Arborist – Taxi

Those were the days, my friend.

Arborist is the alter ego of Belfast musician Mark McCambridge, whose debut album Home Burial received rave reviews in Uncut Magazine and The Guardian in 2016.

Now the follow-up A Northern View (top) is set to be released next month by Kilkenny’s Rollercoaster Records and has also been rapturously received by Uncut.

Taxi is the first single from the new album and Sam O’Mahony‘s soulful video complements the gripping spoken word tale of a 1970s rock’n’roll life remembered.

The digital single available on bandcamp also features a nifty remix by Seamus Fogarty.

Arborist launch A Northern View in Belfast’s The Menagerie on February 28.

Nick says: Special branch.

Arborist

This morning.

Fianna Fáil General Election HQ, Dublin.

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Finance Michael McGrath TD (centre), Barry Cowen (right), spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Dublin City Councillor Deirdre Heney (left) at a press briefing on the party’s personal taxation proposals.

To wit:

The party is planning to reduce the 4.5% Universal Social Charge rate to 3.5%.

It is proposing to increase the standard rate of income tax band by €3,000 for an individual, and €6,000 for a couple.

Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath said his party would also increase the so-called rainy day fund from €500,000 to €750,000 per year – bringing the fund to €5.2bn by 2025.

Tax cuts and increased spending.

Apart from bitter experience, why the hell not?

Rollingnews

Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar shakes hands with candidate Peter Casey at the Presidential election count centre at Dublin Castle on November 27, 2018

This afternoon.

Via The Irish Times:

Peter Casey has put his name on the ballot paper in Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Dublin West constituency as an “obvious protest vote” against the Fine Gael leader, while focusing on winning a seat in the Donegal constituency.

On Wednesday morning Mr Casey, the businessman and former presidential candidate, submitted his papers to contest the Dublin West race, having submitted papers to stand in Donegal on Tuesday. There is no restriction on a candidate running in multiple constituencies.

Peter Casey to stand in both Donegal and Dublin West (Irish Times)

Earlier: A Race Of Angels

Rollingnews

Musician Steve Cruikshank likes to take a well known song and replace the original harmony with the ’mirror’ or ‘negative harmony’, which can make for a curious but not entirely unpleasant cover: in this case, Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound Of Silence’ (1965).

awesomer

Last night.

On RTÉ One’s Prime Time.

Miriam O’Callaghan hosted a near 25-minute debate on housing and homelessness with People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett, Labour’s Jan O’Sullivan, Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Bróin, Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy, and Fianna Fáil’s Darragh O’Brien.

The politicians discussed their policies while Ms O’Callaghan had the following exchange with the minister after she recalled how a homeless man suffered life-changing injuries while the tent within which he was sleeping was removed by from along the Grand Canal near Leeson Street Bridge in Dublin last Tuesday…

Eoghan Murphy: “We took over the housing brief in 2016 and we’ve doubled the number of homes built. Now that’s not enough but we’re going to double it again if we’re elected to Government.”

Miriam O’Callaghan: “Just to go back to that homeless man at the canal. I mean your leader’s instinct was first to look for a statement from a Fianna Fáil politician.”

Murphy: “Leo Varadkar’s first instinct was shock and anger and then he was upset about it. And I know this because I work with him. And he expressed sympathy when he was first asked about it. But the best way to help that individual, and other individuals, is actually not the route to emergency accommodation, it’s the route to a home.

“And that’s Housing First. People talk about how they’ve solved homelessness in Finland and some large cities. It’s that Housing First model.

“You build homes for single individuals, you take them from emergency, from the streets, into the home and you wrap the care and supports around them. And we’ve introduced that and we’ve helped more than 300 people…”

O’Callaghan: “But by any measure I suppose, in 2016, young people weren’t able to buy their own homes, rents were escalating, thousands were falling into homelessness. Four years on, that situation is exactly, more or less, the same.”

“By any measure you have failed.”

Murphy: “Well since that period, we’ve been able to help 11,000 people out of homelessness. It’s not enough but those people are in homes now because of the supports that we gave. And what we did start, when we took over the housing brief, was we did focus in, not just on building more private homes, but social homes as well.

“So, in 2016, I think it was less than 1,000 social houses were built. I mean actually new homes built. Last year it was more than 6,000…”

Meanwhile…

During the programme…

Architect Orla Hegarty tweeted:

“Social housing ‘delivered’ in recent years, significant amounts purchased and leased (Research: Killian Woods, of the Business Post)”

And…

Oh.

Yesterday: ‘It’s Not Possible To Make Housing More Affordable By Just Increasing Supply’

Watch Prime Time back in full here

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty

Last night.

The Irish Independent reported that public service employees, who joined after April 6, 1995 and who can retire at 63, can access a supplemental pension equal to the State pension until their State pension begins to be paid out at 66.

However, this is not available to private sector workers who are legally obliged to retire at 65.

Instead, they must claim Jobseekers’ Benefit until they reach the age of 66.

The State pension age is due to go to 67 next year and 68 from 2028.

The Jobseekers’ Benefit payment, the Irish Independent reported, is €45 less than the supplemental pension that public service workers can receive.

Later last night, Hugh O’Connell reported that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, on the campaign trail, said “Fine Gael plans to introduce a transition payment at the same rate as the State pension to avoid people having to apply for the dole when they retire”.

The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty then released a statement saying:

“Tonight, I can confirm that this new transition pension will be paid at a rate equivalent to the Contributory State Pension. This change provides financial certainty to people retiring at 66.”

This morning.

Philip Ryan, of the Irish Independent, told RTÉ’s Seán O’Rourke:

“They’re all scrambling to get around this. Really they’ve been pushed into this corner by the Labour party and Sinn Féin who’ve made commitments. The Labour party not to allow the increase to go next year to 67 and Sinn Féin to go even further and say it will be reduced to 65.

“So both parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been all over the place on this, I think.

“And last night we had, first of all we had the Taoiseach suggesting that it’s transitional payment which would match the State pension would be introduced for people who are retiring from 65 onwards.

“Then the statement came out from Social Protection, Minister Regina Doherty, seemed to be suggesting that this transitional payment will only kick in next year when the State pension goes up to 67.

“So we’re a little bit, still unclear on where the parties stand on this.

“And then you also have Fianna Fáil, Micheál Martin, at one point saying that, he seemed to be deferring the increase, pending a review. But now they seem to be going for the transitional payment as well.”

Anyone?

Transitional payment for retirees at same rate as State pension to avoid anomaly confirmed (The Irish Independent)

Listen back in full here

Rollingnews

This morning.

In the past 25 minutes.

Former Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey released a statement to say she will not be seeking re-election on February 8th, 2020.

It follows the party’s National Executive Council deselecting her as a candidate for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown constituency in November.

Previously: ‘I Found Myself On The Floor’

Font Farewell

Via Maria Bailey

UPDATE:

Tommy Broughan after he was elected to the Dáil in 2011

Tommy Broughan, a long-time public representative for the constituency of Dublin Bay North (previously Dublin North East) has today announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming General Election.

Mr Broughan was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1992 as a Labour Deputy, became an Independent in 2011 and successfully contested the 2016 election.

…Mr Broughan says “I’d like to sincerely thank all my friends and my constituents of Dublin Bay North (and Dublin North East) for their support over the years.

“After lengthy discussions with my family, staff and long deliberations, I decided not to contest the upcoming General Election.

“It was a very difficult decision since I have been a public representative for almost 29 years.

“I wish my former Technical Group colleagues, Catherine Connolly, Joan Collins and Thomas Pringle all the very best on February 8th next.”

Broughan decides not to contest the general election 2020 (Tommy Broughan)

Rollingnews

Gerard tweetz:

What famous (or infamous) FG recently retired TD/Minister of State still has one of his election signs (must be 10 years old) lying around tourist spot Monsktown, County Cork?

Dara Murphy?

Previously: Cheating Us All

Broadsheet.ie