Tag Archives: Fine Gael

This afternoon.

RTÉ’s Vincent Kearney tweetz:

No B word: Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar is keen to talk about Brexit but so far travelling across counties Dublin, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Tipperary, Cork and Limerick with David Goldsmith to cover the general election for RTÉ News I’ve yet to hear a single person mention it.

Meanwhile…

 

Governernment policy on pension qualifying age “wholly unacceptable” – Patricia King (ICTU)

Scramble for grey vote with pension age row (Independent,ie)

Martin pledges to defer increasing pension age to 67 if FF takes power (Herald)

.

This morning.

Davos, Switzerland.

The Irish Times reports:

European commissioner for trade Phil Hogan has stepped in to address business leaders attending IDA Ireland’s annual dinner at Davos this week, as the Irish contingent at the World Economic Forum (WEF) is shaping up to be the smallest in recent times.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had been due to host the IDA dinner on Thursday for 40-50 international executives at the Swiss Alpine village, but this was cancelled last week as he called a general election for February 8th. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe also cancelled his planned appearance as the campaign got under way.

WEF regulars Bono and Denis O’Brien will also not be attending this year, according to their representatives.

Phil Hogan to address business leaders at IDA event at Davos (Joe Brennan, The Irish Times)

Getty

Meanwhile…

A new report by Oxfam has found that Ireland has 17 billionaires – the fifth highest number of billionaires per capita in the world.

Oxfam launched the study ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos which begins later today.

In its summary, Oxfam writes:

“Economic inequality is out of control. In 2019, the world’s billionaires, only 2,153 people, had more wealth than 4.6 billion people.

“This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system that values the wealth of the privileged few, mostly men, more than the billions of hours of the most essential work – the unpaid and underpaid care work done primarily by women and girls around the world.”

The report can be read in full here

Rollingnews

This morning.

Middle pic from left: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister for Business and Enterprise Heather Humphreys, Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe speaking to the media in Dublin on day two of campaigning for the general election 2020.

Fine Gael in 200,000 jobs pledge at economic plan launch (RTÉ)

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…


This morning.

Fianna Fáil’s Finance Spokesperson Michael McGrath and Brexit Spokesperson Lisa Chambers at the party’s election headquarters for a press briefing on the economy and Brexit on day two of the general election 2020.

Fianna Fail pledges to ‘do a better job’ with public finances (Belfast Telegraph)

Leah Farrell/RollingNews

A letter the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty sent to her constituents earlier this month

The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty recently wrote a letter to her constituents in which she stated:

“I ensured that tips in our hospitality sector are paid to employees and not withheld.”

However, last June…

The Irish Times reported:

A Bill to prevent employers deducting or withholding tips from employees has been passed by the Seanad despite Government opposition.

Senators voted by 25 to 14 on an amendment to the Sinn Féin National Minimum Wage (Protection of Employee Tips) Bill and then passed the Bill without a vote.

Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan, who introduced the legislation, rejected as “completely wrong” claims by Minister for Employment Affairs Regina Doherty that the legislation would result in tips being taxed under the PAYE system and would have knock-on negative effects on workers’ entitlements to social welfare supports.

…Independent Senator Michael McDowell sharply criticised Ms Doherty for putting a “money message” on the legislation, required for Bills that will have an impact on the exchequer.

He said it was an “absolutely threadbare and totally unacceptable suggestion” that it involves appropriating the public revenue.

Mr McDowell said that “in a society transforming itself to a cashless society it is wholly wrong that that entirely positive development is used as a licence to plunder workers’ pockets”.

There you go now.

Meanwhile…

Last Monday, before the election date was called, Ms Doherty was interviewed by Seán O’Rourke on RTÉ’s Today with Seán O’Rourke, during which she told Mr O’Rourke:

“Nobody ever reads manifestos during the election. Seán, you know that.”

Listen back to the interview in full here

Pic: One Galway

UPDATE:

Just now.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar “drops” a Fine Gael general election video – although he’s the only Fine Gael party member mentioned in it.

It also confirms that the party’s slogan is “A Future To Look Forward To”.

Hmm.

Earlier: “A Future To Look Forward To”

Helen McEntee and Leo Varadkar on RTÉ in May 2019

Minutes ago…

Minister of State for European Affairs and Fine Gael TD Helen McEntee was interviewed on RTÉ Radio One’s Today with Seán O’Rourke.

Mr O’Rourke asked Ms McEntee if it’s correct that Fine Gael’s election slogan is “A Future To Look Forward To”.

The minister largely repeated what Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told RTÉ’s This Week on Sunday.

His main points were that it took seven years for Fine Gael to fix the economy; as a consequence of that, the party could only invest in public infrastructure over the past two years; that the party acknowledges its shortcomings and failings; and that it’s asking the electorate to allow it to continue doing what its doing.

Later, Tipperary Independent TD Mattie McGrath quipped that Fine Gael’s slogan should be “Keep The Arrogance Going” – in a nod to the party’s previous 2016 election slogan “Let’s Keep The Recovery Going”.

In 2011, the party’s election slogan was “Let’s Get Ireland Working” which was very similar to the title of an weekly Irish Sun jobs supplement “Get Ireland Working” at the time.

From Mr O’Rourke and Ms McEntee’s exchange:

Seán O’Rourke: “Helen McEntee, is it correct that the Fine Gael slogan in this campaign is ‘A Future To Look Forward To’?”

Helen McEntee: “Well I think what we’re focused on is a future for everybody to look forward to. As I’ve said we have made huge progress but it’s not enough and we acknowledge, in particular, and the Taoiseach, over the weekend, acknowledged that we still had massive challenges.

“In particular in health and housing.

“But we are actually starting to see progress and listening to [Sinn Féin TD] David [Cullinane] there you would assume that nothing has happened. No houses have been built, and there is nothing being invested in our health service.

“We have the largest health budget than ever before. While we know that we have difficulties, particularly in our emergency departments, we’re investing in our primary care centres, in our community teams across the country and things like that take time to start filtering through into our hospitals.

“In terms of our houses, we’ve built, as I’ve said earlier on, it’s only in the past two and a half years that we’ve had money, that we’ve only in the past two and a half years probably had a construction sector that was able to function, given the fact that it was so decimating because of the Fianna Fáil previous government.

“But we have now built and brought 50,000 houses into the market. We will have 10,000 further social houses this year. And this is because we have a plan for our housing sector.

“We have a plan for the health sector, we have a plan for childcare, for climate change….”

Meanwhile…

Listen back in full here

Yesterday: “You Had Nine Years”

Earlier: Saturday, February 8

Pic: Eamon Melia