An Bord Snip presents a major threat to education – Daly

Some of the proposed economies by An Bord Snip could have a devastating effect on the Irish Education system according to Fine Gael Councillor Richard Daly.

“The amalgamation of small schools, the increase in the pupil teacher ratio, the reduction in SNA numbers, the increase in the school transport charges, etc., are an attack on our most vulnerable – our children and our future.

Undoubtedly the financial circumstances which the Fianna Fail led governments have led us into have resulted in our country going from boom to bust inside a twelvemonth period but to ask the innocent to pay for the sins of the guilty is a further insult to the people of the country.

Education has suffered the indignity of inadequate accommodation in times of plenty and yet it was the foundation of our economic prowess over the last decade. When times were good we were told to wait and education would be prioritised but before it could happen the times had changed and education must once more pay for the failings of government.

Our educators have been leaders in their communities, our parents have fundraised to provide basics for their children in schools and recently we have had the axe waved over book grants, LCA grants, Transition Year grants, Summer Works Schemes and much more. Now an Bord Snip sees education as another target for assault.

Financial considerations alone should not dictate our education system. Certainly it would be profitable to amalgamate all primary schools in an area and have one large economic unit but being profitable is not what education is about. If we close all small rural schools, all small rural post offices and garda stations we could probably save millions. If we abandon all rural community transport initiatives and encourage our rural isolated communities to move to larger settlements we could save millions on water, telecommunication and transport costs.

An Bord Snip was asked to look at economic solutions, to bean count and in that regard it has done its work. It is now the challenge for politicians to decide what sort of a society we want. While we have to pay the piper we still have the decision of the tune and our greatest challenge is in deciding that tune.”said Cllr Daly

“I believe that the weakest and most marginalised must be protected. They are easy targets and can be used as scapegoats to pay for the mismanagement of our finances. This is where our values as a society will be tested. Those on Social Welfare, on Disability, in rural schools, on medical waiting lists, in dole queues and in the special needs category are now standing in a line waiting to see whose names are called to pay for a situation which was not of their making. We must be honourable in the decisions which we have to make and protect those who most need it.”

ENDS

Daly to prioritise Southern Distributor Road at Council level

Following his election to Kildare County Council and Athy Town Council, Cllr Richard Daly has said that his major focus will be in trying to advance the Southern Distributor route for Athy.

“Athy’s progress is being strongly hampered by the continuous traffic congestion which affects both the business and social life of the town. For decades the town has been divided by different routes but during the last council all attention is now focused on the Southern Distributor road and I will be adding my voice at county level for the immediate advancement of same.

All of the preliminary work on the environmental and acquisition issues has been completed and now it has come down to a financial issue. A former Minister for Transport assured public representatives that when we got to this stage that the necessary funding would be made available. Despite the current economic situation I am calling on the government to honour this commitment and this will be my main area of focus in the weeks ahead.” said Cllr Daly

“I have in the past spent nine years lobbying for the new college which is now under construction and hope that this piece of infrastructure can be delivered more speedily” he concluded.

There has been shameful neglect of many of our citizens in times of plenty - Daly

Following his visit to the constituency during the election campaign Cllr Richard Daly of Fine Gael says that there has been a shameful neglect of many of our citizens

From my visits throughout Athy and surrounding areas I am saddened by the number of constituents who have been neglected in our community. Each day I have come across people who have been waiting interminably for basic services which have failed to be delivered.

Hardly a day has passed when I have not come across a person waiting for delivery of a renovation or an alteration to their home to allow them to live a better quality of life. While some of our more fortunate citizens have been lucky to experience an increase in their living their living standards there are others who have not been able to access parts of their own home or who are waiting for basic sanitation alterations to allow them some simple comfort.

Our society can only be judged by how our less fortunate are treated and I am sad to say that throughout our district there are many who have been treated with neglect.

It is hard to believe that home renovations sanctioned last year to some elderly incapacitated persons have not yet been completed and have recently been put on hold because of financial cutbacks.

While billions have been pumped into a banking system which still is not releasing financial support to businesses and home owners, the few thousand required for home adaptation for people who are elderly, infirmed and disabled has been withdrawn.

Getting our country back on track means more than just evicting the current incumbents, it means immediately addressing the real victims of social injustice. It means delivering real service to the people who opt to live in their communities instead of moving into institutional care. It means providing Book Grants and SNAs to our children in schools and it means giving medical cards and home help to our elderly.

This is not an election about power but about reclaiming our country from a corrupt and neglectful government

Tegral workers suffer because of government failure– Daly

As 28 more workers are faced with redundancy from the Tegral factory the true impact of government policy is being felt in Athy according to Cllr Richard Daly of Fine Gael.

“The complete collapse of the building industry and the failure of any government incentive on any public projects has left another group of Tegral workers faced with redundancy as demand slumps.

Protecting existing jobs is as vital and is usually considerably easier than creating new ones but the government have taken their eye completely off the ball and allowed industries throughout the country to experience massive job losses.

In the best of times Athy suffered high unemployment to a point where an Investment forum was established to attract employment opportunities.

To see an existing company like Tegral shed more of its workforce is a huge disappointment to the workers, their families and the whole town. Recently we have seen the closure of a number of retail outlets and more importantly the Batchelors factory with the loss of more and more jobs.

At this stage only a change of government could instil some confidence into our ailing economy. While the rest of the world is battling and beginning to overcome recession we are failing to take any action, watching our credit rating decline and are years behind the world recovery.”

“Tegral can not be allowed to be a casualty of government failure and must be protected. Immediate action is required if one of our town’s few remaining industries is to be secured.” Said Cllr Daly

Minister Ahern about to shoot himself in the foot over gun laws – Daly

As Minister Ahern proposes changes to the firearms section of the Criminal Justice Bill he must be made to realise that the licensed gun holders in this country are not the ones who are causing the problem according to Cllr Richard Daly of Fine Gael.

With the subtlety of a sledge hammer Minister Ahern has once again aimed his fire against the licensed firearm owners of this country. These sportsmen and women engage in various shooting competitions and the minister is attempting to criminalise them in an attempt to be seen as doing something as street gun crime is escalating out of control.

His first salvo is against one section of the gun fraternity who engage in the sport of pistol shooting. The logic of “because it could be stolen and used for crime” is laughable in an age when the streets of our cities are awash with illegal firearms which come as free gifts with drugs shipments.

This logic can next be applied to rifles, shotguns, crossbows, bows and arrows and darts. The minister obviously believes that disarming the people who engage in any of these sports will immediately encourage all of the criminal fraternity to turn up at their local Garda station and hand in their armoury of weapons. Members of the gun clubs have strict adherence to regulation for the storage and transport of their guns.

Gun owners support strict regulation for the safety of all and are quite willing to undergo whatever training and courses are necessary are necessary to keep the sport safe. Those who use guns for sport are now being treated like those who use guns as weapons and this is grossly unfair and illogical. Remember that this latest proposal is from the same brain team that brought us the e-voting, PPARS, removal of the Medical Card, and many many more ridiculous decisions.

The number of legally held handguns has increased dramatically in this country in recent years because it only became legal to own handguns in recent years. Sporting clubs which throughout our troubled past existed in the North of Ireland were only permitted in the South since there is a more peaceful atmosphere. Minister Ahern almost seems surprised that rifle and pistol clubs would require licensed guns and is now running around like a headless chicken in an attempt to restrict them.

Gun clubs do not cause crime. The guns that cause crime and death are the illegal ones held by criminals. Please do something about this, Minister, instead of penalising the well run and highly regulated gun fraternity. Children on the streets of Dublin are able to get their hands on handguns and the minister’s response is to attack the legitimate gun clubs who are astonished by his reaction.

Like the rest of the mismanagement of this country it would well behove our minister to address the real problems instead of wasting time and money fixing a problem that doesn’t exist. At this stage our country would be better served by just getting rid of this government rather than have to waste time battling each of their ridiculous decisions.