo Varadkar that consultants have been appointed to examine the various options of ownership and operation which will work in the best interests of Shannon Airport.

Deputy Carey has been consulting with local residents, the business community and Government colleagues on the best way forward for the airport.

Consistently, Deputy Carey has said his belief that the current business model at Shannon is not serving the airport, or indeed the Mid-West region, well.

Deputy Carey said: "I want to welcome Minister Varadkar's announcement that a study of the various options on the future ownership and operation of Shannon Airport will now take place. The consultants, Booz & Company, are tasked with reporting back to the Minister later this year.

"It is now the duty of all stakeholders in the region to use this opportunity to have their input into the future direction of Shannon Airport. I have been advocating this approach for some time and am looking forward to presenting the consultants with a submission which I have worked on for the past number of months following a process of engagement with business, tourist and political interests in the region.

"For far too long Shannon Airport has been on a spiral of decline. The governance model is not working. Currently, there is no coherent long term plan which anyone can point to, which maps a way forward for the airport. This will be a short, professional and expert review conducted with a view to putting a proper plan in place and analysing what the best way forward for Shannon is.

"Minister Varadkar is to be congratulated for listening to the concerns and ambitions expressed by myself and others in the Mid-West in relation to Shannon. We in the Mid West Region need to grasp this opportunity with both hands and in so doing change the fortunes of our Airport for the better. A healthy Shannon means a healthy Mid-West.”

October 23, 2011
Vote Yes for fairness on Judges’ pay and give Power back to the People
Enda Kenny T.D., Taoiseach and Leader of Fine Gael, has today (Sunday) called for Yes votes on both referendums due to come before the Irish people on 27th October - to reduce judges’ pay in line with other public servants and to give increased powers of inquiry to Oireachtas Committees..

Speaking from Brussels, he said: “This is about fairness. It is about ensuring that pay reductions that apply across the Public Service also apply to the Judiciary. If approved of by the Irish people, this provision will ensure that no part of the Public Service is excluded from pay cuts that apply to other Public Servants. This provision in no way impinges on the independence of the Judiciary in the exercise of their functions.”

Regarding the Oireachtas Inquiries Referendum, the Taoiseach said: “If passed by the electorate this change to the Constitution will provide an effective alternative to tribunals in certain instances, and allow issues of public importance to be put under the spotlight in a public, cost-efficient and timely fashion by democratically elected representatives of the Irish people.”

“Voting Yes on the 27th October will provide a cross-party parliamentary system of inquiry which will ensure that when matters of importance to the general public come to light, they can be subjected to rigorous inquiry. It will deliver on political reform by making our system more open, transparent and effective on behalf of the public.”

editorial

Carey welcomes announcement of major cargo facility at Shannon Airport
Cargo hub will bring jobs and growth to the region
Fine Gael TD for Clare, Joe Carey, has today (Thursday) welcomed the news that a major international cargo facility is set to be established at Shannon Airport, following an agreement between Lynx Cargo and the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). The formal announcement is expected this afternoon.

“Today’s news will come as a fantastic boost to Clare and the entire Shannon region. It will have a positive impact on jobs and it will send out a clear message about the potential for business opportunities across the Mid West.

“I have been campaigning for a number of years for this facility to be set up at Shannon. I raised the issue a number of times with the last Government and most recently with the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar. The development of an international cargo hub was also among the recommendations of the Mid-West Taskforce Report, under the Chairmanship of Denis Brosnan.

“The new cargo facility will provide ease of access to international companies, and should help to encourage major firms to set up in the region. It’s good to hear that the cargo terminal will have a state of the art temperature control system for high value goods, thereby giving tailored options for potential clients.

“I believe the cargo hub could also help to secure new airlines at Shannon. It follows on from the opening up of US border and customs pre-clearance for passengers, and there is potential to extend the same clearance to cargo at the airport. In the future, full US cargo pre-clearance could further enhance Shannon's reputation as a major cargo transport hub. Over the months ahead I intend to continue to work on this proposal with Minister Varadkar.

“Too often the issue of Shannon Airport was kicked to touch by previous governments, leaving the facility to decline and flounder without a much needed long-term business vision. I have always held the view that Shannon Airport has a sustainable and prosperous economic future. We now have a chance to seize this moment, so let’s make this the first step on the road to recovery and economic stability for Shannon Airport to the benefit of everyone in the Mid West.”

Thursday, September 22nd 2011
Barry welcomes change to JobBridge criteria
Fine Gael TD for Cork East, Tom Barry, has welcomed a change to the JobBridge Internship Scheme, which removes a loophole that was preventing some unemployed people from taking advantage of the initiative.

“I wrote to the Taoiseach and other members of the Cabinet in recent weeks to highlight an anomaly in the JobBridge scheme, which was preventing unemployed people on training courses from taking up internships.

“Under the criteria for JobBridge, a person must be on the live register for at least three months before they are eligible for an internship. However, this meant that people who were out of work and had taken up a training course, were missing out on the opportunity.

“This was preventing ideal candidates from participating. I highlighted the case of one constituent; a very capable, well trained and qualified individual who was attending a FÁS course in Cork and therefore couldn’t apply for what was an ideal internship for him. It makes absolutely no sense to prevent unemployed people from taking up work placements, while at the same time paying for them to attend a training course to help them get back to work.

“JobBridge is a very timely and potentially valuable scheme and any highlighted anomalies must be immediately tackled. I am delighted that these points were taken on board and revisions were quickly made.

“The Department of Social Protection has confirmed that taking part in a training, education or community scheme will not prevent a person from being able to take up an internship straight away. It’s very positive that this glitch has been promptly corrected and it sends out the right signal that the Government is willing to listen and take action when required.”