Improve access to training/education
We will ensure that prisoners are ready for release and that they have options other than a return to crime by providing greater access to skills training and education than ever before,
thereby breaking the vicious circle of re-offending.
Drugs in prison
We will crack down on drug use in prisons
and provide real treatment programmes for inmates who suffer from addiction.
We will also provide for separation of drug-free inmates from those receiving treatment.
Re-offending rates
We will take action to reduce the current rate of re-offending from 75% so that criminals who go to prison don’t leave and commit more crime.
We will provide alternative staged release programmes so that (particularly long-term) inmates are gradually re-introduced into society,
and so that they have options other than a return to a life of crime.
VICTIMS CHARTER
We will produce a schedule of rights that victims can expect when dealing with the criminal justice system
Information
We will ensure that victims are kept informed at all stages throughout the Criminal Justice process
so that they can see how it is both aware of and vindicating their rights.
We will ensure that the victim(s) and/or their families are kept updated on how the case against their alleged perpetrator is progressing and on prison release dates.
Representation
We will require that rights of the victim are vindicated during the sentencing process and that a ‘plea in prosecution’ is put forward from the DPP with a view to achieving clarity in the mind of the judge and to assist him or her in his or her function.
We will ensure that the prosecution automatically makes submissions regarding sentencing precedents at the sentencing stage (whether requested by the judge or not),
highlighting, in particular, any aggravating factors.
Compensation
We will ensure that victims of serious crime will be compensated for criminal wrongs committed against them through reform of the current system of compensation.
Restoration
We will allow victims, wherever appropriate, to avail of restorative justice measures with three main benefits:
putting the victim centre stage (to the extent they wish), seeking to bring home to the accused an appreciation of the damage that he or she has done,
and reducing the rate of re-offending by those who take part in this process (which evidence suggests is significantly lower).
We will require offenders (young people and first-time offenders in particular) to face up to their crime in a very concrete and challenging manner without the necessity for criminal convictions
and custodial sentences that are expensive and sometimes counter-productive.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAMME (WPP)
Reform of WPP
We will provide for a structured Witness Protection Programme that operates successfully to tackle gangland crime in particular.
We will introduce legislation to put the WPP on a statutory footing.
HOME DEFENCE
We will enact the Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006 to give more protection to homeowners to defend their homes and families,
and to create greater clarity for those who are unfortunate enough to encounter an intruder in their homes.
ENFORCEMENT OF COURT ORDERS
We will enact the Enforcement of Court Orders Bill 2006 so that court orders can be collected more easily,
both by instalment and by “attachment to earnings order”, so that fewer people unnecessarily end up in prison at significant expense to the tax payer.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
We will pass law to make it illegal to traffick a person,
to create better protection for the victims of sexual exploitation
to create better protection for the victims of sexual exploitation and to seize the assets of criminals involved in sexual slavery.
RE-BALANCING THE CRIMINAL LAW
We will examine and implement the recommendations of the Department of Justice Committee on Re-balancing the Criminal Law.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
MARINE
Fine Gael will end the neglect of the Marine sector,
recognise the ocean of opportunity that exists in our coastal communities
and prioritise a six-point plan to revolutionise the marine sector.
PROPER INDUSTRY PLAN
Sustainability
We will immediately start the process of developing and implementing a biologically, environmentally and economically sustainable fishing industry development plan
in full consultation with the stakeholders covering the period 2007 to 2013.
The plan will cover all the sea and shore aspects including infrastructure requirements and will take full account of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Protection
We will protect our marine environment,
tourism
and maritime heritage.
We will lead the sustainable development of the maritime sector, maximise the quality of life in coastal regions and promote a plan that strengthens our maritime identity.
FLEET AND RESOURCES
Quota management
We will examine alternative quota management arrangements with a view to developing a management regime that accurately reflects the current state of our fleet and fish stocks.
Conservation
We will ensure stakeholder-driven, Technical Conservation Measures,
aimed at protecting fish stocks,
are placed on the EU agenda.
We will take measures, where practicable, inside our six-mile limits without requiring sanction at European level.
Sea Fisheries Bill
We will introduce an amendment to the Sea Fisheries Bill which will allow for a list of minor offences to be covered by administrative sanctions.
The majority of other EU states have successfully devolved the management of quotas to the producer organisations
and while Fine Gael is in favour of the State’s retaining control of quotas, some devolution may be beneficial.
PROCESSING AND MARKETING
Labelling
We will introduce quality assurance and eco-labelling schemes
for a range of species in an effort to add value to the fish being landed by our fishermen.
Research
We will initiate a research programme identifying those fisheries and species with the greatest development potential.
Production and marketing trials aimed at realising this potential will follow.
Expertise
We will utilise the food product development expertise available in Irish universities and will improve links with industry.
We will capitalise on Ireland’s clean image and exploit niche markets.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
STRUCTURAL REFORM
Department
We will revolutionise the structures that are trying but failing to boost this industry.
We are committed to creating a standalone Department of the Marine, with a senior Minister, who will sit at the Cabinet table.
Innovation
We will give priority to promoting market-led innovation
and commercial application of research findings.
We will also concentrate on new technologies in the fisheries
and processing/marketing sectors within the context of an aggressive promotion of Irish seafood in domestic and export markets.
Bord Iascaigh Mhara
We will ensure that part of a broader remit of Bord Iascaigh Mhara will be
to manage the Fishery Harbour Centres in an effective and efficient manner,
to carry out a full review of charges in consultation with the users
and to draw up a priority list of infrastructure needs
in each of the Fishery Harbour Centres in partnership with industry and provide detailed costings and timeframes.
We will ensure the necessary funding is provided in the budget for these priority infrastructure projects.
Advice
We will introduce a Marine Minister’s Advisory Committee comprising of stakeholders and officials
who will advise the Minister on an ongoing basis.
The committee will deal with immediate domestic and EU issues
but will also advise on future policy direction for the Irish fishing industry.
INSHORE FISHERIES
We will move quickly to ensure that the required management measures for inshore fisheries are introduced.
This will be carried out in partnership with the stakeholders,
through the national Species Advisory Groups, to ensure that the measures will be sensible, practical and effective.
FUNDING
We will progressively increase funding to the Marine by €25m per annum each year for five years.
We will also radically increase funding for the infrastructural development of coastal communities
and the marine sector through an increase in NDP funding.
This funding will address the failure of the government in only securing €37.5 million out of an overall budget of €3.545 billion under the European Fisheries Fund.
It will also address the failure of the Government to spend the €39 million allocated for inland fisheries section under the current NDP.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
NATURAL RESOURCES
Fine Gael will ensure Ireland reaps the economic benefit of our natural wealth
in a responsible, equitable and sustainable fashion.
GREATER AVAILABILITY OF NATURAL GAS
We will increase the availability and provision of natural gas throughout the regions
but particularly in areas of the West and North West with the objective of making them attractive for investment.
EXPLOITING OUR NATURAL MINERAL WEALTH
We will develop and utilise all natural gas resources and other minerals on and offshore by way of a fair, transparent and even-handed system of incentivisation coupled with a fair return to the State.
This applies to the Corrib gas field and other projects under exploration.
LICENSES
We will ensure that future licensing reflects sufficient incentivisation
to ensure ongoing exploration and an equitable return to the taxpayer.
NATIONAL OIL RESERVES
We will monitor the extent to which oil reserves under the control of the National Oil Reserves Agency require to be increased in line with demand.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
OLDER PEOPLE
Fine Gael recognises the important ongoing contribution senior citizens make in our society.
We are determined to promote active ageing
and are committed to assisting older people in living independently in their communities for as long as possible.
We will introduce the following measures:
Government
We will give recognition of older people at Government level to spearhead rights and entitlements of older people.
Minister
We will appoint a Minister for Older People
and will tackle ageist discrimination and implement our national strategy.
Office
We will ensure that a new Office for Older People will oversee development and implementation of the national strategy,
oversee bodies that provide services to the elderly,
consult with representative groups
and provide older people with full and adequate information on their rights and entitlements.
Ombudsman
We will establish an Ombudsman for Older People who will investigate complaints
and advocate on behalf of older people.
The Ombudsman will also be responsible for monitoring and reviewing legislation relating to older people
and promoting public awareness by collecting and disseminating information relating to rights and entitlement of older people.
Partnership
Fine Gael will create a National Partnership Forum for Older People
which will empower individuals and representative groups to become proactively involved in national strategy development.
Pensions
Fine Gael will increase the State Pension to at least €300 per week by 2012.
We will continue to invest 1% of national income in the National Pensions Reserve Fund to ensure adequate state provision for the future.
We will publish a Green Paper on Pensions early in the term of the new Government to identify the options for increasing pensions coverage across the working population,
and particularly among women, in order to generate an informed consensus on this crucial long-term issue.
Carers
We will introduce an individual means test for carers to increase eligibility for the carers allowance
(up to €200 per week) for children and spouses of older people (by excluding their spouse's income from the eligibility test).
Marriage Bar
We will take into consideration the negative impact of the marriage bar on many women’s financial circumstances when they reach pension age.
We are committed to examining ways to address this situation including extending the homemaker’s scheme
and making changes to the contributory state pension-averaging rule.
Housing and Planning
We will request that local authorities in conjunction with the HSE and voluntary bodies identify sites
in their development plans suitable for homes for the elderly including supported housing with adequate community and health facilities.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ACTIVE AGEING
Our strategy encourages and supports healthy, active and independent living for all people.
Health
Fine Gael will implement our Preventive Health Screening Policy to ensure early detection and treatment.
Regulating to protect patients.
Fine Gael will set up a patient’s watchdog with real teeth and clear responsibilities.
The people employed, or contracted, to provide care are accountable for the quality and standard of care which they provide.
The establishment of a Patient Safety Authority will put in place systems which will ensure that a patient, who has cause for concern about their treatment or care,
will have an advocacy system which can resolve the difficulties experienced.
The Patient Safety Authority will
Oversee the registration and accreditation of hospitals, inpatient and residential facilities
e.g. facilities providing care and/or treatment for persons who are ill, in need of care or who have a disability.
Set and monitor standards of patient safety in all registered health and social care facilities.
Set National Minimum Standards for health facilities.
Audit and monitor the standard of care provided in hospitals, nursing homes and residential centres.
Volunteers
We will encourage senior citizens to become actively involved in community and voluntary organisations.
Flexible Retirement
We support proposals for flexible retirement for all older people.
Home Support
We will develop support services for individuals in their own home so that home help, home care and meals-on-wheels services are improved.
We will introduce a handypersons service where volunteers will go to older people’s houses to perform basic tasks such as changing light bulbs, delivering shopping etc.
Supported Housing
Fine Gael will actively promote supported housing schemes
by providing voluntary housing associations and local authorities with funding to allow additional support services on site.
Sport - Under represented Groups
We will assess sporting infrastructure to address deficits which prevent older people, women and girls,
and those with disabilities from engaging in sporting activities.
Public Transport
We will investigate the possibility of introducing a public transport voucher system
for those who do not have access to transport services provided under the free travel scheme.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY AND BETTER VALUE FOR MONEY
During its two terms in office, this Government has overseen annual average growth in dayto-day exchequer spending (net voted current spending) of 11.2%, up from just 6.8% under the Rainbow Government.
Spending growth peaked at 22% in 2001, just before the last election and is projected to accelerate again to 13% in this election year.
This rate of spending growth has been far ahead of the growth in the economy and is not sustainable.
There is a requirement to slow growth in day-to-day spending down towards the rate of growth in the economy.
Fine Gael gives greater care and attention
to securing ‘value for money’ and efficiency
in the delivery of public services than has been the case over the last decade.
CLARITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
We will ensure that the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have a central role in setting a limited number of targets for the Government,
which will be translated into the estimates process.
An Estimates Strategy Group will assist this process.
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste will review Ministerial performance against high-level targets.
Government must have a clear sense of its strategic spending priorities,
which must be translated into high-level targets for Ministers.
We will ensure that clear areas of ministerial responsibility are identified
and there will be clear delegation of responsibilities to public servants where these occur.
THE ESTIMATES PROCESS
We will scrap the charade of Budget Day
and replace it with a modern system for the development of spending and tax proposals that will provide the Dáil with an opportunity for meaningful scrutiny
and debate about the choices being made.
We will publish draft spending estimates on the resumption of the Dáil after the summer recess.
This will include a New Resources Statement showing the manpower and funds going to new programmes
and setting out the performance targets in terms of outputs and outcomes to be achieved.
Any new programme will require a 5-year projection of costs and benefits.
We will implement our detailed plans for a more timely and relevant scrutiny by the Houses of the Oireachtas of the annual estimates,
including the establishment within the Houses of the Oireachtas
of an Estimates Commissioner.
STRENGTHENING EVALUATION AND FINANCIAL CONTROL
We will make expenditure review an integral part of expenditure planning
- with a minimum 20% of expenditure programmes reviewed each year.
We will appoint Finance Directors in all departments,
charged with the remit of delivering efficiency and overseeing internal audit and efficiency benchmarks.
We will appoint an Estimates Commissioner to assist the Oireachtas in evaluating spending and taxation choices.
We will give the Comptroller and Auditor General a new role to oversee improvements in corporate governance within departments and agencies.
We will subject Local Authorities to the same system of value for money scrutinizing under the direction of the Comptroller and Auditor General as applies in the rest of the Public Service.
We will introduce better accounting systems to allow civil and public service managers to make decisions on the basis of clearer benefits and costs,
including the introduction of full accrual accounting
and a system of capital charges that accounts for the value of assets held by public sector bodies.
STRATEGIC RESERVE FUND
We will set up a Strategic Reserve Fund of up to 2% of current spending to be assigned by Cabinet to promote reform to achieve best practice benchmarks in the delivery of key services.
This will substantially improve the capacity of government to achieve cross-cutting objectives.
CIVIL SERVICE CAPACITY
We will build the capability of our public service to manage the challenges thrown up by a programme of reform.
We will open up recruitment within the public service and in particular within the civil service.
All posts from principal officer and upwards would be open to public competitions.
Emphasis will be placed on building up the skill mix in areas such as IT, finance personnel and procurement.
We will ensure that performance management and pay systems are directly tied to the achievement of high-level targets.
REFORMING THE WIDER PUBLIC SERVICE
We will put in place a rolling review of existing public sector agencies to establish the scope for greater efficiency
through reforming the existing legal codes under which they operate,
through sharing of services
and through examining the continuing relevance of the agencies’ targets and operations.
We will establish a Benchmark and Change Framework to assist public service units to evaluate their service against best practice
and set out a programme of change to deliver improvements.
We will require every local unit,
be it a school,
hospital,
or Garda Station to report to the public
on how it deploys its resources
and what targets it is setting and achieving, and to hold monthly meetings to monitor and sustain progress.
We will ensure that each Government Department provides a Technical Support Unit to assist local agencies in this work identifying sources of international best practice,
promulgating success
and helping the preparation of change strategies.
We will ask the Central Statistics Office to develop methods of measuring public service productivity
and performance and of benchmarking service delivery against international benchmarks of best practice.
We will delegate greater responsibility and promote a dispersed model of public service with more user choice and more diversity.
We will require that contracting out be assessed by public sector managers as one way of delivering greater efficiency.
More innovation and local initiative to achieve best practice will be promoted.
We will use Limited Life Task Groups with a specified termination date to tackle dogged problems.
These teams will draw from people with experience on the ground
and aim to move away from office bound approaches limited by the rigid silo systems of the parent departments who ought to be cooperating in delivering tailored and integrated responses
GREATER USE OF ICT AND E-GOVERNMENT
We will use technology to improve the delivery of important public services,
such as taxation and social welfare.
Further progress will require flexibility in the recruitment and development of the people with the necessary expertise and experience,
particularly with respect to IT project management skills.
BENCHMARKING
We will continue the system of benchmarking pay as a means for deciding justified increases in public pay.
However, the process of comparison of pay and conditions will be made open and transparent.
The comparison will include a quantification of the value of deferred pay under public and private sector pension arrangements.
Benchmarking will also be tied to a programme of public service reform designed to achieve best practice
and deliver tangible improvements in service at the frontline
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
PROCUREMENT
We will set up a new Public Buying Office
within the Department of Finance to take a lead in developing new procurement techniques that could be used across the public sector to achieve a common base.
DECENTRALISATION
We will create a framework where the best elements of the present decentralisation programme / can be secured and further potential opportunities developed for the future.
We will undertake an immediate audit of the existing proposals.
We shall proceed with those which have a sound business case and a good regional fit.
We will seek to identify alternative opportunities for decentralisation where current proposals are found wanting but which have the potential to succeed given a sensible and well planned timescale.
These must be part of a wider Regional Development Strategy.
We will reverse the decision to move some of the core policy planning units of government departments away from Dublin City.
It would undermine the continuing effectiveness of policy development.
It is our clear preference that “stand alone” business units be moved under the decentralisation programme.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
ENDING RIP OFF IRELAND
At over 5% in the first three months of this year, Ireland’s inflation rate has hit a new 5-year high,
marking a new low for this Government’s record on competitiveness and the cost of living.
Ireland is already the most expensive country in the Eurozone,
and the Central Bank predicts that consumer prices will rise by a further 4.5% in 2007,
leading to a further increase in the gap between here and the rest of Europe.
Fine Gael in Opposition has led the campaign since we launchedripoff.ie in November 2003.
Reducing cost increases for households and small businesses
will remain a key priority for Fine Gael in Government.
STATE CHARGES
Capping Increases
Fine Gael will cap the growth in charges by state bodies at the overall inflation rate.
A cost-plus formula based on historic investments will not be accepted as justification for a price increase.
Any requested increases beyond the rate of inflation will require a Public Interest Report be presented to the Dáil.
This will apply even where a regulator approves the changes.
This Report must provide an efficiency audit of the agency,
a detailed explanation of the use of the funds generated
and a market comparator of equivalent pricing overseas or in the private sector.
Regulation
We will undertake a radical overhaul of the current regulatory framework for waste collection services,
introducing competitive tendering for waste collection services at a local and regional level,
as in done in other EU countries.
Taxes and Charges
We will, on an ongoing basis, identify and abolish taxes and state charges
that run counter to important public policy objectives.
Competition and Consumer Law
We will legislate to grant the National Consumer Agency (NCA) the same independent status as the Ombudsman.
We will allow the NCA to take civil “class action” suits, and to seek damages,
on behalf of consumers against violators of consumer and competition law.
We will make the Competition Authority a decision making body with the powers to impose administrative fines on violators of competition law,
as in the UK and other EU countries, even if this requires constitutional change.
We will amend the Competition Act to allow the Competition Authority to issue binding civil decisions,
which must be accepted by the infringing party.
We will instruct the Competition Authority to issue an annual report on the implications
for competition of State regulations and practices.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Legal Services
We will establish an independent Legal Services Commission,
involving a wide group of stakeholders, with responsibility for regulating the legal profession and the market for legal services.
The Commission will formulate guidelines on legal costs that can be expected to be recovered by solicitors and barristers in respect of particular types of proceedings.
The Commission will play a public information role regarding legal costs that can be expected for certain types of legal action.
We will extend public access to barristers for legal advice.
We will require solicitors whose clients wish to switch to another solicitor to hand over the client’s file to the new solicitor.
We will increase the limit of the maximum award under the Small Claims Court Procedure, initially to €6,000,
and ensure that the maximum amount be subject to regular review and increased by Ministerial Order.
We will index the jurisdictional limits of all the various courts to inflation,
so as to avoid the cost escalation associated with legal actions being driven into higher courts by inflation.
Professional Services
We will impose an obligation on all professional services providers to provide pricing details to clients
in advance in a manner that allows clients to make informed choices about the value for money
and competitive alternatives available for the service concerned.
PROPERTY RELATED SERVICES
Conveyancing
We will introduce a profession of Specialist Conveyancer to bring down the price and improve the quality of conveyancing services.
Multi residential units
We will introduce a new regulatory framework for the management of multi-unit residential developments.
New legislation will provide for:
A widening of the remit of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) to regulate apartment complex management companies and agents;
Action by the PRTB to ensure the appointment of managing agents by apartment complex developers is in the best interests of residents
and that this appointment is made following an open and transparent tendering process;
The empowerment of the PRTB to clarify, mediate and adjudicate in disputes between management companies and agents; and
The drawing up by the PRTB of a code of practice for managing agents.
“NETWORK INDUSTRIES” - TRANSPORT, ENERGY & COMMUNICATIONS
Consumer Charter
We will put in place a new Consumer Charter for Utilities that forces utility providers to compensate consumers who lose utility service for more than three hours in a 24 hour period by deducting the cost of one day’s service from the bill.
This will apply to electricity,
gas, telephone, internet and cable TV providers.
We will empower consumers, through a petition process, to force the Regulator to instigate a review of prices.
Regulation
We will strengthen the powers of regulators,
while ensuring that they remain accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas,
to drive pro-consumer regulation.
We will abolish the existing regulatory appeals bodies,
which have delayed implementation of proconsumer decisions,
and will create a Competition Appeals Court presided over by a High Court judge to hear and decide appeals involving competition or other regulatory issues.
Broadband
We will immediately extend broadband access across the country.
By 2012, we will create a new, high speed, open access, next generation broadband network.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Electricity
We will accelerate electricity grid inter-connection and regulatory convergence with the UK, and eventually with north-west continental Europe in order to boost our energy security
and promote the use of renewables in electricity generation.
We will transfer, but retain within state ownership, responsibility for the development of the national electricity grid away from ESB to Eirgrid,
the State-owned system operator, in order to encourage more competition.
Transport
We will separate the ownership and regulatory functions of the Department of Transport
by creating a new, National Transport Regulator.
We will charge the new regulator with opening up of 25% of the Dublin bus market to additional competitors every three years,
until the market is fully open to public and private bus operators.
This process will aim to increase the type and frequency of buses available in Dublin.
We will charge the new regulator with expanding transport options in rural areas, through the provision of additional bus services, particularly those that service Gateway cities and Hub towns from rural areas.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Drug Costs
We will instruct the National Consumer Agency to publish comparative data for medicine prices across EU states at both manufacturer and retail level.
We will legislate for the display of prices for both branded and generic drugs in pharmacies at the point of purchase to allow consumers to make ready choices,
and to allow pharmacists to provide generic substitutions for branded drugs.
Pharmacies
We will remove the prohibition on non-Irish graduates being supervising pharmacists in pharmacies less than three years old,
while simultaneously strengthening the powers of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland to ensure that practising pharmacists have the linguistic and technical competence to practice.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Codes of Banking
We will examine codes of banking practice to ensure they achieve best practice in terms of promoting the opportunity for consumers to switch their business.
Digital Payments
We will play a leadership role with retailers, banks, credit unions, An Post and consumer groups in implementing a modern and people-friendly digital payments framework that reduces cash and cheque payments.
We will exempt any payments instruments that fit into this framework from Stamp Duty.
Cross Border Payments
We will encourage EU-wide reforms
to reduce the extortionate cost for consumers and businesses of cross-border payments.
Bank Charges
We will retain the requirement of notification of bank charges until a proven track record of meeting consumer benchmarks has been achieved.
We will direct the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority to publish cross-country comparisons of the cost of personal and small business banking services.
Financial Penalties
We will change the financial penalties for breach of regulatory obligations from a flat rate to one where they are related to the size of the turnover.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
GROCERIES AND RETAILING
Planning
We will monitor the application by local authorities of the
Retail Planning Guidelines to ensure they promote retail competition.
We will identify suitable locations for more large-store formats, like IKEA, and amend the Retail Planning Guidelines accordingly.
Grocery Sector
We will empower the Competition Authority to carry out a new study of the grocery sector to ensure that supermarkets are not engaging in practices,
such as land-banking and predatory pricing, that suppress local market competition.
Casual Trading
We will increase the numbers of casual trading licences granted to open-air traders
and apply a locally sensitive approach to casual trading regulations.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES
Small business has been the forgotten child of Irish industrial policy.
This will not remain the case with Fine Gael in Government.
We recognise that multinationals have made a huge contribution to Ireland’s economic recovery.
But we know that to sustain Ireland’s growth, we need to move beyond the era of making things invented elsewhere.
We need an Irish industrial renaissance,
driven by Irish entrepreneurs.
We have an 8-point plan to help small business owners and managers
to keep their companies growing and competitive.
LOWER TAXES
We will cut income taxes for all taxpayers.
We will keep the current low rates of Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
We will develop tax measures to encourage investment in high-tech, export oriented Irish firms.
A CAP ON STATE CHARGES
Charges imposed by State bodies - waste disposal, postage, motor tax etc. - have increased in excess of the general rate of inflation over the last decade,
forcing consumers and business to pay for inefficiencies and out-dated work practices.
Fine Gael will cap charges by state bodies at the rate of inflation.
Any requested increases beyond the rate of inflation will require a Public Interest Report be presented to the Dáil.
TIGHTER CONTROL ON UTILITY COSTS
We will give stronger powers to regulators,
particularly in energy and telecoms to deliver competition and lower prices.
We will put in place a Consumer Charter for Utilities that will, among other things, compensate households and businesses that lose utility service for more than three hours in a 24 hour period by forcing providers to deduct the cost of one day’s service from the bill.
This will apply to electricity, gas, telephone, internet and cable TV providers.
LESS REGULATORY RED TAPE
We will cut the administrative burden (red tape) on companies by 25%,
focusing on reducing the number and complexity of information requests connected with:
Employment law
Tax administration
Health and safety law
Statistical collection
Importing/exporting
Regulatory enforcement
UNIVERSAL, NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND
We will immediately extend broadband access across the country.
We will create a new, high speed, open access, Next Generation network by 2012.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
QUICKER DELIVERY OF INFRASTRUCTURE
We will fast track the inter-urban roads programme
and public transport.
We will create a new Critical Infrastructure Commission
to accelerate planning of key infrastructure projects.
We will create a new High Court for Infrastructure
to accelerate judicial review of planning decisions by An Bord Pleanála.
MORE EFFICIENT PUBLIC SERVICES
We will improve strategic management and prioritisation of spending.
We will enhance Oireachtas scrutiny of expenditure.
We will enhance civil service capacity in expenditure management.
We will clarify lines of accountability for Ministers and civil servants.
MORE ACCESSIBLE STATE SUPPORTS FOR GROWTH AND INNOVATION
We will build Enterprise Support Hubs
in each county by merging all existing state enterprise agencies under a single roof.
We will increase support from the National Training Fund,
which is largely financed by employer PRSI payments, for employer-led training networks.
We will increase public funding for industry-led research and in-firm R&D.
We will give greater attention to research areas of relevance to the services firms - business, finance, psychology, linguistics, energy and environmental research.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
SPORT
It is vital for the future health of our country that more of us are physically active.
In Government, Fine Gael will support sporting activities that can be enjoyed by the many, not just the few, at all levels of ability and at every age in life.
Schools
We will ensure that all primary and secondary students have two hours of physical education per week,
and will establish a Commission on Physical Education
to ensure that PE programmes are implemented in all schools.
We will ring fence €100 million for a Schools Sports Fund,
drawing from the Schools Modernisation and Development Fund of the National Development Plan (NDP),
to allow for the development of sporting facilities at primary and secondary schools.
We will designate certain secondary schools as Sports Colleges with a special focus on physical education and school sport.
These schools will work with other schools in their areas to help teachers improve the quality and quantity of physical education and sport.
We will introduce an out of school hour’s sports programme,
initially on a pilot basis, to provide an opportunity for children to participate in structured sport after school hours linking school and community sport.
We will give priority to community groups or sporting organisations that apply for National Lottery funding for sporting facilities on or adjacent to the grounds of a school,
initially on a pilot basis, to provide an opportunity for children to participate in structured sport after school hours linking school and community sport.
National Audit of Facilities
We will accelerate the completion of a National Audit of Sports Facilities,
and following this develop a spatial strategy for the provision of sports infrastructure, both at local and regional levels.
Following the completion of the National Audit of Sports Facilities
we will give responsibility for the allocation of National Lottery grants to the Irish Sports Council.
National Lottery funds will be allocated according to the spatial strategy.
Swimming Pools
We will increase the national stock of swimming pools, putting in place a new Local Authority Swimming Pool programme.
Over the course of one full term in office we will work to provide 50 new swimming pools nationally.
Lansdowne and Abbotstown
We are committed to the development of the Lansdowne Road stadium
and Campus Ireland at Abbotstown.
Under Represented Groups
We will assess sporting infrastructure to address deficits which prevent older people,
women and girls,
and those with disabilities from engaging in sporting activities.
People with Disabilities
Training in adapted physical education will be provided to teachers as part of their ongoing professional development.
We will ensure that Disability Sports Development Officers are provided in each Local Sports Partnership.
We will ensure that new sports facilities are accessible for people with disabilities
and extend grants to make existing facilities accessible.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Multi Sports Centres
We will encourage the provision of municipal multi-sport centres
where local sports organisations come together with a local authority to provide playing pitches or other sporting facilities.
RAPID
We will increase grant aid for sporting facilities in RAPID areas.
Third Level
We will enhance sporting facilities at third-level colleges,
and foster stronger links between these institutions and local community sports organisations.
Coaching
We will support and encourage the continued professional development of coaches.
We will support stronger links between the Institute of Sport, Coaching Ireland, and the sports
departments of universities and institutes of technologies to ensure that research is shared
and to avoid duplication of resources.
Women and Sport
We will adopt the Brighton Declaration on Women in Sport,
and provide for the appointment of a fulltime Officer within the Irish Sports Council to co-ordinate Women in Sport initiatives.
The creation of a Women’s Sport Foundation will be advanced.
We will support an Annual Women’s Sports Award Scheme
to include both sportswomen and the contribution made by women in sports administration, coaching and refereeing.
Promotion
We will put a major emphasis on the promotion of sport and physical activity
in the media and in education.
Ticket Touting
We will outlaw ticket touting through the introduction of legislation that will impose stiff penalties on any person engaging in that activity.
Doping
We will improve measures to stop the doping of animals in the greyhound and horseracing industries
and will enforce these measures strictly.
Playgrounds
We will enhance the provision of parks and playgrounds,
especially in areas of residential growth and also focus on the provision of skateboarding, biking and roller blading facilities.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
TOURISM
In Government, Fine Gael will develop the potential of Ireland’s tourism industry,
by prioritising policies that make Ireland a safe, clean and welcoming country to visit.
Ireland must also face the increasing international competition for our share of the tourism market,
and Fine Gael will facilitate the growth and development of the tourism sector to meet this challenge.
Sports Tourism
We will develop a National Sports Tourism Strategy.
As a key platform of this strategy, discussions will be held with the IRFU with a view to bidding for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Role of LAs
We will facilitate bottom up involvement in tourism by strengthening the role of local authorities in tourism,
including the appointment of full time tourism officers.
Customer Care
We will drive a renewed focus on customer care for visitors,
and ensure Irish and migrant workers are educated
and trained to have knowledge of their surrounding tourism attractions.
Special Tourism Areas
Where possible, we will cluster attractions together to act as a significant tourist draw for certain areas,
and also identify and designate “Special Tourism Areas” of outstanding scenic, cultural or historic appeal.
Litter and Sanitation
We will get tough on litter louts reforming the litter warden system and putting in place more stringent
litter controls, stiffer penalties and greater enforcement.
We will audit the provision of sanitary facilities in areas of high-tourism appeal,
and put in place measures to improve these facilities and to maintain them to a high standard.
World Heritage Sites
We will seek UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for an area encompassing the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and the Aran Islands.
Regional Developments
We will support the restoration of the Ulster Canal as a major cross-border project,
the establishment of a Viking and Norman heritage cluster of attractions in the South East
and the development of a Christian Heritage Trail linking major monastic sites.
Signposting
We will overhaul and rationalise signposting.
In towns and cities, street names should be displayed at every junction.
In rural areas, colour classification of signage should be strictly applied to reduce confusion, and missing signposts replaced.
To improve the urban and rural environment, unnecessary signage and unused signposts will be removed.
Infrastructure
We will invest in key infrastructural developments that support tourism,
such as the Western Rail Corridor,
the Atlantic Road Corridor, and the major inter-urban routes
and support the expansion of regional airports as a means of facilitating regional tourism growth.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Gastronomy
We will place a major emphasis on gastronomy as a means of reinforcing the distinctiveness of the Irish holiday experience,
and promote food events to showcase Irish food and Irish culinary skills designating some locations as organic food centres.
Regional Marketing
We will create Regional Co-operative Marketing Campaigns to enable individual players in the tourism industry to promote their products in the international market place in a cost effective manner.
Cultural Infrastructure
We will deliver key cultural infrastructural developments that impact on tourism,
including the National Conference Centre,
the Abbey Theatre,
the refurbished National Concert Hall
and Lansdowne Road stadium.
Walkways
We will develop a ‘national grid’ of walkways, in consultation with landowners, so that walkers are clear as to their right to access certain routes
but also their responsibilities to landowners, livestock and crops.
Activity Holidays
We will re-invigorate and develop activity holiday products
including walking, cycling, golf, angling, equestrian activities, and inland cruising and water-based activities.
Developing Countries
We will examine the potential that exists within the overseas aid programme
to promote economic growth through tourism in developing countries.
Regional Conference Centre
We will examine the feasibility of developing a Regional Conference Centre in the Shannon Region.
Towns and Villages
Town centre small shops are part of the charm of our Irish towns.
We will support town improvement schemes to preserve heritage shop fronts,
and work to improve the quality of street paving, cleanliness and the general visual appearance of towns and villages.
In order to preserve the distinctiveness of Ireland’s towns and villages, we will ensure developers use appropriate designs and building materials, such as local stone.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
TRANSPORT
Fine Gael strongly supports the measures outlined in Transport 21, particularly its emphasis on significantly expanding public transport.
However, we believe that all such projects must be subject to rigorous cost-benefit analyses based on social, economic and environmental benefits.
Such analysis will inform the priority and delivery timetable for the public transport projects outlined in the plan.
Fine Gael’s key transport priorities are firstly, to provide all cities and large towns with ample public transport to ensure that traffic congestion is not allowed to deteriorate to the extent that it has in our capital.
Secondly, to prioritise a network of road improvements which support and facilitate the development of the National Spatial Strategy and balanced regional development.
Finally, we recognise the critical role of our ports and airports as key drivers of economic development
and will foster their growth and ensure that they are fully integrated with existing transport infrastructure.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Dublin Transport Authority
Fine Gael will support a powerful, independent Dublin Transport Authority to regulate and manage all aspects of Dublin transport.
Transport Regulator
Fine Gael will create one single regulator for all transport services.
This single regulator will have responsibility for the regulation of all transport services within the State including rail, rail freight, bus services, aviation and taxi regulation, subsuming the responsibilities of the existing regulators for these latter two areas.
Bus Competition
Fine Gael will fully open up the bus market to competition.
At least every three years the bus market will be opened up in tranches of 25%.
We will similarly introduce bus competition in our regional cities and towns.
This process of opening up the bus market to private and public operators will be the responsibility of the Transport Regulator
and in Dublin will be implemented through the offices of the Dublin Transport Authority.
Rail Services
We will support expansion in the range and frequency of high capacity commuter rail services,
particularly additional Luas lines,
Metro North
and Metro West
and maximise integration between public transport services.
We will re-invigorate rail freight through the provision of a rail freight support grant,
which will be granted to freight operators who seek to increase rail freight.
Western Rail Corridor
Fine Gael will support the reopening of the line from Ennis to Sligo
and will re-open the WRC as far as Claremorris,
during our first term in Government and instigate a Railway Order to Coolooney.
Integrated City-Wide Ticketing
Fine Gael will make the roll-out of integrated city-wide ticket a priority.
Tax Relief for Public Transport
We will expand the tax relief available on commuter tickets to all commuters,
irrespective of whether their employer participates or not.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
INFRASTRUCTURE
A Critical Infrastructure Commission
Fine Gael will ensure that this Commission will identify strategic infrastructure needs and signpost any barriers to their delivery.
The Commission will consist of public and private sector interests and will advise the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.
Gateway and Traffic Light Monitoring System
We will put in place a Gateway Monitoring System as a structured development programme for major infrastructure projects.
It will include rigorous cost benefit analyses.
Projects cannot proceed unless they satisfy the criteria for each Gateway.
A Traffic Light Reporting System will track and publish the progress of all major capital projects under construction.
ROADS AND MOTORISTS
Major Inter Urban Routes (MIUs)
We will prioritise the completion of the five MIUs by 2010.
Secondary Routes
Fine Gael will upgrade secondary routes based on their fit with the National Spatial Strategy and their ability to enhance regional development.
(E.g. N52/N62 from Dundalk to Limerick, via the Midlands as a strategic road corridor)
We will prioritise the Atlantic Road Corridor from Derry/Letterkenny to Waterford as critical project to ensure greater balanced regional development.
We will give the NRA a special advisory role, in conjunction with Local Authorities,
in identifying and prioritising the development of secondary roads,
with funding being channelled through the NRA to the relevant Local Authorities.
Road Traffic Officers
We will establish a dedicated Road Traffic Officer Unit within the Garda Reserve Force which will provide back-up support to the Gardai in patrolling and assisting in traffic management duties.
Specially trained for this role, they will act as a rapid reactionary force,
patrol key routes to anticipate and prevent incidents
which cause congestion and will respond to incidents which do occur to ensure traffic continues to flow freely.
Car Park Traffic Management
Fine Gael will give private security personnel greater powers to manage and direct traffic entering and exiting large car parking facilities.
The law currently prohibits such personnel from stepping off the footpath to improve traffic flows.
Tolling
Fine Gael will lift the barriers on the M50 and move to barrier free tolling.
On all major inter urban routes with multiple tolls, motorists will pay no more than one toll, which will be less than the sum of all tolls on an entire journey.
ROAD SAFETY
Road Safety Authority
Fine Gael will provide the resources, manpower and political support to the Authority to ensure that it succeeds in significantly reducing road deaths.
Speed Cameras
We will roll out speed cameras nationwide, conscious that they must lead to discernible road safety improvements.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Mandatory Driving Lessons
Fine Gael will introduce mandatory driving lessons for all learner drivers.
Driver Training Grounds
We will open five pilot regional driver training grounds,
operated on a PPP-basis, where learner drivers can learn to drive under different driving conditions.
Road Surface Conditions
We will oblige all Local Authorities to undertake rolling Road Safety Audits.
These will inform the appropriate speeds to be used on all roads.
RURAL TRANSPORT
Expanded Bus Services in Rural Areas
Fine Gael will expand public transport options in rural areas,
through the provision of additional bus services, particularly those which service Gateway cities and Hub towns from rural areas.
We will expand the bus services in rural areas through the Rural Transport Initiative,
school buses and increased private bus licences.
We will increase private sector bus licences to meet specific local demands.
AVIATION
Consumer Choice and Competition
We will ensure consumers enjoy a competitive aviation environment by encouraging new operators into the market.
National Aviation Policy
We will develop a long term strategy for the development of the aviation sector to guide the growth of the industry.
Regional Airports
Fine Gael will support the expansion of our regional airports, particularly in assisting them to increase the range of services they can offer,
through strategic investments in infrastructure,
where it enhances aviation safety.
We will also focus on improving the access and transport links into such airports to ensure they can become drivers of regional development.
Expansion of East Coast Aviation Services
Fine Gael will plan for an expansion in air services in the East Coast region, by conducting an independent study on the feasibility of either a third independent terminal for Dublin Airport or a second airport for the East Coast region.
The outcome of this study will determine future policy on this issue.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT
Energy Efficiency Labelling for Vehicles
We will give lower rates of VRT to cars which are most efficient,
have low emissions and greater fuel efficiency.
Biofuels in Cars
We will legislate for a mix of biofuel to be blended with all conventional carbon fuels
and remove the excise duty on the biofuel component.
Park and Ride
We will mandate Local Authorities to increase the number of park and ride facilities.
Around the M50 we will create a necklace of park and ride sites,
serviced by regular and frequent buses to major employment locations and to the airport.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Electric Cars
We will examine measures to expand the use of electric cars such as on taxation,
parking incentives and other facilities.
Cycling
We will increase the facilities and opportunities for cycling in public areas and as a viable means of commuting.
Teleworking
We will ensure that all public service bodies will develop and implement flexible teleworking arrangements to encourage family friendly work practices
and to reduce traffic congestion.
Mobility Management Plans
We will require all new business start-ups, intending to employ more than 30 employees, as part of their planning permission application to develop a mobility management plan which set out how their future employees will commute to work.
These employers will be expected to develop the most sustainable methods of commuting to work such as through the provision of buses or through car-pooling.
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT DURING DUBLIN’S TRANSPORT 21 “BIG DIG”.
During the development of Transport 21 large areas of Dublin will experience significant construction disruption.
To cope with the ensuing traffic congestion Fine Gael proposes the following
Dublin Transport Authority
We will set up Dublin Transport Authority:
The absence of a single, strong, coordinating body to drive projects is largely responsible for the appalling state of Dublin traffic.
Buses
We will provide more buses
and immediately appoint a regulator to facilitate bus companies to provide badly needed new services.
Secondary School Buses
We will set up a Pilot Scheme for secondary school buses.
Secondary schools have large catchment areas and term time is most likely to see the family car and even the second family car pressed into service.
Operation Freeflow
We will have year round Operation Freeflow and will recruit and train civilian Road Traffic Officers to support the work of Traffic Corps.
A constant patrolling presence is essential to keep traffic moving during the Big Dig.
M50
We will make the M50 work.
All resources must be put into early M50 upgrade completion and the move to barrier-free electronic tolling including buying raised barrier time to reduce queuing in the interim.
Port Tunnel
We will pack the Port Tunnel.
This expensive tunnel is operating and will for the foreseeable future operate at less than one tenth of its capacity.
Long distance commuter buses, northside and airport bus services will be mandated to use the tunnel.
Secret Tunnel
We will open and use the secret tunnel.
With the Spencer Dock Station now complete, Ireland’s bestkept secret CIE’s Phoenix Park Tunnel from Heuston to Connolly Station must be opened up to Kildare line trains.
Removing commuters from Heuston and from the area of the Metro dig is essential.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
M50 Park & Ride Necklace
We will mandate Local Authorities
to increase the number of park and ride facilities.
Around the M50 we will create a necklace of park and ride sites, co-located with service areas and fed with frequent buses connecting to the city centre, major employment locations and to the airport.
Liffey Bridges
We will ensure that the Macken Street Bridge and additional bridges are developed to aid public transport and reduce the bottleneck effect of limited crossings which will intensify during LUAS and Metro construction.
Technology
Fine Gael will maximise the potential of technology for better traffic management,
i.e. extend Scats and use the new speed camera system to collect and respond instantly to traffic information and for policing bus lanes, yellow box compliance etc.
PORTS
Fine Gael will support the development of our port and marine sector
as important drivers of Irish economic growth.
Fine Gael will work with all stakeholders to ensure that a viable and feasible solution is developed to overcome the serious constraints on capacity which face Dublin Port.
Fine Gael will facilitate the growth of our national ports,
particularly through the development of road and rail access routes into and out of our ports which will enhance their expansion.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
YOUTH AND CHILDREN
HEALTH
We will give 100,000 more families a medical card
- with particular weighting given to families with children
We will give free GP visits for all children under 5
We will provide free health insurance cover for all children up to 16 years of age
We will arrange a health check/screening appointment
for all children before they start school
Vaccine Smart Card
We will introduce a Vaccine ‘Smart Card’ - a system of unique childhood immunisation cards for each child from birth.
CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Specialist out patient teams
We will solve the crisis in child and adolescent psychiatric services
by increasing specialist outpatient teams by 50%
and bring the established teams up to the recommended staffing complement.
Early Intervention
We will ensure early intervention.
To cover the crucial period during adolescence and early adulthood adequately, we propose a ‘Youth Mental Health’ initiative
which is aimed at teachers and other adults who have frequent contact with young people.
Suicide
Fine Gael will introduce a suicide prevention strategy,
the fundamental aim of which is to prevent suicide and deliberate self-harm and to reduce level of suicide ideation in the general population.
Suicide rates are rising exponentially.
Budget for Suicide Prevention
We will increase the budget of the National Suicide Prevention Office to €10 million in year 1, rising to €20 million in year 5.
Schools
We will provide a comprehensive package for all primary and secondary schools,
including mental health programmes and comprehensive counselling services.
Partnership
We will set up formal structured partnerships between the voluntary and community sector
and the statutory sector to strengthen community-based suicide prevention strategies and bereavement support.
CHILD PROTECTION
We will provide real legislative and systematic protection for children from exploitation and abuse.
Referendum on Children’s Rights
We will ensure that the issue of children’s rights is dealt with,
by holding a referendum amending the Constitution to take account of changes in society and children’s rights.
Recommendations on Child Protection
We will implement the 62 recommendations of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on Child Protection, except for No. 19,
which concerns the lowering of the age of consent to 16.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Age of Consent
We will retain the age of consent at 17.
Zone of Protection
We will impose a zone of absolute protection for children under 16.
CHILDCARE
Parental Leave
We will introduce 1 weeks paid Paternity leave for the first time
We will give 1 weeks paid Parental leave for either parent to take, giving them more choice.
In the first phase, this proposal would give parents an additional 2 weeks paid leave -
including, for the first time the right of fathers to paid leave.
They may also choose to take additional unpaid leave.
Financial Support
We will continue to make a direct payment of €1,000 each year for each child until the age of 6
We will make available a childcare credit of €1,500 for every child up to age of 5
which can be used by parents to access quality assured childcare for their children
Pre School Education
We will also ensure that every child has access to one year of pre-school education,
giving a guaranteed two-thirds subsidy to cover the cost of this education for all children rising to 100% free pre-school based on means
YOUNG CARERS
Fine Gael will put a new focus on the approximately 3,000 carers under the age of 18 / carrying out caring responsibilities.
This is a group of carers who get absolutely no recognition from the State.
Fine Gael will increase supports from the State such as home helps
and will work with the education system to ensure that these young people are not isolated.
EDUCATION
Laptops
We will give a laptop to every child entering secondary school,
redesigning course material around the new technology and completing a radical teacher-training programme.
Speech Therapy
We will create a speech therapy service within the education system to cater exclusively for children
and young people needing this service.
Pre School
We will expand the number of community pre-school places offering free pre-school in areas of educational disadvantage,
and will also subsidise this education by at least two-thirds for all other children.
Youthreach
We will expand Youthreach,
increasing the number of places available on this programme and rolling-out this service nationally.
Career Guidance
We will progressively increase the allocation of careers guidance hours per week to all second-level schools.
Youth Work
We will support the development and expansion of youth work projects.
Fine Gael -General Election Manifesto 2007
Flexible Leaving Cert
We will introduce greater flexibility, in terms of learning and assessment,
in the Leaving Certificate examination whilst maintaining high standards.
Transition Year
We believe that a full transition year programme should be available to all students at second-level.
The curriculum for transition year programmes should allow flexibility according to the differing priorities of individual schools,
including the development of modules on driver education, environmental awareness, entrepreneurial education, and Irish Sign Language (ISL) education.
Entrepreneurial Education
We believe that County Enterprise Boards should also play an enhanced role in entrepreneurial education at second-level,
and in supporting groups such as Junior Achievement Ireland in this role.
Language support and immigration
We will support schools dealing with new challenges posed by immigration,
including enhancing the allocation of Language Support Teachers
and ensuring that schools with a higher enrolment of students with English language needs will be allocated a higher number of teaching hours.
We will develop English language classes
for immigrant communities,
to ensure that places on adult education classes are retained for those requiring literacy education not language education.
NEPS
We will expand the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) bringing all schools under the cover of this service,
and ensuring that the waiting time for a NEPS assessment for any child is no longer than one school term.
Anti Bullying
We will introduce a national anti-bullying strategy in all schools,
designed to address bullying, homophobia and racism,
which will involve students, teachers and parents.
Stay Safe and RSE
We will ensure that the ‘Stay Safe’ programme is offered in every primary school,
and that all secondlevel students have access to Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE).
Vetting of Staff
We will ensure that all new teachers and school support staff are vetted prior to taking up employment,
and will also introduce the retrospective vetting of all those currently working in our schools.
We will ensure that ‘soft’, non-conviction information, forms part of the vetting process.
We will establish a register of persons considered unsafe to work with children,
young people or the vulnerable of any age.
Grants and Subsidised Loans
We will increase grants at third level,
and enhance funding to student hardship funds.
We will ensure that any further increases in student registration charges do not exceed inflation.
We will not reintroduce fees at undergraduate level.
We will introduce a package of subsidised loans of up to €10,000, repayable within 4 years of graduation, to post-graduate students.
We will also establish a new post-graduate fund to assist students doing Ph.D. research without sponsorship.
We will streamline the application procedure for all grants and for the new package of subsidised loans.
We will:
Establish a Student Support Unit to coordinate grants for Diploma, Certificate and Degree courses,
at both Institutes of Technology and the universities,
within Ireland and Northern Ireland and for those studying abroad,
and to manage the new package of subsidised loans.
This Unit will ensure that applications are processed quickly
and according to a customer service charter for students and, where successful, grant funding is issued without delay
Students will have the option of having monthly or weekly grant payments made to them,
instead of lump sums released each term.
We will examine the possible introduction of a new system of student loans at undergraduate level.
We will use the National Training Fund (NTF) to introduce a scheme for individuals who have not already benefited from higher education
to pay for courses in higher educational institutions taken on a parttime basis.
ELECTIONS
Voting Age
We will reduce the voting age to 17.
Electoral Register
We will ensure the Electoral Register is accurate and up to date through the automatic registration of all individuals when they turn 17 years of age
and the use of the PPS system to ensure accuracy.
Election to Dáil Éireann
We will reduce the minimum age for election to Dáil Éireann from 21 to 17.
SPORT
We will ensure that all primary and secondary students have 2 hours of physical education per week,
and will establish a Commission on Physical Education to ensure that PE programmes are implemented in all schools.
We will ring fence funding of €100 million for a Schools Sports Fund,
drawing from the Schools Modernisation and Development Fund of the National Development Plan (NDP),
to allow for the development of sporting facilities at primary and secondary schools.
We will designate certain secondary schools as Sports Colleges with a special focus on physical education and school sport,
which will then work with other schools in their areas to help teachers improve the quality and quantity of physical education and sport.
We will introduce an out of school hour’s sports programme, community sport.
initially on a pilot basis, to provide an opportunity for children to participate in structured sport after school hours linking school and
We will give priority to community groups or sporting organisations that apply for National Lottery funding for sporting facilities
on or adjacent to the grounds of a school, provided the facilities can be used by the school during school hours.
We will enhance the provision of parks and playgrounds,
especially in areas of residential growth.
We will increase the national stock of swimming pools,
putting in place a new Local Authority Swimming Pool programme.
Over the course of one full term in office, we will work to provide 50 new swimming pools nationally.
The Next Steps Forward for an Ireland that is Peaceful, Proud and Strong
Out of material poverty and a history of conflict, the Irish people are forging lasting peace
and one of the strongest economies on the planet.
Today we are showing the world that the forces which burdened our history: sectarianism, disputed boundaries and economic dependency can be overcome.
Fianna Fáil believes that Ireland can achieve a unique leadership role in international affairs based on the strengths our history and values have bestowed upon us.
We are determined to make our country a model UN Member State,
a bridge between the developed and developing world and a global advocate for the poor.
Ireland will specialise in conflict resolution and the rapid response to humanitarian crisis.
Our modern, professional defence forces will advance that role:
assisting the poorest of the poor
and building peace under a UN flag in the developing world.
At home, the coming years can be a time of great cultural and civic achievement.
Our national language will thrive as we support Gaelscoileanna
and begin delivery of a 20 year plan for the expansion of our language.
We want peace and prosperity to unleash untapped artistic and cultural confidence.
Funding for the arts will be increased
and incentives for cultural philanthropy put in place
and a new National Theatre, Concert Hall and a landmark Museum at the GPO.
Over the next five years, Fianna Fáil wants to take the Next Steps Forward to an Ireland that is Peaceful, Proud and Strong.
Peace and Unity
The achievement of lasting peace and unity on our island remains the most important objective of Fianna Fáil.
Without peace there would be no prosperity.
It is the precious prerequisite for every element of our Nation’s progress.
To that end, it is our first priority and prime concern.
We stand for Irish unity based on consent and reconciliation.
As Ireland’s largest republican and nationalist party we have led the debate on unity,
striving to convince all strands of nationalist Ireland that violence only embeds partition and corrodes the republican goal of unity between Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter.
Through the determined leadership of Bertie Ahern, we have worked continuously to overcome many hurdles to achieving the historic progress of the last ten years.
We have negotiated delivery of the Good Friday Agreement,
demilitarisation,
the equality agenda, policing reform and the many other reforms which have shaped a peace based on equality and justice.
We entered the peace process with two goals:
To bring all elements of nationalist Ireland to our peaceful analysis of partitio and Irish unity.
To secure a historic and lasting peace agreement with the unionist people.
In the Good Friday Agreement we secured these goals.
In the 1998 referendum our analysis was overwhelmingly supported by the Irish people in the first act of all-Ireland self-determination since 1918.
As lead negotiator for Nationalist Ireland and Joint Guarantor of the Agreement, Fianna Fáil in government worked harder than any to build peace – we will work equally hard to maintain it.
The Next Steps Forward for Peace and Unity
The spectacular progress of recent years cannot be taken for granted.
We must continue to work for lasting reconciliation and the full delivery of the potential offered by the peace process.
This is why Fianna Fáil is proposing a series of further steps forward for peace and unity in our country.
North/South Co-Operation
Fianna Fáil led the negotiating campaign to deliver strong North/South bodies
and co-operation and we are determined to ensure that their full potential is realised.
We see economic co-operation in this field as central to the future economic well being of the island
– the all-island economy is central to all government economic plans.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Implement the groundbreaking Comprehensive Study on the All-Island Economy.
Have a fully operational all-island energy market,
to include an all-island approach to the renewable energy sector,
a second electricity inter-connector
and an all-island gas network.
Introduce a Single Electricity Market by November 2007.
Actively support fully integrated and seamless co-operation
in the areas of health, education, infrastructural development, communications, planning and other public services.
Press for a single all-island corporation tax of 12.5%.
Continue to progress the North West Gateway Initiative.
Border Communities
Partition and the Troubles caused huge damage to our border communities.
Apart from the social consequences, towns were cut off from natural hinterlands and economic corridors were cut off altogether.
We are committed to implementing an unprecedented programme of investment in border communities.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Press for all-island planning and co-ordination in infrastructural investment across the Island over the next decade, to ensure greater provision of services to border communities.
Establish a cross-border Innovation Fund to support education, skills, science and innovation, energy research, regional development, tourism development, poverty, social inclusion and community infrastructure.
Support the development of cross-border projects including:
The Dublin – Letterkenny/Derry dual carriageway
The Border Corridor
The Ulster Canal
The Bridge at Narrow-Water.
Campaign for the complete removal of North-South cross-border telecoms and bank charges.
Further develop the Dublin-Belfast rail line as part of an integrated rail service serving major population centres, North and South.
Seek to maximise the potential for cross-border cancer services, building on the project to provide services to Donegal.
Support the significant upgrading of higher education capacity in the border region through strategic alliances between education institutions, North and South.
Intensify our efforts to promote graduate mobility, graduate retention and access to people from disadvantaged areas to higher education.
Complete the rebuilding of all border crossings destroyed during the Troubles.
Complete the development of Derry Airport, for which we have already committed almost €11 million.
Sectarianism
We believe that it is time to put a greater emphasis on tackling sectarianism.
The hard reality is that, as politics has progressed in the North, sectarianism has festered and in many cases grown.
It represents by far the largest threat to lasting peace and needs urgent attention.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Establish a new Anti-Sectarianism Fund to assist projects in interface areas designed specifically to address the root cause of sectarianism and to diffuse tensions.
Increase the Reconciliation Fund to 35 million to improve dialogue between the nationalist and unionist tradition and develop capacity building amongst communities affected by the Troubles, including a focus on isolated border communities.
Provide additional staff and resources to the British Irish Secretariat to improve monitoring of sectarian incidents throughout the North
and improve liaison with the PSNI.
Through regular and structured contact with the appropriate authorities and
stakeholders including the devolved Government,
community groups, political
parties and civil society, monitor progress and press for full and timely
implementation of the Triennial Programme of the Shared Future.
Review all funding for education and community projects
to see where a greater impact can be had on tackling sectarianism.
Policing
An absolute bottom line for Fianna Fáil has always been the establishment of a professional and impartial police force for the North.
We believe the PSNI, with fully implemented Patten proposals, is that force.
We also believe that all nationalist parties have a responsibility to be constructively involved as members of the Policing boards to ensure the PSNI delivers and is accountable to the nationalist community.
Recent progress on this is extremely welcome.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Monitor the full implementation of the Patten Reforms.
Press for increased Garda – PSNI co-operation including common policetraining where appropriate.
Provide continued support for the work of the Police Ombudsman.
Demilitarisation
Fianna Fáil in government consistently argued for a demilitarisation and security normalisation programme from the British.
In the 2003 Joint Declaration we secured such a programme and agreement to independent monitoring of that Programme through the IMC.
As a result, today British troop numbers stand at their lowest level since the start of the Troubles and all watchtowers have been removed.
Fianna Fáil in government will
Press for the complete implementation of the British Army demilitarisation Programme negotiated by Fianna Fáil in government.
Negotiate for further reductions in troop numbers, beyond the Programme targets.
Fund an international competition for a permanent landmark peace monument to be located in the border region.
Press for the full decommissioning of loyalist and dissident republican weapons.
Foreign Affairs
Fianna Fáil has always worked to make sure that Ireland is a constructive member of the international community,
prioritising the active promotion of peace and development through the European Union,
the United Nations,
international agencies and direct action.
We are proud of this unmatched tradition and of the work we have completed in recent years to develop this further.
In government we have taken a lead role in advancing United Nations reform,
in advancing the Development agenda
and in establishing effective systems for civilian response to humanitarian disaster.
In recent times Ireland has been amongst the most active advocates for constructive international action in Darfur and Palestine.
Through the publication of the first ever White Paper on Development Aid we have brought the development agenda to the heart of Government, increasing spending from 3157 million in 1997 to 3813 million this year.
The Next Steps Forward on Foreign Affairs
We intend continuing with an active foreign policy in the next five years, based on a series of further steps forward in key areas.
Making Neutrality Count
Neutrality is central to our vision of Ireland as the bridge between the developed and developing world, the intermediary and facilitator in peace processes, the first on the ground in a major humanitarian crisis – the model UN State for the 21st century.
Our policy for the next five years is to Make Neutrality Count.
We believe neutrality enhances our standing internationally.
Our goal is to use that standing to build peace and deliver development.
United Nations – Ireland The Model UN Member State.
No Irish political party can match Fianna Fáil’s supportive record on UN issues.
Our goal now is to establish Ireland as the model UN State, a world leader in development assistance,
humanitarian rapid response and conflict resolution.
We will:
At the formation of the next Government inform the United Nations of Ireland’s desire to stay at the forefront of UN reform efforts, placing our full diplomatic resources at the use of the UN.
Place Ireland at the heart of UN efforts to respond rapidly to humanitarian and human right crises in the developing world.
Ireland will become the template for other States through the expansion of the Rapid Response Initiative.
Increase the size and capacity of the Rapid Response Corps,
the civilian Corps of volunteers trained and equipped by the Irish Government to be on the ground in an area of humanitarian crisis within a short period.
Double the amount of emergency relief supplies held in, and distributed from, our new pre-positioned humanitarian relief centres at the Curragh, Kildare and Brindisi, Italy.
Increase funding to the regional supply depot for Africa, based in Accra, Ghana.
Increase funding by at least 340 million to the Irish Government Emergency Response Fund and increase funding to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.
Work to strengthen the capacity of Irish and international NGOs to respond more quickly to international emergencies.
Development Aid
In government, Fianna Fáil has built up one of the best Development Aid Programmes in the world.
We are one of the world’s top donors and we run a programme widely acclaimed for its effectiveness.
In government we will:
Increase ODA to 0.7% of GNP by 2012.
Call on all political parties to commit to support the target.
Increase the number of Programme Countries to a minimum of ten by 2012.
Spend at least 3100 million per annum combating HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases in the developing world.
Develop programmes to assist both individuals and institutions to participate in the Aid Programme.
This will include the provision of assistance to public and private sector institutions to form development partnerships with similar institutions in the developing world.
Following the establishment of an Irish Aid Information & Volunteering Centre in Dublin, we will establish these centres in Cork and Galway.
Develop Regional Aid Programmes in Southern and Western Africa to address transnational threats such as disease and food insecurity.
Ensure funding mechanisms for NGOs are accessible and simplified.
Seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of EU aid.
Act on the findings of the Hunger Task Force.
Support the fight against corruption in developing countries by supporting institutions,
NGOs and civil society that promote good governance and strive to ensure that our development assistance continues to reach the poor.
We will also support the African Peer Review Mechanism.
Provide financial support for events to mark Africa Day, 25 May.
Conflict Resolution
In order to further promote Ireland as a centre for conflict resolution, in government we will:
Establish an Academic Centre for Conflict Resolution, to provide academic and analytical expertise in this area.
The Centre will be an academic resource for the Government Conflict Resolution Unit and will draw on cross-border expertise.
It will focus on the developing world and liaise with existing conflict resolution and reconciliation groups.
Establish an annual 325 million Stability Fund, overseen by the Conflict Resolution Unit, to fund specific efforts on the area of conflict resolution and post conflict issues in the developing world.
Establish a system of roving ambassadors to crisis regions.
Fund a number of fourth level scholarships in the conflict resolution area.
Cluster Bombs
Fianna Fáil in Government will continue its campaign for a complete ban on the use of cluster munitions.
In the absence of a full ban we will seek agreement on an immediate freeze on the use of cluster munitions pending the establishment of effective international instruments to address humanitarian concerns regarding their use.
Burma
Under a Fianna Fáil led Government, Ireland will not establish diplomatic relations with Burma until Aung San Suu Kyi is released.
Darfur
We will use all avenues, bilaterally, through the EU and through the UN,
to focus urgent international attention on the crisis in Darfur and to seek agreement for a lasting, peaceful solution to the crisis.
Middle East
With the EU and the broader international community,
Fianna Fáil in government, will press for dialogue, reconciliation and negotiations leading to a two-State solution.
Irish Abroad
Fianna Fáil has led the campaign for the Irish Abroad.
Having ended the scourge of forced emigration, since 1997 we have turned with determination to ending the neglect of the Irish Abroad.
For every £1 spent on the Irish Abroad in 1997, we spend €19 today.
In the coming five years we will:
Increase funding for emigrant welfare to 334 million per annum.
Maintain the momentum in the campaign for the undocumented Irish.
Fianna Fáil Ministers and members of the Parliamentary Party will use every opportunity to lobby on behalf of the undocumented Irish.
Resist all attempts to downgrade the Irish Abroad Unit to unanswerable Agency Status
and resist all efforts to divert funds presently allocated to emigrant welfare to the administration of such an Agency.
Complete the process whereby RTÉ can broadcast into the UK.
Work to deliver free public transport for emigrant pensioners when they visit Ireland.
European Affairs
From the very beginning, Fianna Fáil has led the national debate on Europe.
The EU was a key catalyst in Ireland’s economic and social transformation.
It has helped us to realise the full potential of national sovereignty through the unique arrangement of a community of nations with strong collective action.
In government we have focused on making the EU work for Irish people
– cutting prices, driving
competition,
protecting farm families
and protecting our environment.
We have introduced a range of initiatives to ensure that the public are engaged in evolving EU issues.
We were the only party to run a genuinely national campaign in favour of the ratification of the Nice Treaty.
Our Presidency of the Council in 2004 has been praised as one of the most effective presidencies ever, including the conclusion of extremely difficult negotiations in a range of fundamental areas.
The Next Steps Forward on European Affairs
We believe passionately in a constructive agenda to use our membership of the European Union to make our country and the wider Union stronger.
The EU has been the greatest force for peace and prosperity in the history of Europe
and we believe that it must continue to evolve to meet modern challenges and deliver practical improvements in the lives of Europeans.
Therefore, we are proposing a series of next steps forward for Irish policy on EU affairs.
In government we will:
Vigorously oppose all moves towards harmonisation of taxation, especially corporation tax.
Support moves to increase competitiveness within the Union through developing research and knowledge capacities, as well as promoting competition.
Propose further measures to improve the quality of communications between the Union and its citizens.
Support efforts to implement a cross-Union approach to energy security and climate change.
Maintain a vigorous stance in defence of Irish maritime communities in all EU Fisheries discussions.
Insist that existing agreements on the CAP be honoured, within the Union and in trade negotiations.
Issue an annual call for proposals to assist local events commemorating Europe Day.
Aim to have Ireland consistently within the top group on the EU internalMarket Scoreboard which monitors transposition of EU Directives.
Support EU moves to ensure airlines have transparent fares,
including all taxes and fees, that they end the practice of charging different prices in different states
or the same flight and introduce safer flying regulations.
Press for increased EU supports and more ambitious targets for renewable energy.
Ensure EU funding to underpin the Peace Process continues.
Support moves to minimise EU bureaucracy.
Support moves toward a single European Mortgage Market.
Continue the work of the National Forum on Europe.
Work towards an EU wide ban on television advertising aimed at children.
Treaties/Institutional Arrangements
We believe that the Constitutional Treaty represents a balanced response to the needs of an expanding Union.
Therefore, in government we will:
Support the Constitutional Treaty as the fundamental basis for future negotiations.
Should the Constitutional Treaty or another acceptable text be agreed, we will campaign vigorously as a party for its ratification by the people.
Defence
Our Defence Forces serve as a protector of the state and a promoter of the international values of the Irish people.
Over recent years we have worked hard with Óglaigh na hÉireann to help modernise them
and meet new challenges.
Our forces are now better trained, better equipped and better motivated than ever.
Defence spending has doubled, with an unprecedented and sustained investment programme having been implemented.
The first ever White Paper on Defence, published in 2000 provided a new framework for the on-going management and reorganisation of Óglaigh na hÉireann – including the Permanent Defence Force - the Army, the Air Corps, the Naval Service - and the Reserve Defence Force.
In addition to this massive investment, the modernisation agenda has meant a major change in how the Defence Forces conducts their business.
The 2002 Report: “The Challenge of a Workplace” and the 2004 independent review of its implementation ensured that a comprehensive and effective system of measures to tackle problems of bullying and harassment is now in place in the Defence Forces.
Overseas UN peace support missions are now a core activity of the modern Defence Forces.
Over the past five years our troops have completed almost 8,000 tours of duty in some of the world’s most dangerous trouble spots.
There they are helping protect and save the lives of countless numbers of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people on our planet.
Legislation establishing the independent office of Defence Force Ombudsman was passed in 2005.
While major legislation radically improving the procedures for the investigation, summary disposal or trial by court-martial of offences against military law was passed this year.
More recently steps have been taken to both encourage more women to pursue a career in the military
and to encourage more enlisted personnel and senior NCOs to become commissioned officers.
Fianna Fáil conducted the biggest ever reform of Civil Defence and the Army Reserve.
The Civil Defence board was established on a statutory basis and provided with a new purpose built HQ and training centre.
The Reserve has been reformed to reflect the configuration of the Permanent Defence Force, while preserving its strong links with local communities and a nation-wide geographical spread. Irish troops will continue to be available to serve abroad on international peacekeeping missions.
The Next Steps Forward for Defence
Fianna Fáil is committed to ensuring that Ireland has a world-class military organisation with the personnel, equipment and resources necessary to fulfil the tasks assigned to them at home at abroad.
In government we will:
Prepare a second White Paper on Defence for the period 2011- 2020.
The Second White Paper will consider expanding the roles of the Air Corps and the Naval service.
This will include increasing the size of the navy flotilla and developing an Air Corps’ airlift capability.
Ensure that participation by the Defence Forces in overseas peace support missions continues to be based on the triple-lock mechanism of UN mandate, Government and Dáil approval.
Ensure that investment in the Defence Forces continues to grow, with the full commercial value of all defence property disposals to be received by the Department of Defence for investment in capital projects and new equipment.
Continue the ongoing policy of annual recruitment and maintain the present establishment.
This will enable the Permanent Defence Forces to maintain a strength of 10,500 fully trained personnel with an additional provision from 2008 onwards for up to 350 troops to be in training at any given time.
Fast-track the civilianisation of all outstanding agreed posts.
Ensure that our troops have the most modern and effective range of protective equipment, weaponry and training available.
Fully execute the Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) implementation plan by the 2009 target, including improving RDF interoperability with the PDF, and the introduction of procedures to allow suitably qualified RDF personnel serve on overseas duties.
Continue the ongoing policy of recruitment to the RDF through regular and targeted recruitment campaigns.
Develop the role and contribution of the Medical Corps
and expand its capacity to deliver a range of medical facilities on UN mandated missions.
Develop the Commissioning From the Ranks programme (both for enlisted personnel under 28 by way of the cadet programme) and by way of regular CFR competitions for NCOs.
Conduct regular reviews of the operation of the equality and anti-bullying measures in the military.
Ensure a major military component in all future 1916 commemorations.
Provide annual subventions to support and encourage the excellent work of the officially recognised veterans groups ONET and IUNVA.
Continue to support the excellent work of Civil Defence through the ongoing provision of new equipment and encourage increased membership of Civil Defence through regular and targeted recruitment programmes.
Ensure that the Office of Emergency Planning coordinates the publication of an annual review of the emergency plans of each functional department, outlining achievements and improvements across all sectors.
Continue the annual programme of major simulated exercises and use these structured exercises to support sustained public awareness and reassurance.
Irish Language and the Gaeltacht
In recent years Fianna Fáil in government has dramatically changed the level and quality of state activity for the preservation and growth of the Irish language.
We believe the Irish language is a valuable national asset and culturally defines our nation within a globalising world.
The funding made available for new and existing Gaelscoileanna under this Government has enabled the phenomenal growth in use of our national language among a new generation.
Funding for TG4 has also doubled and we are ensuring the station’s independent status, separate from RTÉ.
The Official Languages Act now also gives Irish speakers equality in their dealings with the public service.
Fianna Fáil has also secured official working status for the Irish language in the EU.
It is clear that there is a new energy in the community behind valuing and developing our language
and that this energy, combined with major public policy initiatives, has opened up a new era of opportunity for the language.
The Next Steps Forward for the Irish Language & the Gaeltacht
We are determined to use this period of opportunity to achieve a radical expansion in the numbers of people who can and do converse in Irish.
We are totally opposed to any effort to downgrade the status of the language
and are committed to a series of significant next steps forward for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht.
Overall
Our overall strategy will involve:
Continuing to develop a 20 year Strategic Plan for the growth in the use of Irish and in bilingualism by 2008.
Building on last December’s 13 point Government Statement on the Irish language, this will be a comprehensive blueprint for the expansion of the use of Irish in every urban and rural area in Ireland.
Increasing support for the public service to develop the capacity to provide comprehensive services through the medium of the Irish language.
Working to extend the number of professionals who are available to serve the Irish language speaking and Gaeltacht communities.
Ensuring that the Irish language and Gaeltacht Affairs are maintained as a major part of the portfolio of a full member of Cabinet.
Supporting the introduction of a Languages Act in Northern Ireland as provided for in the St. Andrew’s agreement.
Growing the Use of Irish in Our Schools & Colleges
Recognising the huge role which the education system has played, and will, play in the future growth of the language, we will place a particular emphasis on Irish in education.
Harnessing the huge potential the Gaelscoil movement and improving the quality of Irish in English-medium schools will be a priority for Fianna Fáil in the next five years.
In government we will:
Protect the current position of our national language in all parts of the school curriculum and strenuously oppose any proposal to abolish its position in the Senior Cycle.
Implement further changes in the Irish curriculum, with a focus on improving young people’s command of the spoken language and move towards more marks for Oral Irish in the Leaving Cert exams as announced.
Build on the provision of in-service for primary teachers in teaching drama through Irish in the 2006/07 school year, by encouraging English medium primary schools to teach more subjects through Irish.
Put in place new arrangements to enable Gaelscoileanna to hire teachers with a strong ability to teach all subjects through Irish.
Establish a senior officials group between the Departments of Education and Science and Community, Rural And Gaeltacht Affairs to enhance the actions of both Departments and their Agencies in addressing challenges in supporting the Irish language including strengthening the teaching of Irish throughout the Education system.
Build on the work done by the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and the universities in the development of research and teaching of Celtic Studies.
We will make Ireland the world centre of excellence for such studies with particular emphasis on research in and the teaching of Old, Classical and Middle Irish.
Building Vibrant Gaeltacht Communities
It is important that the benefits of economic development do not undermine the role of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht.
In government we will:
Build on recent planning laws by setting up a National Monitoring Committee to oversee the clear and consistent implementation of the protections for the unique linguistic identity of the Gaeltacht
in a way which supports the continued development of the Gaeltacht without undermining its language and culture.
Develop a comprehensive plan based on the Linguistic Study of the Gaeltacht with clear
and effective measures for the continued preservation and development of the language in the Gaeltacht.
Provide for an extension to the Irish language network of crèches in the Gaeltacht.
Along with this we will ensure that support is given to crèches which want to set up facilities through Irish nationwide.
Arts And Culture
We believe that the Arts are an essential part of a healthy society and that Ireland’s economic progress has provided a real opportunity to develop the arts.
Over the last decade we have implemented the largest sustained increase in funding for the Arts in our history.
Arts Council funding was increased to 380 million in 2007.
This builds on earlier increases of about 80% between 1997 and 2002.
There have also been significant increases in expenditure for our National cultural institutions,
the Irish Film Board, the regional arts infrastructure programme
and the National Gallery.
We established Culture Ireland, a new body for promoting Irish Arts abroad.
In addition, we have comprehensively overhauled the legislation governing institutional and policy arrangements in the sector.
For example, our Arts Act 2003 defined for the first time in law the role and functions of government in relation to the promotion of the arts inside and outside the State.
The Next Steps Forward for the Arts
We are committed to implementing a range of next steps forward for the Arts which will see participation broaden and deepen in the next five years.
Arts and Education
In government we will:
Ensure the implementation of a national, comprehensive strategy for the Arts and Education, beginning at pre-primary and extending from there.
Support training and professional development for the performing arts by creating, enhancing and extending modules of in-service training.
Support measures that are child centred in arts and cultural programmes
and develop and enhance child centred policies that impact throughout the country.
Arts and Participation
In government we will:
Encourage and support the strategic development of the arts in local communities,
both geographic and communities of interest, for the disadvantaged and for minority groups.
Encourage, promote and foster volunteerism in the arts,
odrawing on our successful development of volunteerism in sports.
Establish an affiliation of Irish traditional musicians, on the Aosdána model,
to honour and assist those who have made an outstanding contribution to Irish traditional music through their musicianship and dedication to teaching the music.
Arts and Investment
In government we will:
Develop a new policy to create and sustain employment in the arts,
particularly arts employment that can market, operate and develop our local arts infrastructure.
Provide new tax and other incentives aimed at making cultural and educational philanthropy more attractive.
In recognition that higher economic growth can benefit the arts,
we will encourage the full participation of the private and corporate sector in supporting the development of our arts infrastructure, and arts programmes and services.
Continue to support the development of the traditional arts.
Create a new combined Cultural Visa and Work Permit that simplifies and speeds up entry by incoming artists and groups to Ireland.
Ensure that dynamic incentives remain available to the film and television sector
and develop bi-lateral agreements to maximise the potential of Section 481.
The Agencies
In government we will:
Provide multi-annual funding to the Arts Council that identifies key areas for development, either for organisations,
or key strategies in the Arts.
Ensure that the increased level of Arts activity is sustained and developed.
National Cultural Institutions
We will ensure that our cultural institutions are developed to their highest potential by capital investment in storage, presentation, and digitisation of our national treasures.
In government we will:
Digitise the collections of the National Library, the National Gallery, the National Museum and the National Archives.
Establish a Museum of Irish Literature in Parnell Square.
Place the National Theatre, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall on a statutory footing.
Complete the construction of a new National Theatre
and a new National Concert Hall.
Begin a programme to digitise all State papers.
Complete Phases II and III of the National Museum and Collins Barracks
and
complete Phases II and III of the National Gallery.
Establish a National Sports Museum.
Roll out ACCESS II.
Commemoration
We believe that each tradition on this island is entitled to commemorate its past with dignity and respect for others.
In recent years we have worked to allow the public of this state to honour those who sacrificed so much for the achievement of independence.
The state commemoration at Easter 2006 amply justified this policy.
In light of the seminal importance of 1916, in government we will:
Push forward with plans for a substantial commemoration in the lead up to 2016.
Establish the GPO as a museum of celebration of Irish progress and achievement across a broad spectrum as a landmark 1916 centenary project.
Support the creation of programmes of events in all cities and towns in Ireland.
Make available to historians and to the public, records of the Military Pensions Archive in the Department of Defence.
Advance the redevelopment of Glasnevin Cemetery as part of the preparations for 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising.
Restore 16 Moore Street and establish therein an interpretative centre, linked to the refurbished GPO, to honour those who fought in the 1916 Rising.
Ensure a prominent cultural component to the 1916 Centenary commemoration.
Provide a fund to which community groups can apply for support for the refurbishment of existing monuments commemorating events in the 1913-23 period.
Advance plans to commemorate the Irish soldiers who fell at the Somme in 1916.
Civic Life
Ireland has a deep tradition of active engagement by its citizens in every aspect of our national life and culture.
During decades when the capacity of the State was limited by a lack of resources, it was the commitment of the Irish people that so often, formally and informally,
provided social services
and community leadership as well as a sporting and cultural life for our people.
In today’s more prosperous Ireland, we need to identify and understand how public policy helps and hinders active engagement.
We need to identify practical steps to encourage more of our people to become involved, and to stay involved, in the life of their own community.
In government, we have prioritised the promotion of volunteerism in communities with the publication of the Report of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship.
Over the last ten years we have implemented a systematic programme of reform concerning the regulation and oversight of public life in Ireland.
We believe that these measures have already had a substantial impact on ending many of the practices which have been exposed through detailed investigation.
We have been willing to go much further than most states in allowing investigations into affairs which are in some cases decades old.
The major changes include:
The Garda Síochána Act 2005 which provided for the establishment of an independent Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and Garda Síochána Inspectorate –
the first ever independent oversight of the force.
Electoral Acts which have limited and audited donations and introduced serious penalties for the misuse of political funding.
Political donations must now be channelled into a special account and it is an offence not to do so.
The Standards in Public Office Commission is in place to investigate breaches.
The Code of Conduct for Office Holders has been introduced with independent oversight.
The Local Government Act 2001 updated the declaration / disclosure regime for Councillors and relevant staff, introducing significant penalties for abuses.
The Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour has been introduced.
The Next Steps forward for Civic Life
Active Citizenship and Volunteering
Fianna Fáil has led the debate to ensure that Irish citizens play active and engaged roles with vibrant Irish communities.
In Government we will implement the recommendations of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship.
These recommendations include:
Establishing an independent Electoral Commission.
Introduction of a National Active Citizenship theme culminating in a National Active Citizenship week.
Introduction of National Presidential Citizen Awards to recognise outstanding contributions made by individuals to Irish society.
Ensuring that Local Authorities prioritise the provision of community andrecreational facilities as part of their Development Plans.
Undertake an audit of existing community facilities to identify gaps and identify opportunities for improved use of existing facilities.
Identify how better use can be made of schools at evening and weekend time to act as community hubs.
Introduction of a formal Citizenship Ceremony.
Ethics & Investigations
We are committed to continuing the work of ensuring that public life in Ireland achieves the highest standards
and that citizens can have full confidence in the regulation of all parts of our democratic system.
This is why we are proposing a series of next steps forward for public life.
In government we will:
Vigorously implement and improve, where necessary, the full range of ethics legislation.
Implement comprehensive reform of the legislation governing Tribunals of Inquiry so that all future Tribunals operate in accordance with modern and efficient management practices,
with focused terms of reference, and in a manner which ensures that the costs and duration of Tribunals are known and controlled.
Act on the findings of all Tribunals which have yet to report.
Electoral Reform
In government we will:
Establish an independent Electoral Commission to take responsibility for electoral administration and oversight.
This Commission will have the function of implementing modern efficient practices for the conduct of elections,
becoming a standing Constituency Commission for the revision of constituency boundaries.
It will also take charge of the compilation of a new national rolling electoral register
and, due to its expertise, take over the functions of the Standards in Public Office in relation to electoral expenditure.
We will, in its terms of reference, stress the importance of avoiding, where at all possible, the division of small counties or small parts of counties into separate constituencies.
Submit the proposal for re-uniting Leitrim in a single Dáil constituency as a formal Fianna Fáil submission to the Constituency Commission.
Determine the extent of cross-party agreement on the recommendations of the Report on Seanad Reform to advance proposals for implementation.
Local Government Reform
Local government in Ireland has been transformed over the past decade.
19th century structures have been replaced with modern management systems to meet the needs of today.
Local government has led the way in many areas including the first public sector Service Indicators,
eplanning systems and a new stronger role in community and enterprise development.
Fianna Fáil will build on this reform by making local government more transparent and more responsive to its customers.
We will put customer service to the forefront with:
required response times for correspondence;
‘customer friendly’ opening hours;
telephone responses from real people, not machines;
customer training programmes; and
a right of appeal or review of local authority decisions for customers as a further step to greater transparency.
These changes will be set out in a Local Authority Customer Service Charter.
We will ensure that advice given in pre-planning discussions is consistentand does not get overturned every time there is a change in planning staff.
Taxpayers and ratepayers need to know that they are getting value for money.
We will modernise the financial and budgetary processes of local authorities so that councillors and the public can readily grasp the options open to the local authority when it comes to spending and revenue raising priorities.
We will complement this initiative by ensuring that local authority spending is overseen by powerful Audit Committees, much like the Public Accounts Committee of Dáil Éireann, with power to summon witnesses and call local authorities to account.
These committees will include strong external membership with business/accounting experience.
We will build on the experience gained from the Service Indicators initiative by putting in place more challenging indicators for the years ahead
Including additional indicators on environmental performance and water quality.
We will review the operation of local government legislation to ensure that the decision making processes in local authorities
are rebalanced in favour of the democratically elected representatives of the people.
Fianna Fáil has massively increased investment in the frontline library and fire services. We will ensure that:
The library service responds to changing public demand for services as a result of the revolution in communications technology; and
The fire services operate to best international standards with a new community focus on fire prevention.
Civil Partnerships
Based on our republican ethos and building on the agenda for equality to which we are committed, we will address the need to provide a legal framework that supports the rights of same sex couples,
including by extending State recognition to civil partnerships between such persons so that they can live in a supportive and secure legal environment.
The Next Steps Forward for a Dynamic, Sustainable and Progressive Economy
The Next Steps Forward for a Dynamic, Sustainable and Progressive Economy
Today Ireland stands as one of the world’s greatest economies.
We enjoy the full employment, the good wages and the promising opportunities which the generations that secured our independence could only dream of.
Now, the challenge of our generation is to secure our prosperity and use it as a base on which we can build a better Ireland.
Fianna Fáil has always recognised that a strong economy is the essential precursor to social progress and service excellence.
To meet that objective, we will ensure that Ireland is one of the most attractive places in the world in which to live, to learn, to work and to invest.
To strengthen our society’s foundations, we will ensure that our taxation system rewards work and enterprise rather than punishes them.
We will enhance our productivity
and protect employment through building new skills.
We will support business development through investment incentives and through innovation, research and development.
We recognise and will protect the special contribution made by farming communities to our country and to our sense of self.
And we will give Ireland the environmental,
transport, communications and tourism infrastructure it needs and deserves.
Under Fianna Fáil, Ireland’s economy will generate new and better opportunities and provide new and better resources for all the people of our country.
Our Next Steps Forward will deliver the dynamic, sustainable and progressive economy that will make this possible.
Finance and the Economy
The Foundations
Fianna Fáil in government has led the transformation of Ireland’s economy.
We have moved from being a high-unemployment, high-tax and low public investment country to having the lowest unemployment, lowest taxes on workers and highest rate of public investment in Europe.
We reject the shallow ideologies of right and left, believing that a strong economy,
the promotion of individual enterprise
and increasing investment in public services
are fundamentally linked objectives.
The record of the last ten years shows that this approach works:
Unemployment has been reduced to an historic low, with long-term unemployment now at only 1.3%.
A systematic programme of income tax cuts has been implemented, reducing the top rate from 48% to 41%
and the lower rate from 26% to 20%.
Investment in public services has been step-changed, with dramatic increases in the State Pension,
child benefit
and the numbers of teachers,
Gardaí,
doctors
and nurses at work.
Investment in public infrastructure has been set at the highest level in Europe as a percentage of national income.
A fund now totalling 319 billion has been created to ensure that we can continue to pay decent pensions in the years ahead.
All of this has been achieved while delivering budget surpluses in nine of the last ten years.
Today a full 31 billion per year less is paid in debt interest than was paid in 1997
– money which is supporting a sustained level of higher investment in public services. In government, Fianna Fáil will continue to implement policies that deliver sustainable expansion allowing Ireland to exploit the opportunities presented in good times and to withstand pressure during times of international economic weakness.
Fianna Fáil will always put responsibility first.
All the commitments made in this manifesto are dependent on our country’s continuing prosperity, something which we will never put at risk.
The long-term interests of Ireland are our priority and will never be sacrificed for short-term gain.
A sound economy is the bedrock of social progress.
It is an absolute prerequisite for all our ambitions – in health, enterprise, welfare or education. To that end, Fianna Fáil in government will defend prosperity with unrivalled determination.
The consequences of that determination are clear: if Ireland ever faces into a global economic downturn we will act prudently, as before.
We will deliver this country through any downturn with healthy fundamentals intact – that is, to maintain the lowest unemployment, lowest taxes and highest growth in Europe.
The Next Steps Forward for Finance & the Economy
Sound budgetary management is essential if Ireland is to continue enjoying low taxes
and high levels of spending on public goods and services.
All of our proposals for the next five years have been framed within the context of a very clear set of assumptions which show exactly how we will approach fiscal and economic decisions over a full term of government.
Our programme will involve us taxing, spending and borrowing less than the opposition – but while we are promising less, we will deliver more.
Economic Principles
Long-term responsibility is the foundation on which our economic policy is built.
We will not mortgage our country’s future for short-term gain.
Our economic policy must accept the reality that we cannot and should not compete on the basis of low wages.
If we are to compete effectively and in a sustainable way, we will have to do so through even greater competitiveness in knowledgedriven industries.
This is the best and only serious guarantee of high employment and high wages.
Our guiding economic principles for the next five years are:
We will aim to achieve further significant, sustainable growth with our programme based on an average growth rate of 4.5%.
We will operate a responsible fiscal policy characterised by broad budget balance and a declining debt burden.
We will deliver the National Development Plan in full, on time and within budget to raise our productivity,
to enhance our competitiveness
and to secure our future prosperity.
We will invest in increasing the productive capacity of the economy, particularly in terms of ensuring high-levels of high-quality employment.
Budgetary Policy
Sound budgetary management is essential
if Ireland is to continue enjoying low taxes and high levels of spending on public goods and services.
Our guiding principles for fiscal policy for the next five years are to:
Keep the budget in broad balance
and fully within our commitments under the Stability & Growth Pact.
Retain the flexibility to deal with any future shocks.
Set aside a minimum of 1% of GNP per annum to provide for the future pensions of today’s workers.
Implement a series of significant and sustainable increases in key public services such as pensions,
health
and schools.
Keep the overall tax burden low
and implement further changes to enhance the rewards of work
while increasing the fairness of the tax system.
Building the Public Wealth
Once our current prosperity is safeguarded, policy must seek to build for the future by raising our productive capacity
and in so doing improve our potential to enjoy a better quality of life.
That is the context in which the new National Development Plan was framed.
With a total cost of 3184 billion over seven years, the Plan involves a major acceleration of Government capital investment.
The period to 2013 represents a major window of opportunity in resource terms to tackle, in particular, our infrastructure deficits before other expenditure pressures begin to emerge.
At present Ireland has six persons of working age for every older person.
This will gradually disimprove over the medium-term so that by 2050 we will have ratio of just two to one.
The implications of this are that public spending on pensions, health and long-term care in Ireland will increase from some 10½% of GDP in 2004 to almost 20% of GDP in 2050.
Clearly, we now have a unique opportunity to give Ireland the infrastructure it needs and deserves if we are to sustain our current prosperity into the future while simultaneously enhancing quality of life.
We must not allow that opportunity to pass us by.
Fianna Fáil believes that the full implementation of the NDP must be the first priority of the next administration
and should take precedence over short-termist promises or gestures.
The NDP will make our economy and our society stronger
and will substantially increase the probability that our good fortune will benefit future generations.
It will protect and sustain our prosperity, not threaten it.
Ireland is now an income-rich country.
However, we are still poor in terms of our public wealth due to decades of under-investment in infrastructure.
To correct this imbalance, Fianna Fáil in government has committed to investing 5.4% of GNP in public infrastructure through the NDP.
This will be implemented through a coordinated, multi-annual programme which is subject to rigorous value for money and quality oversight.
Through sound management of the economy, Fianna Fáil will ensure that this resource commitment is maintained over the lifetime of the next government.
Closing the infrastructure gap as expeditiously as possible has significant benefits
and will enhance quality of life and economic competitiveness for generations to come.
We will deliver the public infrastructure which this country needs if it is to sustain and consolidate the gains of the past decade.
Competitiveness and Innovation
Ireland’s future prosperity is critically dependent on our ability to trade with the world.
Fianna Fáil will underpin Ireland’s success as a highly-productive, trading nation by the following measures:
Through the National Development Plan, we will invest over 38.2 billion in Science, Technology and Innovation.
This investment will transform the type of R&D and innovation taking place across our enterprise sector.
Our ongoing investment in education and training will ensure that our workforce is
equipped with the necessary skills to enhance our productivity and competitiveness.
Under Transport 21, our national infrastructure will be overhauled and upgraded with positive consequences for business costs and productivity.
On return to office, we will instigate a review of the entire economic regulatory environment.
This review will be designed to ensure that the existing regulatory regime is operating efficiently, is balancing the needs of users with the requirements of producers and is not imposing excessive costs on the economy.
Recognising the importance of small business to our economy,
Fianna Fáil will continue to support and enhance the Business Expansion and Seed Capital Schemes.
We recognise the vital role played by low taxes in our economic success.
We guarantee that the 12.5% rate of corporation tax will not be changed.
We will resolutely oppose any attempt to introduce tax harmonisation within the European Union, either directly or through technical measures.
Under Fianna Fáil, Ireland’s dynamic and flexible economy will continue to be one of the most attractive locations in the world to invest, to employ and to do business in.
A Fair Tax System
We have overhauled the taxation system over the past ten years through dramatic and sustainable cuts in rates and increases in tax credits.
However further progress can be made in making the system even fairer.
Subject to the controlling economic and fiscal framework, Fianna Fáil in government will implement the following specific approach to tax:
Our first priority remains low and middle income earners – therefore our first task will be to use tax credits and bands to keep low income earners out of the standard rate band and average earners out of the higher band.
PRSI, as currently devised, is not a fair tax as it is not levied on incomes above €48,800.
Consequently, it is most lightly borne by those on the highest incomes.
To eliminate this inequity, Fianna Fáil will abolish the PRSI ceiling for full rate payers and reduce the rate at which this tax is levied from 4% to 2% over the lifetime of the next administration. We will also reduce the rate of PRSI paid by the self employed to 2% from 3%.
These moves will eliminate remaining inequality in the income tax system and enhance its progressive nature.
The Social Insurance Fund will be reimbursed by the Exchequer for the cost of this reform.
Once these commitments are met, any additional resources will be targeted at further enhancing the rewards of work.
Specifically, we are committed to reducing the standard rate of income tax to 18% and the higher rate of income tax to 40% over the lifetime of the next government if economic resources allow.
We will introduce measures to further weight VRT in favour of cars with lower emissions.
Supporting Home Ownership While Protecting House Values and Jobs
Fianna Fáil is determined to help first-time buyers directly and substantially without disturbing market conditions,
driving increases in house prices, and putting the more than 260,000 jobs in construction at risk.
Our approach is good for certainty, good for affordability, good for society and good for the economy.
As the Housing chapter explains in more detail, in government we will
legislate immediately to abolish stamp duty for all first-time buyers and make this change retrospective for all deeds presented for stamping to the Revenue Commissioners on or after 30th April 2007.
Implement major changes in mortgage interest relief for first-time buyersand those who bought a house in the past seven years.
Keeping Ireland Working Jobs, Skills & Advanced Research
Since 1997 no less than 600,000 jobs have been created in the Irish economy, one in four of all jobs.
The most remarkable part of this has been the level of well-paid, highly skilled jobs created.
We have gone from having Europe’s highest rate of unemployment to it lowest – with long-term unemployment now down to 1.3%.
This did not happen by chance.
It is the result of the clear choices of a government working in partnership with businesses and employees.
Fianna Fáil policies have always been pro-education, pro-business, and pro-low taxes, both at personal, and at corporate level.
The 12.5% corporate tax rate has enabled the Irish economy to perform very strongly over the past 10 years and is much admired internationally.
Ireland’s level of Foreign Direct Investment is now proportionately one of the highest in the world, with over 1,000 overseas companies having substantial international operations in Ireland.
Our Small and Medium Enterprise sector is also very strong, employing over 800,000 people.
The Next Steps Forward for Keeping Ireland Working
We fully accept that we can take nothing for granted – that other countries will keep trying to catch up with us.
Low-tax, high-investment, pro-enterprise policies have led to spectacular progress for our country and we believe that this approach must be built upon.
Fianna Fáil is the party of job creation and we are absolutely committed to maintaining high-levels of good employment,
low levels of unemployment and a strong business sector.
This is why we are proposing a coordinated series of next steps forward to support the creation of 250,000 jobs over the next five years.
Guiding Principles
Overall, we will implement policies which fit within a key set of principles:
Keep taxes on employment low.
Where possible reduce the regulatory burden faced by business.
Significantly upskill the Irish workforce at all levels.
Invest in research and development.
Develop a growing focus on the dynamic SME sector.
Ensure that employment standards are met throughout the economy.
Tax and Regulation
We have championed and delivered a low-tax environment for business
and we have worked to reduce the regulatory burden faced by business.
We will continue to do so and, in government we will:
Ensure that our regulatory framework remains flexible, proportionate and up to date.
Keep Ireland’s Corporation Tax at its current level at most
and veto any EU proposal which might undermine this.
Continue to enhance the Business Expansion Scheme and the Seed Capital Scheme.
Examine measures to limit the ability of local authorities to impose punitive charges on local businesses.
Implement procedures to ensure direct feedback from business on regulatory burdens and publish annual reports on how these issues have been addressed.
Small & Medium Enterprises
We view small business as big business for Ireland.
There are over 250,000 small businesses operating across the country, which employ a total of over 800,000 people or 40% of the workforce.
This number is also growing – businesses up by 50% and employment by 79% in recent years.
We are committed to helping SMEs grow, becoming more knowledge-based and being a key driver of future success.
In government we will:
Encourage financial institutions to provide European Investment.
Fund guaranteed loan finance to small businesses.
Continue to enhance the Business Expansion Scheme (BES) and the Seed Capital Scheme (SCS) following on from changes introduced in Budget 2007.
Make Innovation Vouchers available to small businesses in every sector, to be exchanged for advice, expertise and information from accredited knowledge providers. This will build on the initiative taken this year when Ireland became only the second country in Europe to introduce this scheme to help small businesses.
Actively encourage more “Competence Centres” which will bring together companies that have similar research problems and team them with highly qualified researchers to produce new technologies, bring their results to market and deliver a competitive advantage to Irish industry.
Provide Knowledge Acquisition Grants to enable small businesses in the manufacturing and internationally traded service sectors to gain access to research-based knowledge, expertise and facilities in higher education institutes.
Manufacturing
The manufacturing sector faces many serious challenges, but has maintained significant employment levels in recent years.
To help the sector to compete more effectively, in government we will:
Assist smaller manufacturing firms to realise the potential of information technology by appointing a Director for the R&D programme support structures.
Support upskilling of low-skilled workers in the manufacturing sector by investing more than 32.8 billion over the next six years in upskilling.
Fully co-operate with the High Level Group on Manufacturing established under Towards 2016.
Ensure better exploitation of domestic opportunities to facilitate companies in applying for public sector contracts.
Support the change process in companies through advice and assistance.
Support the establishment of R&D units in manufacturing companies.
Competition and Consumer Protection
We believe that competition and consumer protection are essential parts of maintaining a vibrant economy.
We are determined to ensure that competition thrives and that costs to the consumer are kept to a minimum.
In government we will:
Ensure that prices of goods are labelled and transparent so the consumer is well-informed.
Make consumers more aware of their rights through information campaigns and through the education system.
Prevent consumers from being charged extra for using a particular method of payment of their choice - either cash, credit or debit card.
Maintain the ban on Pyramid selling and ensure that penalties are enforced which includes 3500,000 fines and /or imprisonment.
On-the-spot fines will be introduced for breaches of consumer law.
Ensure that Consumer Codes of Conducts are published by businesses.
Ensure that the National Consumers’ Agency is accessible to all people who have queries or complaints via low-cost calls or web-sites.
Enforcement will be a core focus of the Agency.
Ensure product safety by operating the EU Rapex scheme.
Make sure that the needs of the consumer and national competitiveness are fully accounted for in the pricing decisions of regulators.
Regulate property management companies to ensure that the interests of consumers are protected.
Managing Economic Migration
We are determined to manage economic migration in a way that protects the rights of all workers, maintains unemployment at the lowest possible level
and ensures successful integration.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Continue to issue green cards in respect of occupations where there are skills shortages, including those for example in the information technology, biopharma, engineering and health sectors.
Only grant work permits where it can be demonstrated, following a rigorous labour market test, that suitable employees are not available within the EEA.
Allow workers to apply for and reapply for their own permit and to transfer to another employment in cases of mistreatment.
We will also provide for spouses of employment permit holders who are granted residence in Ireland to be granted an employment permit.
Ensure that the employment rights of non-EEA students are protected by requiring them to have work permits which will allow them to work for a maximum of 20 hours a week.
Re-establish an Intra-Company transfer scheme for temporary trans-national top management transfers to enable companies to meet short-term needs.
Ensure that employment permit applications are not approved for wages below the REA/ERO rate or the National Minimum Wage, and that there is full enforcement of employment law to protect workers from being abused.
Increase the number of Labour Inspectors to 90.
Ensure that workers are made aware of their rights through initiatives such as printing the minimum wage on the work permit and providing information in a range of languages.
Protect employees against employers deducting recruitment expenses from pay and retaining workers personal documents.
Skills for the Future
Fianna Fáil will guarantee that our workforce becomes more skilled at all levels to ensure that we make the transition to a competitive, innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy.
To achieve this objective we will invest over 37.7 billion over the next 6 years in training and skills development and will:
Expand the role of FÁS and Enterprise Ireland to increase the “employer commitment” to training, particularly in the SME sector.
Invest in SME owner/manager Development Programmes.
Expand the Competency Development Programmes, allowing more workers across all ectors and company sizes the opportunity to upskill.
Fund Regional Skills Advisory Groups which consist of both firms and education/training providers so that the needs of each region are met.
Utilise the National Training Fund to assist companies in improving their employees’ skill sets.
Ensure that FÁS expands the Excellence Through People programmes (ETP) to reach 500,000 workers by 2020.
Expand the Training Networks Programme which will increase the number of training grants given to companies and the Skillsnet Training programme which allows companies to access training
Make it easier to access FÁS apprenticeship programmes by increasing the number of places across the country.
We will add to the number of occupations to ensure the continued skills relevance and we will do this in consultation with the Social Partners
We are also committed to updating the present apprenticeship programmes to keep them responsive, competitive and productive.
Keeping Ireland Ahead at the Cutting Edge
Ireland cannot be successful in the future without sustained investment in developing skills and ideas through research and development.
Under this Fianna Fáil-led Government, research and development spending has soared and is crucial to attracting significant international investment.
Investment in indigenous R&D is important as Ireland is now rated second in the world for the number of science graduates per 100,000 25-34 year olds in employment.
We live in a new Ireland - prosperous but not without its challenges.
The deeper our economic success and the longer it is sustained, the greater the challenges to keep the forward momentum.
While Fianna Fáil works to maintain it, we will also take the next steps to introduce greater opportunity for even more people to become involved in our economy and to benefit from its success.
The biggest contributor to our economic success has been the exceptional wealth of the intellectual capital available to native and overseas investors.
Ireland renowned for the quality of its graduates.
The basis for future growth in prosperity and jobs is further investment in the knowledge, skills and innovation capacity up to fourth level that will drive economic and social development in an increasing competitive global environment.
The higher education system must deliver people who will expand knowledge-based business in Ireland.
This will require change and quality improvements in our Universities and Institutes of Education across all key disciplines.
Fianna Fáil will actively promote a system-wide form of collaboration that draws on the collective strengths of all our 3rd level colleges.
This collaboration will enable companies, both large and small, to access new knowledge, specialist skills and the latest technologies.
We have already started this process by publishing the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation which for the first time outlines an “all Government” approach to R&D across nine departments.
This involves investing over 38.2 billion up to 2013 across sectors such as Health, Agri-food, Energy, Marine, Geoscience and Environmental research.
All of these sectors are huge employers and contribute billions to the economy.
This investment will provide for the continued development of a world class research system, underpinned by the essential physical infrastructure and human resources with the number of PhD graduates set to almost double over the next six years.
In government Fianna Fáil will continue the upward investment to enable Ireland to compete seriously as a “Knowledge Economy”.
Over the next five years we will:
Double investment in R&D.
Fully implement the Strategy on Science Technology and Innovation.
Ensure doubling of PhDs in Science, Engineering and Technology.
Simplify grants and supports to businesses to conduct R&D.
Double the spending on BERD (Business Expenditure on R&D) by 2013.
Enhance the R&D Tax credit scheme.
Ensure that there is enhanced industry/academia collaboration to benefit business and secure growth.
Social Partnership and the Public Sector
Social Partnership has made a critical contribution to Ireland’s economic and social development over the last twenty years.
It has transformed our industrial relations landscape and has created a broader forum for the consideration of policy.
It has created opportunities for the resolution of issues in a way which has supported rather than impaired economic and social development.
Our leader, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD, is the architect of social partnership
and understands better than anyone how to reconcile the interests of employers, employees and other groups to agree a shared agenda for progress.
Fianna Fáil also understands that a partnership approach with public sector workers is central to achieving improvements in public services.
In government, we have sought to ensure that services are delivered to the citizens who pay for them in a modern and accessible way by public servants who are well rewarded for their work.
There has been substantial reform in the manner in which public services are planned and delivered
– and equally there has been a substantial increase in the numbers and remuneration of public servants.
The Next Steps Forward for Social Partnership and the Public Sector
Fianna Fáil believes that maintaining industrial peace through a strong Social Partnership system
and promoting efficiency in the delivery of public services are central to protecting and growing our social and economic prosperity in the years ahead.
This is why we are proposing a series of next steps forward on social partnership and the public sector.
Social Partnership
Fianna Fáil established Social Partnership and we are determined to maintain its success in the years ahead by:
Working with the social partners to ensure the full implementation of the Towards 2016 Agreement.
Ensuring that pay improvements for public sector workers continue to be linked to delivery and verification of agreed improvements in public services.
Ensuring Value for Money
Evaluation, improvement in performance and constant modernisation have become part and parcel of people’s working lives in the private sector.
We will ensure that the delivery of services in the public sector are evaluated and improved in similar ways.
The public has a legitimate right to expect public services to be delivered in an effective manner – in terms of both time and money – and for the right activities to get priority.
The bulk of capital projects are now being delivered on or below budget and, in some instances, ahead of schedule.
Building on this performance, all expenditure under the NDP 2007-2013 will be subject, as appropriate, to a robust Value for Money framework.
Key elements of this framework include:
All projects will subject to project appraisal to ensure that NDP programme objectives and Value for Money are being achieved;
All capital projects over 330 million will require a full cost benefit analysis in line with the Department of Finance guidelines of February 2005;
New procurement arrangements which will deliver greater cost certainty for public capital projects;
NDP Programme Evaluations and Value for Money and Policy Reviews will be published and submitted to the relevant Select Committees of the Oireachtas; and
As provided for under the Budget and Estimates Reform proposals set out in Budget 2006, all Ministers will submit an Annual Output Statement with their Annual Estimates to the relevant Oireachtas Committee.
This will detail target outputs for the Estimates and the following years’ Statement will set out achievements against target.
This process will encompass Exchequer funded NDP spending.
This robust and transparent process will be augmented by the new requirement for the submission of an Annual Report on NDP progress to the Oireachtas where it will be subject to debate.
Other factors such as the Strategic Infrastructure Act 2006 and extra judicial resources will also impact positively on value for money, delivery and Implementation.
Delivering the Government Programme
Fianna Fáil believes setting up a new Delivery Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach will help to ensure that delivery of the Government programme is on track, with early identification of obstacles so that steps can be taken to rectify them.
The Unit will be tasked with:
Monitoring and reporting on delivery of the Government Programme.
Developing annual Government Programme delivery targets.
Facilitating the sharing of knowledge regarding best practice and value for money in project delivery throughout Government departments.
Providing the Cabinet with monthly progress updates on the implementation on the Government Programme.
Public Sector Management
Fianna Fáil will help to foster in the public sector an entrepreneurial spirit,
focussed on finding opportunities to improve services for the Irish public.
Reform and modernisation should be part of an ongoing process that keeps pace with the needs of Irish society and creates a public sector work environment where talent is valued and performance is recognised.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Support the further opening up of management roles to the best qualified candidates.
Roll out the new Performance Management and Development System (PMDS).
It is an essential tool for managing performance and career development for all staff.
A consistent evaluation system should identify outstanding performance and highlight underperformance.
Implement improvements in human resource management which ensure that all public servants are helped to develop to the best of their ability.
Support succession and career planning to ensure a talent pipeline for thefuture leadership of the public sector.
Decentralisation
In 2003 we launched the largest programme of decentralisation in the history of our civil and public service.
This programme is designed to meet the need for balanced regional development,
relieve pressures on Dublin, give public servants a greater opportunity to choose the communities they live and work in
and to allow for a clustering approach which ensures effective management.
We accept that the initial timetables were too ambitious and that completing the programme will take more work.
However, we remain absolutely committed to decentralisation and to the towns designated to host offices.
Fianna Fáil in government will:
Continue to move ahead with decentralisation.
Ensure that no public servant is obliged to accept decentralisation against their wishes and that promotion opportunities remain available.
Transport
A modern society needs a modern infrastructure.
Since coming to office, Fianna Fáil in government has moved to correct the impact of decades of under-investment in our transport infrastructure by committing unprecedented development funding to this area.
Our achievements include:
An unprecedented upgrading of our road network with clear benefits forquality of life, safety and competitiveness.
Over 200 km of new motorway, 500 km of new dual and single carriageways with over 550km of new roads in construction this year.
A complete overhaul of our rail service in terms of track and new rolling stock.
Over 1,100 new buses for Dublin Bus including 100 delivered over December 2006 and January this year.
Over 600 new buses for Bus Éireann.
QBCs have been introduced successfully in Dublin and are being rolled out in the other cities.
67 New InterCity carriages with 183 new railcars to be delivered in the next two years. Our rail fleet will be the youngest in Europe this year.
The success of Luas, carrying over 26 million passengers annually.
A doubling of capacity for passengers on the DART.
A vibrant aviation sector with 200% growth in passenger numbers at the regional airports, 110% more passengers at Dublin, 100% more at Shannon and an increase of 150% at Cork.
More choice for air travellers with a doubling of routes serviced from Dublin, Cork and Shannon.
A reformed road safety regime with penalty points and mandatory alcohol testing successfully in place
and the Road Safety Authority established.
Ireland now has one of the world’s most successful economies. It needs a first rate transport network if it is to sustain and build on that success.
But investment in transport is about more than economics.
A high quality efficient transport system enhances quality of life for all.
That is why Fianna Fáil published and is implementing Transport 21, the first-ever integrated plan for developing transport networks in all parts of the country.
The Next Steps Forward for Transport
We are determined to use the undoubted progress of recent years and continue to accelerate actions that will deliver a modern transport system throughout the country.
Therefore we are proposing a series of significant next steps forward for transport in Ireland.
Overall, we will implement a programme of investment and service development which will:
Improve safety
Deliver real commuting choice
Cut travelling times
Reduce congestion
Public Transport
We are committed to a major increase in the capacity and quality of our public transport services,
including the full integration of services.
Enhanced public transport services will help the environment, reduce congestion and improve quality of life for all.
In government we will:
Substantially improve and expand Luas services in Dublin by:
Joining the Green and Red Luas lines.
Extending Luas to Docklands.
Extending Luas to Citywest.
Extending Luas to Cherrywood.
Extending Luas from the City Centre to Liffey Junction (Broadstone/Cabra).
Extending Luas to Rathfarnham subject to feasibility study.
Improve rail services by:
Reopening the Western Rail Corridor from Ennis to Claremorris.
Examining the feasibility of reopening the line from Claremorris to Sligo.
Opening the Cork-Midleton rail service.
Launching Galway-Athenry commuter rail services.
Opening the Navan rail line, initially to Dunboyne, and prepare for services to Navan.
Accelerating construction of the Interconnector between Docklands and Heuston stations.
Opening Metro North from St Stephen’s Green to Swords via Dublin Airport.
Opening Metro-West connecting Tallaght and Ballymun through Clondalkin, Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown.
Improve bus services by:
Ensuring that the evolving regulatory regime will deliver service improvements by both private and public operators
and that the needs of the consumer rather than the operator will be the prime driver of the marketplace.
Continuing to develop Quality Bus Corridors in Dublin and the other cities.
Doubling the length of bus priority schemes to improve the quality, reliability and efficiency of the fleet of buses serving the Greater Dublin Area.
We will continue to promote integrated ticketing and smart card technologies which will allow a differential pricing system to be introduced.
We will also plan and deliver strategies for the future development of integrated public transport in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, including examining the feasibility of Luas systems in those cities.
Roads
The development of a high-quality route network carries significant benefits
for our competitiveness, balanced regional development and the safety of our roads.
In government we will complete:The five inter-urban motorways connecting Dublin with Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
The Atlantic Road Corridor connecting Letterkenny and Waterford through Sligo, Charlestown, Tuam, Galway, Gort, Ennis, Limerick, Mallow and Cork to motorway standard on most of the routes.
The Border Road Corridor connecting Dundalk to Sligo via Enniskillen
High quality road corridors to the Border, the North West and the West connecting Mullingar and Westport/Ballina/Sligo, Kells and Belturbet, as well as Ardee and Monaghan.
The Eastcoast N11 dual carriageway to Rosslare.
The Dublin to Letterkenny/Derry dual carriageway.
Funding of the Roads Network
The incoming government will explore an important initiative in the area of funding road development.
Institutional investors and small savers would be given the opportunity to subscribe for an infrastructure bond.
Initially this would be used to fund a rebuilding of the Dublin to Letterkenny/Derry road and the Dublin Outer Orbital Route subject to feasibility and planning.
An index-linked infrastructure bond would be issued by the National Development Finance Agency and set to mature in 50 years time with a fixed coupon.
Using risk distribution in line with Eurostat rules, the bond would be structured as off balance sheet financing.
The bond would be issued in increments to match capital expenditure as it occurs.
It would allow the people of Ireland to invest securely in our future without adding to the National Debt.
Road Safety
In spite of dramatic increases in the number of cars on Irish roads, 2006 saw the second best year for road safety in four decades.
In our next steps for road safety, we will:
Maintain progress on driving test waiting times, ensuring that the waiting time does not exceed 8 weeks at any test centre in the country.
Compel persons disqualified for drink driving to re-sit their driving test.
Introduce smart-card learner permits and driving licences.
Introduce compulsory alcohol and drug testing for drivers involved in accidents causing injury.
Aviation
In order to support a thriving aviation industry, in government we will:
Support the development of Cork and Shannon airports as fully independent entities offering a range of both long-haul and short-haul routes.
Recognising the opportunity presented by Open Skies, encourage the development of new transatlantic services at Shannon.
Open Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport in 2009
Strengthen the role of the regional airports through continuing capital support, encouraging them to play a full part in fostering regional development.
Ports
Ports are vital to our economic prosperity, carrying 99% of our exports by volume to the world.
In government, Fianna Fáil will:
Continue to support the State-owned commercial port companies as they invest in improving their infrastructure.
Undertake a comprehensive study of the role of Dublin Port taking account of location, overall ports policy, transport policy, urban development and the National Spatial Strategy.
Invest 331 million under the National Development Plan in Regional Harbours to ensure that their potential contribution to the economic and social life of their communities is fully realised.
Regional and Local Roads
Fianna Fáil will:
Identify key regional roads to be upgraded and will put in place a multi-annual programme, in parallel with Transport 21 to achieve this.
The focus of this programme will be on heavier trafficked routes linking our rural towns with each other and with the national road network.
Spend 34.3 billion on non-national roads under the National Development Plan and in particular accelerate investment in the restoration programme to improve sub-standard roads.
Support the provision of urban distributor routes around major towns with significant contributions from developers as new areas are opened up for development.
Energy
A reliable and affordable supply of energy is central to many elements of economic and social life.
Reducing our dependence on certain forms of energy production is also necessary to achieve fundamental environmental objectives
which are vital for the future of this island and the world as a whole.
In recent years, there has been a 600% increase in electricity generated by wind on the national grid
and Ireland has become one of the leading centres for wave energy research worldwide
and ambitious biofuels targets have been set.
Later this year a Single Electricity Market will come into place.
We have also facilitated the creation of a Single Electricity Market which will come into place on 1st November 2007.
Fianna Fáil is committed to securing both long-term energy security
and a low carbon future for Ireland.
Our White Paper on Energy – the first in 30 years – sets out how this can be done.
The Next Steps Forward on Energy
We are committed to delivering a fully sustainable, secure, efficient, affordable and competitive
all-island energy market.
The hallmarks of the all-island energy market will be reliable supply, highly efficient use of energy,
competitive prices and sustainable, diverse energy sources.
This is why we are proposing a series of significant steps forward in the field of energy.
In government we will achieve the following commitments across each of the three energy pillars:
Security of Supply
In government we will:
Ensure that electricity supply consistently meets demand.
Ensure the security and reliability of gas supplies.
Enhance the diversity of fuels used for power generation, especially renewables.
Ensure the development of a landbank of state owned power generation sites to facilitate the entry of new independent generation.
Deliver the East/West and second North/South electricity interconnectors.
Deliver electricity and gas to homes and businesses over networks that are efficient, reliable and secure.
Create a stable, attractive environment for hydrocarbon exploration and production.
Mitigate the impact of any energy supply disruptions by ensuring that contingency measures are in place.
Environmental Sustainability
In government we will:
Dramatically accelerate the growth of renewable energy sources in the electricity, heat and transport sectors of the economy.
One third of all electricity consumed will come from renewable energy by 2020.
Introduce co-firing at each of the three peat stations with up to 30% biomass by 2015,
which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from those three stations by 900,000 tonnes per annum and will also extend the life of those stations.
Implement in full, the National Bioenergy Action Plan for Ireland, which will reduce greenhouse gas emission by at least 2 million tonnes per annum.
Promote the enhanced deployment of green energy technologies
and the sustainable use of energy in transport.
Introduce a biofuels obligation scheme by 2009.
Stimulate the development of alternative energy sources.
Maximise energy efficiency and energy savings across the economy with atarget of 20% energy savings by 2020 and 33% for public sector.
National building regulations will be updated during 2007 to reduce energy demand by 40%.
Support Energy Research Development and Innovation Programmes.
Establish a dedicated Ocean Energy Development Unit.
The Unit mandate will be to develop the sector and work to a target of at least 500 MW of wave and tidal energy by 2020 with an interim target of 75 MW in 2012.
Aim to create an export-oriented Ocean Energy sector focused on the technologies associated with this exciting sector through R&D supports
and grant funding of start-up production in the sector.
Energy- Competitiveness
In government we will:
Deliver competition and consumer choice in the energy market in support of economic growth and national competitiveness.
Oversee the successful introduction of the Single Electricity Market in 2007.
Keep the electricity and gas network infrastructures, as strategic national assets, in State ownership and ensure that these assets are never privatised.
Oversee the transfer of transmission assets to EirGrid, establishing it as the National Transmission Grid Company by end 2008.
Operate ESB’s natural monopoply network business under a risk-related related rate of return, leading to reduced network tariffs which will be passed on in full to electricity customers.
Reduce the market power held by any one player in price-setting generation plants.
Ensure a sustainable future for the Semi-State Energy Enterprises.
Provide substantial financial support to improve the energy efficiency of existing public housing and assist those on low incomes to avoid fuel poverty.
Expand and develop programmes for energy conservation to ensure the most efficient use of the energy.
Communications
When Fianna Fáil returned to office in 2002 there were very few DSL broadband lines in the State.
Today there are almost 520,000 broadband subscribers in Ireland, with nearly 5,000 new users a week coming on board.
Prices are a third of the 2002 levels and speeds are vastly improved. Ireland now has the most competitively priced international connectivity in the EU.
Mobile phone roaming charges between the North and the Republic have also been abolished.
We have prioritised improvements in our postal network, with new opportunities for An Post in providing financial services.
In broadcasting, we have increased the powers of the ComReg to boost competition and established TG4 as an independent entity.
The Next Steps Forward for Communications
Broadband
A world-class telecommunications sector is critical to our continued economic and social prosperity.
We are committed to moving Ireland to the forefront of knowledge-based economies in the world through the provision of open access broadband.
A state-of-the-art telecommunications network will be the key infrastructure that will enable this and support information intensive industry and bandwidth-hungry citizens.
In government we will:
Complete the roll-out of broadband throughout the country with the National Broadband Scheme (NBS).
This will mean that the last 10%-15% of the country, which will never have access to broadband without intervention or support, will now have access to broadband, provided on a technology-neutral basis.
Encourage the progressive shift to IP based Next Generation Networks.
Encourage the separation of Eircom’s network from its commercial retail business into a separate entity to be regulated by ComReg, on a fully open-access and transparent basis.
We anticipate that this organization will attract funding as a quasi-utility and will play a role in encouraging the development of Next Generation Networks in Ireland.
Tender contracts to provide broadband availability to the final 10% of the country.
The successful tenderers will have to commit to deploy technological solutions to allow maximum competition.
Expand the current free telephone rental scheme by providing for free broadband for older people.
Industry will be invited to tender for the provision of the new bundled broadband and rental service for older people.
Broadcasting
Fianna Fáil is committed to creating an environment that encourages the maintenance of high quality Irish radio and television services by both independent broadcasters
and RTÉ and securing a viable future for high quality public service broadcasting in the Irish market.
In government we will:
Enact the Broadcasting Bill to ensure a comprehensive, modern framework of law for the sector.
Establish the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
Ensure a speedy right to reply to those who have been defamed in radio or television programmes.
Complete the pilot DTT project and complete roll-out of DTT well in advance of the EU 2012 deadline.
Place reviews of the licence fee on a statutory basis.
Provide increased funding to TG4 for increased Irish language programming.
Maximise the number of home-produced programmes within the RTE schedule.
Digitise the RTÉ archives for use in education and research.
Enable RTÉ to support broadcasting to the Irish community abroad.
Ensure a fair and competitive environment for the independent TV and radio sector.
Postal Services
Fianna Fáil is committed to ensuring that Irish business and domestic customers enjoy competitively priced, high-quality postal services.
In government we will:
Ensure a strong, viable post office network, which reaches into every community in Ireland and which properly remunerates all those involved in it.
Develop An Post as a top-class financial services entity to help in that aim.
Ensure that as many Government services as possible operate through the post office network.
Introduce a postcode system to Ireland to ensure a strong competitive postal sector
and to reduce costs significantly for consumers, business and the voluntary sector.
Insist on much improved “next day delivery” rates and link them to any future stamp price increases.
Empower ComReg to withhold increases and/or clawback income where delivery targets are not met.
Environment
Fianna Fáil has dramatically improved the protection of the Irish environment in recent years.
Our emphasis has always been on “environmental policies that work”.
Notwithstanding Ireland’s unprecedented economic and physical development over the past decade, the state of our environment has improved in most areas,
thanks to pro-active policies and large-scale investment in protecting that environment.
As a result of our policies:
Ireland is 100% compliant with EU air quality standards.
New waste water treatment in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and other major towns now means that Ireland is now over 90% compliant with waste water discharges in comparison with just 20% 6 years ago.
96.7% of drinking water is compliant with EU standards.
We now have a record number of blue flag beaches – 81 in 2006.
Ireland’s recycling rate is up four fold on 1997 levels and our 35% recycling target was met eight years ahead of target.
Ireland has ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and we are committed to meeting our international obligations.
We have already successfully decoupled our economic growth from growth in emissions: since 1990 our emissions grew by 23% but our economy grew by over 150%.
Environmental enforcement law has been strengthened and the Office of Environmental Enforcement has been established.
This EPA now reports that large scale illegal dumping has been successfully dealt with as a result of these policies.
The Environmental Performance Index presented to the 2006 Davos World Economic Forum placed Ireland 10th out of 133 countries for environmental policies.
The Next Steps Forward on the Environment
With the scale of the environmental challenges facing the world, it is clear that serious action must go on.
This is why Fianna Fáil is committed to taking a further series of major steps forward for the environment during the next five years.
Overall, we are committed to moving Ireland into the top five in the world as measured by the Environmental Performance Index
Climate Change: A Challenge for the Whole World
As a developed country, as a Member State of the EU, and as a responsible nation in the wider international community, Ireland is playing its part in meeting the most important environmental issue facing the world today.
We have been to the fore in participating in the EU Emissions’ Trading System
and will use all available mechanisms to ensure that Ireland meets its climate change commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
Meeting our obligations to the future generations requires all sectors in society to play their part.
Fianna Fáil in Government will implement a comprehensive range of measures as set out in the new National Climate Change Strategy.
In particular Fianna Fáil believes in the need to commit to a clean and renewable energy future
and we commit ourselves to a Green Energy Revolution.
In particular, we will:
Increase the use of alternative energies for generating power in order to ensure that one third of electricity consumed in Ireland comes from renewable sources by 2020.
Create new opportunities for our farmers by moving agriculture to a new dual system of food and power production.
Facilitate the establishment of a new bio-fuel industry in Ireland on the back of this new agricultural production.
Improve the energy efficiency of new Irish homes by up to 40%.
Introduce a minimum requirement for the use of bio-fuels in State-owned and public transport vehicles.
Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann will move their existing fleet to a 5% bio-diesel blend and will achieve a 30% bio-diesel blend in their new buses.
Continue to use the taxation system to encourage good environmental behaviour and discourage poor practice, for example through rebalancing the VRT and Motor Tax system to reward the purchase of greener cars.
Complete the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs in favour of more energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs to reduce our carbon emissions and save on electricity costs.
Require the public sector to lead the way on energy efficiency with a mandatory programme of efficiency measures including the sole use of energy efficient lighting and heating in offices, schools and hospitals and other public buildings to produce 33% energy savings by 2020.
Require all street lighting and traffic lighting systems to be energy efficient and replace inefficient systems.
Require carbon offsetting of all official air travel in support of urban forests.
Require the mandatory use of bio-fuel mixes in transport fuels and ensure that there is a nationwide bio-fuel distribution network.
Ensure that the development of renewable energy heating systems is encouraged through targeted grant schemes and facilitated by appropriate planning exemptions.
Introduce smart electricity meters and ensure that energy produced in the home and at work can be sold back into the national grid.
Implement all aspects of Transport 21 to so that the use of public transport becomes a real option for more and more people.
Put in place an Adaptation Strategy to prepare for expected changes brought about by global warming.
Establish a high level Commission on Climate Change to oversee implementation of the Climate Change Strategy.
Waste Management
Since 1997 there has been a mindset change in Ireland in the way we think about waste and in the way we deal with it.
However, we still have some way to go to reach the best standards of waste management in Europe. Fianna Fáil believes in adopting best international practice to tackle the remaining waste management problems facing us.
In particular in Government we will:
Establish new ambitious waste management targets for maximum prevention, re-use, recycling and modern waste treatment to ensure that we match the best performance in the EU for recycling with the objective that only 10% of waste or less is consigned to landfill (down from 66% now).
Ensure that the landfills currently provided for under regional waste management plans should be the last to be constructed for a generation.
Drive down the cost of waste management charges to householders and business by ensuring that our waste management system is competitive and uses all available technologies to achieve this including the use of waste for generating sustainable electricity.
Ensure the implementation of the National Strategy on Biodegradable Waste which aims to divert 80% of biodegradable waste from landfill through segregated collection of biodegradable waste, and the generation of compost (which will also cut down the use of peat moss).
Expand the network of bottle banks, recycling centres and segregated collection and introduce household hazardous waste collection (e.g. paint cans etc) in all suitable recycling centres.
Environmental Enforcement
People or businesses which despoil the Irish countryside or break our environmental laws should be punished and should make good any damage caused.
We established the Office of Environmental Enforcement in 2004 to lead the fight against environmental crime with the result that large scale illegal dumping has now ceased.
In government we will:
Review the level of fines and custodial sentences which can be applied by the lower Courts (where the majority of prosecutions are taken) in cases of pollution, dumping, illegal developments and other environmental crimes, so that thepunishment fits the crime.
Ensure that the lower Courts can impose harsher sentences where corporate bodies are guilty of the offence.
Litter
Despite steady improvements in recent years, the problem of litter in Ireland is still far too widespread.
Fianna Fáil has eliminated most plastic bag litter through the plastic bag levy and we put in place an imaginative, industry-funded awareness campaign to address the issue of chewing gum.
In government we will:
Increase support to initiatives such as Irish Business Against Litter and the Green Schools Programme which raise awareness on litter issues.
Use the nationwide roll out of the Community Warden Service to increase litter enforcement.
Incentivise local action in dealing with litter, including introducing programmes such as the “adopt-a-highway” for both main and secondary roads.
Examine the use of the penalty points system to deter litter being thrown out of vehicles and the dumping of litter by the wayside.
Protecting our Water
Recent investment has resulted in increased wastewater treatment capacity equivalent to the needs of 3.1 million people and additional drinking water treatment capacity equivalent to the needs of 1 million people.
The quality of our drinking water and the water in our rivers and lakes have shown significant improvement because of this investment.
Ireland is the leading country in the EU for implementation of the Water Framework Directive which aims to protect our rivers and lakes.
We will maintain that position.
Over the next 5 years Fianna Fáil will work to ensure that Ireland’s waters are the most pristine in Europe.
We will:
Finish the job of upgrading all our local group water schemes to match the highest drinking water standards.
Ensure that public water supplies deliver a reliable service that are 100% compliant with drinking water standards.
Continue with our investment in waste water schemes to ensure that discharges into our rivers and lakes meet the highest international standards.
Implement higher standards of water protection and ensure that farmers in particular have all necessary supports to operate to these standards.
Ensure that coastal bathing water compliance rises from 96% to 100% and increase the number of Blue Flag beaches around the country.
Introduce a scheme of support for the replacement and upgrade of septic tanks older than 15 years with newer systems.
Air Quality
The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that Ireland is now in compliance with 100% of the EU air quality standards for all pollutants.
However, we want to further improve standards, particularly relating to emissions from the transport sector.
In government we will:
Expand the network of air quality monitoring stations to improve national coverage.
Introduce new standards for substances not previously controlled, eg. cadmium, mercury, nickel etc.
Ensure compliance with new limits on fine particulate matter PM10, generated by vehicle engines.
Chemicals
Thousands of chemicals in everyday use have not been adequately tested for their impact on the environment and human health.
The EU has adopted a comprehensive regulatory framework governing the manufacturing and use of chemicals used in Europe with the view to protecting human health and the environment and enhancing competitiveness.
We will implement this initiative as a matter of priority in a way which does not impact on the competitiveness of our economy.
Dublin Bay
We will establish a Dublin Bay Area Task Force to maximise the potential of the Bay for the people of our capital city.
Environmental Technologies
We will support the development of Environmental Technologies in Ireland to achieve a win/win situation of improved competitiveness and environmental performance
Built Heritage
In government we will:
Complete the national survey of our built heritage within the term of the next Government so that the best of our heritage is protected under our planning laws to a common and consistent standard across the country.
Work on a North/South basis to increase the protection available for the 2,200 remaining thatched cottages in Ireland.
Support the work of the newly established Irish Heritage Trust.
Update and consolidate the law on national monuments to maximise and clarify the protection provided to our archaeological heritage.
Seek designation of Clonmacnoise as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Natural Heritage
In government we will:
Complete the designation of those remaining areas proposed for conservation purposes.
Work with farmers and other landowners by putting in place management plans to ensure the long-term protection of these valuable conservation areas.
Resource the national Biological Records Centre as central database to record the richness of Ireland’s flora and fauna and as centre of research excellence.
Work on an all-Ireland basis to protect threatened species and reintroduce species which have disappeared from Ireland.
Nuclear Energy and Sellafield
Fianna Fáil recommits to a policy of non-nuclear power and we strongly believe that nuclear power is neither sustainable nor an answer to Ireland’s energy needs.
Nuclear power fails on grounds of environmental risk and long term economic costs.
We also continue to believe that Sellafield poses an unacceptable risk.
In government we will:
Continue to bring political, diplomatic and legal efforts to bear on the UK with a view to securing the safe decommissioning of all nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield.
Press at EU level for the establishment of a strong independent EU Agency to inspect nuclear installations across the EU.
Tourism
The Irish tourism and hospitality industry is one of the most successful sectors of Irish-owned enterprise, supporting in the region of 250,000 jobs.
In Government we have worked hard to grow the number of overseas visitors from five million in 1997 to 7.7 million in 2006.
With new strategies to attract tourists to the regions, the economic, social and cultural benefits of this growth have been felt throughout the country.
We have placed tourism at the heart of the National Development Plan 2007-2013, setting out an investment programme of 3800 million in the industry.
The Next Steps Forward on Tourism
Irish tourism is now at an important point in its evolution.
The market place is changing rapidly, presenting our tourism sector with both challenges and opportunities.
Fianna Fáil is committed to building on the growth we have achieved and sustained since the 1990s.
We are confident that, working with industry, the targets set out in the New Horizons Programme will be met, namely ten million overseas visitors generating 36 billion by 2012.
We believe the keys to continued success in an increasingly competitive marketplace will be product investment and innovation,
enhanced access, creative destination marketing and human resource management.
Cost competitiveness will remain critical to the future well-being of Irish tourism.
However, it is only one of the many dimensions of overall competitiveness.
Ireland must maintain its appeal on the basis of successful management of our other competitive advantages.
Our goal, with industry, will be to deliver a quality value-for-money experience that vindicates the price.
We are determined to ensure that Ireland is a destination of choice for more international and domestic tourists,
with a tourism experience that exceeds expectations in terms of friendliness, quality of environment, diversity and depth of culture.
This will be our unique selling point and will be central to our Next Steps for Irish tourism.
Product Investment and Innovation
Fianna Fáil recognises that investment is needed to ensure that our tourism product is among the best in the world and maximises the potential of our environment
and heritage.
In government we will:
Provide 3300 million to assist the industry, tourism agencies and local authorities in delivering the ambitious world-class product outlined in Failte Ireland’s Tourism Product Development Strategy 2007 –2013.
Place much greater emphasis on the protection, conservation, interpretation and access to Ireland’s natural and built heritage.
Deepen North/South cooperation in tourism, building in particular on the success of Tourism Ireland as a dynamic and innovative cross-border body leading the way on mutually advantageous all-island economic co-operation.
Establish, through Fáilte Ireland, an innovation fund to promote and support the development of tourism products that are new to the Irish market and to promote best practice,
particularly in terms of environmental sustainability and accessibility for tourists with disabilities.
Develop with Fáilte Ireland, rural-based package-style holidays through which B & B owners and Farm Holiday operators can offer activities such as walking, angling, golfing and cycling in addition to the provision of accommodation and quality home cooked meals.
Develop a rolling programme of national culture, musical and literary festivals to enhance the Irish tourism product, in particular through the establishment of a new fund of 328 million for the creation of a small number of major annual events over the period to 2013.
Work with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland to capitalise on the beauty of the Irish countryside and promote Ireland as a healthy activity holiday destination for walking, cycling, angling, golfing, sailing, equestrian and marine holidays.
Enhanced Access
Fianna Fáil realises that affordable and efficient transport links to and within Ireland are absolutely crucial for attracting more visitors and spreading the benefits throughout the regions.
In government we will:
Open Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport in 2009.
Enhance the capacity of the regional airports to attract more direct international services through the 386 million Regional Airports Capital Grant scheme.
Make rural locations more readily accessible for tourists on shorter visits through the delivery of the extensive plans outlined in Transport 21.
Creative Marketing
Further developing the potential of existing markets will be a priority in the years ahead, while growing new markets will bring new opportunities.
Realising the potential of the business, sports and eco-tourism areas will be vital for new growth, as will making the most of the internet as a marketing and booking tool.
In government we will:
Invest 3335 million under the National Development Plan in marketing Irish Tourism.
Seize the opportunities presented by the Open Skies arrangement with the US to substantially grow the number of US visitors.
To this end, we will provide significant infrastructural development in the Mid West area, as well as marketing support to the Shannon region for a transitional period to help consolidate existing markets and develop new sources of business.
Build on the opportunities presented by the increasing availability of low cost flights from mainland Europe and the UK.
Undertake a strategic review of new and developing markets to identify the investment and actions needed to realise their potential.
Put in place a strong promotional programme for the new National Conference Centre in Dublin with a view to doubling the level of business tourism to Ireland from 3400 million to 3800 million per year over the next ten years.
We will also investigate the feasibility of a Regional Conference Centre in the Shannon/Limerick area.
Encourage the Tourism Agencies to highlight our National Games to a greater degree in their promotional activities and continue the policy of attracting suitable major sporting events to Ireland.
Seek, with the Tourism Agencies and Local Authorities, suitable areas to develop and promote eco tourism, as well as enhancing the existing Northwest Project, the Green Box.
Invest in new information and communication technologies for marketing and customer relations management and training.
Work with the Regional Tourism Development Boards in conjunction with Local Authorities and the Tourism Industry to develop comprehensive, interactive local area tourism web sites carrying details of all possibilities in an area for tourists and with a booking facility.
Competing Through People
With 6,000 new workers expected to join the tourism sector each year to the end of this decade, human resource development will be one of the most vital issues affecting the further development and success of tourism.
The addition of an ever-growing multicultural workforce can enhance our tourism product, if they are supported in acquiring skills they will need to enable them to make an effective contribution.
We will:
Invest 3149 million under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 in training and human resources in the tourism sector.
Implement in full the Fáilte Ireland ‘Competing through People’ programme, which looks to people working in the Industry as a principal source of competitive advantage, and their skills as a key variable in delivering strong business results.
Agriculture, Food & Forestry
Farmers understand better than anyone the scale of challenges they face through globalisation and development.
While farming is no longer a dominant part of our economy, Fianna Fáil absolutely believes that it plays a vital part in the social and economic life of our country which must be supported now and in the years ahead.
In this period of rapid transformation, we have worked hard with farmers to support them and to help them to compete.
One of the biggest changes has been the scale of national resources which are now devoted to agriculture – representing a sustained commitment to supporting farmers even where EU supports are not available or are being reduced.
Of the overall funding of 38.7 billion provided in the new National Development Plan for the agri-food sector, a total of 36.6 billion will come from the national exchequer.
We have faced criticism from many in opposition for the amount of resources and time spent supporting farmers – including our consistent fight against unfair trade deals and an anti-farmer reform of the CAP.
We are proud of our stance and remain absolutely committed to ensuring that farmers have a strong influence over government policy.
The Next Steps Forward for Agriculture, Food & Forestry
The next five years will be critical in many areas for the entire sector.
WTO and CAP “Health Check” negotiations will be concluded and it will be necessary to provide a systematic programme of investment and reform to help farmers meet the many challenges ahead.
This is why we are proposing a series of ambitious next steps forward for farming, forestry and the food industry and why we are saying that this area will be one of the key priorities for us in government.
Key Objectives
Our programme is based on achieving certain key objectives:
Support farm families in order to maximise their choice on how they farm.
Significantly reduce the regulatory burdens faced by farmers.
Invest in developing the new products and new food markets which will bring long-term security for the sector.
We will maintain a strong, independent Agriculture and Food Department and ensure that agriculture is given a high priority in any future programme for government.
Global Challenges & Negotiations
As decisions affecting Irish farmers are increasingly internationalised, the strongest possible leadership for Irish agriculture is required at the world’s negotiating tables.
We are committed to providing this leadership.
We are also committed to working for ease of access to all markets where demand arises, ahead of our competitors.
In government we will:
Secure the highest achievable level of support for the farming sector at EU and WTO levels.
Continue to protect direct payments to farmers, ensure the export subsidies are dealt with in a balanced and equitable way, and promote the need for non-trade issues to be part of any further trade deals.
Do all that is required to protect Irish consumers from imports of agricultural produce that do not meet the same standards as those required of Irish farmers.
Oppose any moves to restrict the live export of animals.
Establish a high level strategic interdepartmental group whose role will be to, on an ongoing basis, identify and work to ease access and fully exploit new overseas markets for Irish food and drink products.
Increase funding to Bord Bia for overseas promotion of Irish food and agricultural produce.
Family Farmers
Fianna Fáil’s commitment to farmers has been without precedent in terms of the goals we are striving to achieve and the level of funding we are putting place to achieve them.
In government we will:
Invest in improving competitiveness, enhancing our environment
and promoting diversification on and off the farm.
Ensure that farmers have both the freedom to farm and access to all necessary supports, regardless of which path they choose.
Fully implement the Rural Development Programme so that farmers benefit fully from the increased payments and new schemes.
Continue to support low-income farmers through the Farm Assist Scheme and adapt it in consultation with the farming organisations.
Implement measures, including taxation measures, in order to assist farmers in maximising their income from farming and achieving optimum structures and scale.
Further promote the benefits of REPS and achieve a participation rate of 70,000 farmers.
Introduce a new On-Farm Investment Scheme, which will include aid for investment in housing, handling and related facilities, including rubber mats on slats.
Ensuring Bio-security
Fianna Fáil has successfully dealt with some of the greatest threats to our agri-food businesses and the wider industry in recent years.
BSE, Foot and Mouth Disease and Avian Influenza have all threatened both consumer confidence and the industry.
The need to be ever more vigilant in relation to our nation’s bio-security is essential to protect our reputation as a quality food island.
In government we will:
Establish “Biosecurity Ireland” as a division within the Department of Agriculture and Food with a remit to ensure the exclusion, eradication or effective management of risks posed by diseases and pests to the economy, the environment and to human and animal health.
Introduce a new Animal Health Bill to consolidate and amend previous legislation to reflect the changed disease status of our nation’s animals.
Focus on the Consumer
Consumers want choice.
However, when it comes to food that choice is best served when maximum information is made available at point of sale and consumption.
This is why we have introduced a system of labelling in respect of beef that goes further than other countries in Europe.
In government we will:
Further exploit the potential of existing animal traceability systems for the marketing and labelling of food products.
Extend mandatory “country of origin” food labelling to sheep, pig and poultry meat.
Increase nutritional awareness as part of our food advertising and marketing through the development of nutritional and calorific labelling.
Increase support and promotion of healthy food options among young people through programmes such as the School Milk Scheme and the Food Dudes Programme for encouraging the increased consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Animal Welfare
Fianna Fáil has ensured that some of the highest international standards in terms of farm animal welfare are in place in Ireland.
In January of this year, for example, we introduced a new regulation aimed at ensuring the welfare of animals, including cattle, horses, pigs and sheep, is firmly protected during transport.
It must always be kept in mind that with high animal health and welfare standards comes a premium for the farmer at the farm gate.
The welfare of non-farm animals is an issue that has for many years fallen between several different stools, to the detriment of the animals concerned.
In government we will:
Continue to expand and develop our herd health policies to ensure the highest of standards of animal welfare.
Given its level of veterinary and welfare expertise,
consolidate responsibility for the welfare of all animals (including non-farm animals) within the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Review and consolidate where necessary all legislation governing the welfare of non-farm animals.
Continue to push for welfare and other non-trade issues to be included in WTO negotiations.
Key Sectors
There is no single programme which can be implemented to secure the future of farming, this is why we are proposing action to develop the various key sectors.
In government we will:
Beef Sector
Ensure that Irish beef processing facilities are substantially upgraded through the full roll out our 350 million investment programme.
Continue to support the Suckler Herd Quality and Welfare Scheme to ensure that the herd is maintained at its optimum level.
Ensure that our high standards of food safety, quality labelling and traceability will be vigorously promoted to provide a competitive advantage against low cost imports.
Continue to relentlessly pursue the best market returns through Bord Bia, along with political and diplomatic efforts.
Oppose any moves to restrict the live export of animals.
Dairy Sector
Assist in the creation of an efficient processing sector with a view to securing its longerterm competitive advantage with our 3100 million investment package.
Increase research and development funding for projects in the sector to fully exploit its potential for new products.
Enhance the Dairy Hygiene Scheme to include feeding systems and increased thresholds for milking equipment and milk tanks.
Introduce new Herd Health Initiatives to deal with non-regulated diseases.
Sheepmeat
Fully implement the recommendations of the Sheep Industry Strategy Group.
Increase supports for improved breeding and sheep housing.
Support a Quality Assurance programme, aid promotion and strengthen labelling with a view to ensuring wider and deepen penetration on home and EU markets.
Invest in a programme to upgrade processing facilities
Cereals, Pigmeat & Poultry
Assist and expand the quality Assurance Schemes in these sectors.
Aid grain storage through the Farm Improvement Programme.
Extend “country of origin” labelling requirements in respect of pigmeat and poultrymeat.
Horticulture
In working with growers, continue to support import substitution in the fruit and vegetable sector.
Forestry
Ensure that forestry continues to give an important income stream to farmers through the Forest Premium Scheme that has been substantially increased under the partnership process.
Develop new market opportunities for thinning linked to the increased need for renewable energy sources.
Review the Forest Environmental Payments Scheme (FEPS) pilot underway with a view to a full roll out in the years ahead.
Bio-Energy – A New Opportunity
Continue to support research in the biofuel and biomass areas so that we can respond to new opportunities quickly.
Ensure that the development of bio-energy will be of significant benefit to farmers and rural Ireland.
Continue our support for our enhanced Energy Crops Scheme.
Further encourage the growing of willow, miscanthus and other crops for biomass.
Organic Farming & Farmers’ Markets
Strengthen support for the organic sector through the REPS scheme.
Support the further development of farmers’ markets.
Cutting Red Tape
We understand the problems faced by farmers with unreasonable regulatory controls.
We are committed to a fair inspection system with the minimum necessary burden of paperwork and regulation consistent with ensuring proper controls.
In government we will:
Vigorously pursue the simplification agenda at EU level, with the immediate aim of bringing about change in the EU cross compliance checks system.
Use the 2008 CAP “health check” to best advantage in terms of reducing the burden of paperwork on farmers.
Work with the implementation group established under the Farmers’ Charter to monitor outcomes and ensure that the charter is modified if necessary.
Ensure that the views of farmers are systematically sought on the paperwork linked to all revisions of schemes.
Food Businesses
In government we will:
Consolidate all aspects of the development and promotion of the agri-food industry within the Department of Agriculture and Food and establish a Cabinet Sub-Committee on the food and beverage sector, shadowed by a high level Inter-Departmental Group.
Work with the food industry to ensure that the maximum potential of this key indigenous sector is fully realised.
Expand our Regional Food Forum concept to develop a forum through which researchers, producers, processors and consumers may engage and interact.
Facilitate small food businesses by making available through Bord Bia an increased level of expert advice and support.
Supporting our Young Farmers
Fianna Fáil recognise that young farmers represent the future of Irish agriculture.
This recognition is reflected in the unprecedented levels of training, support and incentives that we have put in place to assist the young farmer.
We have significantly improved the monetary value of the Early Retirement Scheme to further assist in the hand-over from one generation to the next and we have substantially increased Installation Aid for young farmers to €15,000.
In government we will:
Continue to offer a range of supports to young farmers entering agriculture; including education, taxation measures and direct start-up aid.
Retain stamp duty relief that continues to play an important role in the early hand-over of farms to the younger generation.
Training our Farmers
Continued support for agricultural education and training is required in response to the increased competitive pressures in farming.
There is a strong correlation between education and training levels and farm business competitiveness.
Farmers need to be kept up to date with the latest in farming methods and technology.
They also require management skills to allow them adapt to the changing market more quickly and as a result, compete more successfully.
In government we will:
Continue to support education and training courses for both young and adult farmers.
Ensure that courses are also available at night, at weekends and through e-learning to facilitate part-time farmers.
Introduce a new syllabus for Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science.
Invest in our Agricultural Colleges and restructure the environment through which they are supported.
Innovation Through Research
Investment in research and development is central to creating a strong future for farming and the food sector.
We are committed to implementing the most ambitious and sustained programme for research and development in the history of this sector and directly linking work to benefits on farms and in the creation of good jobs.
In government we will:
Further increase the level of funding committed to agri-food research to more than 3641 million under the NDP, with a further 3289 million for investment in capital infrastructure and marketing for the food industry.
Require all non-core funding to be allocated in a competitive way,
ensuring that all institutions competing for research money achieve the highest of standards and that research results in a tangible benefit at farm and food business level.
Ensure regular briefings on developments for farmers and businesses.
Marine & Natural Resources
We believe strongly in the need to support, protect and develop our marine and natural resources,
while also working to conserve diminishing stocks.
We will support a long-term sustainable fishing and seafood processing industry for Ireland’s coastal communities
and help to maintain the social and economic structure of these regions and support the livelihoods of these communities.
While we have had to make difficult decisions to meet our EU obligations in relation to fisheries protection,
many positive developments have taken place over the past five years.
Our fishery harbours have been, or are currently being, completely modernized.
A new Fleet Licensing Policy was introduced to ensure equity, transparency and an independent appeals process.
We achieved significant reform of the Common Fisheries Policy,
while at the same time maximising Ireland’s access to fisheries and we have established Ireland as a Centre of Excellence for Maritime Research.
The Next Steps Forward for Marine & Natural Resources
Marine
The challenge now is to increase the value of the marine sector, bringing more jobs and investment to maritime areas while protecting stocks and the sustainability of the sector.
We are confident we can meet the challenge by developing an industry worth almost double its current value.
That is why we are proposing the following next steps forward for the sector.
In government we will:
Continue to work hard in Brussels, in partnership with the industry, to ensure that the CFP delivers for the Irish fishing sector.
Through sustainable management, in partnership with fisheries organisations, work to maintain the annual 200,000 tonnes of quota fished annually by the Irish Fleet.
Maintain world class fishery harbours at Castletownbere, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Rossaveel, Clogherhead.
Progress the major infrastructure projects in Cromane and Greencastle. Each of our Fisheries Harbours has the potential to be a unique and internationally recognised brand.
We will work with BIM to build those brands.
Complete the work of fleet restructuring, to create a world-class fleet ideally suited to the stocks, species and sustainable practices of the modern fisheries sector.
Invest in ongoing investment in fleet safety, diversification into inshore fishing activity and marine tourism.
Seafood Development will benefit from an investment of 3216 million under the new National Development Plan (NDP).
A further 3118 million may be made available over the life of the plan under the Cawley proposals, which will be available to the sector on the basis of verified progressive change as set out in the Cawley report.
Improve our marine environment by implementing environmental and inshore management systems,
supporting efficient waste management, environmentally friendly fishing gear
and technical innovation.
Support the economic & social development of maritime communities through the provision of training and upgrading of existing skill levels,
developing of infrastructure
(supply chain) and supporting innovation and product development.
Increase current supports to assist fishermen to make the change-over to more environmentally friendly fishing gear and more fuel-efficient equipment.
We will increase grant aid of up to 60% (from 40%) for a range of equipment, from environmentally friendly fishing nets to gear monitoring systems that improve fuel efficiency.
Increase grant funding to our Aquaculture sector to develop technological innovation
and environmentally sustainable techniques, including organic farming, and diversification into new species.
Further develop Ireland’s reputation as a Centre of Excellence for Marine Research.
Instigate a National Marine Biotechnology Initiative to place Ireland as a world leader in this important sector. We see a role for the Marine Institute, SFI, Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and Universities in this.
Optimise the amount of indigenous, renewable energy within our energy mix, which can be used safely and at a fair price to consumers.
To this end, we will increase the opportunities for offshore wind and ocean and tidal energy generation.
Natural Resources
Our overarching objective of securing our national energy supply will be a key driver in the development of Ireland’s approach to hydrocarbon exploration and production.
In government we will:
Encourage investment in oil and gas exploration off the Irish coast and optimize the value of any oil and gas finds for Ireland.
We will work to maximise the level of exploration activity, while ensuring a fair return to the State from these activities.
Manage exploration licences in a manner that encourages timely exploration.
Modernise and consolidate all mineral development legislation.
The Next Steps Forward for Opportunity, Security and Quality of Life for Every Community
The Next Steps Forward For Opportunity, Security and Quality of Life for Every Community
Economic prosperity is the platform from which we will strengthen communities, combat isolation and ensure a better quality of life for all.
We will put the needs of children and families first as we roll out playgrounds,
community centres
and sport facilities all over the country.
Balanced development across the island will be promoted by strengthening the nine Regional Gateways,
prioritising inward investment proposals for the regions and completing key projects such as the Atlantic Gateway and the Western Rail Corridor to Claremorris.
We will also invest 300 million in a Gateways Innovation Fund.
We will ensure that all new homes are built with access to schools, childcare, health centres and community centres, requiring developers to commit land for these necessary community facilities.
90,000 social and affordable homes will be built
and a new model of environmentally efficient housing will ensure reduced energy consumption and good insulation from noise pollution.
We will prioritise measures to help people feel safer in their homes, at work and on our streets.
2,000 more Gardaí will be hired, new Anti-Social Behaviour Action Teams will crack down on menacing behaviour,
and non-violent offenders will be have to carry out community services under a new system of Community Payback.
For Fianna Fáil prosperity is a social and civic as well as an economic concept.
Our Next Steps Forward for Opportunity, Security and Quality of Life for Every Community will ensure that all our people, wherever they live, have local facilities and services to be proud of.
Community
Vibrant communities are the lifeblood of Irish society.
Our communities are built around clusters of families, friends, neighbourhoods and parishes.
In modern Ireland it is vital that we work together to ensure that thriving communities remain central in our society.
In Government we have prioritised communities nationwide with significant investment in community facilities through schemes such as the Sports Capital Grants
and the Once-Off Community and Voluntary Grants.
Across a range of policy areas, investment has also been ongoing in your community through Programmes such as the Community Services Programme, the Community Development Programme, the Rural Social Scheme, CLÁR and RAPID, and the Community Employment Programme.
In addition to this Government investment, Dormant Accounts Funds are targeting a range of disadvantage in a transparent way.
In recognition of the importance of thriving communities, Fianna Fáil in government has led the debate on Active Citizenship.
Following on from the huge effort shown by the Irish people in events such as the Special Olympics, we have prioritised the promotion of volunteerism in communities with the publication of the Report of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship.
The Next Steps Forward for Community
Fianna Fáil will launch a radical Community Development Plan to deliver community infrastructure for all our communities.
The Community Development Plan
This programme will assist balanced regional development,
develop greater social cohesion
and a fairer dispersal of public funds.
It will produce greener communities and protect our heritage.
We will leave no town or village behind as we roll out community infrastructure such as playgrounds, community centres, local markets, recycling, sports and recreational facilities throughout the country.
The Plan will be underpinned by a $150 million Community Development Fund to be established over a five-year period.
Communities, who identify a gap in community infrastructure which is not already under construction or in advanced planning, can apply under the Community Development Plan for funding to fast-track provision of the service.
Local authorities will co-ordinate funding requests to ensure consistency with local plans.
Many of the community services outlined are already built or in construction – our goal is to ensure that no community is left behind.
This Community Development Fund will provide financial assistance in addition to that already provided for in the NDP.
The goal is to provide Government with a mechanism to provide fasttracked provision of Community infrastructure for a rapidly growing nation.
A Delivery Unit at the heart of Government will monitor implementation and ensure value for money.
Under the Plan towns with a population of 1,500 or more could apply via their local authorities for funding to facilitate provision of the following Community Services where they are currently not in place, under construction or in an advanced state of planning.
Recreation and facilities, including a swimming pool, access to parkland, a sports centre, facilities for Special Olympics clubs, cycle-paths & walkways, and all-weather mini pitches.
Children’s facilities including a playground, a youth café and sports facilities.
Local and prompt access to medical treatment and referral, with a health centre, a GP Coop and Community Nurse services.
Access to quality, environmentally friendly produce, with a farmers’ market and assistance in achieving Fair Trade Town status.
A well-stocked public library with free access to ICT facilities.
Environmental resources such as comprehensive recycling facilities, and smart meters, wind power, wood pellet burners and solar panels on community and educational facilities. There will also be an Urban Forestation Programme using Irish species.
Initiatives to promote local businesses, such as a Community Enterprise Centre and access to upskilling opportunities.
Arts, Heritage and Tourism facilities, including Urban Arts Schemes, a Tourist Information Centre, access to an Urban beautification scheme, and other arts and culture facilities.
Communities of 500 or more could apply for funding for:
Farmers’ Market
Playgrounds
GP Centre Access
Community Centre
Recycling Facilities
Public Recreation Facilities – parkland etc.
Afforestation Programme using Irish species (trees to line streets etc)
Arts Schemes
We will also provide broadband access to the remainder of the country and make funding available for community websites.
Ensuring that delivery is systematic and rapid, Fianna Fáil will put in place a Community Development Plan Unit, in the heart of Government, to drive the Programme, monitor implementation and provide regular reports to cabinet.
Additional Services
We are by no means limiting Community Services to those outlined here.
Areas of high social exclusion, geographic isolation and those areas set out for development in the National Spatial Strategy will continue to receive additional and focused provision of infrastructure and services.
When returned to Government we will embark on a short nationwide public consultation, including public meetings to consider what additional Community services should be included in the Plan.
We are determined to have as much community input as possible in the roll-out of the Plan.
Creating Vibrant Rural Communities
Fianna Fáil in Government has always been committed to rural communities.
Since the foundation of the party, our core aims have included maintaining sustainable, strong and vibrant rural communities.
Over the next five years, we will:
Ensure that services being delivered for towns under the Community Development Plan above are easily accessible to rural communities.
Maintain and develop a separate Department for Rural Development.
Greatly enhance and extend Rural Transport Initiative nationwide.
Invest in the provision of broadband in rural areas.
Double funding for CLÁR Programme to enable rural infrastructure deficits to be tackled.
Expand the Rural Social Scheme to provide additional income for farmers and fishermen by increasing the number of places available.
Provide a well funded rural enterprise policy to focus on a broad spectrum of rural enterprise with a special emphasis on artisan and small food production.
Pursue the possibility of using former railway infrastructure as recreational trails for cycling etc. in partnership with Iarnród Éireann.
Set up a National Monitoring Committee to oversee the consistent implementation of the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines.
Ensure that the giving by a farmer of permission on to his/her land for recreational purposes will not be used to jeopardise him/her in receiving planning permission on his/ her own land.
Implement a major programme to promote rural countryside recreation to be implemented by a dedicated unit / division of staff in consultation with stakeholders.
Transport
We will build on the success thus far of the RTI and provide universal rural transport by extending Rural Transport Programme nationwide.
We will provide park and ride services in all gateway cities.
Community Wardens
We will extend the successful pilot scheme of Community Wardens nationally.
Working with community groups and schools, these wardens can act as guardians for the more accessible community facilities.
They will help to ensure the upkeep of the local area and serve as a focus for voluntary activity within communities.
Balanced Regional Development
We believe that balanced regional development is essential.
Fianna Fáil introduced Ireland’s first National Spatial Strategy to support social and economic development throughout the country.
The National Development Plan [2007-2013] follows this strategy to put in place a comprehensive and systematic programme to develop infrastructure,
services and investment in all regions focusing on the National Spatial Strategy Gateways as the drivers of development within their region.,
The results of this investment are having a significant impact: The population of all regions is rising, with the West experiencing its first sustained population rise since the Famine.
Employment grew by 4.9% in the Border/Midland and Western region up to 2006. It grew by 4.1% in the Southern/Eastern region for the same period.
The biggest increase as in the south East at 7.5%, whereas Dublin employment growth was 4.1%.
Over 55% of Foreign Direct Investment went to the BMW region in the past five years.
We are well on the way to completing the inter-urban motorway network between Dublin and the five biggest cities on the island.
We have built major waste water treatment plants to facilitate development and new homes in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and other gateway and hub towns.
The Next Steps Forward for Balanced Regional Development
Over the next five years, investment in the regions under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 will be focused in accordance with the priorities of the National Spatial Strategy.
We will ensure that the nine regional Gateways develop a critical mass of population to offer a real alternative to growth in the Dublin Region.
As attractive places to live, work and do business, they will become drivers of regional economies, supporting balanced regional development and contributing to the overall economic and social performance of the country.
We will put in place infrastructure in the key areas of growth, not only to cater for current demand, but to ensure that there is plenty of capacity available in serviced land, transport and community facilities to attract inward investment.
Atlantic Gateways
We believe that a linked metropolitan corridor from Waterford through Cork, Limerick/Shannon to Galway – complimented by direct links between Waterford and Limerick - offers the best option of developing a national counterpoint to Dublin and the Dublin/Belfast economic corridor.
This Atlantic Gateways concept is about making people and investors sit up and take notice of the potential of a second great metropolitan corridor on the island of Ireland.
This will be based on the availability of high quality infrastructure, third level education and quality of life.
We don’t just want bigger cities - we want to create great places to live.
Strategic Transport Links
The Atlantic Gateways corridor will be complimented by new road and rail transport links joining the country’s Gateway towns and cities as set out in Transport 21.
We will re-open the Western Rail Corridor from Ennis to Claremorris and examine the feasibility of reopening the line from Claremorris to Sligo.
The inter-urban motorway network will link Dublin to our biggest cities, the Atlantic Road Corridor will link Cork to Letterkenny/Derry and the new Border Corridor road will run from Sligo to Dundalk.
Gateways Innovation Fund
The new e300 million Gateways Innovation Fund will support innovative projects in urban regeneration, transport and other “Quality of Life” projects.
Local authorities will bid for funding and will be expected to deliver significant matching finance from the public and private sectors.
The Fund will be a practical way of accelerating development of the gateways.
Inward Investment/Enterprise Support
We will actively prioritise inward investment proposals for the regions.
The Gateways towns and cities will become Gateways of Expertise and Innovation to drive development throughout their regions.
To this end, each agency involved in the enterprise sector will identify specific measures for prioritising action in the regions.
North West Gateway Initiative
We will work with the new Northern Executive to ensure that the economic and social benefits of peace are fully felt in Donegal, Derry and surrounding counties.
Delivering the centrepiece Dublin – Derry/Letterkenny dual carriageway will be a core priority of Fianna Fáil as we continue to develop the huge potential of the Northwest.
We will work to increase cooperation in areas including spatial planning, education and skills, health and improvements in infrastructure.
Investment in Derry Airport by Fianna Fáil in Government will continue as recognition that it plays a vital role in Donegal and Ireland’s future.
Reinvigorating Our Cities And Towns
The urban renewal incentives schemes, coupled with direct Government investment, have transformed the centres of Ireland’s cities and towns.
Over the next five years, Fianna Fáil will continue to invest in urban renewal and will refocus our approach to encourage high visible impact and the attractiveness of our streetscapes.
We will particularly focus on remaining areas of development potential such as dockland areas.
Over the next five years we will continue to support and encourage the development under-utilised dock and harbour areas such as Cork, Dublin, Galway and Sligo.
Cork Docklands
Fianna Fáil in Government will fully support the important redevelopment of Cork Docklands.
Working with the new Cork Docklands National Steering Forum we are committed to the transformation of this area.
When complete, it will supply 20,000 housing units, significant financial and retail employment, and a new cultural and leisure quarter to the people of Cork and the entire Munster area.
Local & National Sports Facilities
Sport and recreation are central to Fianna Fáil’s agenda of more inclusive and stronger local communities.
Sport can play a major role in personal, community and general development
as well helping to alleviate stress, obesity and other health concerns.
In government we have operated a consistent policy of expanding support for sport at all levels.
An unprecedented programme of refurbishment and development of facilities has been accompanied by funding for expanding participation in sporting activities.
Some 6,700 local sports projects have been funded under this Government at a total cost of €568 million.
There has been a special focus on providing sports facilities in disadvantaged areas. 23 public swimming pool projects have been completed since 2000 and a further 15 are currently under construction at locations throughout the country.
We have also provided significant investment in national sports facilities for a wide range of sports such as Gaelic Games, soccer, rugby, aquatics, boxing, horse and greyhound racing, and tennis.
The Next Steps Forward for Our Local & National Sports Facilities
The support of sports activities is now substantially more generous and more inclusive than at any time.
Our objective is to increase participation in sport at all levels, while also ensuring that Ireland’s elite sports persons can train and perform in top-class facilities.
Improving Local Facilities and Expanding Participation
Over the next five years, we will continue to promote the development of a wide range of local sports facilities around the country, to improve participation and provide healthy social outlets for people of all ages.
In government, we will:
Roll out the Local Sports Partnership programme on a nationwide basis to promote the development of sport at community level.
Fund Special Olympics clubs in every town.
Support a new Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, prioritising need and disadvantage.
Continue to support the Irish Sports Council as the statutory agency for the  promotion, development and co-ordination of sport.
Complete a national audit of local sports facilities
and put in place a long-term strategic plan to ensure the development of such necessary facilities throughout the country.
Increase the development of public play and recreation areas for children.
Promote a national advertising campaign highlighting the health benefits of sport
and exercise.
Change the application criteria of the Sports Capital Programme grants to require only 10% of own funding / contribution where applicants are located in a recognised area of urban disadvantage such as RAPID and a Local Drugs Task Force area.
National Level
Fianna Fáil is proud of how well Irish elite sports persons have performed on the international stage.
We are determined to promote continued future success through investment at all levels and to ensure that Ireland has truly world-class national sports facilities.
In government, we will:
Further develop the Sports Campus Ireland development at Abbotstown - incorporating the Irish Institute of Sport - and including the development of a new 25,000 seater stadium to accommodate athletics and field sports.
Provide a National Stadium at Lansdowne Road so that our National Rugby and Soccer teams have a first-rate facility in which to play their games.
Support elite athletes in preparation for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics
and develop proposals for Ireland to be used as a base for other national teams in advance of the London Games.
Continue with the unprecedented growth and development of our horse and greyhound industries.
Continue with the implementation of our effective and modern anti-doping programmes, which have earned well-deserved recognition internationally.
Sports & Schools
While schools can only meet some of children’s physical activity needs, we are determined to ensure that they can play their part through improved PE facilities and new programmes.
In government we will:
Provide a dedicated fund for investment in PE facilities for schools,
make PE mandatory at second level,
and put a revised PE curriculum for senior cycle students in place.
Promote greater sharing of school and community sports facilities and make it a condition of the Sports Capital Programme that facilities be made available to schools where appropriate.
Encourage more schools to apply for funding under the Sports Capital Programme by collaborating with their local sports clubs.
Initiate a financial support package aimed at introducing primary school children to swimming.
Such a support package would be aimed primarily at the costs of transport to and from pools.
Women in Sport
Research shows that only 10% of women take part in sport and physical activity.
Innovative programmes will be developed in conjunction with the Irish Sports Council to ensure that there is a greater involvement of women in sport and physical activity.
In government we will:
Ensure that Local Sports Partnerships have an official dedicated to the promotion of girls and women’s involvement in sport.
Appoint a member of the Irish Sports Council to deal with all aspects of women in sport, including the gender proofing of all Sports’ Council decisions.
Establish a Forum on Female Participation in Sport in conjunction with the Irish
Sports Council to make recommendations on all issues.
Create an Annual Women’s Sports Award Scheme.
Volunteerism
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our local sporting organisations.
We are determined to encourage them and to better recognise their contribution.
In government, we will:
Recognise the importance of volunteerism in the promotion of sport through the expansion of our Volunteer Awards scheme for persons in sport.
Housing
One third of all houses in Ireland have been built since Fianna Fáil came into Government in 1997.
Housing output is now running at over 93,000 homes per annum compared with under 34,000 in 1996.
In order to provide housing to meet the needs of our young and growing population, we are now building houses at a level five times greater than the European average.
Fianna Fáil recognises that the economic success has created difficulties for first time buyers
and we have been pro-active in taking steps to help those who have found it difficult to purchase their own home.
Working on the twin fronts of providing social housing and tackling affordability,
we have:
Doubled the money provided for social housing to €2billion per annum, twice the level of 6 years ago.
Upped output from the local authority housing programme in 2006 to its highest level in 20 years – 6,500 homes.
Required builders to provide a portion of affordable and social houses when developing housing schemes.
Established the Affordable Homes Initiative to provide 10,000 affordable homes b  using State lands,
and the Affordable Homes Partnership to accelerate the  delivery of affordable housing in the Greater Dublin area.
Provided for the housing needs of almost 65,000 households through our various social and affordable programmes over the period of the Government.
Put in place sufficient funding and accommodation to deal with emergency homeless need in Dublin.
We have also improved tax reliefs and the stamp duty regime for first time buyers
and introduced comprehensive new laws to protect those who depend on the private rented market.
The Next Steps Forward on Housing
The number of people seeking housing in Ireland will continue to be high in the next five years.
A range of actions are required to ensure that the housing provided is capable of meeting the diverse needs of our population.
This is why we are now proposing a series of Next Steps Forward on housing.
Overall Objectives
We will adopt flexible housing policies which recognise that a new Ireland needs to be responsive to the changes in the way we live today.
Our overall housing objectives for the next five years are to:
Maintain a high level of housing construction, based on sound planning and a diversity of provision.
Expand delivery of social and affordable housing options to meet the needs of 90,000 households.
This expansion will assist in ensuring continued high housing output to take up any slack arising from the expected slight slowdown in overall housing completions.
Plan strategically for the needs of a changed population to reflect a more dynamic population which moves more often,
includes many new migrant
and supports the elderly in their own home.
Achieve a further significant fall in homelessness.
Bring a new focus on quality in the provision of housing.
Supporting Home Ownership While Protecting House Values and Jobs
Fianna Fáil has worked hard to support home ownership,
through a near trebling of housing supply, major improvements in the availability of social and affordable housing
and significant increases in mortgage interest relief.
We have ensured that first-time buyers pay no stamp duty on new homes or on second hand homes costing under 317,500,
while reduced rates apply for second hand houses costing more than that.
We are determined to help first-time buyers directly and substantially without disturbing market conditions, driving increases in house prices, and putting the more than 260,000 construction jobs at risk.
Our approach is good for certainty, good for affordability, good for society and good for the economy.
In government we will implement a series of measures to help young people and families both to buy their first home and to meet their mortgage repayments.
Specifically we will:
Legislate immediately to abolish stamp duty for all first-time buyers and make this change retrospective for all deeds presented for stamping to the Revenue Commissioners on or after 30th April 2007.
Increase in Budget 2008 the ceiling on mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers and those who bought a house in the past seven years, from €8,000 to €10,000 for single people and from €16,000 to €20,000 for couples or widowed persons.
As income taxes are reduced, we will keep the rate of mortgage interest relief at 20% for all home owners.
From 1 Jan 2008, mortgage interest relief will be worth up to €167 per month for a single person and €333 per month for a couple or widowed person.
A couple or widowed person with a joint mortgage of up to €400,000 over 33 years at an interest rate of 5% or a single person with a mortgage of up to €200,000 will be able to claim interest relief on the full amount of interest on their loan.
Under our proposals the maximum relief available to a single person under a Fianna Fáil government will be €2,000, while for a couple or a widowed person it will be €4,000.
A Step Change in the Provision of Affordable Housing
In addition to the Affordable Housing Schemes already introduced, Fianna Fáil believes that there needs to be a step change in the provision of affordable homes in areas where affordability problems have resulted in large numbers of young people seeking homes far from their place of work.
We will take two major initiatives to increase the provision of affordable houses to 5,000 houses per annum above existing commitments.
We will:
Extend the remit of the Affordable Homes Partnership.
After only one year in existence the Affordable Homes Partnership, operating in the Greater Dublin Area, has been every successful in engineering land swaps for affordable housing, in identifying new lands for the provision of affordable housing, and in providing clear, good quality information to people interested in acquiring affordable housing.
We will extend the remit of the Partnership nationwide to cover areas where affordability is a problem to accelerate the provision of affordable housing.
Introduce new incentives for the provision of Affordable Housing.
Urban renewal tax incentives have proved extraordinarily successful in upgrading the centres of towns and cities throughout the country.
Having done their job the urban affordable houses in specified locations.
We will put in place an appropriate tax incentive scheme to operate in these areas in association with the Affordable Homes Partnership.
Social Housing
In Government we will:
Ensure that all local authority housing is subject to the highest standards of design and that good community facilities are provided, especially for younger people.
Bring a renewed focus on the regeneration of problem estates.
Ballymun has shown how it can be done and Fianna Fáil will provide the resources to tackle substandard estates in other areas of the country.
The new Sustainable Communities Fund will be resourced in supporting communities preparing for regeneration projects and in assisting them to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Expand the paths to home ownership to assist the maximum number of people in gaining a stake in their own home.
Management Companies
In order to address the many real problems which have emerged with the operation of management companies, in government we will:
Introduce legislation to govern the management of apartment complexes and other similar developments.
This will set out the rights and duties of management companies and agents as well as tenants.
The objective will be to ensure transparency and accountability for all concerned and the protection of home-owners investment in their property.
Clearly set out the duties of local authorities in relation to the provision of services for all residential developments.
Travellers
The numbers of Traveller families on unauthorised sites has fallen from 1,207 to fewer than 600.
In government we will continue to invest significant funds in this issue to end the problem of unauthorised sites through the provision of good quality authorised sites and accommodation.
Homelessness
Government funding for tackling homelessness has increased seven fold from 1997 to e50.4 million in 2006. Fianna Fáil’s focus, in line with the Homeless Preventative Strategy, will be to assist with the long term and sustainable housing of vulnerable people who are in danger of becoming homeless.
With necessary care support we can move people from emergency accommodation to independent living.
Land Use
Fianna Fáil in Government will ensure that sufficient active land management will facilitate the delivery of housing to meet the needs of different income and demographic groups.
Education & Community Facilities
We are determined to ensure that provision is made for proper education and community facilities where new communities are created.
In government we will:
Ensure that no rezoning of land for residential development can take place without a prior commitment of an appropriate proportion of land for schools, childcare, health centres and community centres.
Ring-fence funding for the provision of schools and extensions at an early stage when new housing is being constructed.
Ensure that all children have access to a modern playground in their own community and that teenagers are also catered for by the provision of youth cafes, skateboard parks etc.
Quality Living Spaces
Creating sustainable towns and cities in a new wealthier Ireland means that we must up our game when it comes to urban design, the quality of our homes, parks and recreation facilities which we provide for our community.
Over the next five years Fianna Fáil will:
Introduce new urban design guidelines for building new housing developments so that future generations can look back with pride with the environment which we are building today,
Require all new apartments and other high density developments to comply with minimum design standards dealing with space, light, noise protection, recycling facilities, recreational facilities and so on.
Ensure that existing public parks and recreational areas are protected and enhanced and develop a network of ‘people’s parks’ and ‘urban woods’ to enhance the experience of living in our towns and cities.
Environmentally Efficient Housing
Fianna Fáil believes all the new homes should be built to the highest environmental standards.
We will work to develop a new model of environmentally efficient housing which will:
Reduce energy consumption,
Maximise water efficiency and the reuse of rainwater for non-drinking purposes, and
Ensure that noise insulation levels protect the quality of life of home owners.
Our approach will be to ensure that any initial costs for higher standards are offset by the long-term savings in running costs.
Justice
Fianna Fáil emphatically believes that there is no such thing as an acceptable or inevitable level of crime.
We believe that ensuring that people feel safe in their homes, workplaces and communities must always be a fundamental objective of government.
Since 1997 we have:
Increased the number of Gardaí by 3,000, compared with declining numbers in the years before we came to power;
Established the Garda Reserve;
Built 1,300 new prison places;
Undertaken a significant capital programme to modernise our prisons, including the replacement of the Mountjoy complex;
Introduced a comprehensive package of anti-crime measures enhancing the powers of An Garda Síochána
and improving the criminal justice system with tougher penalties for a range of crimes;
Set up Operation Anvil to crack down on gun crime;
Reduced road fatalities through the introduction of penalty points and mandatory alcohol testing and continuing high rates of road traffic law enforcement by the Gardaí;
Put in place ten year mandatory jail sentences for anyone convicted of possessing rugs with a street value of €12,697 or more;
Introduced Anti Social Behaviour Orders; and
Reformed crime statistics so that a much truer picture is available, even though aintaining the old procedures would have provided better headlines for us.
We have also understood the importance of preventative measures – implementing a new approach to youth diversion and prisoner rehabilitation.
The Next Steps Forward on Justice
A steadily rising population leads to many pressures – as do international trends in terms of drugs and firearms.
While we reject efforts to caricature and demonise young people, the simple fact is that certain types of anti-social behaviour are today more prevalent.
This requires a willingness to adapt policies and continue to innovate in order to protect the interests of the community.
Therefore we are proposing a series of next steps forward to promote justice in our country.
Overall Approach
Anyone who claims there’s a simple answer to the issue of crime doesn’t understand the nature of crime.
We are absolutely committed to a firm but fair approach which is based on three fundamental policies:
Prevention - We believe in investing money to try and stop people becoming riminals in the first place.
Policing - A strong Garda presence in every community is a central part of promoting public order and giving public peace of mind.
Punishment - People who commit crimes deserve to be punished, both through spending time in prison
and participating in programmes capable of achieving real rehabilitation.
Prisons
Prisons help to make us safe by removing offenders from our streets.
But they can also reduce crime by rehabilitating prisoners and stopping them re-offending.
Progress made over recent years has shown that it is possible to reduce re-offending by delivering the right programs in the right way. In government we will:
Invest significantly in rehabilitation for prisoners.
We will set annual rehabilitation goals and targets.
By 2012 fully resourced and staffed rehabilitation programmes will be available to the entirety of the prison population.
Ensure that a prisoner’s rehabilitation needs are assessed on entering prison and that an appropriate programme is offered based on risk assessment and rehabilitation needs.
Such programmes will consist of work, counselling, health services and education modules as well as offence-based programs.
Ensure that prisoner remission will only be earned by participation in rehabilitation programmes.
Refusal to participate will result in loss of remission.
The current 25% remission will be reduced to 10%.
Remission higher than 10% will only be available where rehabilitation programmes are successfully completed
and the offence did not involve violence.
Put in place similar conditions for those on remission as exist for those on bail regarding where they reside, who they associate with etc.
Extend measures to make prisons drug-free.
These will include a prohibition of physical contact with prisoners, drug tests on arrival (and regularly thereafter) with appropriate penalties,
and severe penalties for those who act as conduits for drugs.
Continue to invest in the modernisation of our prisons and ensure that our prisons meet current international standards.
Ensure that major prisons contain high security wings/sections to house those convicted of particularly violent crimes or those who pose a danger to other prisoners or prison staff.
Introduce a Prison Discipline Strategy to ensure that Ireland has facilities and procedures for enforcing prison discipline which meet the highest international standards and to monitor and review the operation of the new prison rules.
Community Payback
There are alternatives to prisons for certain categories of non-violent petty offenders.
They should be expected to make amends to the people and communities they have harmed.
All restorative justice schemes will operate in co-operation with the Gardaí and Courts.
In government we will:
Build on the community service order regime by introducing a ‘Community Payback’ Scheme that will require offenders who are not subject to automatic long prison terms to provide real services for the communities they have damaged.
These would include cleaning streets, painting over graffiti, repairing public facilities, etc.
Give victims and communities a greater say in what work offenders do as part of their community service, including, where appropriate, direct reparation in cash or kind.
Parental Responsibility
In government we will:
Provide for a system of parental responsibility for criminal damage and costs incurred by victims of their children’s anti-social behaviour in addition to recently enacted provision for parental supervision and compensation orders.
Foster a ‘Parents Plus’ approach to support families and parents and will establish local programmes to help parents, including parenting classes for those whose children have been identified as most at risk of future anti-social behaviour.
Anti-Social Behaviour
We will send out a clear signal that anti-social behaviour will be prosecuted and the perpetrators and/or their families will be held accountable.
In government we will:
Create ASBATs (Anti-Social Behaviour Action Teams) in each local authority area.
Increase penalties under the Public Order Act especially for alcohol-related disorder
and increase the fine for supplying alcohol to under 18s from €1,500 to €5,000.
Expand Garda powers to issue “stay away orders” where there is harassment in public places / at a person’s home or witness intimidation.
We will legislate to allow Gardaí to issue “restriction orders”,
which would be used in emergency situations to restrict named persons from traveling to, or from certain places, for defined periods of time.
Increase the CCTV grant aid system for community groups and organisations as part of a nationwide CCTV rollout in all major county towns.
Establish special Garda units to deal with anti-social behavior on public transport.
Legislate for mandatory jail terms for violent unprovoked assaults and specifically criminalise the practice of so-called “happy slapping”, i.e. the making and publication of videos of violent assaults.
Expand the role of community wardens.
Gardaí
The Gardaí must be well motivated, well equipped and professionally managed.
We are committed to a programme of expansion, investment and reform for the force.
In government we will:
Further increase Garda numbers to 15,000 by 2010 and 16,000 by 2012.
Rapidly improve the ratio of civilian staff to Garda officers across all areas of the organisation, including specialist areas, thereby releasing further Gardaí to visible, frontline policing duties in the community.
Provide for an increased number of promotion posts to ensure that management is not over-stretched by this expansion.
Use the extra capacity to target communities experiencing significant anti-social behaviour and crime which impacts on people in their daily lives.
Introduce a Garda Charter setting out targeted Garda response times and levels of service which the public can expect including frequency of high visibility patrols in urban and rural communities.
Conduct regular detailed analyses of Garda-to-population ratios to ensure every region in the country has appropriate policing.
Ensure that special operations such as Operation Anvil continue and are based on Garda management study of crime patterns.
Support the Garda Reserve and ensure that its strength reaches and is maintained at 10% of the Garda strength.
Task the Garda Inspectorate with assessing the need to establish a dedicated Missing Persons Unit, including a response network similar to ‘Amber Alert’ in the USA.
Introduce conditions governing the use by a suspect of the Garda interview video.
Contravening these will be a criminal offence.
Drugs
While the current National Drugs Strategy will be reviewed in 2008, the focus of drugs policy in the coming years will continue to be on illegal drugs that do the most harm and on the most vulnerable drug misusers, their families and communities.
Given the increased prevalence of cocaine and polydrug abuse,
the availability and range of treatment options will continue to be tailored and increased to meet the needs of an evolving situation.
In government we will:
Open two cocaine specific treatment centres, in addition to pilot projects for cocaine approved under Emerging Needs Fund.
Implement the recommendations of the working group on Drug Rehabilitation including extra detox beds and community employment specific places.
Develop and strengthen the range of projects being undertaken through the Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces.
We will continue to work with the task forces on identifying local needs to counteract the problems of drug misuse.
Continue to use the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund to assist in the development of youth facilities (including sport and recreational facilities) and services in disadvantaged areas where a significant drug problem exists or has the potential to develop.
The Fund will be extended to further towns mainly in Leinster.
Expand the successful Drug Court programme
and provide Judges with the option of sentencing certain offenders to mandatory drug treatment programmes in addition to prison.
Increase Garda search powers in relation to drug crime along the lines of the new random breath-testing model for drink driving to allow random searches at particular places,
times and events where senior Gardaí believe there is a risk of drugs being present.
Support targeted Garda anti-drug use programmes in schools and third-level institutions.
Expand the Criminal Assets Bureau operational presence in each Garda Division with the introduction of additional criminal assets profilers
and CAB liaison officers in each Garda Division with appropriate training and links into the urban CAB success
Require all mobile phones to be registered with name, address and proof of identity in order to stop drug-pushers using untraceable, unregistered phones.
Organised / Gangland Crime
Fianna Fáil pioneered the most effective measure against gangland activity with the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).
Fianna Fáil will build on this achievement and further hinder the development of criminal empires by:
Introducing divestitures, which require defendants to divest themselves of interests in tainted enterprises,
impose restrictions on the future activities
and investments of an individual, and order the dissolution or reorganisation of any enterprise.
Introducing trusteeships will allow the Courts to empower trustees to run organisations where they are infiltrated or controlled by criminal elements.
Sentencing
Fianna Fáil will build upon the recommendations of the Final Report of the Balance in the Criminal Law Review Group and in government we will:
Establish a Judicial Sentencing Commission under the auspices of the Courts Service.
This Commission will be comprised only of serving judges from each of the State’s courts and its powers will include the power to establish sentencing guidelines.
These guidelines will improve the consistency of judicial sentencing without impairing the independence of trial judges in specific cases.
Trial judges will be required to follow the Commission’s guidelines or to explain why the guidelines are not being followed in any particular case.
Introduce a formal review process, on an annual basis, to assess the effect of the stringent new mandatory sentence regime for drug crime introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
This process will be carried out by representatives of the Government, the DPP, and the Gardaí in consultation with the Courts Service (as appropriate) and will determine whether further amendments to the operation of the system are required.
Introduce a formal annual review to assess the effect of the stringent new bail regime introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
This process will be carried out along the lines of the mandatory sentence for drug crime review above will determine if further amendments to the operation of the bail system are required.
Provide for the DPP to appeal against lenient sentences in the District Court and allow the DPP to make submissions at sentencing stage.
Build on the “two strikes and you’re out” mandatory sentencing regime recently introduced for drug crime by introducing similar proposals in respect of violent crime and sexual offences.
Court Procedures
In government Fianna Fáil will conduct a root-and-branch reform of court procedures which will consolidate and modernise the current court procedures, which date back to the Victorian era.
This reform will have two guiding principles – support for victims and increased efficiency in the system.
In particular, we will:
Introduce means to ensure that criminal trials can no longer be collapsed because of legal technicalities.
This will include legislation and, if necessary, appropriate amendment to the Constitution.
Introduce new pre-trial procedures to deal with admissibility of evidence to save overtime, and the time of jurors and the court.
Permit the Court greater discretion in respect of how trials are to be conducted
and give enable it to give directions as to document exchange and scheduling of witnesses.
Put in place a structure whereby the defence will accept certain kinds of technical evidence by certificate of Gardaí unless they can show good reason why Gardaí should have to be physically present in court
and will put in place a structure whereby technical evidence, particularly search warrants, are presumed to be valid unless contradictory evidence can be produced.
Extend in legislation the inference that can be drawn from the failure or refusal to answer reasonable questions
and make evidence of such failure or refusal admissible as evidence in court.
Introduce procedures so that the defence should provide the prosecution with a list of intended witnesses
and put structures in place to ensure that the prosecution is on notice of the points of defence raised by the defence in advance.
Provide, in non-criminal matters, lawyers’ clients with a right of application to the Court
where they contend that their legal bill is excessive and includes wasted costs.
Witness & Victim Support and Legal Aid
In government we will:
Establish a statutory Victims Support Agency
and set up a Victim’s Council to formulate victim policy.
Protect the identities of witnesses and victims at identification parades through the installation of one-way glass in Garda stations.
Re-instate the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board so that the victims of violent and sexual crime receive compensation for their injuries.
Introduce a right for the State to recover from the perpetrators of crime the amount paid out by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in respect of that crime.
The procedure for this recovery will be streamlined, including by way of permitting the sentencing judge to make an order directly against the perpetrator,
rather than the State necessarily being required to launch a separate civil suit.
Ensure that that an accused who can afford to defend themselves does not obtain legal aid by requiring those seeking legal aid to complete a statutory declaration prior to attending court.
Supplying inaccurate or untruthful information will be an offence punishable with a fine and/or imprisonment.
Domestic Violence and Crimes Against Children
In government we will:
Hold a referendum on the rights of children in line with the Referendum Bill published this year.
This will include a provision allowing the Oireachtas to legislate for the exchange and collection of information in relation to suspected child abuse.
If the referendum proposal is approved by the people, Fianna Fáil will introduce legislation which will underpin our vetting system and allow the Garda Central Vetting Unit to disclose, subject to appropriate controls, to potential employers, information about the serious risk of child abuse.
Establish a Domestic Violence Prevention Office which will provide a unified service for victims of domestic abuse.
This will incorporate legal advice, counselling, court accompaniment, protection and welfare services.
Set up a Domestic Violence Fund under which we will increase the number of refuge spaces.
Provide that each Garda region will have a team extensively trained in the area of domestic violence.
Expand the mechanism by which sexual offenders are monitored after their release from prison, including by the expansion of resources to the probation service and the Garda Vetting Unit.
Persons who are the subject of Sex Offenders Orders will be actively monitored
and where State agencies are concerned about the behaviour of a particular offender,
the Gardaí will have the power to apply to Court for orders restraining released offenders from visiting certain places or approaching certain people.
Gardaí will also have the power to require individual sex offenders to provide specific information about their movements and activities,
over and above that generally required from all offenders.
Rape, Sexual Assault and Sexual Exploitation:
Fianna Fáil will improve services at all levels for victims of rape and sexual assault including by providing enhanced initial medical treatment,
supplementing existing Garda procedures and training, and tailoring court procedures.
In government we will:
Provide an entitlement to free full separate legal advice, assistance and representation to complainants in cases of sexual violence.
Mandate the HSE to ensure sexual assault treatment centres are established in all regions, with on-call staffing.
Create a new offence of supplying and administering ‘date rape’ drugs.
Bring in tougher penalties for trafficking,
ensure greater prosecution of traffickers and improve support services for their victims,
particularly for those who are the victims of sexual exploitation.
Provide for the forfeiture of all material gains from the production, sale and distribution of illegal pornography.
Ensure that all sexual offenders are assessed before their release from prison to identify the level of supervision and regulation needed.
Introduce a Sexual Offences Bill which will consolidate and modernise all criminal law in the area of sexual offences in a manner which is clear,
unambiguous and uncompromising in its objectives of protecting victims - particularly children - from sexual crime, and punishing the perpetrators of such crime.
Islands
Fianna Fáil has always recognised the special value and rights of our offshore island communities
– assigning responsibility for this area to a senior Minister for the first time ever.
Our islands are rich sources and custodians of our heritage, culture and our Irish language.
Fianna Fáil in government, has overseen a programme of comprehensive investment in island infrastructure that has delivered great improvements in access to the islands.
An Enterprise Scheme for islands to develop enterprise and tourism products on the islands has been initiated so that our islands continue to grow as popular tourist destinations.
Working with Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann we have supported rural development on our islands.
The Next Steps Forward for Our Islands
Our vision is of strong island communities which can sustain their unique heritage
and way of life in tandem with meeting the needs of modern living.
We will deliver on a number of key next steps forward to ensure practical delivery of this vision.
Infrastructure
Fianna Fáil in government, will complete the infrastructure programme, ensuring low-cost high quality access services to the islands with fixed and competitive tariffs for passengers and freight.
Enterprise & Community Development
In government we will:
Develop the potential of language based and countryside recreation based tourism and services through the new rural development programme and through Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Provide broadband on all islands.
Change the law to enable Údarás na Gaeltachta to provide development services on a contract basis to non-Gaeltacht islands thus ensuring parity between all islands.
Introduce a specific scheme for offshore islands to incentivise and support the production of island-produced
and consumed renewable energy by island co-ops or other island based organisations for community buildings and public lighting.
Ensure that Islands through Comhdháil Oileán na hÉireann will have their own dedicated LEADER Partnership Company.
Invest through the Community Employment Scheme, the Job Initiative Scheme, the Rural Social Scheme and the Community Services Programme in providing top class community services on islands.
Ensure that play facilities are provided on islands.
Developing Health and Educational Facilities and Services
In government we will:
Improve health facilities on the offshore islands to ensure that they are fully equipped to deal with routine and where necessary emergency medical situations.
This will include the provision of proper facilities for visiting nurses, dentists and other health care practitioners.
Provide tele-medicine facilities to allow our most remote island communities and medical practitioners access to doctors and consultants in our specialist hospitals.
Provide better ante and post-natal services on islands.
Maintain all existing second level schools where at all possible and carry out an assessment to ensure the most suitable educational services for islands without a secondary school.
The Next Steps Forward To A Future That is Healthier, Fairer and More Inclusive
In ten years our country has made huge progress.
The historic problem of mass unemployment has finally been overcome.
Where once we were known throughout the world for emigration, now we are renowned for innovation.
Our public finances are strong and there is a real sense of opportunity.
We should enjoy this stunning turn around in our economic fortune:
we have all worked hard for it.
But success has also brought new challenges for us as a society.
How do we maintain social cohesion in an increasingly wealthy and multicultural Ireland?
How can we make sure that no-one gets left behind and that all our children get the support they need to reach their full potential?
How can we ensure that older people have the financial, social, care and medical supports that they need?
How can our education system prepare our young people for the society and economy not just of today, but of 20-30 years from now?
And how can we develop our healthcare system so that it provides the world-class service that the Irish people deserve?
We are determined through our Next Steps Forward to address each of these issues.
Fianna Fáil has never regarded wealth creation as an end in itself.
Rather it is the engine that drives improvements in our social services – giving us the money to increase child benefit, build more playgrounds and sports facilities,
hire more teachers, nurses and doctors
and dramatically improve pensions.
Over the last ten years, we have worked hard to improve social inclusion.
We have prioritised the needs of low income families,
delivered major pension increases,
and dramatically improved services for children and adults with disabilities.
After decades of under investment in our health system, we now have one of the highest levels of public capital spending in the developed world.
We know that challenges remain and we are determined through a series of Next Steps Forward to build a Future that is Healthier, Fairer and More inclusive.
The Next Steps Forward to a Future that is Healthier, Fairer and More Incusive
The Next Steps Forward To A Future That is Healthier, Fairer and More Inclusive
In ten years our country has made huge progress.
The historic problem of mass unemployment has finally been overcome.
Where once we were known throughout the world for emigration, now we are renowned for innovation.
Our public finances are strong and there is a real sense of opportunity. We should enjoy this stunning turn around in our economic fortune: we have all worked hard for it.
But our success has also brought new challenges for us as a society.
How do we maintain social cohesion in an increasingly wealthy
and multicultural Ireland?
How can we make sure that no-one gets left behind and that all our children get the support they need to reach their full potential?
How can we ensure that older people have the financial, social, care and medical supports that they need?
How can our education system prepare our young people for the society and economy not just of today but of 20-30 years from now?
And how can we develop our healthcare system so that it provides the world-class service that the Irish people deserve?
We are determined through our Next Steps Forward to address each of these issues.
Fianna Fáil has never regarded wealth creation as an end in itself.
Rather it is the engine that drives improvements in our social services
– giving us the money to increase child benefit,
build more playgrounds and sports facilities,
hire more teachers,
nurses and doctors
and dramatically improve pensions.
Over the last ten years, we have worked hard to improve social inclusion.
We have prioritised the needs of low income families,
delivered major pension increases,
and dramatically improved services for children and adults with disabilities.
After decades of under investment in our health system, we now have one of the highest levels of public capital spending in the developed world.
We know that challenges remain and we are determined through a series of Next Steps Forward to build a Future that is Healthier, Fairer and More inclusive.
Health
The challenges faced by health services throughout the world are intensifying all the time
and Ireland’s is no exception.
In addition to the pressures from a rising population and constantly evolving treatments,
the Irish public health system has also had to tackle a long history of underdevelopment.
This position is changing fast.
In recent years the largest programme of building, refurbishment, recruitment, service development and structural reform in the history of our health services has been underway.
This programme has delivered a substantial increase in the numbers benefiting from services every year
and it has delivered a substantial improvement in patient outcomes
– the core objective of any health service.
With 300,000 extra treatments a year and rising life-expectancies for those being treated, there has been enormous progress.
Over the last ten years:
We have quadrupled investment in health from €3.6 billion to €14.5 billion. Along side Norway, we now invest the highest proportion of national income in public medical facilities.
We have cut waiting times for operations from years to months.
We have increased acute bed capacity by over 1,600.
We have worked with the HSE on a hospital by hospital basis, to reduce waiting times in A&E.
Over the last year, the number of people waiting has more than halved and in three quarters of our hospitals, nobody waited more than six hours in recent months.
Infant mortality has fallen by a third.
Mortality rates in coronary care have decreased by 50%.
There has been a 15% decrease in mortality rate from cancer in the under 65 age group; a key goal of the National Cancer Strategy achieved three years ahead of target.
An investment of e1 billion since 1997 has led to more than 40,000 extra cancer patients being discharged from our hospitals.
More people are being treated and more people are surviving cancer.
We have delivered an historic expansion in services for older people with a five fold increase in home care packages over the last two years.
We have increased the number of consultant posts from by 852 to 2,144 including a trebling of the number of A&E consultants.
We have doubled the number of student nurse places and introduced a degree course in nursing.
We have embarked on the largest reform programme in the history of the State:
the newly unified HSE has taken over from the old Health Board system; we have introduced a new consultants’contract.
We have introduced the smoking ban which has benefited the health of the whole population.
We have established the new Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQUA) to monitor compliance with standards in all healthcare settings and to enforce the highest standard of care in nursing homes and other residential care settings.
We undertook the first complete overhaul of regulation of doctors by appointing a majority of lay people to the Medical Council for the protection of the public and patients.
We reformed the regulation of pharmacy for the first time in 130 years, opening up the market to young Irish pharmacists who qualified in other EU countries.
We have increased the number of student places in pharmacy, physiotherapy, speech and occupational therapy.
We approved the building of the new national Tertiary Children’s Hospital at the Mater Hospital site in Dublin.
The Next Steps Forward on Health
A challenge as large as building a health system of the quality which the public rightly demands requires further sustained actions.
That is why we are proposing a series of ambitious next steps forward for our health system.
Over the next five years, our core objectives will be to:
Help people to maintain good health through health promoting initiatives and a new Personal Health Check entitlement.
Ensure all communities have accessible, high quality primary healthcare services, with longer daytime provision and access to urgent out of hours medical services within one hour.
Increase the numbers of beds, consultants, nurses and other professionals in our hospitals and, through the reform of key work practices and continuing substantial investment, deliver faster and better care for patients.
Promoting Good Health
The fundamental objective of pubic health policy is good health,
and the most effective way of maximising good health is to prevent illness or treat it as early as possible.
Building on our substantial record in recent years, Fianna Fáil is proposing a series of next steps forward in the areas of public health programmes and screening services.
Health Promotion
We will invest comprehensively in health promoting activities and awareness campaigns to achieve higher life expectancy, better health status and faster recovery from illness.
We will expedite the delivery of a National Strategy for Tackling Obesity, putting in place a cross-departmental group to ensure implementation, with regular reports to Cabinet.
We will prioritise and intensify measures to tackle alcohol and drug misuse among all sections of the population and in particular among young people.
Specifically, we will:
Use the education system and public awareness campaigns to highlight the damage caused by binge drinking.
Put in place a fund for the provision of a countrywide network of youth cafes where oung people can meet in a safe, legal, alcohol-free and healthy environment.
In recognition of the growth of home drinking and our continuing high rates of binge drinking, we will develop a code of practice on the sale of alcohol with the off-licence trade.
Use the taxation system to promote low alcohol or alcohol-free products.
Introduce a ban on direct TV advertising of alcoholic products before 9pm.
Double the penalties for all offences relating to the sale of alcohol to children, the purchase of alcohol for children and the breach of the restrictions on the presence of underage persons on licensed premises.
Provide early intervention programmes in all social, health and justice services to ensure early detection and appropriate responses to high risk drinking.
The Office of Tobacco Control will be mandated to carry out and publish a comprehensive review of anti-smoking programmes targeted at young people by all Departments and Agencies.
The recent development of a cervical cancer vaccine opens up the possibility of effectively ending cervical cancer within a few generations. We believe it should be available as a universal public health entitlement once recommended by experts.
Personal Health Check
This year, the final element of the first national screening programme for breast cancer will be completed.
This has provided extremely valuable experience of how to roll-out such a service and to engage the target public.
It has already delivered substantial improvements in the early detection and successful treatment of breast cancer.
Fianna Fáil believes that now is the time to develop a freely available and personalised national programme to provide for the prevention and early detection of illnesses for both men and women.
To be called the Personal Health Check, the new programme will be developed as follows:
An expert group will develop guidelines for the Personal Health Check based on the best available national and international evidence of what works well.
On reaching certain milestones determined by the expert group they will be invited to attend a GP or Primary Care Clinic for a Personal Health Check.
General health examinations, and other tests recommended by the expert group, will be carried out.
When the results are returned, those tested will receive an invitation to return for a consultation where the results will be explained and they will be given a plan relevant to them.
Where the results show a serious concern, the person will immediately be referred to appropriate expert care.
Implementation of such an ambitious plan will take time but we believe that the programme can be established and operating nationally within five years.
The Expert Group will be established in 2007, with a requirement to report by mid-2008 at latest.
Phased implementation of the Expert Group recommendations will begin in 2008, with the national roll-out plan to commence in 2009.
Primary Health Care
We will implement the €2.1 billion capital investment programme outlined in the NDP for the development of modern primary care facilities.
Specifically, we will:
Extend the GP out-of-hours service nationwide to ensure that patients can be seen within one hour of their call.
This will give access to on duty GP care 24 hours a day.
GPs will be fully equipped to ensure that their expertise and skills minimise the need for their patients to attend an A&E unit.
Ensure that there is a primary care team serving every community, with particular reference to new and rapidly growing areas.
Five hundred new primary care teams will be funded by 2011.
This will include an extension in front-line posts to ensure integrated, accessible services for patients in the community.
Introduce improved supports for GPs who work in remote and disadvantaged communities – both for those starting out and those already established.
These will include improved start up funding towards premises, equipment, security, professional support and cover.
GP Card/Medical Card
We have done more than any government since the introduction of the medical card 35 years ago
to make sure that families and single people on low incomes can visit their GP free of charge, either with a full medical card, or the GP visit card.
Over the next five years, we will continue this work.
Specifically, we will:
Index the income thresholds for medical cards to increases in the average industrial wage.
Implement an annual publicity campaign and make applications easier so as to increase uptake amongst those who are eligible for cards.
Hospitals/acute Care
We will implement the e2.4 billion acute hospital capital programme outlined in the National Development Plan.
Under this Programme, we will expand the range, quality and capacity of hospitals throughout the country
and we will introduce key reforms in work-practices for the benefit of all patients.
In general, we believe the interests of public patients must be protected
and that the best way to do this is to invest in expanded services
and to end practices which serve to reduce public capacity and make effective management difficult.
In government we will:
Hospital Beds
Increase the number of dedicated public-only hospital beds by 1,500.
500 will be provided through the public capital programme
and 1,000 by moving private practice to separate facilities.
Implement the plans for co-located facilities because this represents the quickest and most effective way of ensuring that public capacity is both increased and ring-fenced.
It also represents the only serious way of implementing a comprehensive reform of the consultant contract.
Waiting Times
Ensure that the Patient Treatment Register is operated for all in and out-patient referrals.
We will extend measures to ensure all patients have access to data concerning waiting times.
Implement a proactive system whereby every person who is waiting for treatment for three months automatically receives a written offer of treatment.
Allow Orthodontic cases to be referred to the NTPF by creating an “Orthodontic Fund” to treat children who have been waiting longest.
Ensure that any child under five waiting more than three months for occupational or speech and language therapy, can access these services automatically through the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
Consultants
We will double the number of consultants, appointing an extra 2,000 and bringing the total number to 4,000.
However, this must be on the basis of the full implementation of reformed work-practices.
Specifically, we will appoint these new consultants on the basis that they will:
Carry out public-only service in public facilities,
That all contracted time will be personally worked, and
A team-approach is implemented to ensure 24 hour availability of consultants to patients over 24 hours resulting in faster decision-making.
The continuing development of our hospital services depends on the reform of the consultants’ contracts.
We believe in negotiated agreements, but the absence of one will not be allowed to frustrate the expansion in services.
Accident & Emergency/Local Injury Clinics
We want to ensure:
That only those in need of the high level of expert attention available at an A&E department attend for treatment.
That patients are assessed immediately and treated quickly.
We will further increase the number of A&E consultants available round-the-clock in A&E departments.
We will further develop chest pain and respiratory clinics to ease pressure on A&E.
We will establish a national network of Local Injury Clinics.
These will deal with cases which do not require the sort of urgent care which only a full A&E can provide.
They will be staffed by doctors, nurses and other professionals who will provide speedy diagnosis, commence treatment immediately or refer patients for more urgent attention as required.
They will be located in places which maximise public accessibility.
In some cases this will be on hospital sites or within primary healthcare clinics.
These clinics will work closely with primary care teams to ensure appropriate follow up and ongoing care.
While final details will require more detailed expert input, we estimate that each Centre will require a start-up capital budget of up to €2 million and on-going recurrent funding of up to €400,000.
Our target is for 20 of these clinics across the country within five years.
Hygiene/Infection Control
MRSA is one of the major challenges facing our health service and requires a significant change in hygiene and prescribing practices.
In 2005, we introduced the first ever national hospital hygiene audit with the results for each hospital being published.
Since then we have seen a steady improvement in the cleanliness of our hospitals. In the lifetime of the next government,
we will:
Support the establishment of a new position of hygiene standards enforcer who will ensure adherence to strict protocols for the control and prevention of all infections.
Significantly reduce MRSA in our hospitals
and take into account the need to guard against infection in the refurbishment of existing hospital and the construction of new hospitals.
Establish a specific MRSA Fund which will incentivise hospitals to achieve excellence in hygiene standards.
Continue to carry out regular hygiene audits without notice, at minimum annually, and publish the results.
Cancer Services
We want to make the full range of cancer services accessible to patients throughout Ireland in accordance with best international practice.
The Breast Check service will complete its national roll-out this year.
We are committed to extending access to the programme to women not covered at present, in accordance with clinical guidelines.
We will put in place a national network for radiation oncology (radiotherapy) services over the next five years.
We will introduce a new universal entitlement to the cervical cancer vaccine as outlined earlier.
The Personal Health Check will include referral of men for early screening for prostate and other cancers as recommended by experts.
The new Cancer Control strategy launched in 2006 will be fully funded in the NDP
and we will establish Managed Cancer Control networks each serving a population of one million people.
Networks will consist of primary, hospital, palliative and supportive care.
Cancer Centres will lead and deliver the care required.
We will significantly invest in diagnostic equipment and facilities for cancer patients.
Accountability
Through case-mix funding and other initiatives,
there has been a substantial move to incentivise those hospitals which offer higher and more effective levels of care to the communities they serve.
We are committed to continuing this programme.
Regional balance and public accountability is a core element of our plan to develop services.
We will ensure that an annual report of activity is prepared, published and widely distributed within each region.
Mental Health Services
Fianna Fáil, in government, has nearly trebled investment in mental health services, from €326 million in 1997 to €835 million in 2006.
We have also increased the number of consultant psychiatrists by 50%.
The comprehensive Vision for Change strategy published in 2006 sets out a major programme of investment and reform over the next seven to ten years for the modernisation of mental health services for children, adolescents and adults with mental health difficulties in hospitals and community settings
In government we will:
Invest in and fully implement the Vision for Change Strategy and provide further additional funding to support the recovery model of Mental Health service provision.
Ringfence funds from the sale of existing mental hospitals, estimated to be approximately e800 million, to fund community-based services.
Ensure that multi-disciplinary Community Mental Health Teams provide services based on need, in the community, the home and through assertive outreach.
Suicide
The heartache and turmoil associated with suicide has become an all too common feature of modern society.
Fianna Fáil is determined to tackle this problem from every angle.
In government we will:
Implement, as a matter of urgency, the recommendations of Reach Out - the national strategy for action for suicide prevention - and the Recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the High Level of Suicide.
Adopt a target of reducing the rate of suicide by 20% by 2012.
Develop initiatives to target those most at risk, promote well-being, raise awareness and reduce stigma.
Improve services and supports for marginalised groups,
particularly those with mental health difficulties.
Increase the range of supports to families and communities affected by suicide and bereavement.
Collate accurate data on suicide and conduct
and fund research on prevention methods.
Community and Continuing Care
Fianna Fáil has worked hard over the last ten years to develop and support the delivery of care at community level by investing in local step-down facilities,
providing generous home-care packages and expanding home help services
and increased funding for private nursing home care.
Over the next five years, €2.1 billion will be invested in the Primary, Community and Continuing Care capital programme
and we will:
Continue to implement measures to ensure the availability of real alternatives to hospital for those who require lengthy convalescence.
Starting in 2008, increase funding to the NTPF on an annual basis over the lifetime of the Government to secure step down beds
and rehabilitation services for patients.
This additional funding will be ring-fenced for the above purposes and will be set at €20 million for the first year.
Maximising Independence
Fianna Fáil believes that all older people should have the opportunity to stay in their own home for as long as possible.
This is what our older people want and we will support them in their choice.
We will also support their family carers to continue their caring role.
We will help local and voluntary organisations to establish and run community based facilities that will provide the care services necessary to support older people.
We will strengthen and develop stroke rehabilitation services.
Nursing Homes
The demand for nursing home places will continue to increase
and the public is entitled to expect high quality and appropriate supports for all residents.
We will only fund places in nursing homes that meet the highest standards of nursing care set by HIQA.
While our main focus will be on providing more and better home care services to allow people to remain at home, we will provide for ten new 50 bed Community Nursing Units in the next five years.
We will expand the system of inspection to ensure more comprehensive and regular inspections.
All inspection reports will be available to residents and their families and published.
We are committed to a standard framework for admission to and payment for nursing home facilities.
We will take the financial burden for the residential care of their elderly parents from families
and we will ensure that older people are not forced to sell the roofs over their heads to pay for their nursing home care.
Palliative Care
Fianna Fáil will ensure that the needs of all people who require palliative care are met whether this is needed at home,
in the community or in a specialised hospice.
We are committed, within the next five years, to removing the regional disparities in the provision and funding of palliative care.
We recognise the tremendous contribution of the Irish Hospice Foundation
and the various community organisations providing palliative care and we will continue to work with these bodies to improve services.
Overall Structural Reform
The establishment of the HSE is a central element of the future development of services.
We understand that it has only been possible because of the dedication of staff throughout the country.
Three years into the structural reforms it is reasonable to review how effectively it is operating and, especially, to ensure that team work and communication are working to the fullest extent.
We are committed to carrying out such a review and to ensuring that staff have an opportunity to propose ways in which the HSE can work more effectively.
Nurses
Over the last ten years, we have transformed the position of nurses in our health system.
Not only have we increased the number of nursing posts and implemented various reforms to enhance responsibilities, we have also introduced nursing degrees: the most significant development for many years in the nursing profession.
There has been a 94% increase in student places in nursing since 1997.
Our next steps for nursing will see the further development of the profession.
With nurse-practitioners beginning to operate within the system and a range of other changes, we see the status of nurses increasing
– just as the number of nursing posts will increase with our proposed capacity increases.
We are committed to keeping open the benchmarking process to nurses.
Doctors
Our next steps forward for health will require a further significant increase in doctor numbers in all parts of the system.
We are committed to implementing the restructuring of medical education including an increase in training places and post-graduate medical degrees.
Other Health Professionals
Our next steps forward will ensure that we increase the supply of professionals needed to meet our ambitious plans to develop new services for persons with disabilities,
and to improve and sustain our primary healthcare and hospital services.
Cross-border Health Initiatives
We will continue to deepen all-Ireland cooperation in relation to health services for the benefit of communities on both sides of the border
and maximise the use of valuable facilities and expertise in both jurisdictions.
Education
Fianna Fáil has always prioritised education as the key not only to our nation’s social and economic progress but to the individual fulfilment of our people.
Every substantial expansion in education provision,
from the introduction of free second level education to the establishment of the Institutes of Technology, has been initiated and implemented by Fianna Fáil.
In 1997 we took over from a Government which had voted to cut teacher numbers and freeze direct school funding.
We set out to change the agenda of Irish education to one of systematic development and we have succeeded.
Primary schools, so long neglected, have seen direct funding rise by nearly 200%
10,000 new teaching posts have been created.
Class sizes and the Teacher:Pupil Ratio have been reduced.
Support for children with special needs
and those from disadvantaged areas has been dramatically improved.
The largest school building programme in Irish history has been undertaken, benefiting thousands of schools.
New services such as the National Educational Psychological Service, the National Educational Welfare Board and the Behavioural Support Service have been set up and are being expanded.
The first revisions in four decades of key curricula have been implemented in schools.
45,000 more third level places have been created.
An entire new research tier for universities and colleges has been created.
We are fully aware of the many needs which have still to be addressed, but our period in office has seen the most sustained increase in funding and participation in the history of Irish education.
The Next Steps Forward for Education
We see education as central to achieving our goals of protecting and growing Ireland’s prosperity
and ensuring greater social inclusion.
Therefore we are determined to take a series of significant further steps forward for education in the next five years.
Overall Objectives
In government, our key overall objectives will be:
To implement significant further improvements in the human and financial resources available to our schools.
To ensure that the quality of buildings and equipment available in all parts of the ducation system are significantly improved.
To make each element of the system more inclusive and responsive to the needs of marginalised groups.
To develop our third level institutions as world-leaders in research and development, helping Ireland to maintain and build on its undoubted progress.
Extra Teachers and Reform of Teacher Training
The 10,000 extra teachers now working with our schoolchildren are a clear demonstration of our commitment to improving school staffing.
The priority which special needs provision received in the last five years was absolutely necessary and we believe that we were right to concentrate new teaching posts in that area.
We see the opportunity of a broader impact in the next five years.
In government we will:
Increase the number of primary teachers by at least 4,000.
This will enable us to reduce class sizes.
Prioritise reductions in the size of classes in the core subjects of Irish, English and Maths at second level.
Reform the initial teacher-training programmes,
ensure that all teacher-training colleges reserve places for students from disadvantaged areas,
and prioritise high quality in-career professional development for teachers and principals.
Improved Funding For Our Schools
We are committed to building on the major increases in direct school funding in recent years to ensure that our schools have much improved resources.
In government we will:
Increase day-to-day funding for our schools in real terms,
and will double the capitation grant for primary schools.
Grants to schools for the employment of support staff such as secretaries and caretakers will also be increased significantly.
Complete the process of equalisation of funding at second level within two years.
High Quality School Buildings & Planning For New Schools
We are determined to ensure that schools are modern and available when needed.
To this end, we will implement a significant number of improvements in how school building projects are planned, funded and delivered.
In government we will:
Invest €4.5 billion in providing new schools and improving existing ones,
increase the Minor Works grant and abolish the local contribution to building projects.
Put in place clear procedures, on foot of a legal planning directive,
to be followed by all local authorities to ensure that provision for educational facilities is planned
well in advance of need and in agreement with the Department of Education.
Improve the arrangements for acquiring sites.
After Hours and Holiday Time Programmes
In order to meet a significant and growing need of working parents,
enable children to benefit from a broad range of positive activities,
and ensure that schools and other facilities are being better utilised we will:
Invest in and support the roll-out of school-age childcare,
whereby children will be given access to a range of after-school and holiday time activities, with a major focus on sports and the arts.
Promoting Students’ All-round Development
Fianna Fáil believes that our schools should help young people to reach their full potential not just academically, but socially and personally as well.
We also believe that schools have a role in instilling a sense of civic pride and responsibility in their students.
In government we will:
Provide a dedicated fund for investment in PE facilities for schools,
make PE mandatory at second level,
and put a revised PE curriculum for senior cycle students in place.
Promote greater sharing of school and community sports facilities
and make it a condition of the Sports Capital Programme that facilities be made available to schools where appropriate.
Increase the role of the arts as part of a well-rounded educational experience.
Increase the number of guidance counsellors at second level.
Ensure that education is provided in road safety at different stages of the school system, including a specific transition year course.
Involve Community Health professionals in the delivery of Relationships and Sexuality Education and provide greater support for teachers in this area through improved teaching resources and access to training.
Require all primary schools to implement the Stay Safe child abuse protection programme.
Include the national anthem in the primary school curriculum,
teach school children about the role and significance of our national flag,
and instil in them respect for the place of other nations’ anthems and flags.
Curricular Change to Meet Skills Needs and Ensuring a Broader Range of Educational Opportunities
Fianna Fáil is determined to ensure that our school curriculum is in tune with the needs of a modern society and economy.
We are also committed to ensuring that there is a wide range of opportunities available so that all children, whatever their abilities or interests, can reach their full potential.
In government we will:
Prioritise the introduction of new curricula in Maths and in Leaving Certificate Physics and Chemistry,
supported by teacher training.
Ring-fence funding for science laboratories,
improve science equipment in our schools, and
ensure a greater focus on high quality science education at all levels.
Implement new Leaving Cert curricula in engineering, architectural technology, economics, agricultural science and art.
Encourage more schools to offer alternative curricula such as the Junior Certificate Schools’ Programme and the Leaving Certificate Applied course.
While encouraging higher rates of school completion, increase access to alternative educational provision for young people who do not wish to continue in the formal school system.
Financial and other support for such centres will also be improved and put on a multi-annual basis.
We will increase the number of Youthreach places in line with our Towards 2016 commitments and will support the development of similar services for younger students who discover that the mainstream second level school is not suitable for them.
Promoting the Irish Language In Our Schools & Colleges
In recent years a new dynamism has developed behind the teaching of Irish and through Irish in our schools. We are determined to strengthen this by:
Improving teacher training, reforming the curriculum to place greater emphasis on the spoken language, and providing an enhanced support service for schools.
Funding the development of a comprehensive range of materials and resources to support teaching through Irish.
Providing a scholarship scheme for children from disadvantaged areas to attend courses in the Gaeltacht and funding summer courses in the children’s own local areas.
Schools ICT
Integrating ICT successfully in our schools is essential not only to equipping students with good IT skills, but can also improve the education experience and help to improve young people’s motivation to learn.
Therefore, in government we will:
Implement a comprehensive Schools ICT Strategy, supported by a dedicated capital investment programme and addressing schools’ needs for technical support and maintenance. It will also cover the training needs of teachers.
Give the opportunity to second level students to acquire an ECDL qualification in computers by the time they leave school.
Tackling Disadvantage and Improving Literacy and Numeracy Skills
For Fianna Fáil education is a powerful weapon in the fight against inequality.
In recent years we have dramatically increased investment in measures to tackle disadvantage.
We have ensured that children in disadvantaged areas are in smaller classes, get free school meals and have access to a range of after school activities.
We have also expanded programmes to improve home-school links and set up a new national service to tackle absenteeism.
In government we will:
Complete the roll-out of the DEIS Action Plan to ensure a comprehensive package of targeted supports for schoolchildren in the most disadvantaged areas.
Increase coordination between state agencies that provide help for families at risk.
Ensure that all children will be tested in literacy and numeracy at two stages during their primary school education.
Prioritise early intervention to improve literacy and numeracy skills in disadvantaged areas,
with special intensive reading and maths programmes for children who are having difficulties and a focus on family literacy.
Provide increased funding for school libraries
and greatly improve the level of support provided for book loan schemes.
Recruit extra staff to the Educational Welfare Board and the National Educational sychological Service,
both of which will prioritise disadvantaged schools.
Special Education
We are committed to ensuring that all children receive an education that is appropriate to their needs and abilities.
We recognise that this requires a mix of different educational responses
and will intensify our work to ensure that an appropriate placement is available for every child.
In government we will:
Implement the Education For Persons With Special Educational Needs Act in full, giving children with special needs, the right to an Individual Education Plan and putting in place a new appeals procedure.
Increase the number of psychologists in the National Educational Psychological Service to 200 within three years.
Explore the potential to spread the expertise built up in special schools by developing them as centres of excellence and outreach facilities that work with mainstream schools, with procedures for dual enrolment.
Train more speech and language and occupational therapists.
The HSE will ensure that there is much greater access to these services.
Promoting Successful Integration In Our Schools
We believe that immigration has enriched the school experience for Irish children by giving them the opportunity to learn about other cultures and ways of life.
We are determined to ensure successful integration
and to meet the language and other needs of newcomer children.
In government we will:
Further increase the number of language support teachers from 1,450 to 1,800.
Improve teacher training and give extra supports to schools with large numbers of students with different languages and cultures to improve home-school links.
Provide access to English language classes for adult immigrants.
School Buses
This year we are investing e165 million in the school transport service - compared with just €50 million in 1997.
Over the next five years we will prioritise further investment in the school transport to ensure a high quality service.
Expanding Adult Education Provision
Fianna Fáil knows that while our young people are now amongst the best educated in the world, many adults had only limited educational opportunities available to them in the past.
We have worked hard to improve access to a range of education options for adults from basic literacy to third level qualifications.
In government we will:
Increase the number of adult literacy training places by 4,000, on top of the extra 3,000 places being put in place in 2007,
and provide dedicated funding for English language training for targeted groups.
Increase the number of places on the Back to Education Initiative to 10,000
and expand the VTOS scheme.
Improved Opportunities in Further and Higher Education
In government we have provided for a dramatic expansion in participation rates.
We have increased the number of PLC places by 60% to more than 30,000. 55% of 17-19 year olds entered third level in 2005, compared with 44% in 1998.
In government we will:
Further increase third level participation rates,
with a special focus on those from disadvantaged areas.
Introduce a new system of means-tested free fees for approved part-time courses.
Together with incentives for colleges to offer more flexible and diverse course structures,
this will enable more people with work or family commitments to avail of opportunities at third level.
Enable more students to qualify for the top-up grant.
Evaluate the success of the new alternative entry arrangements for medical education with a view to determining if similar changes should be made in the application procedures for other high-points courses.
Promote more explicit arrangements for student transfer between institutes of technology and universities
and open new routes of access from the further education sector to the third level sector.
Develop the further education sector to enable it to play a strong role in providing employment relevant education
and training opportunities and serve as a gateway to higher education.
Priority will be given to addressing the capital and equipment needs of the sector.
Provide a multi-annual capital fund of €2 billion for higher education institutions to support investment in the development of modern campus facilities with leading edge teaching and learning infrastructure,
and to ensure that institutions have the capacity to meet emerging needs while accommodating growing numbers of students accessing higher education.
Prioritise quality assurance in our colleges
and provide targeted funding to support the student role in the QA process.
Appoint two student representatives to each of the HEA and the NQAI.
Fully examine Waterford Institute of Technology’s case for university status.
Developing A Strong Fourth Level Research Sector
In 1997 the entire research budget of the Department of Education was zero.
Since then we have invested €1.2 billion in third level research.
We know that developing a strong fourth level sector is key to protecting current jobs and attracting new ones.
In government we will:
Continue to reshape, reform and strengthen undergraduate education to support the skills needs of society
and the development of fourth level education.
Dramatically increase the research capacity of our third level colleges.
In doubling our output of PhDs by 2013, sustain and enhance quality through the establishment of graduate schools to achieve structured quality PhD training
and enhanced postgraduate skills.
Ensure that the support for research in the humanities and social sciences is developed to achieve a doubling of PhD numbers.
Further develop the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) to support the expansion of high-quality research places.
Develop flexible and attractive career paths for researchers.
Ensure that there is enhanced industry/academia collaboration to benefit business and secure growth.
Children
Over the last ten years, Fianna Fáil in government has put the interests of children at the heart of Government.
In 2000, we published the National Children’s Strategy which proposed a fundamental change in the attitude of Government to children and set out an ambitious agenda for the development of services for children.
The Strategy has been reinforced by the creation of the Office of the Minister for Children in which key government officials, whose job it is to look after the interests of children have been brought together to deliver the best possible services for children.
The Minister for Children attends Cabinet meetings,
ensuring that the interests of children are taken into account in an unprecedented manner across all areas of government.
There are many concrete developments to point to:
The investment of e24.8 million in playgrounds around the country.
The quadrupling of Child Benefit and the introduction of the Early Childcare Supplement of €1000 per annum.
Taken together, these payments mean that a family with two children under the age of six, irrespective or income or employment status gets an untaxed payment of €5,840 a year from the State – up from just €914 in 1997.
The increases in maternity leave so that mothers of new-born children can now take a full six months paid and four and a half months unpaid leave.
The creation of nearly 36,000 new childcare places and the upgrading of 26,000 existing places with an investment of over 560 million euro.
The full implementation of the Children Act 2001.
The reform and resourcing of the juvenile justice system
and the creation of the Irish Youth Justice Service.
The commissioning of the first ever National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland to increase our understanding of children’s lives and provide a sound evidence base for future policy development
The Next Steps Forward for Children
We believe that further significant changes are required to ensure that all of our children have the opportunity to enjoy childhood and develop to their full potential.
Therefore we are proposing a series of next steps forward for Ireland’s children for the five years ahead.
Constitutional Amendment
We believe the fundamental law of our land should fully reflect our commitment to value and protect childhood.
That is why we have proposed the inclusion in our Constitution of a new dedicated Article on Children.
Under its provisions the State will acknowledge and affirm the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children.
Nothing in our proposed article will undermine the role of parents.
However, it will ensure that the best interests of the child are put centre stage in the adoption and care systems and in all custody disputes.
Specifically, it will put an end to the tragic position which forbids children in long-term care
or the children of a marriage from being adopted by loving parents.
The new Article will also greatly strengthen the protection we afford to children by permitting the carefully regulated exchange of information about suspected child abusers and by allowing the Oireachtas to introduce legislation which would make it impossible for those who take sexual advantage of children to claim the defence of honest mistake about the age of their victims.
On return to office, we will put our proposal to the people within one year.
Childcare
Over the last ten years, we have built a childcare sector virtually from scratch.
In government we will:
Increase the rate of the Early Childcare Supplement and Child Benefit.
Ensure that every child has access to an affordable pre-school place by 2012.
Through the investment of €1.3 billion provided for in the NDP, create an extra 50,000 new childcare places by 2010.
Ensure a supply of affordable childcare premises by requiring housing developers to provide a monetary contribution or provide a site to local authorities for childcare facilities, the location and type of which will be decided in consultation with the County Childcare Committees.
We will also require local authorities to provide childcare facilities as part of their social housing plans, subject to an examination of existing supply.
Continue to provide tax relief and capital grants for investment in childcare facilities.
Where possible, and where there is evidence of need, provide childcare facilities on the same site as or adjacent to primary schools.
Continue to support not for profit childcare providers through capital and staffing grants, and provide funding on a multi-annual basis to allow for more effective planning.
Prioritise expansion of pre-school facilities for children with intellectual disabilities.
Implement the National Childcare Training Strategy and work with providers to support the delivery of quality early education.
We will continue to provide tax incentives to childminders to encourage registration and support the development of networking and training opportunities.
Giving Parents More Time With Their Children
Since 1997, we have increased maternity leave from just 14 weeks to 26 weeks.
We are conscious however that many working parents, with small children in particular, find it difficult to balance work and family commitments.
Over the next five years we will:
Increase paid maternity leave by five weeks and make all leave after the first 26 weeks available to either parent.
Work with the social partners
to promote the greater availability of family-friendly work practices.
A New System of School Age Childcare
We recognise the need for care places for the school going children of working parents.
We will further invest in and support the roll-out of affordable school-age childcare,
whereby children will be given access to a range of after-school and holiday time activities, with a major focus on sports and the arts.
Services will be provided in schools or in other suitable premises, and will operate until 6pm and on a full-day basis during school holidays.
Tackling Childhood Disadvantage
We know that early intervention is the key to improving the lives of children and their families in severely disadvantaged areas.
We need to change the way we work with families in these areas.
We will increase the rate of the Early Childcare Supplement and Child Benefit, while building on the Qualified Child Allowance.
We will accelerate the establishment of Children’s Services Committees in each county so that all the statutory agencies work together in a strategic way and use resources more efficiently for the benefit of children.
We will build on the experience of ground-breaking initiatives for disadvantaged children,
such as those undertaken with Atlantic Philanthropies under the Early Intervention and Prevention Programme by applying the lessons learnt from these projects, in a targeted way, to economically and socially disadvantaged communities across the country.
We will bring together statutory and voluntary agencies in a collaborative approach to the delivery of services with the engagement of the communities.
Child Protection
Since 1997, we have enacted a substantial body of legislation to protect children from sexual and other forms of abuse.
We have also established the Garda Central Vetting Unit to ensure that those working with children are screened.
Our proposed amendment to the Constitution will further strengthen our ability to protect our children by allowing the Oireachtas to legislate for the exchange of information about suspected child abusers.
It will also allow for the creation of offences of absolute or strict liability so that those who sexually abuse our children will no longer be able to claim mistake about their victims’ age as a defence in court.
We will provide extra resources to the Garda vetting service.
We will develop an all-Ireland approach to child protection.
We will put in place the necessary structures and systems to increase cooperation on vetting
and the exchange of all relevant information about those who work or seek to work with children and vulnerable adults.
We will require all primary schools to implement the Stay Safe programme.
Foster Care
Fianna Fáil in government has strongly supported foster parents and we have passed legislation to strengthen their rights as guardians.
Our constitutional amendment will give children in long-term foster care a second chance by allowing for them to be adopted by their foster families if it is in their best interests.
Recreation and Play
Fianna Fáil in government has invested significantly in play facilities.
In the last six years, the number of play grounds around the country has increased from 200 to over 500.
Over the next five years, we will continue to invest in playgrounds around the country under the National Play Policy
so that every child in every community has reasonable access to at least one modern playground.
We will put in place a fund for the provision of a countrywide network of youth cafés where young people can meet in a safe, legal and healthy environment.
Youth Justice
In government, Fianna Fáil has fundamentally reformed the juvenile justice system.
The Children Act 2001 has provided the legal basis for modern system whose guiding principles are prevention, diversion, education and rehabilitation.
That Act is now implemented in full. In 2005, following a detailed review, responsibility for youth justice and the implementation of the Children Act was transferred to the newly formed Irish Youth Justice Service which now reports directly to the Minister for Children
Over the next five years, we will bed down the new structures and ensure that youth offenders are diverted from crime as early as possible.
With an overall budget of €400 million, we will:
Fund the implementation of a range of new community sanctions which came into force last March as an alternative to detention and which will be operated by the Probation Service.
These community sanctions will include sanctions against the parents of offending youths.
Double the number of Garda Youth Diversion Projects
and fund the development of other programmes for children who offend.
Invest in the provision of modern detention facilities for youth offenders.
Improved Pensions and Better Supports For Older People
Fianna Fáil has always prioritised improvements in the standard of living and quality of life of older people.
From the free bus pass to the major pension increases of recent years,
our policies have made a big difference in enabling older people to live fuller lives.
In 1997 and 2002, we set ambitious targets for substantially increasing what we have renamed as the State Pension
- we have not only met those targets, we have exceeded them.
We have also introduced Personal Retirement Savings Accounts to provide a State contribution to personal pension savings and put in place a new initiative to encourage SSIA savers to invest in personal pensions.
While other countries are facing into a very serious threat to their public finances and the need to curtail benefits due to a looming pension crisis, we established the National Pension Reserve Fund into which is placed 1% of national income every year.
We have ensured that the money will be there to pay the pensions of today’s workers when they retire.
Major improvements have been also made in both the Household Benefits Package and the National Fuel Scheme.
We have prioritised improved support for carers,
expansion of community based supports and improvements in the quality and availability of hospital and residential care.
This year alone, 2,000 extra home care packages are being provided on top of the 2,000 put in place last year.
In addition, 780,000 extra hours of home help will be delivered,
1,100 day places are being provided and 800 extra residential care beds are being rolled out.
The Next Steps Forward for Improved Pensions and Better Supports for Older People
Fianna Fáil recognises that not only have older people made a huge contribution in building the successful country that we have today, they have so much more to give.
We want to enable them to stay socially active and involved in their local communities.
We are committed to ensuring improved security of income in retirement.
And we are determined to provide better medical and care supports, so that they can be confident that they will have help when they need it.
On top of the substantial changes outlined in the health chapter, we are determined to take a further series of significant steps forward for older people.
Pensions
The Green Paper on Pensions represents a comprehensive examination of the challenges and options facing Ireland in ensuring that all our people have adequate pension coverage.
With half of the working population not part of any personal or occupational pension scheme and few having the security of defined benefit schemes, it is vital that major steps are taken in the coming years to improve pensions.
In Government we will:
Increase the State pension to at least €300 per week by 2012.
Seek to develop imaginative proposals in the context of the Green Paper on Pensions, following a comprehensive consultation under the partnership process, with particular emphasis on an SSIA type initiative.
Aim to secure the target of at least 50% of pre-retirement earnings from all sources including social welfare supports, private and occupational pensions, and savings and investments.
Complete the scheme introduced in Budget 2007 to provide a personal pension payment for pensioner spouses in receipt of the Qualified Adult Allowance.
The payment will be set at the level of a full rate Non-Contributory State Pension and the income limits will be improved to enable more people to qualify for it.
The role and economic contribution of spouses working on the farm will be better recognised within the social insurance system.
Extend the Age Allowance to Qualified Adults over 80 years old.
Remove anomalies identified in the pension system.
Ensure women are treated fairly in pension provision.
Abolition of Compulsory Retirement
Today, the retirement age of 66 does not adequately reflect many people’s abilities or expectations.
In the private sector, there is no mandatory retirement age but an obligatory retirement age is normally set in the employee’s contract.
Those reaching retirement age should be allowed to retire if they wish, but those who would prefer to stay at work should be facilitated in doing so.
In Government, we will:
Introduce phased retirement which allows workers a greater say in their retirement age.
Increase the State Pension for every year that a person over 66 delays taking it.
Thus, additional PRSI contribution made after the age of 66 are added to the pension when it is drawn down.
Extend the amount those in receipt of the State Non-Contributory Pension are allowed to earn without it affecting their pension entitlement.
National Strategy for Older People
In light of the growing involvement of many Departments and agencies in this area, and of the successful model for developing policy relating to children and people with disabilities, we will develop a New National Strategy for Older People to include:
The development of operational plans by Government Departments clearly setting out objectives relating to older people.
Joined up thinking on initiatives serving older people.
Ongoing mechanisms to monitor progress and identify challenges.
We will also designate a Minister of State for Older People.
Education and Retraining for Older People
Fianna Fáil believes that older people should be enabled to return to education and training if they so wish.
In Government, we will:
Set up a training programme for all those over 50 for the teaching of computer literacy.
Through the availability of mature student places and the introduction of a new system of means-tested free fees for third level education, enable more older people to go to College.
Making It Easier for Older People to Stay in Their Own Homes
It is in everyone’s best interests that older people are supported and encouraged to remain self reliant and to remain actively involved in the well-being of themselves and their families, friends and the wider community.
Central to this is the provision and support for older people to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. In Government, we will:
Continue to provide support services for homecare.
Extend the Slán Abhaile programme. This programme provides older people with practical alternatives to long stay residential care by providing enhanced home support services.
Provide funding to local authorities for the provision of specialised housing units for older people which is both affordable and appropriate to their housing needs.
Facilitate the building of retirement villages.
Social Affairs
Fianna Fáil believes that the true measure of economic progress is to be found in the achievement of social goals.
Over the last ten years we have used the unprecedented resources generated through sound economic policies to implement a systematic programme of improvements in social supports.
The biggest measure of this is to be found in the dramatic reduction in poverty which has been achieved.
250,000 people, including 100,000 children have been lifted out of poverty since 1997 – the largest fall in poverty in such a short period ever measured in Europe.
Some of the measures which have made this possible include:
The basic rate of social welfare payment has been increased by 123.7%.
This represents a real increase of 58.2 %.
The implementation of a National Action Plan for Social Inclusion working across Government.
Long-term unemployment has been cut by two-thirds.
Families with children have received special attention, with child income support trebled.
The Next Steps Forward on Social Affairs
The achievements of the last ten years confirm that we have the possibility of becoming one of the few countries in the world to effectively eliminate consistent poverty.
If returned to government it is our intention to implement a further series of significant steps forward towards achieving our republican goal of equality of opportunity for all.
Carers
Having originally created the Carers’ Allowance, we have recently extended the numbers entitled to receive it by over 60% and have implemented a wide range of improvements in the range of services available to carers.
In the next five years we will:
Further increase eligibility for the Carers’ Allowance.
Double the non-means-tested Respite Care Grant to €3,000 per person cared for.
Extend the National Fuel Allowance Scheme to cover eligible carers.
Develop a programme of caring for carers, and implement the National Carers Strategy.
Lone Parents
Understanding the high risk of poverty faced by lone parent families,
we will implement a range of reforms to income support, including removal of the cohabitation restriction, replacing Lone Parents’ Allowance with a new and improved family friendly allowance,
and relaxing restrictions on work while retaining the social welfare payment.
Child Income Support
Following the dramatic increases in child income support which we have implemented, and having helped lift 100,000 children out of poverty, we intend to continue prioritising the interests of families with children.
In government we will:
Amalgamate Qualified Child Allowances and Family Income Supplements in order to develop a second tier of income support targeted at the poorest families.
Continue to increase Child Benefit.
Implement significant improvements to the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and the School Meals Programme.
Rent Supplement Scheme
The standard means test for Rent Supplement will be kept under review
and we will provide enhanced financial incentives to take up part-time employment, training, education or other progression items – minimising where possible, the impact of the sudden withdrawal of social welfare payments.
The emphasis will be on the provision of appropriate long-term housing solutions rather than on moving retention thresholds at which some or all of the social welfare payment is lost.
We will urgently examine the development of a mortgage support system for people on low incomes in order to reduce long term reliance on rent supplement.
We will ensure that people on the Rental Accommodation Scheme are pro-actively helped to move to housing accommodation appropriate to their individual needs
Coverage for Farm Spouses
The role and economic contribution of spouses working on the farm will be better recognised within the social insurance system,
following on from Budget 2007 which allowed recipients of Farm Assist to make PRSI contributions for the first time.
Disability
In Government we will:
Invest further in the Citizens’ Information Board to enable them to engage advocacy officials to assist people with disabilities in accessing their entitlements.
Free Travel
Having successfully delivered the commitment to All-Ireland Free Travel for pensioners
, and removed the 40 years old restriction on peak time travel,
we will:
Urgently examine the introduction of Free Travel for Irish citizens of pension age particularly those resident in the UK when visiting Ireland, and press the European Commission to examine a similar EU wide scheme.
As part of the modernisation of customer services, replace the existing paper travel pass with a plastic card which can be used on all public transport services which offer the facility of free travel.
Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS)
The success of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) will be further enhanced by the establishment under legislation of a new structure with national leadership for the 21st century which maximises and recognises the current local voluntary involvement together with a strong professional role aimed at continuing to provide strong and confidential support for its clients.
MABS will also be given a central role in increasing access to affordable credit for low income earners and social welfare customers.
Family Support
We will continue to fully resource the Family Support Agency and its programmes of Counselling, Family Resource Centres, etc.
Disability
Fianna Fáil was the first Irish party ever to set out a comprehensive commitment to addressing the specific needs and rights of people with disabilities.
In the last ten years there has been a dramatic change in terms of legislation, planning, specialist service provision and access to mainstream services and activities for people with disabilities.
This has been achieved as a direct result of consultation with people with disabilities their families and carers and includes the following actions:
The first National Disability Strategy has been developed and commenced.
The Strategy sets out a comprehensive package of legislation, policies and targets.
€220 million will be spent on residential and community facilities alone.
Delivering the Strategy is part of the core business of Government, of all Departments and public bodies.
Equality legislation for people with disabilities has been enacted
which has been praised internationally as modern and forward-looking.
World Class disability legislation has been enacted providing for independent assessment of needs, a statement of service provision and improved accessibility of public services.
Six Government departments have set out sectoral plans to improve the services they provide for people with disabilities.
A mandatory quota for the employment of people with disabilities in public services has also been put in place.
Thousands of day, residential and respite care places have been created and extra sheltered accommodation places have been put in place.
The Next Steps Forward for Disability Services
Fianna Fáil in Government is determined to continue to prioritise the interests of people with disabilities over the next five years, through a series of significant next steps forward.
We are committed to ensuring that the Strategy is driven and managed from a whole of Government perspective and it will be overseen and supported by the Department of An Taoiseach.
Fianna Fáil, will for each year of the Programme for Government, set out the objectives and outcomes to be reached in the NDS having regard to the vision and long term goals for people with disabilities as set out in Towards 2016.
Health & Children
In government we will:
Commence, by June 2007, the provision for an independent assessment of need for all children with disabilities under five years as a legal right.
Build on this by providing a legal right to independent assessment of need for all persons with disabilities.
Implement appropriate standards in service delivery to people with disabilities.
Improve data and information gathering in the health services in order to more effectively plan and deliver health services to people with disabilities.
In addition to redeveloping the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, we will also increase the existing rehabilitation bed capacity.
Education
In government we will:
Complete the roll out of the Education For Persons With Special Educational Needs Act, giving all children with special needs the right to an Individual Education Plan to ensure the best outcome for them, and putting in place a new appeals procedure.
Ensure that all teachers and assistants have access to specialist training.
Provide for improved access to lifelong learning for adults with disabilities.
Communications
In government we will:
Fast forward subtitling and sign language interpretation targets for people who are deaf or hard of hearing,
and audio description for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Ensure An Post will address access issues at company owned post offices within two years.
Enterprise and Employment
In government we will:
Put in place a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities which will help people into work in all sectors.
Ensure the implementation of the quota for the employment of people with disabilities in the public sector.
Allow people with disabilities to work without losing key essential medical card cover after 3 years.
Ensure that people with disabilities have full access to accessible vocational training.
Provide access to flexible and responsive supports and programmes to enable people with disabilities to gain, retain and progress in employment.
Environment and Local Government
In government we will:
Make public buildings, footpaths, parks, information and services more accessible to people with disabilities, with real targets set and achieved.
Plan from the outset for accessibility of public services and local authority facilities.
Reform the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme to improve equity and targeting.
Enforce building regulations to ensure appropriate accessibility for new buildings, as well as buildings which undergo major refurbishment.
Ensure that developers are reminded at pre-planning stage of their obligations to make buildings accessible.
Welfare
In government we will:
Offer people with disabilities further improved pathways to participation in employment or education, avoiding the benefits trap.
Implement the Citizens Information Act, which provides for an independent personal advocacy service for people with disabilities.
Continue to make improvements in the support for Carers.
Publish a review of the Cost of Disability payment.
Transport
In government we will:
Implement our strategy for making public transport accessible, with detailed actions for implementation in the areas of air, bus, taxi, rail and sea transport.
Address illegal parking in disabled car park spaces through enforcement, increased fines and public awareness.
Review the eligibility criteria for disabled driver and disabled passenger scheme and other adaptation schemes.
Asylum, Immigration & Integration
Most western countries experienced a surge in asylum and economic immigration in the last decade.
This has brought with it many challenges in a country such as Ireland where there has been no significant historical experience of dealing with immigration.
It has also brought new opportunities to broaden our social and cultural horizons.
In recent years we have worked hard to improve the asylum and immigration processes and promote successful integration.
We have:
Dramatically expanded the staffing of the Refugee Applications Office to ensure that decisions are made much faster.
Made the strategic decision to welcome workers from the new EU member states to fill vacancies in the services, construction and other sectors.
Brought in new legislation to establish a green card system for people with much-needed skills.
Provided 1,450 language support teachers in our schools to meet the needs of children whose first language is not English.
Put in place the National Anti-Racism strategy to root out racism and promote tolerance and understanding.
The Next Steps Forward on Asylum, Immigration & Integration
We understand that further significant action is required to ensure that our asylum system is robust,
that a comprehensive immigration policy is implemented
and that our new residents are integrated within the wider community.
Therefore we are proposing a number of next steps forward in this area.
Asylum
We recognise that asylum is a complex, long-term issue that requires action at national, European and international levels.
We will ensure that Ireland fully meets its obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention and other international human rights organisations, to which Ireland belongs.
In addition we will:
Integrate the present asylum and pre-deportation examinations into one streamlined process that will deal with cases in a speedy manner.
Ensure that the functions currently carried out by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) are subsumed into the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS).
Establish a new body with an expanded remit, the Protection Review Tribunal, to replace the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
The Protection Review Tribunal will ensure that applicants continue to have access to a fair appeals process, while providing additional powers to the Chairperson to ensure greater consistency in decisions across the system.
Act to uphold the integrity of the asylum applications system by providing for a more effective removals system for failed applicants.
Immigration
Fianna Fáil recognises that a fair and strategic immigration policy is imperative to sustaining a strong economy.
We welcome immigrants who come here to work legally to support Ireland’s development and we will help them to become full and active participants in Irish life.
In government we will:
Speedily enact the proposed Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill. The Bill will:
Overhaul the body of Irish immigration legislation which dates back to 1935.
Set out in an integrated approach, the whole process for foreign nationals coming to the State, staying here and, when necessary, being required to leave.
Ensure that one of the conditions of residence in Ireland will be an undertaking to keep the peace, be of good behaviour and comply generally with the law of the land.
Further develop the scheme for family reunification for family members of non-EEA national workers in the State.
Introduce a scheme for establishing a status of long-term resident which will apply to persons with more than five years’ residence in the State.
Progress in the context of the Employment Permits Act 2006, the introduction of a “green card” or permanent labour migration system for people with certain skills.
Complete the phased implementation of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
Integration
We understand the need to ensure that our new residents are welcomed and that effective integration is supported. Therefore, we will:
Develop a national integration policy, based on equality principles
and taking a revised and broader view of social inclusion which builds on the experience of other countries.
Create an Office of the Minister for the Integration of Immigrants under the direction of a dedicated Minister of State to implement the national integration policy.
The Office will bring together in one administrative unit key officials from relevant government departments who provide services to immigrants.
Increase the number of language support teachers to 1,800 and review language requirements across government.
Continue to promote national campaigns aimed at challenging racism and promoting understanding of diversity.
Lasting Peace and Irish Unity
The Peace Process the Sinn Féin leadership initiated well over a decade ago has positively transformed the Irish political landscape.
Problems that only ten years ago seemed intractable are now being addressed one by one.
In the post-Good Friday Agreement period,
increased all-Ireland co-operation
is creating huge opportunities for everyone.
Sinn Féin has driven the peace process.
As the only all-Ireland party, we continue to drive the agenda for positive change.
Since we last went before the people of the 26 Counties to seek a mandate in 2004, the IRA has taken a historic unilateral initiative that has opened unprecedented democratic opportunities.
Subsequently, Sinn Féin negotiators secured additional progress on the delivery of the Good Friday Agreement.
We began 2007 by taking our own historic unilateral initiative on policing.
More recently Sinn Féin made an agreement with the DUP and the historic first public meeting between Sinn Féin and the DUP took place in Stormont.
Since then Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley have been working together to prepare for the return of the power-sharing institutions.
Sinn Féin is the largest nationalist party in the northern Assembly
and the Executive with a Deputy First Minister and Junior Minister, a Minister for Education, a Minister for Agriculture and a Minister for Regional Development.
We have commenced the process of jointly governing the 6 Counties
and the all-Ireland political institutions
and we are committed to do our part to ensure this succeeds.
Our negotiators also continue to work tirelessly to bring about further progress in ongoing talks with the Irish and British Governments and with unionists.
Over the past decade, republicans have proven our ability to negotiate successfully.
We have shown leadership by taking major and sometimes difficult decisions in the national interest.
Sinn Féin has brought a new energy and a new dynamic to Irish politics
and there is a lot more we want to deliver.
One of the best ways for Irish citizens to assist further progress in the process towards a lasting peace,
reconciliation and unity is a strong vote for Sinn Féin in this general election.
A persuasive Sinn Féin mandate in the 26 Counties will further strengthen the hand of our negotiators, weaken partition and build greater all-Ireland links,
leading us closer than ever before to the reintegration of our nation.
All political parties claim to support peace and unity – Sinn Féin delivers.
We will continue to lead in the Peace Process
and to act as Irish unity’s champion in the new Dáil.
The Sinn Féin Platform on Irish Unity
Sinn Féin has delivered on our promise to provide a peaceful strategy to achieve our central objective of Irish unity and independence.
It is essential that we build on the achievements to date by taking the next steps.
The vast majority of people on the island now recognise that partition is restricting political, economic and social potential.
There is growing support for all-Ireland planning in both the public and private sectors and in civic society.
As a result we now see significant practical initiatives with the capacity to improve everyday life for all, such as the introduction of an all-Ireland energy market.
Clearly, support for reunification is growing
and it is time to start the real work to prepare the transition to unity.
We believe there is a political onus and national responsibility on the Irish Government to formulate and implement a specific strategy to promote and achieve the democratic objectives of national self-determination,
Irish territorial reunification,
political independence,
sovereignty, and national reconciliation.
We propose that the incoming Irish Government begin the practical planning now by producing a Green Paper on Irish Unity.
This should commence with a process of comprehensive consultation, engagement, persuasion and negotiation with a view to securing active and widespread support for a future United Ireland.
By definition such a process must involve all the people of this island,
including all of the social partners that constitute civil society.
It must involve a process of dialogue with unionists on the basis of mutual respect.
It must by necessity involve a negotiation with the British Government
and a meaningful and substantial Peace Dividend from both Governments.
It also needs to have an international dimension seeking specific forms of support from popular and political opinion in Britain,
the Irish diaspora and the international community.
In addition to the proposed Green Paper process, we would immediately extend representation and the franchise to the 6 Counties electorate,
engage in all-Ireland economic planning
and pursue a focused programme of direct positive engagement with unionists.
The Sinn Féin Record in Leinster House:
Our Dáil team consistently urged the Taoiseach and Government Ministers to pursue the Peace Process and the All-Ireland Agenda ever more vigorously, especially in their dealings with the British Government.
We urged full inquiries into the policy of collusion by which British forces and their agents carried out hundreds of killings,
including many in the 26 Counties between 1972 and 1994.
We backed the demands of Justice for the Forgotten and the family of Cllr. Eddie Fullerton,
among others, for the truth about British collusion in murders in this State.
We published proposals for a Green Paper on Irish Unity,
tabled a Dáil motion to this effect and sponsored a full-scale Dáil debate on this motion – the first such debate in decades.
Sinn Féin Priorities in Government:
A Green Paper on Irish Unity
Complete a Green Paper on Irish Unity within one year,
identifying steps and measures to promote and assist a successful transition to a United Ireland.
Give all stakeholders in society on the island an opportunity to take ownership of the debate on the Green Paper and to participate in the process this initiates.
Appoint a Minister of State with the dedicated and specific responsibility of driving forward and developing policy options and strategies to advance the outcomes of the Green Paper
and to direct and co-ordinate the Government’s all-Ireland policies across Departments.
Refer the Green Paper to a dedicated Joint Committee of the Oireachtas on Irish Unity to monitor, assess and report progress on implementation.
Extension of Representation and Franchise to the 6 Counties
Introduce 6 County elected representation in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Legislate to extend to the 6 County electorate the right to vote in Presidential elections.
Delivering Justice for Victims of Collusion
Continue to demand full independent and public inquiries into British state collusion
and demand British Government co-operation with such inquiries.
Seek proper support for the families of those killed as a result of collusion.
All-Ireland Economic Planning and Unionist Engagement
Begin the process of co-ordinating economic development, service provision and planning on an all-Ireland basis.
Produce a genuine National Development Plan.
Include the business and agricultural sectors,
the trade unions,
and the community and NGO
sectors in this all-Ireland planning process.
Commence a specific process of outreach to the unionist community to involve them in this planning as equal partners, in keeping with the principles outlined in Sinn Féin’s new Charter for Unionist Engagement.
Without question, Sinn Féin is the party with the greatest commitment to strengthening the All-Ireland political institutions.
To advance this priority Sinn Féin in government will work to:
Expand the areas of all-Ireland co-operation and increase the number of all-Ireland Implementation Bodies.
Establish the All-Ireland Inter-Parliamentary Forum.
Establish a Six County Civic Forum and the All-Ireland Consultative Civic Forum.
Ensure maximum co-ordination and co-operation between the human rights and equality bodies north and south and real progress towards the All-Ireland Charter of Rights.
Pursue a comprehensive programme to maximise all-Ireland economic and social planning across a range of areas outlined in the following sections of this manifesto.
Secure a referendum on Irish Unity to be held simultaneously, north and south.
Equal Access to World Class Public Services
When people elect a Government to act on their behalf and pay taxes to fund Government initiatives and programmes,
they rightly expect and deserve provision of public services in return.
That is what the Social Contract is all about.
In Celtic Tiger Ireland, however, essential services are not made available equally to all.
Rather, the quality of services available to you depends increasingly on your ability to pay over and above your taxes.
Despite ample wealth in the State, public provision is shrinking
and double taxation for services in the form of service charges and user fees is on the rise.
The net result is unequal two-tier healthcare,
housing,
education and childcare.
Sinn Féin believes that one of the most fundamental roles of Government is to make world class public services
– including and especially the basics: healthcare, housing, education and childcare – equally available to all as of right.
This is what we are committed to deliver for the people of Ireland.
Healthcare is a Right
Sinn Féin believes that healthcare is a fundamental human right.
We now have the resources in this State to realise this right for everyone:
not only to ensure that all people have equal access to world class health services,
but also to effectively tackle the factors leading to poor health for many – social and economic inequality.
While health spending has increased under the current Government, they have stubbornly maintained the unequal two-tier public-private system,
thus wasting public money in a system that is not only inequitable but inefficient.
The symptoms of consequent crisis in our health services are well known – manifested in the scandalous situation in A&E units, long waiting lists and the shortage of beds and staff.
In an era of unprecedented wealth and spending on healthcare
the continued inequalities in health and in access to health services are inexcusable.
They are an indictment of successive Governments run by all the establishment parties.
Many parties now make claims about opposing the two-tier health system.
But only Sinn Féin has a credible plan to establish healthcare
on the basis of full equality.
The Sinn Féin Healthcare Reform Package1
Sinn Féin proposes a new universal public health system for Ireland that provides care to all free at the point of delivery,
on the basis of need alone,
and funded from general fair and progressive taxation.
We are also proposing fundamental re-orientation of the health system to adopt a central focus on prevention, health promotion and primary care (including mental healthcare and full spectrum addiction treatment services),
and on ultimately eliminating the underlying social and structural causes of ill-health and premature death, such as poverty and inequality.
We plan to restructure the health service to reconfigure delivery on an all-Ireland basis
to make it more efficient and locally accessible, by introducing a single All-Ireland Strategic Health Executive to oversee all services.
And we plan to make delivery more responsive to the communities served by establishing locally accountable Community Health Partnerships
bringing together public representatives, service users, advocates, health professionals and systems experts to collectively manage delivery of all local health services on the basis of need.
We plan to enshrine the right to healthcare in the 1937 Constitution,
in a future All-Ireland Charter of Rights and in legislation, making this a fully enforceable right in Irish courts.
We also plan to establish a Health Ombudsman to provide an administrative remedy short of the courts,
in the interests of speedier and less expensive resolution of disputes
and redress regarding violations of the right to healthcare.
Furthermore, we will introduce equality-proofing
and human rights-proofing
to all health policy, law and practice, and public health-proofing of other areas of law and policy.
Of course, pursuing the other aspects of our economic and social programme will increase social and economic equality
and therefore have a positive impact on health outcomes for all our people.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team stood firm in support of the public system and public patients and led the fight against privatisation,
including the allocation of land at public hospital sites to developers of private hospitals
– a scheme that has no mandate and is being fast-tracked in the run-up to the general election.
We fully supported people campaigning across the State for services to be retained in their local hospitals
We initiated a Dáil debate on the failures of the current healthcare system and
used the opportunity to set out our positive proposals for a universal health system based on equal access for all.
With our party, we launched a campaign for Healthcare as a Right,
meeting healthcare workers, local groups and the general public throughout Ireland.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
A Phased Introduction of Universal Healthcare as a Right
Begin to reverse privatisation of healthcare by immediately ending tax breaks for private hospitals
and the land gift scheme and investing all health funding in the public system.
Provide full medical cards for all under the poverty line
and all under18s (as a transitional measure towards a fully universal public access service) in the first Sinn Féin Budget.
Make all new hospital consultant posts public-only.
Ensure working conditions, promotion prospects and remuneration sufficient to maintain trained staff in the public service,
halting the exodus from the public system and from the country.
Immediately establish a Healthcare Funding Commission to report within a reasonable time-frame on the projected costs of the transition to an all-Ireland system
of universal healthcare provision (taking into account all spending on health services under the current systems, including state funding and spending on private insurance),
and to make recommendations on how the State can best harness our resources in the interests of more equitable and efficient delivery.
Hold a referendum to amend the current 1937 Irish Constitution to include the right to healthcare.
A New Emphasis on Primary Care and Prevention
Develop a network of modern and accessible Primary Care Treatment Centres run by properly-resourced multi-disciplinary and multi-agency Primary Care Teams.
Start this process by completing the rollout of the Primary Care Centres promised throughout the State on an accelerated timetable.
Appoint salaried GPs to work in the Primary Care Teams
and negotiate to phase in salaried contracts for all other GPs.
Make advanced screening services (ie national breast and cervical cancer screening) available locally, promptly and widely
– based on risk criteria rather than age alone – to ensure early detection of cancers and other illnesses.
Equality in Hospital Care
Introduce a timetabled and fully resourced strategy to deliver into the public hospital system the additional 3,000 hospital beds required.
Plan for enhanced provision of essential public nursing home beds,
community care facilities
and home care,
to take pressure off A&Es and ensure care delivery in the most appropriate setting.
Halt the over-centralisation of hospital facilities,
reverse cutbacks in services at local hospitals,
and institute a national plan for the provision and resourcing of hospital care,
including clear access targets within an equality framework.
Configure all hospitals to ensure that emergency services are available as locally as possible.
For the vast majority of the population, these services should be located less than 45 minutes travel time away.
No one should be more than one hour’s travel time from an A&E unit when the three critical access factors are taken into account:
hospital location, road conditions and ambulance provision.
Invest significantly in the ambulance service,
including upgrading of the existing fleet,
and introduce an air ambulance fleet.
A New Emphasis on Mental Healthcare
Fully implement the Mental Health Act
2001 and the recommendations of the Government’s Mental Health Expert Group as set out in their report A Vision for Change (2006).
Introduce a spending programme to counteract decades of underfunding,
followed by ring-fencing at least 12% of the health budget for mental health services,/ as recommended by the UN World Health Organisation.
Reconfigure primary, secondary and children’s/adolescent mental healthcare services
to manage a shift away from secondary services over the next 5-10 years,
so that the vast majority of mental healthcare is provided by Primary Mental Healthcare Teams (providing a 24 hour service).
Establish a network of step-down services
and other comprehensive community supports for transition out of secondary care facilities.
Establish an All-Ireland Mental Health Commission
to promote and implement the best standards of care within the mental health services
and to fund research on an all-Ireland basis.
Suicide Prevention
Invest in further clinical and community-based research on suicide prevention
and produce a fully resourced, comprehensive All-Ireland Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Full-Spectrum Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services
Expand the spectrum of drug and alcohol treatment services
available and dedicate adequate funding to eliminate treatment waiting lists.
Rights-Based Hospice and Palliative Care
Establish a timetable for implementation of the 2001 Report of the National Advisory Committee on Palliative Care.
Ensure regional equity in the delivery of hospice and other palliative services.
Introduce a state-funded scheme for Compassionate Care Leave.
Provide funding for the development of paediatric palliative care.
Justice for Victims of Healthcare-Related Scandals
Establish a statutory inquiry into the scandal of organ retention in the Irish health system.
Carry out an investigation into the barbaric practice of symphisiotomy.
New National Children’s Hospital
Proceed with the new National Children’s Hospital at the Mater Hospital site as a centre for provision of tertiary paediatric services.
This new hospital should provide services on an all-Ireland basis
and should include services that are not currently provided on the island of Ireland
and for which children have to travel abroad.
Retain the maximum possible number of paediatric services and in patient beds at  Tallaght Hospital.
Prevent the closure of the current Children’s Hospital there.
Retain Crumlin Children’s Hospital as a child-focussed healthcare facility, including primary, secondary and tertiary care for children.
Increase the overall hospital bed capacity
for children.
Put in place a coherent structure to co-ordinate acute hospital services in the Dublin region,
maximising the resources in all the hospitals in the capital to ensure their most effective use.
Provide appropriate paediatric hospital services in the regions.
Housing is a Right
Sinn Féin believes that housing, like healthcare, is a basic inalienable human right.
We now have the resources to realise this right for everyone:
to ensure that all people have access to adequate and appropriate, secure accommodation,
and also to end exploitation by unscrupulous landlords, mortgage lenders, estate agents and management companies.
Most importantly, we have the means to end homelessness in Ireland for good.
Current Government policy favours wealthy developers, speculators and landowners over first-time and principal home buyers
and particularly over individuals and families on lower incomes who are priced out of the housing market.
Thus they find themselves on social housing waiting lists or locked into highly risky 100% mortgages they cannot afford,
or renting substandard properties at high rents from unscrupulous and largely unregulated landlords, or at worst on the street.
This policy has created a crisis in housing with over 43,000 households on local authority waiting lists – some for up to seven years – and thousands of homeless people.
Meanwhile one in seven houses in the State lies vacant.
Only Sinn Féin has a credible plan to make housing available
to all on the basis of full equality.
The Sinn Féin Housing Reform Package2
Sinn Féin proposes fundamental reform to ensure that everyone has equal access
to adequate, appropriate and affordable accommodation as of right.
We will bring social housing to the centre of provision,
with an ambitious five year social housing new build programme.
We propose radical complementary measures to intervene in the housing market
to prevent the anti-social private housing speculation that fuels house price inflation to ensure that more affordable housing is available and is actually affordable.
We are also proposing the introduction of a more robust and comprehensive system of tenant rights
including rent control.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team called on the Government to adopt and implement the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) recommendations on the provision of social housing.
We proposed a legislative amendment to section 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2004, proposing a requirement to price housing units designated as ‘affordable’ at cost-price, meaning a price equal to the cost of construction.
We published and debated legislation to remove the ‘get-out clauses’ for developers under the Planning and Development Acts that allow them to pay off local authorities rather than provide social and affordable housing units (the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2006).
We published and debated legislation to introduce a constitutional right to housing/ (the Twenty-Seventh Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill 2003, which sought to amend Article 40 of the 1937 Constitution).
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
The Right to Housing
Hold a referendum to add the right to adequate and appropriate housing in the 1937 Constitution.
Establish a Housing Ombudsman to provide an administrative remedy short of the courts.
Establish a National Housing Strategy and a National Housing Agency to plan and regulate all aspects
of housing provision on an all-Ireland basis.
Establish a Department of Housing with a full Minister.
Increase Supply of Social and Affordable Homes
Construct 70,000 new units by 2012 to accommodate social housing need (a new build rate of approximately 14,000 per annum).
Amend the Planning and Development Act (2002) to remove the ‘getout clauses’ for developers in Part V, and stipulate that all new developments must allocate 30% to social and affordable housing, with at least 10% social and at least 10% affordable housing.
Oppose any sale of public land to private developers by local authorities in the absence of adequate social housing provision,
and reject any local authority housing plan that does not contain social and/or affordable housing or does not promote social inclusion.
Plan to end local authority waiting lists,
with a target to supply suitable accommodation to 70% within two years.
Legislate to require that any social housing stock sold is replaced on a unit-for-unit basis,
with the profits received by local government ringfenced and matched by central government to replenish social housing stock.
Use Compulsory Purchase Orders to acquire land, derelict properties and properties vacant for 12 months or more for social housing,
allowing a fair and transparent appeals procedure.
Ending Homelessness
Develop an All-Ireland Strategy on Homelessness,
with meaningful targets and adequate resources to progressively reduce and eliminate homelessness (beginning with elimination of street homelessness by the year 2010).
Put the existing homelessness strategies and Local Homelessness Action Plans on a statutory footing.
Honour the commitment made in Towards 2016 that by 2010 nobody will be living in emergency accommodation for longer than an actual emergency.
Making Principal Home Ownership more Accessible
Legislate to ensure that housing units designated as ‘affordable’ are priced at cost-price.
Increase mortgage interest relief for first time mortgage-holders and principle home owners who earn up to the average industrial wage.
Take strong action against speculative practices that inflate housing prices, such as abolishing tax incentives
that effectively encourage unfair competition between investors and first-time or principal home buyers, introducing a tax on windfall gains from planning decisions in recognition and compensation for betterment by the State,
and imposing a statutory ceiling on the price of land zoned for housing.
Support and promote co-operative housing ownership.
Establish Universal Design and Lifetime Adaptability Guidelines and incorporate them as legal a requirement for all new build houses, with a national monitoring system for implementation.
Protect the rights of Principal Home Owners
Create a Housing Agency to establish legally enforceable codes of practice for developers, house builders and vendors, mortgage brokers, estate agents, auctioneers and solicitors.
Establish a Housing Ombudsperson with a remit to monitor and enforce the relevant codes of conduct, provide an effective remedy short of the courts, monitor the implementation of housing and planning legislation, monitor changes in house prices, mortgage interest rates and professional fees, support enforcement of snag lists and ensure an end to gazumping.
Strengthen regulation of property management companies   and legislate to ensure all public areas are managed by the local authority and not outsourced to private management.
Legislate to improve the standard of housing and apartments including increasing the minimum size of one bed and two bed apartments, increasing the ceiling height,
ensuring that balconies are recessed into apartment space and ensuring that social and affordable housing is built to the same standard as private housing in the same development.
A Tenants’ Rights Charter
Introduce a system of comprehensive legal protection for tenants,
including: a system to regulate, monitor and enforce security of tenure standards (regarding length of leases, deposits and evictions), accommodation standards (including a right to maintenance and repairs)
and a system of rent control for fair rent.
Legislate for the power to bar unscrupulous landlords from letting property.
Sustainable Warm Homes
Fully enforce environmental sustainability regulations on new build and review these to ensure they are sufficiently robust.
Ensure all new social housing is fitted with energy-efficient alternative energy sources.
Introduce Low Income Full Cost Residential Renewable Energy Grants for Fuel Allowance recipients, increase the Greener Homes Scheme grants to cover a greater percentage of approved cost,
and extend the Warmer Homes Scheme to meet the needs of an additional 10,000 homes a year.
Promoting Housing for Sustainable Rural Communities
Reform the planning laws to support the right of rural dwellers to build on their own land or to purchase and build locally.
Create a grant scheme to encourage first-time house buyers in rural areas to renovate derelict houses.
Expand of the Rural Cottage Scheme.
Sustainable, Safe Communities
Provide for direct community participation in housing planning by establishing statutory Local Community Planning Fora.
Legislate to ensure that a community’s social needs
(including local access to employment, to services such as public transportation, healthcare centres, childcare centres and schools and to amenities such as public play and recreation areas, and shopping and social centres) are incorporated into all housing schemes from the earliest stage.
Support high-density housing developments only where they are designed to support family living, located in mixed tenure areas, have good transport links, shops, schools, essential services and sufficient open public spaces.
Introduce a positive area-based ‘Good Community Agreements’ scheme involving both public and private tenants and property owners, to enhance community input, participation and ownership of local strategies to prevent and tackle criminal and anti-social behaviour.
Ensure consistent criminal sanction against criminal behavior/ and that eviction is not used in place of prosecution.
Education – Reaching Our Full Potential
Sinn Féin believes that education is a basic and fundamental human right.
Education should be free universally available as of right
and assist everyone without exception to develop her or his full potential.
Instead of guaranteeing everyone equal access to the highest standard of education, current Government policy has entrenched educational inequalities
and a two-tier system.
Educational expenditure is one of the lowest as a percentage of income.
More than one in four primary school pupils are being taught in overcrowded classrooms and many are taught in run-down facilitie.
Too many children still go to school hungry.
Almost one quarter of children of working-class parents do not sit the Leaving Certificate.
The numbers leaving school without qualifications have remained unchanged since the 1990s,
and an estimated 1,000 students per year cannot even make the transition from primary to secondary education.
Approximately one quarter of the adult population have literacy and numeracy problems.
Meanwhile taxpayers pay €80 million per annum to subsidise the private education system,
even though the children of the majority will never have a chance to attend these exclusive fee-paying schools.
Sinn Féin has a credible plan and the political will to make education available to all as of right,
on the basis of full equality.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team introduced a motion regarding the provision of education for children with special needs,
pressed the Minister for Education and Science to increase resources for the National Educational Psychological Services
and to reduce waiting times for children to be assessed, demanded more speech and language therapists
and for their placement under the remit of the Department of Education and Science,
and urged the Minister to protect the rights and entitlements of children with autism and special needs and to open the Middletown Centre of Excellence for Autism.
We supported the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) campaign to reduce class sizes,
and pressed for more funding for modernising and constructing school buildings and other educational facilities.
We called for an increase in the maintenance grant for third level students to reflect the true cost of living.
We urged the Minister to increase resources for adult literacy,
proposed a progressive national strategy on lifelong and work-based learning focused at those most in need of training, re-training and upskilling,
pushed for the abolition of part-time fees
and advocated the introduction of paid educational leave.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Increased Public Investment in Education
Spend at least 6% of GDP on education, in keeping with best international practice.
Increase funding per pupil at pre-school and primary level
so that expenditure will be more equal to that at third level, ensuring that schools in areas of high disadvantage receive proportionately more funding and resources.
Review the current system of ownership and management of schools with a view to ensuring equitable education for all,
sufficient school places for all pupils wherever they live and the best management of schools.
Set a target to eliminate the need for subsidy of educational provision by charitable organisations (in the form of schoolbooks and school breakfasts and lunches) within the lifetime of the next Dáil.
Place a new emphasis in the school curriculum at primary and secondary on civic education,
the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and encouragement of voluntary activity across society.
Education needs to prepare children for life and encourage creativity and human thought
and not just be about providing the next generation of workers.
Increased Investment in Early Years Education
Immediately extend the Early Start pre-school project to all schools with pupils from disadvantaged areas, with a maximum child to adult ratio of 12:1.
Introduce a universal pre-school session of 3. 5 hours per day, five days a week for all children aged 3-5 years (see also next section on childcare).
Increased Investment in Primary Level and Reduced Class Sizes
Invest towards implementation of a pupil-teacher ratio of 15:1 in all primary schools.
As a first step, immediately reduce all class sizes for children under 9 years of age to a maximum of 20 pupils.
Legislate, plan and budget for immediate upgrading of substandard schools and building of premises where required.
Ensure that the practice of educating children in prefab buildings can be eliminated within the lifetime of the next Dáil.
Introduce a standard statewide school breakfast
and lunch programme to supply nutritious food free of charge to schoolchildren.
Provide adequate funding for the National Education Welfare Board to increase the number of Educational Welfare Officers to combat school absenteeism and low attendance.
Provide greater support for children with additional needs.
Increased Investment and Reform in Post-Primary Education
Immediately establish a primary school database to track the transition of students from primary to secondary school
and increase funding for schools with low Leaving Certificate completion rates.
Invest to progressively reduce class sizes at post-primary level.
Increase internet use for educational purposes
and reduce the computer/student ratio to 1:5 by substantially increasing investment in ICT provision for schools to €130 per pupil.
End the Junior and Leaving Certificate examination and points system in favour of more continual assessment.
End the practice of School League Tables.
Guaranteed Right to Free Education
Extend the school book rental scheme nationwide.
Introduce a new Back to School Allowance that absorbs the current Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and introduces an additional payment for books and other expenses to more accurately reflect the true costs of sending a child to school.
Extend eligibility for this scheme to all families in receipt of Family Income Supplement in addition to those in receipt of social welfare.
Keep funding for schools fully public and under democratic control
instead of relying on the private sector to protect schoolchildren from manipulative advertising and corporate agendas.
Support for Multi-Denominational Schools and Facilitation of Cross-Border Access
Allocate adequate funding for the Educate Together schools.
Facilitate cross-border access to the school that is geographically closer.
Eliminate cross-border fees affecting third level students from the 26 Counties who choose to study in the 6 Counties and vice versa.
Support for Special Needs Education.
Allocate more resources for the National Educational Psychological Service to reduce waiting time for assessment and subsequent early detection of special educational needs.
Fund appropriate supports within mainstream classrooms for children with special needs.
This should include adequate provision of special needs assistants where required.
Adopt an all-Ireland approach
to securing rights and entitlements for those with autism through a rights-based legislative framework.
Prioritise action on autism to ensure the earliest intervention for all who need it,
access to Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) and enhanced funding for people with autism, their carers and support organisations.
Deliver the All-Ireland Centre of Excellence for Autism at Middletown, Co. Armagh,
which was initiated by Martin McGuinness when he was Education Minister.
Educational Equality for Traveller Children
Fully implement the Traveller Education Strategy
and develop supplementary national education strategies for the inclusion of Traveller,
Roma and other ethnic groups
as necessary to systematically address segregation and combat discrimination,
prejudice and racism in the educational setting.
Positive Educational Integration of International Newcomer Children
Incorporate teaching of different cultures, beliefs and languages into the mainstream curriculum to foster interculturalism.
Improve training for ESL teachers
and remove caps on the number of language support resource hours.
Facilitate and assist children from immigrant backgrounds to learn and/or retain their native languages.
Promotion of Irish Language Learning and Irish Medium Education
Improve provision of naíscoileanna and Gaelscoileanna.
Keep the Irish language as a core subject at post-primary level with increased emphasis on oral and aural Irish.
Provide facilities in every third-level institution for students to pursue their studies through the medium of Irish.
Establish an Irish language university.
Increase Government support for accessible and affordable Irish language learning for adults.
Provide adequate training and support for all teachers to have a basic qualification in Irish,
reform an Scrúdú le hAghaidh Cáilíocht sa Ghaeilge, and introduce certification and mobility measures to ensure that teachers of Irish from the 6 Counties can work in the 26 Counties and vice versa.
Facilitate schoolchildren, particularly those from disadvantaged areas, to attend the Gaeltacht for immersion learning.
Teach a second subject through Irish at primary school level such as PE, music or drama.
Increased Accessibility of Level/Further and Higher Education
Set targets to increase the number of students in further and higher education, especially part-time and adult students
and other
groups (including people with disabilities and Travellers).
Provide third level access programmes for schools with a low take-up of places.
Provide adequate financial assistance and support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete their courses.
Double the third level grant to reflect the true cost of living.
Implement the McIver Report recommendations to ensure that Post Leaving Cert Colleges (PLCs) receive adequate resources and other supports necessary for optimal functioning.
Establish a high-quality child care infrastructure
to support adult education.
Launch a vigorous all-Ireland
adult literacy campaign with a substantially increased budget and a separate budget for the provision of ESL
(English as a second language) to newcomer international adults.
Provide adult education free to all up to third level qualifications,
abolish part-time fees and grant part-time students eligibility for maintenance grants.
Produce a coherent National Strategy on Workplace Learning.
Introduce paid learning leave for workers with Junior Cert qualifications or less.
Supporting Our Teachers
Support appropriate improvement in pay, terms and conditions.
Cover costs for trainee teachers during their sixteen-week training placement for which they receive no pay.
Provide increased funding for continuous professional development opportunities.
Provide laptop computers to all teachers to facilitate greater effectiveness in lesson preparation and administration activities.
Support teacher exchange schemes
between the two jurisdictions on this island and
work for the harmonisation of curricula.
Recognise the seriousness of school indiscipline including bullying, and allocate the necessary supports to assist schools and teachers
to promote discipline in schools and ensure a positive learning environment.
Childcare is a Right
Sinn Féin believes that childcare is a right and policy must be geared to the needs of children and families
rather than solely to the needs of the labour market.
This State still has one of the lowest rates of childcare provision in the EU.
Childcare costs almost one third of the average disposable income of a double-income family.
It has become the ‘second mortgage’.
Many families on lower incomes either cannot get childcare at all, or else must pay a disproportionate amount of their income on massive weekly childcare bills.
The lack of quality, affordable childcare prevents many women who wish to do so from working outside the home.
There is an urgent need to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for childcare provision.
While some progress has been made since Sinn Féin first raised this demand in 2004 the Government has been far too slow
to act and progress has come very late in its term of office.
The Sinn Féin Childcare Reform Package
We are proposing State-led provision of regulated comprehensive childcare,
to be made available to all equally as of right,
and funded by general direct and progressive taxation.
This will include universal early childhood education and care,
universal pre-school for 3 to 5s,
and an afterschool childcare system.
In addition, there needs to be a greater recognition of the economic and social value of parents providing full-time care directly.
All parents who wish to spend the first year caring for their child full-time should have the right to be enabled to do so,
and employers should provide more flexibility for working parents to provide childcare directly when necessary, without penalty.
We also propose that full-time family caring work should be recognised by the pension system through gender neutral Carers’ Credits.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team sponsored a motion calling for the development of a comprehensive and accessible childcare infrastructure
and a wide range of measures to assist parents, whether caring for children fulltime in the home or working outside the home
and using childcare services.
We organized a conference on Best Practice in Childcare in Europe,
hosted by our MEP MaryLou McDonald under the auspices of Sinn Féin’s EU Parliamentary Group GUE/NGL.
We consulted widely with the childcare sector before publishing our 2005 and 2006 pre-Budget priorities documents Putting Children First
and distributed tens of thousands of newsletters throughout the country outlining our proposals and challenging the Government on its failure to deliver.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
A Phased Introduction of Universal Childcare as a Right
Immediately provide for a universal pre-school session of 3. 5 hours a day, five days a week for all children aged 3-5 years.
Expand the National Childcare Investment Programme to increase capital, staffing and operational funding.
Review the Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities and investigate the introduction of legislation in line with Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to require developers to construct childcare facilities in housing developments
and to transfer these to the ownership of the local authority upon completion.
Establish a single accrediting body to inspect, evaluate and register all early childhood care and education providers.
Establish national pay scale for early childhood care and education workers.
Introduce universal training and accreditation for childcare workers.
Centralise childcare provision under a single Department.
Immediately establish a Childcare Funding Commission to report within a reasonable time-frame on the projected costs of the transition to a comprehensive all-Ireland system
of universal childcare provision and to make recommendations on how the State can best harness our resources in the interests of more equitable and efficient delivery.
Expanded Support for Parents Providing Full-Time Care
Set a time-frame for the introduction of one year at 100% of pay and introduce two weeks paid paternity leave entitlements
(as an interim step towards four weeks leave) to harmonise these rights on an all-Ireland basis.
Commission a study, including widespread public consultation, to determine the best way to support those parents whose work is in the home caring for their children.
Introduce gender neutral Carers’ Credits into the pension system.
A Strong Economy, Sustainable Into the Future
Sinn Féin wants a strong economy
that is sustainable into the future.
We are committed to building and maintaining an economic environment that enhances enterprise and job creation
and that provides favourable conditions for business to operate in and for people to live and work in.
We believe in economic reintegration and sovereignty.
We believe in regional equality
and balanced regional development.
We know that achieving all these things will require government intervention and planning and public investment.
Current Government policy has failed to address rising inflation,
an overreliance on foreign direct investment
and an over-dependence on the construction sector.
The government has failed to promote balanced regional development
and infrastructure and service provision is still not good enough in many parts of the State.
The levels of research and development (R&D) remain too low.
There is no coherent plan for developing indigenous business or for training and upskilling the workforce.
There is a worrying and unacceptable move by some employers to sustain competitiveness on the back of low-paid and exploited migrant workers,
and the Government has not prevented this.
Furthermore, the active dismantling of the public enterprise sector has impeded the economy overall:
for example the privatisation of Eircom significantly slowed broadband rollout.
The Government has also failed to proactively plan to meet future challenges to the economy,
including specifically planning for workers employed in vulnerable sectors.
According to the National Competitiveness Council, in the five years to March 2006 manufacturing industries lost over 32,000 jobs.
Many of the jobs lost in rural areas are not being replaced -
with devastating local effects.
Many of the new jobs cited by the Government as replacing those lost are only part-time.
That’s not good enough.
Sinn Féin is the party most committed to developing a regionally balanced, single economy.
We are the only party who understands the urgency of diversifying our competitive base to safeguard our economic health.
We are the party most committed to the development of the indigenous business sector
and to protecting jobs and workers.
Only Sinn Féin has a credible and comprehensive plan to grow and spread prosperity.
The Sinn Féin Platform for a Strong Economy
Sinn Féin’s plan for a strong and sustainable economy involves five main priorities:
building the all-Ireland economy
including all-Ireland economic planning
and balanced regional development;
providing world class infrastructure
and public services to enhance Irish competitiveness;
supporting enterprise
and job creation;
ensuring that workers’ rights are fully protected in this process;
supporting agriculture which provides   20% of all jobs outside the public sector.
We plan to diversify the basis of Irish competitiveness by investing in infrastructure,
public services, R&D and a highly educated workforce,
and by intervening to bring down business costs in key areas such as energy and insurance.
We propose to assist indigenous business development by supporting small and medium enterprises,
social economy (non-profit community or cooperatively-owned) enterprises,
and strategic sectors identified for growth.
We plan to invest in research and development,
entrepreneurship and innovation,
enterprise clusters and networks, and education
and training.
We would focus on provision of infrastructure
and investment on an all-Ireland basis.
We also propose a single currency,
a single labour market
and a harmonised tax regime for the island.
Building the All-Ireland Economy
Economic reunification and sovereignty is at the core of Sinn Féin economic policy.
Partition is wasteful and inefficient for the Irish economy as a whole.
It involves duplication of government and public service structures.
It imposes an unnecessary administrative burden on those wishing to do business in both jurisdictions.
It means we are competing with ourselves for economic investment, as well
as with the rest of the world.
It is now widely recognised that our economic future depends on moving towards all-Ireland economic integration.
Despite the recent lipservice given to all-Ireland development by the Government parties in particular,
Sinn Féin is unquestionably the party most committed to deliver this.
We also need to invest and plan for balanced regional development
so that no part of the country is excluded from the benefits of economic growth.
The State must make robust interventions to reverse the legacy of underinvestment and neglect and bring economic equality to the regions
including and especially the Border, Midlands and West of the Shannon and the Bann.
Sinn Féin’s decision to choose the Ministry for Regional Development over other important portfolios
signals the degree of priority we would accord this in Government.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Economic Reintegration and Regional Equality
Sinn Féin proposes to accelerate all-Ireland economic reintegration pending reunification.
We will take all necessary measures to end economic discrimination
and regional inequality
by proactively planning and investing to rebalance regional development.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team consistently made the case for the development of the all-Ireland economy across the public and private sectors,
and for the integration of services,
so that we maximise the resources of our island in all areas from the health services to the mobile phone network.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Strengthening the All-Ireland Economy
Adopt and implement pro-active all-Ireland economic development strategies,
including an all-Ireland Economic Development Plan.
Amalgamate inward investment agencies such as IDA Ireland
and Invest NI into a single All-Ireland Investment Agency
with a remit to assist indigenous industry.
In the short term, ensure that they work together in a regionally-balanced manner,
rather than competing with each other.
Ensure maximum all-Ireland co-ordination in the use of EU funds.
Harmonise the fiscal and legislative business environments.
Begin an open debate on the benefits of one currency for the whole island.
Remove obstacles to island-wide labour mobility.
Achieving Balanced Regional Development
Adopt an all-Ireland Balanced Regional Development Strategy,
based on objective need criteria, to end the imbalance in financial support for economic development
and underinvestment in infrastructure along the border and in the west.
Establish a public investment programme to ensure that Government departments and agencies not only deliver investment to the regions
on an equal basis but proactively invest in historically neglected and underdeveloped areas to reverse the current imbalance.
Create new incentives for private investment
in areas of high unemployment
or social deprivation.
Providing World Class Infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of the most important pillars of competitiveness in the global economy.
The Government has failed to give this sufficient priority despite having the resources available.
The state of infrastructure continues to be an impediment to further, more regionally-balanced growth.
Business and workers urgently need improved public transport provision,
including an enhanced railway network.
Our transport system has never fully recovered from the closure of rail lines in the 1950s and 60s.
Public transport continues to be severely under-funded,
traffic gridlock is a chronic problem,
many areas lack railway provision
and there is a virtual absence of a rural community-based transport system.
Business and workers also need efficient and safe road networks,
and road networks in turn need planned development and proper maintenance.
Vast sums have been spent on construction and upgrading of national primary routes in recent years,
but much of this development has been uneven and significant gaps remain.
Enhanced air and sea port provision are also important to economic development,
and they deserve greater attention and State-led development on an all-Ireland basis.
Business needs communications infrastructure
for sustainable economic growth and competitiveness.
We lag behind other states in broadband provision.
As a result of the decision to privatise Eircom, we went from Europe’s second highest telecommunications technological availability
to 23rd in less than a decade.
In addition, the imposition of cross-border mobile roaming charges is not reasonable and needs to end.
An Post provides a valuable and effective service that reaches everyone throughout the State
and deserves safeguarding and diversification, not closures.
Business also needs affordable and reliable energy sources.
The Government has failed to develop domestic energy production and all-Ireland networks,
and has allowed Ireland to remain overdependent on foreign and nonrenewable energy supplies
and thus captive to oil price rises.
The domestic renewable energy sector is underdeveloped despite huge potential.
Some areas of the country still do not have natural gas connectivity.
In addition, rather than keeping electricity prices as low as possible in the public interest,
the Government has presided over unreasonable ESB increases as part of a cynical exercise in fattening the company for private sale.
Sinn Féin is strongly committed to deliver world class infrastructure.
We believe that infrastructure provision is one of the core responsibilities of Government.
The Sinn Féin Platform on Infrastructure Provision
Sinn Féin proposes to plan, configure and fund all infrastructure
– transport, communications and energy
– on an all-Ireland basis.
Development of these strategic sectors which are so essential to continued economic growth
cannot be left to chance and to the market.
They can be efficiently and cost-effectively run by the public sector
and should not be privatised.
We therefore propose that infrastructure development should be publicly funded and State-led.
We would prioritise environmentally sustainable public transport.
In energy provision, we would support accelerated development of affordable renewable energy as a priority as this is the way of the future,
and will also enhance increased Irish energy independence
and we would bring Ireland onto the right side of the ‘digital divide’.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team rejected the privatisation of our public transport system
and called for an increase in the subvention to Bus Átha Cliath and Bus Éireann in order to acquire more much-needed buses.
We sponsored a motion and Dáil debate opposing the privatisation of our national airline
and raised the concerns of Aer Lingus workers.
We called for increased rail usage to distribute freight and take trucks off our already congested roads,
and called for the speedy completion of the Western Rail Corridor.
We expressed our opposition to motorway and road tolls.
We opposed the privatisation of Eircom
and criticised the Government’s abysmal telecommunications record on broadband uptake and underprovision in rural areas.
We urged Minister to end the rip-off of mobile phone customers
and abolish roaming charges, a major problem in border areas.
We put pressure on the Minister for Communications to intervene to stop the closure of post offices,
especially in rural areas.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Increased Investment in an All-Ireland Public Transport Network
Increase investment in public transport, reject privatisation,
make  service more frequent and keep fares affordable.
Reverse the policy of phasing out rail freight
and institute a full review and restoration of this energy-efficient form of transport.
Reopen many of the rail lines closed in the mid to late twentieth century,
and plan for an extensive expansion of an all-Ireland rail network on an accelerated basis,
including an extended Western Rail Corridor serving Donegal and Derry,
the Derry-Dublin rail link, and the West Cork railway network.
Prioritise rapid construction of rail/metro links to Dublin Airport
and development of the Heuston-Connolly rail link.
Develop a rail link to Shannon Airport,
a Dublin-Navan rail link
and upgrade the Derry-Belfast rail link.
Increase funding and provision of buses in rural areas
and provide 500 extra buses for Bus Átha Cliath.
Legislate for mandatory public transport provision,
including park-andride facilities, to be factored into all major housing developments at the earliest planning stages.
Legislate and budget to ensure that all public transport is accessible to people with disabilities.
Building an All-Ireland Road Network
Build a North-West Motorway/high speed dual carriageway serving the route from Dublin to Donegal/Derry.
Complete the M3 to serve the hard-pressed commuters of Meath and
re-route it away from Tara, one of the nation’s most important historical sites.
Repeal the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006,
which undemocratically restricts the ability of citizens to challenge planning decisions and forces major projects through the planning process.
Oppose the use of Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) to finance road construction.
Abolish road tolls.
Increase public funding for road upgrading and maintenance.
Concentrate expenditure on increasing cycle lanes provision.
Adopt a biofuel policy including tax incentives for the production of ethanol
and provide incentives for car buyers to choose more environmentally friendly and efficient cars such as hybrid cars.
Improving Air Networks and Sea Ports on an All-Ireland Basis
Initiate an all-Ireland strategic review of the air industry, including carriers and airports.
Initiate an all-Ireland strategic review of the sea ports.
Use Public Service Obligations to ensure the delivery of air services in the west and north-west and on an all-Ireland basis.
Reverse the break-up of Aer Rianta,
and return Air Lingus and Irish Ferries to public ownership
or establish new companies in public ownership.
Universal Broadband and an All-Ireland Phone Network
Invest to bring the Irish broadband network up to a satisfactory level and bridge the existing gap.
Bring Eircom back into public ownership or establish a new company in public ownership.
Set a target by which all telephone lines must be ADSL-enabled.
Introduce all-Ireland co-operation
to integrate telecommunications systems on the island, thereby improving the service and reduce costs particularly for those in the border region.
Provide universal access to broadband on an all-Ireland basis.
Establish an all-Ireland mobile phone network, with reasonable all-Ireland tariffs.
Saving, Developing and Diversifying An Post
End the closure of Post Offices throughout the country.
Reject privatisation of An Post
and ensure it remains as a state asset under public control.
Support the further diversification of the rural post office network into other areas of service provision.
Enhancing All-Ireland Energy Networks, Controlling Prices, Developing Renewables
Develop an All-Ireland Energy Strategy
to expand all-Ireland networks,
accelerate development of the renewable energy sector
with progressive targets towards energy independence, and bring domestic energy prices down.
Ensure that an all-Ireland energy market benefits all through the provision of affordable sustainable energy
and security of supply.
Put an end to the artificial inflation of ESB prices,
which results from the energy regulator’s liberalisation remit
and puts an undue burden on small businesses in particular.
Supporting Enterprise and Job Creation
Sinn Féin believes that indigenous business development is crucial for a sustainable economy.
Under current Government policy the enterprise environment has actually deteriorated.
Businesses large and small are now feeling the pinch from the combined impact of poor infrastructure
and gridlock and spiralling energy, insurance, water and waste management prices.
Smaller businesses get second class treatment.
Only now, in the runup to the General Election, is the Government  finally beginning to take measures to promote R&D.
Sinn Féin is committed to supporting enterprise and job creation
and to balanced regional development.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Irish Entrepreneurship
Sinn Féin proposes a package of measures aimed specifically at supporting and developing indigenous enterprise.
We would continue to encourage more Foreign Direct Investment
but give the same type of supports to small and medium businesses.
We would also support agriculture which provides 20% of all jobs outside of the public sector.
We also believe that publicly-owned companies make an important contribution to the Irish economy and business environment
– particularly where these are established in strategic sectors – and moreover that these can be run both efficiently and profitably.
We do not propose to continue the downsizing of the public sector in the 26 Counties,
but rather to retain profitable and especially strategic sector companies in public ownership
and to develop new companies where there is scope for this.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team consistently opposed the privatisation of essential public utilities that are vital to a healthy business environment.
We consistently pressed for an increased focus on supporting indigenous industry
and promoting R&D amongst Irish companies.
We pushed for meaningful intervention where jobs were lost as multinational companies moved their operations to lower cost economies.
We demanded improved redundancy protections for workers
and that the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment carry out an assessment of the relevance of training courses provided by FÁS in meeting the needs of business and those seeking employment.
We called attention to Government failures to focus business development supports on areas such as County Donegal
that have experienced significant job losses and have above average levels of unemployment.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Support for Private Enterprise
Support the development of indigenous micro and small and medium enterprises (SME) and social economy enterprises.
Establish an All-Ireland Small Business Task Force
to develop an islandwide strategy for the indigenous SME sector.
Improve support for start-up businesses
including provision of increased business advice, guidance and training plus dedicated management development.
Adopt an All-Ireland R&D Strategy co-ordinated through the enterprise development agencies,
central and local government, business, trade unions and educational institutions – including a programme of extra assistance to SMEs and new businesses to develop business plans for R&D.
Adopt an All-Ireland Clustering Strategy that both targets the new emerging technologies and strengthens the potential in existing economic sectors such as financial services, agriculture and food processing.
Make extra funding and supports available to develop clusters
in the more underdeveloped and disadvantaged areas such as the Border Midlands West region.
Initiate a targeted and funded strategy to pre-emptively up-skill workers vulnerable to future jobs-losses
following an assessment of sectors and geographic regions likely to experience job losses in the next five years.
Provide specific recycling depots for small business to enable them to reduce their waste management costs.
Initiate a specific Redundancy to Entrepreneurship scheme to assist workers
who have become redundant to establish their own businesses.
Support for Public Enterprise
Establish a State oil, gas and mineral exploration company.
Establish a publicly-owned company to
develop Irish renewable energy resources for the benefit of the nation.
Actively pursue the return of Eircom, Aer Lingus and Irish Ferries to public ownership
or establish new State companies in these sectors.
Oppose the privatisation of the ESB and other public sector companies.
Explore and pursue possibilities for establishing new profitable companies in public ownership, particularly in strategic sectors.
Developing Social Economy and Cooperative Enterprise
Adopt a co-ordinated and comprehensive Social Economy Strategy on an all- Ireland and cross-departmental basis.
Establish an appropriately-funded, all-Ireland Social Economy Development Agency
(including a dedicated Co-operative Development Unit) to develop the sector strategically.
Ensure increased investment in community-owned enterprise units
and infrastructure by the enterprise development agencies.
Provide specific government support for social economy community-run projects in the renewable energy, housing and agricultural sectors.
Promoting Workers’ Rights
Sinn Féin believes that workers’ rights are basic requirements of a healthy economy and a just society.
We aim to end exploitation and unsafe working conditions
and to ensure that everyone can have rewarding employment,
a fair income
and a good quality family life.
Government policy has steadily eroded workers’ rights over the last decade.
Employers displace well-paid workers for lower-paid labour because they can do so in the absence of strict regulation and stringent enforcement.
Evidence of exploitation involving abuse of migrant workers is mounting across the State.
Yet weak regulation and poor enforcement have resulted in low rates of inspection and prosecution for violations.
The rate of working households in poverty has doubled over the last decade as a result of low-paid employment.
Non-enforcement, insufficient penalties and deficiencies in law all contribute to high-levels of work-related illness, injuries and fatalities.
In 2005, 73 people lost their lives in work-related accidents.
Sinn Féin has established a new Trade Union Department
and published a detailed plan to bring workers’ rights back to the centre of economic and social policy.
The Sinn Féin Workers’ Rights Platform
Sinn Féin’s priority is to better the lot of all workers in Ireland.
We advocate employment based on equality with fair conditions and a secure living wage,
in a work environment that is safe, healthy and free from harassment and discrimination.
Rogue employers who  operate dangerous workplaces or unsafe work practices or who exploit workers and violate labour law in Ireland must be made subject to stringent penalties.
Employers must be made to recognise trade unions and trade unions’ right to organise recognised in law.
Sinn Féin recognises that Irish workers and trade unions have legitimate concerns regarding ‘displacement’ by lower-paid workers, including migrant workers.
‘Displacement’is not so much the exchange of Irish workers for non-Irish workers but the exchange of organised workers with good pay, conditions and benefits for unorganised workers who are ripe for exploitation.
The solution to displacement therefore lies in regulating employment standards (including pay and working conditions) for all workers,
and their effective enforcement to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable workers for profit.
Sinn Féin also proposes enactment of a new generation of employment equality legislation.
Particularly as we move towards an all-Ireland labour market,
we propose an upward-harmonisation of employment equality law – as well as all other workers’ rights – on an all-Ireland basis.
We plan to enshrine workers’ rights in the 1937 Constitution in a future All-Ireland Charter of Rights and in a United Irish Constitution.
These will include the right of workers organise,
to join trade unions,
to negotiate contracts of employment, and to strike.
Sinn Féin would establish a Department and Minister of Labour.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team published the Corporate Manslaughter Bill 2007 to make employers accountable for the death of an employee in the workplace as a result of negligence.
We regularly called attention to cases of migrant worker exploitation,
and proposed amendments to the Employment Permits Bill to enshrine equal rights for migrant workers,
to change the law so that all employment permits would be issued directly to the worker and to extend family reunification and employment rights.
We used the Private Members Time in the Dáil to initiate a debate calling for the establishment of a stand alone Department of Labour Affairs.
In the Dáil Sinn Féin has consistently demanded government action on workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Promoting Trade Union Rights
and Establishing a Department of Labour.
Hold a referendum to enshrine in the 1937 Constitution the right of workers to form, join
and be represented by trade unions,
to negotiate contracts of employment, and to engage in industrial action and trade union activities.
This will have the effect of making trade union recognition mandatory.
Harmonise labour law upwards on an all-Ireland basis.
Establish a Department of Labour with a full Minister and a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Labour Affairs.
Ending Exploitation
Establish a toll-free 24 hour Workers’ Rights Helpline.
Determine the optimum number of labour inspectors,
as well as the legal and other professional supports required and immediately implement any necessary increase.
Introduce a penalty points system against rogue employers who consistently violate labour law,
with a range of penalties including a bar from eligibility for public contracts and removal from the companies register.
Review, strengthen and introduce where necessary new Employment Regulation Orders covering service sector employment.
Increase regulation of the apprenticeship system
and extend minimum wage legislation to cover apprentices.
Increase regulation and introduce licensing of employment agencies.
Increase regulation of contractors and subcontractors to end exploitation through coerced bogus self-employment.
Adopt public purchasing and investment policies to bar companies engaged in exploitation of workers
or anti-trade union activities from receiving Government contracts.
Introduce public disclosure (‘whistleblowers’) protection legislation.
Combating Displacement by Promoting Equal Rights for Migrant Workers
Legislate to establish rights and entitlements for migrant workers equivalent to those of host society workers.
Amend the law to provide that in all cases employment permits are issued directly to migrant workers and not their employers,
and to extend migrant workers’ rights to family reunification and employment.
Combating Low Pay
Immediately increase the minimum wage to 60% of the average industrial wage
and abolish age and experience differentials.
Provide for stringent enforcement of minimum wage legislation and increase penalties for non-compliance.
Establish a Low Pay Commission responsible for developing a timeframed National Strategy for the Reduction of Wage Differentials between low paid and high-paid workers.
Initiate a review of workers’ pay and conditions with a remit to recommend remedies for deficiencies identified.
Sick Pay, Overtime Pay and Better Protection from Redundancy
Introduce a Statutory Sick Pay Scheme.
Introduce a statutory entitlement to overtime pay.
Legislate to introduce redundancy protection from the first day of employment with no minimum qualifying hours per week,
and increase redundancy payments to a minimum of four weeks of pay per year of service.
Pension Justice
Investigate the introduction of a basic non-means tested pension supplementing second tier (PRSI/Carers’ Credit-related) pensions.
Enforcing and Improving Workplace Health and Safety
Immediately introduce a package of robust prevention and enforcement initiatives to tackle work-related illness, injuries and fatalities
including increased prosecutions and penalties for violations of health and safety law and standards.
Introduce a package of programmes to tackle other work-related hazards such as toxic stress and bullying as well as truly effective workplace drug and alcohol policies.
Increase the number of health and safety inspectors to a level that enables the Health and Safety Authority to effectively fulfil all its responsibilities under existing worker health and safety legislation.
Introduce a penalty point system to deal with companies and employers that consistently transgress health and safety law,
with a range of penalties including removal from the companies register and a bar from eligibility for public contracts.
Immediately enact corporate manslaughter legislation.
Develop a ten-year All-Ireland Health and Safety at Work Strategy.
Promoting Work-Life Balance
Introduce a statutory right to request flexible working arrangements
that requires all employers to ‘seriously consider’ this and only permits refusal where there is a compelling business case.
Promoting Employment Equality
Amend employment equality legislation to prohibit discrimination on all the following grounds: race, ethnic origin (including membership of the Travelling community), nationality, colour, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, disability, age, social or economic status, marital or family status, residence, language, religious belief, criminal conviction (save where the offence would be objectively incompatible with job responsibilities), political or other opinion or membership of a trade union.
Introduce legal sanctions on those who promote or incite discrimination or who directly participate in sectarian, racist, homophobic, or sexual harassment or other victimisation on any of the prohibited grounds.
Legislate to prohibit employment discrimination against former political prisoners.
Develop a specific state-wide strategy to tackle high rates of unemployment among disabled workers with effective supports for the public and private sector to recruit people with disabilities.
Introduce subsidy and tax relief measures on the cost of workplace adaptations to accommodate workers with disabilities.
An Equal Economy, Where Wealth is Shared
Sinn Féin believes that we need an economy that is not only strong but also equal.
The world’s most equal economies are also among the most stable and prosperous.
That is what we want for our country.
The 26 Counties may have become one of the world’s richest state but it is also one of the most unequal.
The policies of successive Irish Governments have created an economy in which the wealthiest 20% now earns more than ten times the income of the poorest 20%.
Inequality is not good for the economy – it is wasteful and costly.
It is not equality but poverty that drains public resources.
It is far better for all of us when everybody can make their full contribution to our economy and society.
When everyone is working and earning a decent income, they are also spending, supporting businesses and paying their fair share of tax to ensure that the Government can provide all the services, social supports and other infrastructure needed to grow and spread prosperity.
All parties claim to oppose poverty and support equality.
Only Sinn Féin has brought the Equality Agenda to the centre of all our economic and social policy.
The Sinn Féin Platform for an Equal Economy
Equality is at the heart of Sinn Féin’s agenda for government.
We believe in the right to universal access to excellent healthcare, education and childcare.
We believe in the constitutional right to a home.
We believe in building the economy
and using the wealth created for the public good.
We believe that people should pay according to their ability to pay
and that everyone should have equal access to the highest quality public services, infrastructure and social protections.
For ten years there has been unprecedented revenue available to the Irish Government.
They have had the ability and the resources to deal effectively with poverty and inequality.
They have had the resources to deliver an end to the crisis in the health service, to build social and affordable housing, to provide a decent education system and to introduce comprehensive childcare.
They have chosen not to.
Sinn Féin would make different choices.
Sinn Féin believes that public finances should be used to share the wealth by ensuring the highest possible quality of infrastructure
and public services are available equally to all as of right.
We undertake to guarantee that everyone’s basic needs and rights to food and warmth, housing, health, education and childcare are met
and that all have the benefit of a comprehensive regime of social protections.
We are committed to eliminate poverty through the progressive achievement of the equitable distribution of the wealth of Ireland amongst the people of Ireland.
These objectives require taxation justice,
a new emphasis on the generation of significant non-tax revenue, and public spending policies that are sustainable, transparent and accountable and that eliminate waste.
They will also require the removal of many of the current constraints on our economic sovereignty imposed by the EU.
Eliminating Poverty
Sinn Féin believes that poverty must be eradicated.
Our society is now in a better position than ever before to achieve this.
Yet the current Irish Government has failed to use our economic success to benefit everyone.
It has failed to share the abundant wealth with those most vulnerable such as the unemployed, large families, lone parent families, those in low-income jobs, older people, and people with disabilities.
As a consequence of bad policy choices and wrong priorities, nearly one in five people are still at risk of poverty and struggle to make ends meet.
Almost 275,000 people are still poor enough that they lack some of the necessities of life including adequate food, shelter, warmth and clothing.
We have one of the highest rates of child poverty in the EU and OECD.
Over 60,000 people cannot afford to adequately heat their homes.
All parties pay lip service to eliminating poverty.
Only Sinn Féin brings this commitment into the heart of our economic policy
and elevates it as our principal economic objective.
Elimination of poverty is a national aspiration shared by virtually every Irish person
and we are committed to do what is necessary to achieve this goal.
The Sinn Féin Anti-Poverty Platform5
We believe there is a positive obligation on government to eliminate poverty by providing a comprehensive system of social supports to ensure that everyone has a decent quality of life,
does not lack for essentials,
and can access appropriate education and employment.
Social welfare reforms should not be used to force people into low paid employment, creating a larger substratum of ‘working poor’.
We propose to take all necessary steps to genuinely ease the transition from welfare to work through education and employment measures,
accessible and affordable childcare,
and appropriate and adequate income supports.
We propose a package of measures to raise household incomes,
enhance specific supports for low-income families,
eradicate food and fuel poverty,
bring early school leavers back into education,
increase support for unpaid care
work and tackle disability-related poverty.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team was to the fore in highlighting the fact that poverty has left a significant proportion of the population marginalised and excluded.
We called the Government to account for it inaction on the National Anti-Poverty Strategy commitments
and on child poverty.
We repeatedly raised with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the fact that social welfare payments and pensions are not adequate to keep people out of poverty.
We opposed cuts in Community Employment (CE) and J1 schemes.
Every year at Budget time we pressed for additional assistance for lone parents who experience disproportionate levels of poverty.
We were foremost in pressing for an increase in Child Dependent Allowance when the government maintained a freeze on it.
We continuously raised the issue of fuel poverty,
including specifically pushing for additional measures to address the impact of fuel price increases.
Since 2004 our Pre-Budget Submissions Putting Children First and Putting Low Income Families First included proposals aimed at ending poverty for those in employment
and increasing social protections of those out of work or working in the home.
We also put forward specific proposals for helping the less well off cope with rising costs.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Raising Household Incomes
Increase the minimum wage to 60% of average industrial earnings, index-linked to inflation.
Eliminate the discriminatory lower rate of pay for young people.
Set a new longer term benchmark against which the evolution of social welfare rtes can be measured.
Sinn Féin is proposing that a new short term target of 35% of gross average industrial earnings be set.
Double the Living Alone Allowance.
Increase the Family Income Supplement by €68 per week and make it an automatic payment.
Ensure all those eligible take it up, reduce the qualifying working hours
and make it more flexible to recognise seasonal work.
Extend eligibility for the Back to Work Allowance to include those who are unemployed for more than 12 months.
Extend the new Early Childcare Supplement to include children aged 6 to12.
Enhancing Specific Supports for Lone Parents
Ensure lone parents can keep their rent supplement for at least 3 years of full-time work and
continually if they are in part-time employment.
Introduce adequate supports to ensure that lone parents in work can access well-paid and meaningful employment,
including a comprehensive revamp of schemes for bringing lone parents back into the formal education system as a crucial element of incentives to return to work.
Ensure that proposed reforms replacing the One Parent Family Payment with a Parental Allowance
are accompanied by adequate education/training and childcare supports
Remove the cut-off point for the new Parental Allowance (proposed when children reach the age of 7).
Eradicating Food and Fuel Poverty
Increase the weekly fuel allowance payment to €25,
or the equivalent in an allowance for units of electricity and heating fuel,
for those on social welfare payments and families eligible for FIS, and extend the fuel allowance from the beginning of September to the end of
April – for 34 weeks instead of the current 29 weeks.
Bringing Early School Leavers Back Into Education
Make the Back to Education Allowance available to all those on low incomes after six months unemployment.
Increasing Support for Unpaid Care Work
Abolish the means test for carers,
substantially increase the Carer’s Allowance, respite care and support services and provide for needs assessment and training of carers.
Increase the Orphan Guardian Payment to the level of the Foster Care Allowance.
Change the criteria to ensure that grandparents or other family members do not have to agree that the child in question was ‘abandoned’ in order to receive payments to help look after the children of their drug-addicted sons and daughters
and bring supports into line with provision for foster parents.
Tackling Disability-Related Poverty
Introduce a Cost of Disability Payment on a phased basis, to offset extra costs related to disability
and in recognition of disproportionate rates of poverty and unemployment among people with disabilities.
Sharing the Wealth by Financing Better Services, Infrastructure and Social Protections
The most important reason for a Government to raise revenue is for the purpose of financing world class public services
and infrastructure
and social protections from which all benefit or potentially benefit.
Sinn Féin believes that this revenue should be raised fairly:
those who have more should pay more, and those who have less should pay less.
No tax should be unfair or onerous.
No one should have to pay twice as a consequence of service charges and user fees for what should be public services already paid for through taxation.
The Government should also seek to raise revenue through methods other than taxation or selling off public assets in order to reduce the burden on taxpayers to the greatest possible extent.
The current system for raising public finance is unjust and needs to change.
Successive Government policy has created a situation whereby some of the wealthiest people on this island pay no income tax at all
– while people on middle incomes are not only paying tax at a rate of 41%,
they also pay disproportionately more of their income on tax through consumption tax (VAT) as well as on the indirect or double taxes of service charges and user fees.
Almost one third of the overall tax take is raised through consumption tax.
When taken together with excise duties, it amounts to nearly half of all tax receipts.
The coalition government redistributed wealth in favour of the alreadywealthy.
They have allowed the super-rich to skim off the rest of us.
They have also sold off public assets and profitable public companies and contracted public services out privately.
This policy has not only deprived the State of important sources of non-tax revenue,
it has also subjected people to double taxation.
All parties claim to be in favour of fair taxation but none has made it happen.
Only Sinn Féin has the will to tackle the super rich
– the exploiters who make super profits by the clever use of tax loopholes
– and to maximise public ownership of profitable companies.
Sinn Féin is committed to public finance reform and taxation justice, to enhancing non-tax sources of public revenue, and to spending the public wealth responsibly
– on the delivery of services,
infrastructure and social protections for the benefit of all.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Taxation Justice
Our basic principle is that people should pay according to their ability to pay.
We believe that tax policy should be about reducing the burden on low and middle-income people as much as possible.
It should be about encouraging local small businesses and the social economy.
It should be about ensuring there is sufficient revenue to deliver strong public services,
Infrastructure
and social protections.
That is what we would work to see delivered in government.
It is not fair that the lower-paid should subsidise the wealthy, as is currently the case.
Everybody should pay their fair share – and no more than that.
The tax system needs to be overhauled to bring about a fair and equal system where everybody pays their fair share.
Our first order of business for tax policy will be eliminating and closing all the loopholes and reducing the burden on the lowest-paid.
We are also committed to reclaim and protect Irish sovereignty over taxation from encroachment by the EU
and to harmonise the tax system on an all-Ireland basis.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team was to the fore in highlighting the injustices at the heart of the present tax regime.
Each year we made a Pre-Budget Submission to the Minister for Finance setting out what we believe should be Government priorities.
We demanded the lowering of the burden on low and middle income earners by reducing
and removing regressive features that penalise them,
including ending indirect taxes such as refuse charges that constitute double taxation.
We were foremost in demanding the abolition of damaging, costly and unjust tax giveaways to speculators and developers.
We strongly opposed Government use of tax breaks to promote the private healthcare business.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Reducing the Tax Burden on the Lowest Paid
Keep those on or below the minimum wage out of the tax net,
and set the minimum wage at a minimum of 60% of average industrial earnings.
Keep those on or below the average industrial earnings within the standard rate tax band.
Oppose the introduction of user fees and service charges for essential public services and review the existing charges
that apply to public services to plan for their reduction and removal.
Conduct a comprehensive review of the VAT system in order to identify the best ways to reduce the consumption tax burden on the lowest paid within present EU constraints,.
Campaign at EU level for repeal of the EU VAT Directive to restore Member State sovereignty on VAT,
and determine the most appropriate way to achieve VAT harmonisation on an all-Ireland basis.
Ensuring the Wealthiest Pay their Fair Share
Aggressively pursue tax evasion
and invest adequate resources for tax collection and enforcement.
Close all remaining legal loopholes that have allowed millionaires to pay no tax whatsoever.
Introduce legislation to end tax exile status – the ability of high income individuals to declare themselves ‘non-resident for tax purposes’.
Review all current tax exemptions and retain only those where the economic and social value clearly outweighs the cost of the exemption to the Exchequer (for example in the case of R&D).
Increase restrictions on the use of specified tax reliefs by high-income individuals, for example by introducing a ceiling on exempt income.
Fundamental Tax Reform
Conduct an early, comprehensive review of the tax system to be completed within one year,
in order to ensure a just and equitable system where everyone pays their fair share of tax but no more than that.
Work for the restoration of economic sovereignty and for EU Member States to retain complete control over taxation policy and strategy,
and in particular work for the restoration of Member State competence in relation to VAT through repeal of the EU VAT Directive.
Negotiate for tax harmonisation across the island.
A New Emphasis on Non-Tax Revenue
We aim to keep public service provision high and taxes as low as possible.
This means that finding other non-tax sources of public revenue must become a priority.
Sinn Féin would therefore put a unique new policy emphasis on maximising non-tax sources of revenue.
Current Government policy is not concerned with this.
In 2005 only approximately 1. 5% of overall Government revenue came from non-tax sources.
There is ample but as yet underdeveloped potential to realise significant revenue from profitable public companies, particularly in strategic sectors such as transport, communications and energy.
For example, in 2005 the Exchequer received in excess of €5 million in royalties from Marathon Petroleum,
in excess of €10 million from Bord Gáis Éireann,
approximately €73.5 million in dividends from the ESB
and it is estimated that the Corrib field may contain reserves valued at up to €21 billion.
The experience of Norway where the mineral exploration sector has become one of the engines of economic growth proves the benefits of state involvement in the natural resources sector in particular.
Earnings from oil and gas contribute almost one third of state revenue in Norway.
In contrast, the Irish Government has actually surrendered our entire stake in any finds,
reduced tax levels,
abolished royalties
and granted long-term frontier licences.
All this has been done at a great financial loss to the people of Ireland and the Exchequer.
The Sinn Féin Platform to Enhance Non-Tax Revenue
We would reverse the irresponsible policies of natural resource giveaway
and official neglect of opportunities to raise non-tax revenue by investing in profitable public companies.
Moreover, we would invest strategically in the accelerated development of the renewable energy sector,
as this is the way of the future: moving us towards environmental sustainability,
energy independence
and enhanced non-tax sources of public revenue.
We recognise that current EU rules impose some constraints on our objectives.
We would therefore work with allies in Europe for the necessary reforms at EU level to remove these impediments,
and we would also pursue specific exemptions similar to those achieved by Germany to allow Ireland to use State aid to finance reunification.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team published a motion advocating the creation of a public company to oversee mineral explorations
and the imposition of proper tax and royalties.
We raised these demands with the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources on numerous occasions.
We made a comprehensive submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport opposing the proposed privatisation of Aer Lingus,
wrote to the EU Commissioner urging an investigation of the attempted takeover of Aer Lingus by Ryanair,
repeatedly raised the airline privatisation issue with the Minister for Transport,
and moved a Dáil motion opposing the proposed sale of Aer Lingus,/ prompting a debate in the House.
Throughout this campaign we were in regular contact with SIPTU union leaders
and raised airline employee concerns regularly in the Dáil.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Reclaiming our National Resources
Reform the current exploration licensing and taxation regime and renegotiate oil and gas contracts.
Establish a State oil, gas and mineral exploration company that would actively participate and invest in exploration
which, alongside a proper revenue and royalties structure,
would ensure that such finds benefit the Irish people by providing additional revenue for the Exchequer.
Realising the Potential Revenue from Renewable Energy
Plan for strategic public investment in developing the renewable energy sector
including the establishment of a profitable company or companies in public ownership.
Set a target for becoming a net exporter of electricity from renewable sources.
Maintaining Profitable Companies in Public Ownership
Keep the ESB and all other profitable public companies in public ownership.
Actively pursue returning Eircom and Aer Lingus to public ownership.
Explore and pursue the possibilities for the establishment of new public sector companies.
Negotiate at EU level for an exception to the EU State Aid Rules similar to that conceded to Germany,
to assist post-partition reconstruction for reunification.
Responsible Spending of Public Wealth in the Public Interest
The big question for many people is whether the vast amount of revenues, generated from both the EU and taxation, are being put to the most efficient use.
The answer to that question is No.
Official incompetence and corruption have resulted in waste of public resources
and failure to meet budget and completion targets.
We all know about the faulty electronic voting machines,
the PPARS health computer system which does not work,
the overruns in the Port Tunnel and other major road and infrastructure projects.
There has been some improvement in relation to spending on major road projects in recent months but the overall problem remains.
The era of government squandering public finances has to end.
All parties claim a monopoly on fiscal responsibility,
but what we need are credible proposals to deal with the problem.
Sinn Féin is determined to change the bad planning and procurement policies,
the poor decision making and established practices
– and to challenge the vested interests, privatisation and lack of public accountability –
that have resulted in cost overruns and wastage.
We are equally determined to introduce new policies and practices that ensure responsible spending of the public wealth in the public interest.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Responsible Spending
Sinn Féin believes that publicly-funded projects must deliver on budget and on time,
and we would take the necessary steps to guarantee value for public money.
We propose to introduce efficiency and effectiveness audits to ensure that public spending is meeting economic and social goals.
We propose to end the wasting of public funds on Public-Private-Partnerships which are inefficient and ineffective.
We propose to introduce significant efficiencies in investment and spending through all-Ireland procurement.
And we propose to introduce more direct accountability for public spending and participation in public spending decisions through mechanisms
including the establishment of an All-Ireland Consultative Civic Forum.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team consistently drew attention to the extent to which public money is wasted through PPPs.
We used our annual Pre-Budget Submissions to call for equalityproofing and poverty-proofing of the Budget.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Introducing Efficiency and Effectiveness Audits
Subject public spending not just to ‘value for money’ efficiency audits but also to regular effectiveness audits against social and economic goals.
Ending PPP-Related Waste
Empower the Comptroller and Auditor General to examine all existing PPP projects for cost overruns,
revenue foregone and wastage against long-term cost and profit projections.
End the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
and reassess existing PPP contracts with a view to returning them to the public sector.
Introducing All-Ireland Efficiencies in Spending
Immediately implement public investment as a new area of all-Ireland co-operation,
operating as a formal partnership between the Strategic Investment Board in the 6 Counties and the National Development Finance Agency in the 26 Counties, with a remit to include coordination of State and local procurement strategies as well as public and social investment.
Establish an All-Ireland Procurement and Purchasing Agency accountable to the Dáil, Assembly and All-Ireland Ministerial Council to introduce greater efficiencies.
Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Public Spending
Establish a mechanism for participatory budgeting through the All-Ireland Consultative Civic Forum to increase accountability and to allow taxpayers and other voters to have direct input into budgetary priorities.
Practice multi-annual budgeting and ring-fence a meaningful proportion for programmes
aimed at reversing economic inequality and eliminating poverty.
Establish an All-Ireland Comptroller and Auditor General’s Office accountable to the Dáil, Assembly and All-Ireland Ministerial Council sited in the AIMC Directorate.
Equality for Rural Communities
Sinn Féin wants to see a new deal for rural Ireland.
We want to ensure that people can continue to live and work and count on a decent quality of life in rural communities.
We want to see agriculture and fisheries remain an important part of our rural and coastal economies.
We want to see the development of new and potentially dynamic sectors of the rural and coastal economies such as renewable energy production.
Successive Governments, led by all the establishment parties have presided over the economic and demographic decline of rural Ireland.
This decline is neither inevitable nor accidental but the result of decades of neglect and wrong policy
– the failure to act as a strong advocate for Irish farming, Irish fishing and rural communities as a whole.
It is also the result of a discriminatory approach to investment in off-farm employment, infrastructure and service provision.
We strongly believe that with equal treatment, planning, innovation, investment and other support,
rural and coastal economies, industries, businesses and communities can have a sustainable future.
Moreover, we are convinced that future viability – particularly of Irish farming, fishing and new rural industries – rests on their development within an all-Ireland context.
Sinn Féin is the only party fully committed to this.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Rural Regeneration6
Sinn Féin wants to empower rural communities to reach their maximum potential.
We want to create strong and sustainable rural communities supported by sustainable rural economies,
adequate infrastructure,
and equal access to housing and public services.
We believe that the means to achieving rural regeneration is through all-Ireland investment and planning underpinned by a commitment to Rural Equality.
Rural Equality requires in the first instance real decentralisation for balanced regional development.
This means more than the decentralisation of government departments:
it means decentralisation of investment and the incentives that create employment opportunities.
Sinn Féin will guarantee an equal level of provision of essential public services for all.
We will redress the current infrastructural deficits by extending rural transport and broadband networks.
We will ensure the safety of people living in rural communities by providing adequate levels of policing.
We will address the planning permission problem that is creating a crisis in rural housing and reducing the overall viability of rural communities.
Sinn Féin proposes a strategic programme for affirmative action in all these areas to redress the unequal treatment of rural communities to date.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team regularly raised the effects of overall Government policies on the quality of life in rural communities.
We argued for equality for rural hospitals and schools, transport and communications.
We argued against closures of rural post offices, cutbacks in rural policing,
and the planning restrictions that impede local people from accessing housing.
We published a Private Members motion on rural regeneration which triggered the most wide-ranging debate on the issue in the lifetime of the current Dáil.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
A Strategic and All-Ireland Approach to Rural Regeneration
Immediately commission an All-Ireland Rural White Paper that will take into account the needs of all those living and working in rural areas.
Agree a comprehensive, fully integrated, properly resourced All-Ireland Rural Regeneration Strategy –
in consultation with farmers and fishermen, rural businesses, rural communities and their representative organisations.
Introduce a package of incentives to create rural economic hubs.
Pursue rural policies that will sustain the long-term needs of the people without damaging our natural environment.
Introduce structures, mechanisms and practices that respect rural people’s right to participate more directly in decisions affecting their own community.
Increased Investment in Off-Farm Employment
Use an All-Ireland Balanced Regional Development Strategy to end the underinvestment and imbalance in financial support for the development of rural and coastal economies, particularly in the north western and border areas.
Support public and private sector decentralisation from the east coast by building the necessary infrastructure
for balanced regional development.
Create new incentives for investment
and implement a public investment programme in the rural areas of highest unemployment.
Actively promote and support entrepreneurship within rural communities,
especially co-operative and other ‘social economy’ ventures.
Provide greater access to start-up incentives for rural businesses.
The Right to Rural Housing and Responsible Rural Planning
Reform the planning laws to support the right of rural dwellers to build on their own land or to purchase and build locally.
Create a grant scheme to encourage first-time house buyers in rural areas to renovate derelict houses.
Expand the Rural Cottage Scheme.
Increased Investment in Rural Infrastructure and Services
Ensure equal access to essential infrastructure
and public service provision
including healthcare, education, childcare, transport, communications, policing, recreation and other essential services.
Establish a Rural Health Taskforce.
Remove the barrier to GP access in border areas, maintain and develop the rural hospital network,
and invest in an all-Ireland air ambulance fleet.
Upgrade all substandard rural schools.
Enhance investment in rural public transport and ensure planned
delivery of an all-Ireland road and rail network, with a focus on accelerated development in the western and border regions.
Save the network of rural post offices and support their further diversification.
Provide universal access to broadband services on an all-Ireland basis.
Ensure PEACE III funding specifically targets social need in the border corridor.
A Sustainable Future for Irish Agriculture
Agriculture remains an important part of rural life
and a key economic factor even for those not directly employed on farms.
Sinn Féin is committed to ensure that family farming is protected from further erosion.
Moreover, we are committed to achieve the revitalisation of Irish agriculture into the future.
An ever-increasing share of the price charged to consumers now goes to processors and retail conglomerates.
This is making it difficult for farmers to remain economically viable:
indeed, little more than half of dairy and tillage farmers and only 15% of beef farmers can achieve this.
Sinn Féin supported the introduction of the Single Farm Payment as part of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),
as it provides a potential means to allow family farms to increase their income and viability.
The Government failed to capitalise on this.
It has also failed to frame a strategy that would boost agricultural incomes through a focus on development of new sectors and food processing for higher value production.
The Government has accepted diktats from the EU even where these have proved disastrous for Irish farmers.
A prime example of this was its refusal to defend the Irish sugar industry,
which was sacrificed in an EU deal with the WTO and then asset-stripped by Greencore shareholders.
It also did not oppose EU moves towards the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops, which would be disastrous for the Irish tillage sector.
Nor did it defend the Irish beef sector from the threat posed by meat imports from third countries.
Sinn Féin will act as strong advocates for Irish farmers
and proactively plan to ensure a viable and sustainable future for Irish agriculture.
We have demonstrated the depth of our commitment by selecting the Agriculture Ministry in the northern Assembly over other competing priorities.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Revitalising Agriculture
Sinn Féin believes the reformed CAP will only benefit farmers if the Irish Government forms its own strategy to support the future of farming.
Such a strategy must be all-Ireland in scope.
It must focus on new areas of production including renewable energy crops
and organic farming, as well as higher value processing of Irish food products in Ireland.
It must also ensure the protection of food produce from the threats posed by cheap imports,
further EU and World Trade Organisation (WTO) restrictions and the possible introduction of GM crops.
Sinn Féin proposes to market Irish produce as ‘safe food’.
We will therefore introduce the stringent labelling of all food products on an all-Ireland basis, to support the buying of Irish food produce both for economic and health and safety reasons.
This is in the interests of producers as well as consumers.
We will support the extension of organic farming, which currently constitutes a very small part of overall production despite the clear demand for such produce and higher-than-average incomes earned by organic farmers catering for either the domestic or export market.
We also propose a series of measures to secure fair payment for farmers including support for the formation of farmers’ co-operatives for domestic production, processing and retailing,
and the extension of farmers markets to circumvent the grip of the large processors and retailers that squeeze producers’ incomes.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team consistently defended the interests of the family farm in contributions to debates on legislation and in hundreds of questions to the Minister for Agriculture.
We argued for a fairer price for farmers and promoted the advantages of reviving genuine farmers cooperatives to challenge the power of agri-business.
We stood up for the rights of farmers on the Early Retirement Scheme (ERS), championed the rights of those farmers who lost out with the introduction of the Single Farm Payment, argued for fairer treatment for those who entered into the ERS in good faith,
and challenged the claim that their fate was out of the Government’s hands due to EU directives.
We continually questioned this Government’s support for GM at EU level and its implications for Irish agriculture.
We strongly argued against closure of the Irish sugar industry, condemning the massive compensation awarded to Greencore in contrast to the fund available to the 3,600 growers and the paltry redundancy settlement for former sugar factory employees.
We put the case for the growing of energy crops as a profitable alternative production system, and published detailed proposals on the use of sugar beet as an input into the production of bio-ethanol.
We argued for the promotion of energy crops as a source of increased farm incomes
and future jobs in the agricultural processing sector.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
An All-Ireland Approach to Supporting and Revitalising Irish Agriculture
Ensure that the maximum number of people continue farming, while stemming the shift towards large-scale factory-style farming.
Fully implement the Charter for Farmers on an all-Ireland basis.
Integrate agri-food and agricultural services on an all-Ireland basis, including an All-Ireland Food Promotion Agency.
Ring-fence the milk quota within the island of Ireland to ensure that quota from the Six Counties is not sold into the British quota.
We also support regional ring fencing.
Develop an island-wide animal health strategy.
Oppose importation of cheap meat that fails to meet the strict food safety regulations imposed here.
Establish an all-Ireland CAP Reform Review Group to conduct bi-annual reviews for anomalies and unfair outcomes.
Work towards single representation of Ireland in trade talks to allow stronger future negotiations at EU and WTO level.
Initiatives to Raise Farm Incomes
Work to amend the Single Farm Payment regulations to raise the lower income limit
and impose a higher income limit, in order to redirect EU funds and ensure a decent livelihood for smaller farmers.
Actively promote domestic co-operative processing and the development of local markets.
Assist farm diversification into new areas such as organic farming
and renewable energy.
Promoting Ireland as a Producer of Safe Foods
Ensure the stringent labelling of all food products on an all-Ireland basis.
Keep Ireland as a whole GM crop-free to safeguard our environment and best promote the high quality of Irish food internationally.
Extend support for farm diversification into organic farming.
Supporting Sustainable and Renewable Energy Crop Production
Invest in renewable energy
Encourage co-op-led processing.
Facilitate the conversion of the Carlow and Mallow sugar plants to biofuel production.
A Sustainable Future for the Irish Fisheries
Sinn Féin is committed to doing all that we can to secure a viable future for coastal communities and economies.
Ireland’s fisheries have been scandalously sacrificed since EU accession in 1973.
The deal made under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) handed over control of the national fisheries to EU bureaucrats
and squandered a potentially massively valuable resource in exchange for what was believed to be a good deal for farming within the Common Agricultural Policy.
Ironically, the value of fish taken from Irish waters by foreign fleets since 1973 – over €40 billion in current values – has actually exceeded the total sum of CAP monies received.
The division of quotas has also led to a situation where this country has fishing waters that account for around 12% of the EU fishery, but Irish fishermen are currently allowed only around 4% of the EU quota.
Not only have successive Governments led by all the establishment parties acquiesced in this,
they have also failed to encourage the development of indigenous processing to its full potential.
Thus the greater part of fish caught in Irish waters even by Irish fishermen is exported raw,
and much of that value is lost to the domestic processing sector and to struggling coastal communities.
The current Government has continued to neglect the fishing industry and has at times adopted a confrontational attitude towards fishermen.
They attempted to force through the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill, which would introduce draconian measures to penalise Irish fishermen at a time when the sector is struggling to survive.
The future of the Irish fisheries is nowhere on the establishment parties’ political agenda.
Sinn Féin proposes to end the neglect of this economy and the communities it supports.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Revitalising the Irish Fisheries
Sinn Féin believes that strong Government action is needed to empower coastal communities
and secure a sustainable future for the Irish fisheries.
We propose to establish a dedicated Ministry for this purpose,
to lobby and negotiate within the EU for radical reform of the Common Fisheries Policy,
to establish all-Ireland management and to adopt an all-Ireland strategic plan.
We propose to involve fishing organisations directly in the conservation and management of the Irish fisheries.
We will establish a hardship fund to fairly compensate those forced out of the fishing industry, and we will invest in and otherwise encourage development of the domestic seafood processing and renewable energy sectors to create new coastal employment.
To commence the coastal revitalisation process, Sinn Féin would use the EU Green Paper on the Future of the Common Fisheries Policy as the basis for a wide-ranging debate in the country regarding the future of the fishing sector,
ensuring the fullest involvement of all fishing organisations
and coastal community organisations and elected representatives from those communities.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team opposed the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill, tabling numerous amendments in close consultation with the main fishing organisations.
We were instrumental in forcing a debate that prompted a major reversal on the part of the Irish Government, if not to the full satisfaction of the demands of fishermen.
We successfully lobbied the Department to meet with fishing representatives
and provide for closer consultation with the fishing organisations in the regulation of the sector.
We supported the joint efforts of fishing organisations operating in the Irish Sea in relation to the management of that fishery.
We raised a number of issues with the Minister including the unfavourable treatment of Irish fishermen in regard to quotas,
irregularities relating to the issuing of quotas, and failure to confront illegal fishing by foreign crews, in contrast to the heavy-handed treatment of Irish boats.
We argued with the Minister that the Common Fisheries Policy has been a disaster for Irish fishing and needs to be completely overhauled.
We participated in a delegation of Sinn Féin representatives that brought these and other concerns directly to officials of the EU Fisheries Directorate.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
A Dedicated Ministry
Establish a separate Ministry for the Marine and Natural Resources with a full Minister.
Reform at EU Level
Negotiate radical reform of the Common Fisheries Policy with the aim of returning the greater part of  management of  Irish fisheries back into Irish hands.
Propose the establishment of a Coastal Communities Regeneration Fund under the CFP similar to that under CAP.
All-Ireland Management of the Fisheries
Establish fisheries as a new area of all-Ireland co-operation under the Good Friday Agreement
and develop an All-Ireland Strategy to Safeguard the Future of the Irish Fisheries.
Directly involve the fishing organisations in the management of Irish fisheries.
Introduce a transparent system of issuing of licences, quota and tonnage.
Conduct a thorough investigation of past decisions in this regard by the Department of the Marine.
Conserve Irish fish stocks by reducing the quota available to foreign fleets
and introduce proper independent scientific monitoring of stocks in direct consultation with fishermen.
End all illegal fishing conducted in Irish waters
under the guise of EU research.
Support for Development of Domestic Seafood Processing and Renewable Energy from Coastal Sources
Enhance the potential of the Irish marine sector by supporting the further development of a domestic seafood processing industry,
and by adopting an all-Ireland marketing strategy for Irish seafood.
Invest in the accelerated development of wind and wave energyproduction.
A Hardship Fund
Ensure adequate compensation for Driftnet Salmon Fishermen.
Justice and Community Safety
Sinn Féin believes that every person has the equal right to safety at home and in our communities.
Everyone also has the right to a fully accountable policing service,
imbued with a human rights ethos,
and to a justice system in which they can have confidence.
Yet the working class communities hit hardest by certain kinds of crime lack the levels and modes of policing and other services that would deter crime and other anti-social behaviour.
Many have lost faith in the policing and justice system.
The current coalition’s record on justice and community safety has been woeful.
They introduced gimmicky Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs)
and the Garda Reserve to cover their refusal to concentrate policing resources where they are needed most.
The Justice Minister is more interested in getting private developers to build an unnecessary super-prison than in ensuring that the Probation Service has adequate resources.
He has ignored the recommendation of the Comptroller and Auditor General which concluded that community service orders have a more positive impact on rates of re-offending than prison and cost about one-third of custodial sentence.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse are pervasive crimes they have never strategically or comprehensively addressed in crime policy.
Instead they starved frontline victims’ services of funding.
The system is failing these people: the number of these cases coming before the courts in this State is the lowest among 20 European countries, and we have a conviction rate of just 5%.
The current Government refuses to acknowledge
the true extent of Garda corruption and the culture of cover-up that prevails in the force.
They failed to act in a meaningful way on the findings and recommendations of the five Morris Tribunal reports.
Successive Irish Governments presided over by all the establishment parties have failed to make communities safe
or produce a coherent and robust approach to prevent crime before it happens.
All parties claim to be tough on crime.
Sinn Féin has the only credible plan for crime prevention, community safety and fully accountable policing.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Community Safety
Sinn Féin believes that the most effective crime policies focus on prevention.
This means intensive and systematic social investment in marginalised areas.
It means providing intervention and support services for individuals and families at risk.
It means accountable community policing.
It means effective rehabilitation programmes for prisoners and other offenders,
and comprehensive post-release community supervision.
We are committed to deliver these as a matter of priority.
We believe that for most non-violent offences, community restorative justice alternatives can be more effective than custody, for both victim and offender.
Sinn Féin justice policy will be more effective socially,
and it also makes better economic sense – reducing both the incidence of crime and the high cost of incarceration.
We want real justice for victims, stronger action on domestic and sexual violence,
an effective approach to anti-social behavior
and effective sentencing reform.
We will also regulate the legal profession and increase access to legal representation.
We are working towards the establishment of an all-Ireland policing service.
In the interim, we are proposing fundamental Garda reform consistent with the Patten model in the 6 Counties to end corruption and misconduct,
establish genuine accountability,
and imbed a human rights and public service ethos.
While recently introduced Government reforms including the Joint Policing Committees fall short of our proposals,
Sinn Féin will work with them – to tackle in particular anti-social behaviour,
illegal drug empires
and unequal access to policing.
We will repeal draconian legislation such as the Offences Against the State Acts.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team sought major changes to the Garda Síochána Bill, tabling nearly 150 amendments, and secured mandatory introduction of a Garda Code of Ethics.
We proposed the introduction of Community Policing Partnerships at the district level.
We secured the support of TDs from all opposition parties for our amendment calling for the establishment of a single Garda Ombudsman.
We demanded the ring-fencing of confiscated CAB monies forcommunity development.
We proposed major changes to the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, tabling more than 175 amendments.
We opposed unaccountable Garda powers,
the introduction of ASBOs
and the rollback on child protections commitments contained in the Children’s Act 2001.
We opposed the introduction of the Criminal Justice Bill 2007.
We tabled 90 amendments proposing more effective ways of tackling serious crime.
We successfully amended the Criminal Justice Bill 2004 to ensure that the Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee includes human rights expertise.
We were the only party to call annually on the Government to schedule a Dáil debate on the need
to confront crimes of domestic and sexual violence against women.
We tabled the motion that prompted the only domestic violence debate to take place in the Dáil during the whole term of this Government.
We published the Offences Against the State Acts Repeal Bill to strike down repressive emergency legislation,
as recommended by the UN Human Rights Committee.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Crime Prevention
Develop and fund a comprehensive Crime Prevention Strategy.
Increase and accelerate social investment in marginalised areas.
Ring-fence CAB-confiscated monies for a Community Development Fund additional to any Government funding commitments.
Garda Reform for Fully Accountable Policing
Reverse the culture of misconduct and cover-up through genuine and extensive Garda reform consistent with the Patten model, including:
accountability mechanisms
a fully independent Garda Ombudsman to investigate Garda misconduct
a Garda Board for civilian management oversight and
Community Policing Partnerships at District level for policing fully accountable to the local communities served.
Comprehensively review Garda deployment and redeploy Garda Special Branch detectives into serious crime units.
Civilianise appropriate tasks including many administrative duties and the traffic corps, to allow the redeployment of all fully trained Gardaí to fight crime and serve their communities.
Keep the Garda service routinely unarmed.
Review and improve the inadequate training delivered to Gardaí bearing weapons.
Sentencing Reform
Introduce increased transparency in sentencing and sentencing guidelines to ensure consistency,
supported by a training programme for the judiciary.
Real Justice for Victims and the Community
Establish Community Restorative Justice and Community Mediation programmes in every county and major urban centre.
Ring-fence fines collected from offenders to part-finance these programmes.
Legislate to encourage direct victim restitution where appropriate.
Establish a system of consistent victim liaison to ensure that victims, especially of violent crimes, are kept fully informed throughout the investigation and prosecution process.
Legally recognise the right to access justice and the right to legal representation,
and expand the fund for Civil Legal Aid accordingly.
Introduce Legal Aid reforms in keeping with recommendations by the Free Legal Advice Centres, to enable more people to challenge violations of their economic and social rights.
Stronger Action against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Ensure more consistent prosecution of sexual assault, rape and domestic violence, coupled with priority access to free legal advice for victims
and training for judges to ensure more appropriate sentencing outcomes.
Introduce a support system to encourage victims to report crimes.
Offer victims adequate opportunities for support in recovering from these devastating crimes.
An Effective Approach to Anti-Social Behaviour
Adopt a sensible comprehensive strategy to effectively combat antisocial behaviour, including:
intensive and systematic social investment in marginalised areas
early intervention and support services for those at risk of offending
accountable community policing
effective rehabilitation programmes and post-release supervision and
community restorative justice alternatives for most non-violent offenders.
Ensure robust enforcement of the law and prosecution of offenders involved in criminal behaviour.
Fully implement the Children’s Act 2001.
Enhancing Rehabilitative Supports and Prison Reform
Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture allowing for independent inspection of places of custody and produce a timetabled plan to implement all recommendations of the European Committee Against Torture regarding conditions in places of custody.
Fully resource the statutory Prison Inspector,
introduce an Ombudsman for Prisoners and extend the Children’s Ombudsman’s remit to include children in detention.
Increase funding to Probation Service and to prevention and rehabilitation.
Establish an adequate number of mental health centres with appropriate levels of security to ensure an end to the practice of people with mental illness and disabilities in prisons where appropriate services are not available.
Stop the construction of super-prisons.
End the practice of immigration-related detention.
Regulating the Legal Profession
Introduce an independent body to monitor and hold the legal profession to account.
Repealing Repressive Legislation and Dissolving the Special Criminal Court
Repeal the Offences Against the State Acts and dissolve the Special Criminal Court as recommended by the UN Human Rights Commission.
Re-introduce the right to silence.
Establishing an All-Ireland System of Policing and Justice
Work towards the establishment of an all-Ireland policing service.
Continue to negotiate the establishment of an effective all-Ireland sex offenders registry.
Establish an all-Ireland missing persons helpline which will be adequately resourced, properly run and widely advertised.
Work constructively with 6 Counties counterpart in the All-Ireland Ministerial Council following the repatriation of policing and justice powers.
Establish a new Implementation Body on Justice and Policing under the Good Friday Agreement.
An Ireland of Equals, with Rights for All
Equality and human rights laws and new institutions provided for under the Good Friday Agreement are important advances
but social inequality and discrimination still remain a fact of life in Ireland.
Hate crime is on the rise, targeting people on the basis of religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.
Children are still vulnerable to abuse.
Older people are still vulnerable to neglect.
Domestic and sexual violence against women is still prevalent,
and women continue to be underrepresented in decision-making.
People with disabilities are routinely excluded from buildings and services and from economic and social life.
Same-sex couples experience discrimination.
Successive Governments led by all the establishment parties have failed to effectively address these issues.
The Irish Government is no friend to equality and indeed has gone on the offensive against it.
This coalition criminalised the Travellers’way of life.
They actively scapegoated immigrants and refugees
for Government failures in service delivery.
They stripped away the equal right of all Irish children to citizenship.
They refused to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities in law.
They starved organisations helping victims of violence against women of the funding they need to function.
Not surprisingly, therefore, the Minister responsible was reappointed despite his stated view that inequality is good for society.
Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement the Irish Government is obliged to introduce equality and human rights protections at least equivalent to those pertaining to the 6 Counties.
Yet they have failed to meet the equivalence test on anti-discrimination
and equality protections in a number of areas including disability rights,
the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people,
political opinion,
rights enforcement and
remedies for discrimination and other violations.
Promoting equality and human rights is at the very core of republicanism and of Sinn Féin’s agenda for change.
Unique among the parties on this island, we are not rhetorical on this issue – we bring equality and human rights considerations into every area of our policy.
Our negotiators fought hard for the equality and human rights protections introduced as a consequence of the Good Friday Agreement,
and Sinn Féin will continue to press for the
fulfilment of the principle of equivalence in human rights and equality protections between the 6 and 26 Counties.
The Sinn Féin Platform for an Ireland of Equals with Rights for All
Equality is good for the economy and society.
We believe that all human rights – including economic and social rights – can and must be enforceable.
We strongly believe that human rights begin at home.
All violations past and present must be acknowledged stopped, and robust mechanisms put into place so they can never be repeated.
We are committed to a range of proposals to strengthen equality
and human rights protections,
and to move us closer towards full equality for women,
children,
older people,
people with disabilities,
people of all ethnicities,
and lesbian/gay/bisexual
and transgender people.
We are committed to legislative and constitutional change
to ensure that the people of Ireland have the very best equality
and human rights protections.
We will campaign for the introduction of an enforceable All-Ireland Charter of Rights as promised under the Good Friday Agreement.
We will campaign in the interim for a range of changes to the 1937 Constitution,
and to incorporate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights into domestic law,
so that these rights can be upheld directly through the Irish courts.
Our plan for full rights enforceability involves administrative tribunal structures as well as courts.
This means that people should not have to go all the way to court to vindicate their rights.
Administrative Tribunals and Ombudsman structures make it faster and cheaper to get rights enforced and aim for negotiated settlements.
Court challenges then become a true measure of last resort.
In addition, real political will to deliver equality and human rights will also ultimately reduce the number of people needing to sue for their rights.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team vigorously challenged each and every attack on equality and human rights by the Minister for Justice,
by working together with campaigning groups and by proposing legislative amendments to protect and extend equality
and human rights protections.
We proposed the introduction of binding human rights-proofing, requiring the Human Rights Commission to certify all legislative proposals as compliant with international human rights standards.
We proposed to expand the grounds on which discrimination is prohibited under the Equal Status Act and Employment Equality Act
to include socio-economic status, political opinion or membership in a trade union and status as a former prisoner.
We proposed the introduction of equality-proofing of all law and policy and a legal duty to promote equality, equivalent to that in the 6 Counties.
We proposed the introduction of a gender quota
ensuring a minimum of 40% representation of women on the boards of all newly-created State or semi-State bodies.
We proposed a range of child protection proposals on foot of the Ferns Report, and urged the introduction of constitutional protections for children based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We backed the campaign for a rights-based Disability Bill, tablingnearly 40 substantive amendments.
We fought to maintain the republican principle of the equal right to citizenship on the basis of birth in the 1937 Constitution.
We tabled an amendment to delete a section of the Civil Registration Bill 2003 that prohibited same-sex marriage;
we made a submission to the Working Group on Domestic Partnership urging constitutional change and supporting the rights of all to cohabit,
to found a family (including by adoption) and to enter into marriage or civil partnership regardless of gender or sexual orientation,
and we voted in favour of the Civil Union Bill 2006.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Strengthening Human Rights Protections
Increase funding to the Human Rights Commission to at leastequivalence with its counterpart in the 6 Counties.
Increase the powers of the Human Rights Commission to equivalence/ with its counterpart in the 6 Counties (ie to hear cases as an administrative tribunal like the Equality Tribunal and to regularly engage in advocacy supporting claimants in other court challenges).
Introduce binding human rights-proofing on all legislation.
Review the European Convention on Human Rights Act, with a public component, to strengthen this law.
Conduct an audit to identify gaps in legislation and in the 1937 Constitution in regard to Irish obligations under international human rights treaties and develop a legislative programme that will provide full protection of all such rights in domestic law.
Introduce the All-Ireland Charter of Rights provided for under the Good Friday Agreement.
Strengthening Equality Protections
Introduce prohibition of discrimination on the basis of socio-economic status,
political opinion,
membership of a trade union
and status as a former prisoner.
Introduce a statutory duty to equality-proof all law and policy and to promote equality, at least equivalent to that pertaining in the 6 Counties.
Adequately fund the Equality Authority and Equality Tribunal.
Equality for Women12
Develop a robust All-Ireland Strategy for Women’s Equality,
including a timetabled plan to implement all recommendations of the UN Committee to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women.
Adopt binding gender targets of at least 40% for either gender/ on the boards of all state and semi-state bodies, the judiciary, and the Cabinet.
Consider extending such targets to those private sector bodies in receipt of government funding, within a given time-frame.
Equality for Children and Young People13
Amend the Equal Status Acts to prohibit unjust discrimination against young people in the provision of services.
Amend the 1937 Constitution to expressly recognise children’s rights and to provide that the State must guarantee that in all actions concerning children undertaken by or on behalf of the State the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration -
thus bringing it into line with the standard established by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Equality for Older People
Develop an All-Ireland Strategy for Older People, following consultation and direct involvement of older people themselves.
Establish an Ombudsman for Older People.
Equality for People with Disabilities15
Review the operation of the current Disability Act with a view to the introduction of a new rights-based Disability Act.
Introduce robust mechanisms to ensure that existing and futureprovisions are enforced, including a Disability Ombudsman.
Establish a National Disability Strategy Implementation and Monitoring Unit within the Department of the Taoiseach, to set annual targets towards full delivery by 2016.
Conduct a review of funding for people with disabilities’ organisations and services,
and increase funding to the disability sector – particularly those organisations led by people with disabilities themselves.
Equality for People of All Ethnicities16
Introduce stronger hate crime legislation.
Reinstate previous funding levels for anti-racism initiatives, and provide annual increases as necessary.
Fully implement and resource the National Action Plan Against Racism, and adopt a timetable for implementation of the recommendations of the UN Committee Against Racism.
Officially recognise Travelling people as an ethnic minority deserving of protection under the UN Convention Against All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Repeal the sections of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 that criminalise the Traveller way of life.
Establish a statutory Traveller Agency, including representatives of Traveller organisations to monitor, coordinate and enforce Government policy relating to Travellers (including the Traveller Health Strategy and Traveller Accommodation Plans).
End the policy of dispersal and the Direct Provision System, and extend the right to work and pay taxes to all asylum seekers while their applications are being processed.
Equality for the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Community
Introduce legislation to permit and recognise same-sex marriage, to provide full and equal recognition of all civil partnerships in law
and recognise the right of same-sex couples to adopt children in the same manner as heterosexual couples.
A Better Quality of Life
Growing and spreading prosperity,
providing world class public services and infrastructure,
providing security, promoting equality and protecting human rights –
these are all crucial roles for Government.
But they are also not enough.
There is little point in generating wealth if other factors prevent enjoyment of a good quality of life.
Sinn Féin would focus on the core Government duties and getting these right, but we would not neglect those other responsibilities that can make a positive difference for people:
protecting the environment
reducing the harm from drugs,
promoting the Irish language
and supporting arts and culture.
All these things also need care, attention and a strategic approach.
We are committed to helping create a better quality of life for everyone on the island without exception.
A Clean Environment is a Right
Everyone in Ireland has the right to a clean and safe environment.
Sinn Féin is committed to sustainable development
and robust environmental protection.
This necessarily involves the use of legislation that challenges the attitudes and practices of businesses and consumers alike and promotes behavioural change.
We fully recognise that global warming is one of the most serious challenges facing us all, demanding urgent action.
We know there is much that can and must be done at local, regional and national level to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The current Government has an appalling record on the environment
– from policies that promote incineration and effectively encourage illegal dumping, to refusal to invest in renewable energy,
to failure to meet the Kyoto targets or to implement EU environmental directives.
Now we learn that they have also failed to act to protect the people of Clare and Galway from drinking water contamination.
Sinn Féin has green credentials that rival any party on the island.
We firmly oppose nuclear energy and have long campaigned against Sellafield.
We are committed to the promotion of a zero waste strategy that rejects incineration,
keeps landfill to an absolute minimum
and supports waste reduction, reuse and recycling.
We are committed to vigorously promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy.
We will continue with this constructive approach in creating an environmentally sound, sustainable future for Ireland.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Environmental Rights18
Sinn Féin supports strong environmental regulation at all-Ireland, EU and global levels as the only way to protect the right to a clean environment.
We commit ourselves to the principle of sustainable development.
We will legislate and regulate to proactively safeguard our air, rivers, lakes, wetlands, boglands, remaining forests, coastal zones and oceans.
We will support the sustainable use of renewable natural resources
and the conservation of nonrenewable natural resources through efficient use and careful planning.
We will introduce legislation to minimise the production of waste and work
towards a zero waste society through a policy centred on reduction, reuse and recycling.
We will continue to oppose incineration.
We support the polluter pays principle and we will apply it in a manner that does not disproportionately penalise small businesses and those on lower incomes.
We will abolish refuse charges as they are an unfair and unjust double tax.
We believe that carbon reduction and not emissions trading should be the basis of government policy on climate change.
We will introduce a Comprehensive Carbon Reduction Strategy that includes an emphasis on renewable energy production,
improved energy efficiency and conservation, improved public transport and investment in research and development.
We will continue to oppose nuclear energy as it is not a safe carbon-free source.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team participated in the campaign to close Sellafield.
We published the Waste Management (Amendment) Bill 2003 to amend the laws in relation to imposition of charges for waste services,
and to return power over waste management planning to elected representatives.
We called for an island-wide ban on incineration.
We opposed the Carbon Fund Bill 2006 which allows the Irish Government to buy its way out of its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Opposing Nuclear Energy and Closing Sellafield
Engage in a campaign of public, political, legal and diplomatic pressure to secure the complete closure of Sellafield.
All-Ireland Environmental Protection and Management
Establish an All-Ireland Environmental Protection Agency to drive forward a strong programme of enforcement.
Develop an All-Ireland Zero Waste Strategy that prioritises reduction, reuse and recycling of waste and mechanical-biological treatment (where metal/plastic and glass is sorted and biologically treated) as an alternative to incineration and landfill.
Towards Zero Waste
Ban the development of municipal incinerators in Ireland and set progressive time-framed targets to minimise the waste going to landfill.
Introduce legislation to compel industrial and commercial producers to reduce waste production in a planned, targeted and accountable manner.
Agree a comprehensive strategy for agricultural waste concentrating on biological treatment in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.
Promote recycling centres on a community and commercial basis that will provide employment and efficient waste management.
Repeal the Waste Management Act and return control of waste management and recycling to local councils and not unelected city and county managers.
Abolish the double taxation of refuse charges that hit lower-income families the hardest and reverse the privatisation of local authority refuse services.
Mandate and support all councils to produce waste reduction strategies including a minimum target of 50% recycling and introduce a total ban on disposal of compostable waste in landfills by 2010.
Support the introduction of 100% capital and maintenance grants for civic recycling initiatives.
Towards Sustainable Renewable Energy and Playing our Part in the Fight against Global Warming19
Adopt a Comprehensive Carbon Reduction Strategy.
Establish an All-Ireland Renewable Energy Commission with a specific brief of aggressively accelerating the development of the Irish biofuel, wind, wave and solar sectors and centrally involving the social economy in energy production.
Set clear and achievable targets by which all vehicles owned by local authorities, central government and public bodies will use bio-fuel.
Legislate to regulate for best practice environmental standards for all new buildings, and work towards the target of zero carbon homes by 2015.
Ending the Water Contamination Crisis
Resolve the current water contamination crises on an urgent basis.
Formulate and adequately fund an All-Ireland Safe Water Strategy that will bring all water supplies up to the highest EU standard following a comprehensive review of the existing regime.
Reducing Harm from Drugs
Sinn Féin believes that everyone should have the right to be protected from the harmful effects of legal and illegal drugs and associated crime.
Everyone should be able to grow up in communities free from poverty,
social exclusion and inequality, which are significant factors influencing drug misuse.
Alcohol overuse ravages our society.
Rates of addiction to prescription drugs, and solvent usage by young people have never been higher.
The unprecedented availability and usage of illegal drugs including heroin,
cocaine and now crack cocaine continues to wreck individual lives,
families and communities.
Drug dealers have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of men, women and children throughout the towns and cities of Ireland, and their trade has ravaged entire working-class communities.
More recently, gangland shootings have significantly increased due to turf wars for control of this highly lucrative industry.
While many drug users seek treatment, they must either wait months or travel long distances.
Often, the treatment they need is not available to them at all.
While there are an estimated 13,000 heroin users in Dublin alone, there are only an estimated 22 detoxification beds in the State.
Currently there are no methadone clinics in Cork or Limerick which means opiate users there must travel to Dublin for this treatment.
Many women who need drug treatment services still do not access them for fear of their children being taken from them by the authorities
or because the existing services are not family-friendly.
Sinn Féin has an unrivalled track record of standing and working with communities, particularly against the illegal drugs trade.
We are committed to expand on this work in Government by mounting an effective nation-wide campaign to reduce the harm done to our nation by legal and illegal drugs
and to dry up business for the illegal drugs trade.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Confronting the Drugs Crisis
Sinn Féin proposes to take a more serious approach to the drugs crisis than any previous Irish Government.
We will dedicate a Minister of State with sole responsibility for pursuing the objectives of the National Drugs Strategy,
for fully funding the necessary prevention, education and treatment programmes,
and for co-ordinating enforcement action against the illegal drugs trade on an all-Ireland basis.
We propose social investment in vulnerable communities as a preventative measure.
We will significantly expand the availability of full-spectrum drug treatment services including effective harm-reduction measures and eliminate treatment waiting lists, so that all drug users can get the services and supports they need.
We will introduce structures to enhance community co-operation with the Gardaí in enforcement against drugs traffickers and barons,
and to hold the Gardaí accountable for their action or inaction in this area.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team sponsored the only debate on the drugs crisis during the last Dáil, which amongst other things called for increased resources to implement the National Drugs Strategy, eliminate treatment waiting lists, address alarming rates of illegal drug dealing, tackle poverty and educational issues and support communities in their fight against cocaine and heroin.
We successfully pressured the Irish Government to release funding for cocaine treatment projects.
We urged the Minister responsible for the National Drugs Strategy to rollout the successful non-Garda Dial to Stop Drug Dealing Campaign piloted in Blanchardstown throughout the State.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
A Serious Approach to the Drugs Crisis
Appoint a Minister of State with sole responsibility for drugs issues.
Make adequate budgets available for both Local Drugs Task Forces and Rural Drugs Task Forces.
Use an all-Ireland approach to ensure the application of the strategic objectives of the National Drugs Strategy to the island as a whole.
Immediately formulate, resource and implement an All-Ireland Action Plan to Combat Cocaine Use and roll out cocaine treatment projects.
Establish widespread and well-resourced drugs education programmes and awareness campaigns for children and parents, based on international best practice models proven effective, in schools and in the community.
Target the causes of problematic drug use and the rise of the illegal drugs trade by working for the elimination of poverty and inequality
in this State, including educational disadvantage.
Immediately expand the Early Start programme to cover all RAPID and CLÁR areas.
Provide substantial funding to set up alcohol and drug-free social environments, such as late opening cafés, aimed at teenagers.
Fully resource provision of local sports facilities and amenities that are both accessible and affordable to everyone in a local community.
Continue to work directly to problem-solve with families and communities worst-affected by drug and alcohol use and by the illegal drugs trade.
Significant Expansion of Full-Spectrum Treatment20
Commit adequate funding to significantly expand the availability of drug treatment and to eliminate waiting lists for treatment.
Expand the spectrum of services available so that all drug users who want to avail of treatment and other services can do so.
Make additional funds available for the development of local fullspectrum drug services.
Ensure that all prisoners who need drug treatment can avail of it while serving sentences, and increase diversion of offenders into drug treatment programmes where appropriate in order to reduce drugrelated repeat offending.
Fund sufficient residential drug treatment places for women(alone, or with children).
Provide additional supports for the families of drug users, such as grandparents caring for grandchildren.
Effective Harm Reduction Measures
Expand needle exchange programmes to reduce the risk of HIV and hepatitis C infection, including in Irish prisons.
Ensure methadone treatment to reduce injection behaviour and offending behaviour and to stabilise people in education or employment, is equally available no matter where the user lives.
More Effective Enforcement against Drug Traffickers and Barons
Continue to pursue major drug traffickers and allocate funds seized from them by the Criminal Assets Bureau for community development in those neighbourhoods worst affected by the illegal drugs trade.
Increase the resources available to An Garda Síochána Drugs Units and introduce local Garda accountability structures at District level such as Community Policing Partnerships.
Divert resources from the Special Branch to allow An Garda Síochána to target drug dealers instead of harassing community activists
attempting to protect their children and their areas from the illegal drugs trade.
Ag Cur an Ghaeilge ar ais i mBéal an Phobail
Irish is the first official language of this State and the original language of the Irish people.
According to the 2006 Census more than four in ten residents of the 26 Counties speak Irish – a total exceeding 1.6 million people, and a 7% rise on the 2002 Census.
In the Gaeltacht more than one quarter of all people use the Irish language on a daily basis, and more than half of all Gaeltacht children aged 3-4 use Irish daily.
Sinn Féin recognises that language rights are fundamental human rights,
and we are committed to ensure that the rights of Irish speakers are respected fully by the Irish Government and all its agencies.
Promoting the Irish language is a basic duty of the Irish Government.
In our view, however, none of the establishment parties has ever taken this responsibility seriously.
More than any other party on the island, Sinn Féin has championed the Irish language.
Whereas other parties in this State have either neglected the language or proposed to eradicate Irish from our school curriculum,
Sinn Féin has kept language rights high on our agenda.
We have acted as a catalyst for Irish language campaigns in both parts of the island
and featured the issue of language rights prominently in all our negotiations with the Irish and British Governments.
We were instrumental in the establishment of the cross-border language body Foras na Gaeilge.
Working with the STÁDÁS campaign we helped achieve legal recognition for the Irish language in the EU.
Déanann Sinn Féin an gnó.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Promoting the Irish Language
Sinn Féin believes that Irish language revival is essential to achieving an Ireland of Equals.
We believe that everyone on the island of Ireland has a right to learn Irish and have their children educated through Irish medium education.
We are also committed to implement all the specific provisions and protections for Irish speakers demanded by international human rights standards.
Sinn Féín is working for the development of the Gaeltacht.
Sinn Féin cumainn are active in every Gaeltacht area and the party now has representation in Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Sinn Féin in Government will take strategic initiatives to strengthen the Gaeltachtaí
and recognise other areas where 10-30% of the population speak Irish on a daily basis as Breac-Ghaeltachtaí.
Sinn Féin welcomes whole-heartedly the emergence of new communities from a variety of ethnic backgrounds in Ireland.
In Government, it is our aim to create a multicultural and multilingual society at every level.
We believe that all the people in this island, north and south, including the New Irish also, should have access to and take ownership of the Irish language.
We will focus our Irish language promotion initiatives on ensuring full implementation of existing Irish language rights in law,
adopting a strategic planned all-Ireland approach to advancing the language through education programmes and the media,
and to growing the Gaeltacht.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team supported the enactment of the Official Languages Act 2003. and is pressing for its implementation in full.
We were active supporters of the EU Stádás campaign.
We helped secure a yearly debate in the Dáil around the Irish language.
We actively campaigned for the safeguarding of Irish in the school curriculum.
We defended the protected position of Irish in UCG within the University College Bill 2006.
We secured recognition of the Irish language arts in the Arts Act 2003.
Our Spokesperson on Cultúr, Gaeilge agus Gaeltacht was a leading advocate of language rights and has used Irish more than any other member in the Dáil.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Full Protection for Irish Language Rights in Law
Implement the Official Languages Act 2003 in full.
Ensure there is an Irish Language Act in the 6 Counties without delay.
A Strategic Approach to the Promotion of Irish
Agree a 10 year All-Ireland Irish Language Development Plan focusing on the preservation and advancement of the language.
Implement our package of proposals to enhance Irish medium education and Irish language learning.
Ensure that every member of the ‘New Irish’ community has the opportunity to learn Irish.
Allocate more funding to Foras na Gaeilge.
Increase funding for TG4 in keeping with its position as the primary Irish language broadcaster.
Growing the Gaeltacht
Put in place a 10 year monitoring programme for the Gaeltacht
and a mechanism to officially recognise ‘Breac-Ghaeltachtaí’ throughout the island.
Provide a financial package to allow for Local Authority Irish Language Development Officers in areas where there is already a need,
and to help foster demand for Irish language services in other areas.
Supporting Arts and Culture
Arts and culture generally enhance our quality of life.
Community arts in particular promote development and social inclusion and foster local identity.
They also have the capacity to significantly enhance our economy,
driving local economic regeneration and the tourism sector in particular.
Sinn Féin believes that arts investment must reflect its true social and economic value.
There is an urgent need to end the funding deficit and restructure the arts budget.
Sinn Féin is committed to this.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Supporting the Arts
Sinn Féin believes that arts and culture are essential, not an optional extra.
State support for the cultural industrial sector can act as an important investment in both cultural and economic development,
particularly in economically peripheral regions.
We specifically recognise that there is significant and growing employment potential in the Irish film industry,
which deserves greater support.
Sinn Féin will stop the cuts to the arts budget
and will restore arts funding to the levels recommended by the Arts Plan.
Restoration and a compensatory increase of monies to non-profit and community-based arts groups and projects would be our priority.
As with other areas of the budget, we believe that the only responsible way to prevent further destabilisation of the arts sector is through multi-annual funding and we would commit to this.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team achieved enhanced support for the Irish film industry through securing the renewal of Section 481.
We advocated a greater role for local authorities in promoting and funding community arts during debate on the Arts Act 2003.
We campaigned in the Dáil for greater protection of national monuments and heritage including the Hill of Tara.
We supported the rights of cultural workers, including the right to form and join trade unions.
During debate on the Film Board Bill 2006 Sinn Féin called on the Irish Government to ensure that the rights of all workers in the industry are fully protected and called for the Labour Inspector to review the conditions of all those working, and particularly younger workers, in the area of media production.
SINN FÉIN PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
End the Arts Funding Crisis
Restore funding to the levels recommended by the Arts Plan, reach a minimum investment target of 1% total budgetary spend.
Support Community Arts and Diversity in Arts
Devote significant support to co-operatively-run and community arts projects including community festivals,
and particularly those that actively promote social inclusion and oppose racism and other forms of discrimination.
Ensure that funding allocation is not discriminatory but fully inclusive, actively and equally promoting not only Irish culture including Irish language arts,
but also participation by new communities
and a comprehensive disability arts programme.
All-Ireland Cooperation and Promotion
Make arts and culture a new area of formal all-Ireland co-operation under the Good Friday Agreement,
and actively promote the State as a cultural visitor destination within an all-Ireland framework.
Demilitarisation and Solidarity for a Better World
Demilitarisation and solidarity are the means by which we will achieve a better world.
Sinn Féin strongly supports these objectives
– shared by the vast majority of Irish people – but they have been steadily undermined by the actions and inactions of successive Irish Governments.
Irish military neutrality is under increasing pressure.
An EU Army is steadily evolving with the establishment of EU Battle Groups
and ever greater EU military research and development budgets.
The current coalition have accelerated this process by consistently violating or otherwise undermining their own stated policy of neutrality.
First they joined NATO’s so-called Partnership for Peace without consulting the people,
despite an earlier commitment to a referendum.
Then they allowed Shannon Airport to be used to facilitate the illegal invasion of Iraq and the illegal programme of secret abduction and torture of prisoners (so-called ‘extraordinary rendition’).
Then they failed to negotiate recognition for Irish neutrality during talks on the draft EU Constitution.
Finally, they rushed through the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006 eliminating the triple-lock safeguard on Irish military deployments
and enabling the integration of Irish Defence Forces into EU Battle Groups.
The cumulative effect of these decisions has been to heighten Irish complicity in human rights violations and compromise neutrality to an unprecedented extent.
Despite the genuine commitment of the Irish people to help Make Poverty History, the UN Millennium Development Goals on global poverty reduction by 2015 have not been a central objective of the current Irish Government.
Instead, they reneged on promises to allocate 0.7% GNP in Overseas Development Assistance by 2007.
This is the third wealthiest state in the world - their decision to reduce our commitment to just 0.5% by 2007 is unjustifiable, and constitutes a betrayal of the world’s poorest.
All the political parties claim to support Irish neutrality and the UN and to oppose global poverty and injustice.
However only Sinn Féin makes these core guiding principles of our international relations policy.
The Sinn Féin Platform for Positive Neutrality in Action23
Sinn Féin believes that true international security is universal and based on social justice,
fully meeting human needs,
and respecting human rights and human equality.
We propose an independent and progressive Irish international relations policy that opposes military alliances
and works for international cooperation and conflict negotiation leading to democratic social change
and respect for human rights, universal demilitarisation and nuclear disarmament.
We support full foreign policy independence,
underpinned by support for UN primacy and complemented by a policy of Positive Neutrality in Action.
Positive Neutrality in Action is not about sitting on the fence.
It is about making politics work to redress legitimate grievances and achieve needed social changes – at both state and international levels.
We propose to enshrine neutrality in the Constitution.
We recognise the urgent need to reform the UN to build its capacity, and to transform the Security Council by eliminating the system of permanent members with vetoes.
It is not acceptable for this State, acting through the EU, to continue imposing a free trade agenda that hurts the developing world.
Instead the Irish Government should focus on ensuring that we do not contribute directly or indirectly to human rights violations in other parts of the world
and should use whatever leverage we have to ensure human rights compliance.
To work towards global social justice we would push for reform of the international financial system to strengthen representation of developing countries in international economic decision making.
We would campaign for fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals, and increase Irish Official Development Aid accordingly.
THE SINN FÉIN RECORD IN LEINSTER HOUSE:
Our Dáil Team strongly supported the anti-war movement and the Shannon Peace Camp.
We were the first party to table a Dáil motion to get US troops out of Shannon.
We proposed a Constitutional Amendment Bill to protect neutrality.
We consistently challenged the acceleration of militarisation of the EU and its emergence as an economic and military superpower.
We opposed the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006, tabling almost 20 amendments in an effort to save the triple-lock mechanism and neutrality.
We submitted a Book of Evidence on Extraordinary Renditions to Garda Headquarters, demanding an investigation into the CIA’s use of Shannon Airport.
We sought guarantees from the Irish Government that arms in transit to belligerent regimes not be permitted through Irish airports or airspace, and that it would cease delivering military training to soldiers from countries engaging in human rights abuses and breaches of international law.
We consistently raised and supported the causes of peoples currently denied the right to self-determination.
For example, we put two motions to the Oireachtas EU Affairs Committee calling for the suspension of preferential trade with Israel on foot of that regime’s illegal occupation of Palestine and grave human rights abuses against the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
We campaigned for incremental increases in Official Development Aid to 0.7% by 2007, and proposed a legislative amendment to ring-fence such aid.
We pushed for and secured Oireachtas EU Affairs Committee hearings on the social dimension of the EU’s Lisbon Agenda concerning workers’ rights and anti-poverty issues.
SINN FÉIN’S PRIORITIES IN GOVERNMENT:
Positive Neutrality in Action
Enshrine neutrality in the Constitution and codify it in legislation.
Ensure Irish troops train and serve abroad only under the auspices and leadership of the United Nations, and only with prior Dáil approval.
Prohibit use of Irish airports, airspace, seaports, or territorial waters for preparation for war or other armed conflict by foreign powers or to facilitate any aspect of illegal acts such as the US Government’s programme of ‘extraordinary rendition’.
End Irish involvement in the arms trade and profit from war, including the use of Irish airports to transport arms to belligerent regimes.
Withdraw from the EU Rapid Reaction Force,
Battle Groups and NATO’s Partnership for Peace.
End Irish complicity in violations of international law and human rights abuses through mainstreamed human rights-proofing of all policy making and decision making at every level.
Work for a binding Protocol excluding Ireland from the processes of EU militarisation.
Actively promote demilitarisation of the EU, including nuclear disarmament.
Form alliances with other progressive, neutral states to promote aHuman Security approach to international relations.
Actively promote UN primacy, as well as badly-needed UN reform and capacity-building to create a revitalised UN capable of fulfilling the promise of the Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of upholding international law.
Supporting Global Social Justice
Work for the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals and continue to support the global campaign to Make Poverty History.
Incrementally increase Overseas Development Assistance to 1% of GNP by 2010, ring-fence the ODA budget and keep all such aid un-tied.
Make poverty reduction and the reduction of inequality in all its forms key goals of Irish development policy.
Ensure policy transparency at all stages and work in partnership with actors in developing countries.
Another Europe is Possible
Continue our policy of critical but positive engagement in the EU.
Take a firm stance at EU level that the proposed EU Constitution and its neo-liberal substance have been expressly rejected and must not be reintroduced by stealth or otherwise.
Propose suspension of all Association Trade Agreements between the EU and
countries engaged in serious human rights violations including Israel and Turkey.
United Left Alliance Candidate pledge and Programme for the 2011 General Election
Candidate Pledge
All candidates standing for the United Left Alliance must sign the following pledge:The United Left Alliance has no confidence in conservative parties and believes that the interest of the poor and those on middle incomes cannot be furthered by coalition government with such parties.
Accordingly, Alliance Oireachtas members will not give any  support by voting  or abstaining to any  government or proposed government, including a “national government”, containing conservative parties including Fianna Fail or Fine Gael.
The Alliance believes that the super-rich should pay for the economic crisis.
Accordingly, Alliance local authority representatives will vote against any local authority estimates including service charges on the general public.
These charges include waste disposal charges, water charges or sewage and other such charges.
Alliance local authority representatives will also vote against any cuts in public services provided by local authorities.
The United Left Alliance is vehemently opposed to the abuse of public funds through unnecessary travel on publicly funded expenses.
Alliance public representatives will vote against estimates which provide for an individualised budget for travel to conferences or other events to be drawn down solely at the discretion of the members.
Alliance public representatives will not attend at public expense, any conference or other event in Ireland or abroad which would be viewed by a reasonable person to be a junket.
Any conference or other event which Alliance public representatives attend at public expense shall be demonstrably related to advancing the ability of public representatives to more effectively represent their constituents, shall be demonstrably in the interest of working class representation and shall be compatible with the political programme of the Alliance.
In the event that a member of the Alliance attends a conference or other event compatible with the above guidelines, he or she should take only necessary expenses.
Any member of the United Left Alliance who participates in a conference or other event at public expense, whether in Ireland or abroad, which is a junket or an expenses earning racket, shall be excluded from the Alliance.
Programme for 2011 General Election
The economic crisis is resulting in an unprecedented onslaught on living standards, spiralling mass unemployment and a dramatic rise in poverty.
Meanwhile billions is being taken from working people and given to bankers, builders and international speculators.
The newly formed United Left Alliance (ULA) is opposed to the governments’ bailouts and the slash and burn policies which are only making the crisis worse.
In the general election we aim to provide a real alternative to the establishment parties as well as Labour and Sinn Fein, who also accept the capitalist market and refuse to rule out coalition with right wing parties.
The approach of a Fine Gael / Labour government in power would not be fundamentally different than this government.
The ULA will be standing candidates throughout the country and we are inviting all people, campaigns and groups that want to fight for real change and who agree with our demands to become part of the Alliance.
The ULA:
1.  Rejects so-called solutions to  the economic crises based on slashing public expenditure, welfare payments and workers’ pay.
There can be no just or sustainable solution  to  the crisis based on  the capitalist market.
Instead we favour democratic and public control over resources so  that social need is prioritised over profit.
2.   Those elected as part of the alliance will not do any deals or support any coalition with any  of the right wing parties particularly Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.
We are committed to building  a mass left alternative to unite working people, whether public or private  sector, Irish or  migrant, with the unemployed, welfare recipients, pensioners and students in  the struggle to  change society.
The ULA has agreed the following key demands:
1. End the bailout of banks and developers.
The ULA says scrap NAMA and end the bailout of the banks and developers.
Take the banks, finance houses, major construction companies and development land into democratic public ownership and use them for the benefit of people, not the profit of the few.
Democratic public ownership of the banks would guarantee the savings of ordinary bank account holders but would give no commitment to pay the bondholders and financial speculators who helped cause the global crisis.
We want to use resources, including the huge numbers of vacant properties, to provide facilities and social and affordable homes for all, to buy or rent.
Reduce total mortgages and repayments to affordable levels to reflect the real cost of the property and outlaw repossessions/evictions of families from their homes on the basis of inability to pay.
2. Tax the greedy not the needy
Ireland is not a poor country.
Massive amounts of wealth were generated during the boom.
The problem is that such wealth is in the hands of a tiny superrich minority.
We completely reject the notion that all this wealth has suddenly disappeared.
It is also the case that many companies, especially multinationals, remain profitable.
The ULA stands for a progressive taxation system where corporation tax on the massive profits made in Ireland would be increased, which together with a steeply progressive income tax would shift the tax burden from working people to big business and the rich.
We also demand a wealth tax on the assets of the rich, increases in capital gains tax and an end to all tax loopholes for the rich.
We oppose all stealth and double taxes including bin charges and plans to introduce water charges, a property tax, or a “household tax”.
We oppose the inclusion of the low paid in the tax net.
3. End the jobs crisis
The ULA condemns the complete failure of the government and the private sector to preserve or create jobs.
Their policies are deflationary and are making the jobs crisis worse.
We call for a real social development programme that could create hundreds of thousands of jobs building necessary infrastructure like public transport, green energy projects, broadband, child care, schools, hospitals, health centres and other community facilities.
We oppose plans to sell off state companies.
Instead these companies should be used as the vehicle for job creation.
End the reliance on the private sector, use democratic public ownership of wealth and natural resources and the banks to provide jobs by the launching a state programme of industrial development and innovation to build the productive capacity of the economy.
Take the Corrib Gas Field into public ownership.
Reduce the working week without loss of pay
and create tens of thousands of jobs by sharing out the work.
No to compulsory work for dole schemes or fake jobs.
We demand real jobs and
a reversal of all the cuts in social welfare and benefit payments.
4. Reverse the cuts – Defend public services
The ULA says end the profiteering in health care.
We stand for a properly funded and resourced public health system, free at the point of access and paid for through a progressive tax system.
No privatisation of health services
and end all subsidies to private care.
No co-location of private hospitals on public hospital lands.
We demand proper state funding for a democratically run and secular education  system
, free for all from early childhood to university.
For more teachers  to reduce class sizes
and special needs and  language support so the needs of all children are met.
End all subsidies for private schools.
No re-introduction of third level fees,
pay students a living grant instead.
No to the cuts in social welfare payments or pensions
and no to the cutting, taxing or means  testing  of child benefit.
For a mass campaign by the trade union movement and the communities to reverse the cuts in public services.
We want real reform of our public services.
It’s time to stop copying failed private sector practices.
We want an end to inflated salaries, bonuses and expenses for top public servants and politicians.
We want a cap on salaries
and full public scrutiny of public spending.
Public services should be run democratically with the full involvement of the workers, the service users and the wider community.
5. Equality for all
The ULA supports equality for all and the elimination of all forms of discrimination based on gender, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability or age.
We support a campaign by the trade unions to unionise all workers and for the legal right to trade union recognition.
End all anti-asylum seeker and anti-immigrant laws and bias by the state.
Give asylum seekers the right to  work and give both asylum seekers and  migrant workers the same rights  as all other workers, to help fight “the  race to  the bottom” in pay and conditions.
We support full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including the right to marry for same sex couples.
6. Protect the environment
Despite the rhetoric, environmental destruction is continuing apace.
We call for major state investment in developing renewable energy.
Through public ownership and democratic planning, the economy can be redirected onto a sustainable path.
We need real reform of our planning system,
so that people’s needs and environmental protection come before the profits of developers.
We call for major investment in community facilities, waste management, recycling facilities and public transport.
We are opposed to incinerators as a solution to the waste problem because they pose serious health risks.
We call for a proper integrated waste management plan, including a drastic reduction of packaging combined with a serious approach to recycling and composting.
7. Build a real left alternative in Ireland and Europe
The formation of the ULA is part of a process across Europe and internationally of the development of movements and organisations to fight the attacks on workers, the unemployed and the poor and to fight for a new vision for society.
We are opposed to the dictates of the EU and its neo liberal policies of curbing public spending and promoting austerity.
The policy of driving down public spending to meet EU imposed targets will destroy jobs and lead to  misery for workers, the unemployed  and the poor.
Workers did not create  the debt and should not have to pay for it.
We are committed to building solidarity with  workers across Europe to forge a new direction  which  puts the needs of workers and the unemployed before the greed  of speculators and profiteers.
An important part of this is the urgent need to reclaim and rebuild the trade unions and to mobilise the power of workers though mass action.
The approach of Social Partnership has left workers defenceless and has led to a massive transfer of wealth from workers to employers and must be scrapped.
Our elected TDs will give full support to those unions and workers who oppose the Croke Park deal
and will use the Dail to raise the real issues that affect ordinary working people.
Playing to our strengths
Rebuilding a vibrant and sustainable Irish economy
Our economic recovery must be green.
Anything else will be unsustainable and will not last.
Our new economy must acknowledge that we will reach a peak in oil production in the near future.
Our new economic system must reject the greed of a few in favour of prosperity for all.
Our new economic system must be built on solid and sustainable foundations.
Our new economy will be green.
Smart green jobs
In Government, the Green Party has facilitated the creation of over 20,000 Green Sector jobs and has plans to create 100,000 more.
Tapping into the wealth of Ireland’s natural resources is our best opportunity to generate large-scale domestic employment
and to kick-start the domestic economy once again.
Our natural resources are at the core of three key sectors, which will be the champions of our new domestic economy – Green Energy, Sustainable Food and Green Tourism.
As an open, trading economy Ireland has long relied on growing exports to grow its economy.
We currently export €150 billion worth of goods each year and exports are one of the few areas of the economy that is successfully weathering the recession.
By focussing on select industries where we have a competitive advantage, we can build on this base and grow our trading capability in high-value, low-carbon products and services.
That competitive advantage presents itself most compellingly in three sectors – Traded Creative Services, High-Tech Manufacturing and Financial Services.
Green energy
During our time in Government, we oversaw the generation of 15% of our electricity from renewable sources in 2010 and put Ireland on track to meet our 40% target by 2020.
The development of renewable energy resources that can be sold to both the national and international marketplace is crucial to generating local employment.
The Green Party will:
Using €500 million from the National Pension Reserve Fund, scale up the National Retrofit Programme so that 100,000 premises will be retrofitted every year.
This will mean that 1 million homes will be insulated by 2020
and 25,000 new jobs will be created under the Programme.
Develop and deliver a roadmap which allows for the development of ocean and tidal energy, with a potential yield of €120 billion to the local economy and these 70,000 jobs.
Ensure that Ireland participates in the North Seas Offshore Grid Plan.
Green tourism
The Green Party believes that tourism remains one of our most important sources of local employment and wealth creation.
Our unrivalled reputation puts us in prime position to establish Ireland as a world-leading green holiday destination.
The Green Party will:
Introduce a Green Star rating system for Eco Tourism in Ireland.
Establish an Eco Tourism unit within Fáilte Ireland to coordinate, certify and promote the Green Star initiative.
Launch a ‘Proud Cities’ Programme, involving projects such as major new parks, traffic-free areas and eco-communities to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable living.
Develop the potential for “Food Tourism”, starting with “food trails” and the provision of food in public houses, particularly in rural areas.
Playing to our strengths
Promote the development of cycling as a growth area for tourism.
Introduce an All-Ireland Walkways Development Plan, mapping out infrastructural needs and routes and maximising their use.
We will pursue the possibility of using former railway infrastructure as recreational trails for walking and cycling etc. in partnership with Iarnród Éireann.
We will examine the possibilities of legislating to improve access for walkers.
Position the suite of Discover Ireland websites as exemplars for an information, content and reservation tourism system, with ease of booking and comprehensive linkages to industry platforms.
Promote the creation of marinas and youth and child friendly water sports to encourage activity and awareness of our maritime country.
Sustainable food
Irish farming already boasts an €8 billion export market based on the richness of our land and the talent of our people.
This sector employs around 110,000 both directly and indirectly.
Farming remains the lifeblood of our rural economy.
We can expand this sector by harnessing and growing our international reputation as ‘the Green Isle’.
By positioning ourselves at the premium quality end of the market, we can in fact create more jobs and more value through lower intensity farming methods.
The Green Party will:
Ensure the achievement of the target of 5% of land in organic agriculture
and meet the growing demand for domestically produced organic produce by providing adequate resources and supports for the achievement of the target, with a focus on import substitution in areas where Ireland is underproducing at present e.g. horticulture.
We will step up supports for the Organic Farming Scheme for conversion to organic production, Capital Grants for the Organic Sector and Non-Capital costs.
Declare the Republic of Ireland a GM-Free Zone, free from the cultivation of all GM plants.
To optimise Ireland’s competitive advantage as a GM-Free country, we will introduce a voluntary GM-Free logo for use in all relevant product labelling and advertising, similar to a scheme recently introduced in Germany.
Conduct a review of our National Food Security Policy to develop resilience in food production capacity to future proof against substantial rises in price and diminishing availability of oil and to meet the challenge of Climate Change.
Promote and support a network of farmers’ markets at Local Authority level to encourage more direct selling from producers to consumers.
Develop a template for the establishment of farm-gate shops and ensure that the necessary legislative arrangements are made to facilitate this.
Forestry
As home of the best tree-growing conditions in Ireland, forestry has the potential to make a very significant contribution to local enterprise, local employment and Ireland’s energy security.
The Green Party will:
Support greater encouragement of Close to Nature-Continuous Cover non clear-fell forestry management systems to maximise potential employment, whilst also addressing key climate change, energy, economic and ecological priorities.
Initiate a minimum of 10,000 hectare per annum planting until 2035 with an aim to achieve planting of 15,000 hectare per annum.
Through planting 10,000 hectare per annum we will deliver 327 new direct sustainable jobs per year, in establishing, managing, harvesting and processing that timber.
There would be further valuable ‘downstream’ employment created.
Deliver compliance with international sustainable forestry objectives, the enforcement of illegal logging policies, support green procurement initiatives, and biodiverstiy and heritage criteria.
Maximise the potential of the forestry industry to contribute to the renewable bioenergy/biomass sector.
High tech manufacturing
The Green Party will:
Our strength in research and development remains one of the key attraction points for foreign companies.
High Tech Manufacturing in chemicals, pharma and medical devices account for nearly half of Ireland’s €150 billion annual export performance.
Ensure 3% of GDP is invested in Research & Development.
Increase the funding to Science Foundation Ireland to protect and grow the research base in our priority areas.
Reform Enterprise Ireland’s assessment and grant system so that a much greater emphasis is placed on commercialisation and job creation.
Traded creative services
There were over 73,000 people employed in ICT in Ireland in 2009, up 6% on the previous year.
Our creative services industry holds huge promise and potential for jobs and economic growth.
This is only the beginning. Ireland has the opportunity to establish itself as the digital trading hub of Europe.
That will require two key ingredients – high-speed broadband and human capital.
The Green Party will:
Expand the Exemplar Network into a national network putting Ireland at the cutting edge of connectivity.
It is estimated that 5,000 direct jobs and a further 5,000 indirect jobs could be established over a 5-10 year period as a result of the Exemplar Network.
Work to intensify and accelerate the roll out of Next Generation Broadband Network in order that Ireland can emerge as a global digital player.
Adapt the regulatory regime to incentivise investment and encourage both competition and collaboration.
Undertake a major digitisation of government and public services.
Establish the International Content Services Centre in Dublin.
Modelled on the IFSC, the centre will provide a global hub for the trading, commodifying and storing of digital content.
Over a five year period, provide €70 million for the training of some 20,000 unemployed people who will then work with 100,000 businesses to make their products and services available online.
Work to ensure that all public and government services are transferred to a cloud-based system.
Establish a national green standard for data centres and attract more and more FDI into this area, with the potential to create over 10,000 high-value jobs.
A sustainable construction sector
The Green Party will:
Support the development of centres of excellence in sustainable building research, to ensure that Ireland applies cutting edge building science to the design and construction of all new buildings and renovations.
Playing to our strengths
Provide supports for manufacturers to develop construction products from suitable waste streams
and to develop products that can be reused or recycled beyond their intended use.
Establish a construction industry strategy to ensure that standards and practice in Ireland keeps ahead of potential export markets, to give Irish industry a competitive advantage.
Implement a sustainable public procurement action plan to ensure that all public capital works meet high sustainability standards that incrementally tighten over the coming years.
Supporting small businesses
The Green Party will:
As part of the overall reform of the social welfare system, examine the introduction supports for self employed persons.
Extend the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme.
Ensure a reduction in commercial rates, made possible by the introduction of site value and water charges.
Carry out a review of the effectiveness of Employment Subsidy Scheme with a view to examining its reintroduction.
Work with County Enterprise Boards to continue to support micro-enterprises employing 10 or fewer workers in the startup and expansion phases.
Test the legality of upwards-only rent reviews in respect of existing leases.
Ensure that amendments are made to our Bankruptcy Laws, setting business bankruptcy at a UK equivalent.
Remove basic hurdles to Green Enterprise by addressing technical, regulatory and planning barriers that are delaying the development of renewable energy projects.
Improve information access to new ideas and funding opportunities.
Put in place the structures to ensure that small scale financing is accessible to business start-ups.
Extend the Web Activate Programme, which takes young unemployed people off the live register and trains them to become self employed as service providers, with a target of turning this into a national programme targeting some 100,000 small Irish businesses and training up to 20,000 participants.
Harness the resources of our retired corps of business leaders, using their skills, experience, intellectual capital and contacts in a structured way to assist small companies.
Women in enterprise
Develop a National Women in Enterprise Network to bring together the expertise and support offered by each County Enterprise Board at present.
Citizen rights and innovation
To uphold the rights of Irish citizens and to support Irish business in the IT sector, the Green Party will:
Prevent private organisations from intruding into a citizen’s privacy,
from summarily punishing citizens for alleged illegal activities
and from interfering with citizens’ legitimate and legal uses of content.
Continue to promote digital inclusion and literacy for all citizens.
Update the role of the Data Commissioner to ensure evolving technologies are in check with the rights of Irish citizens.
Campaign at EU level to restrict data roaming charges which restrict the usage and development of international digital content services.
Reject all attempts to allow software ideas to be patentable.
Pensions
The Green Party believes that the overarching purpose of pension policy should be to help older persons to live in retirement with dignity, security and a good quality of life.
The Green Party will:
In line with the National Pensions Framework, support the standardisation of tax relief on pension contributions.
Ensure that pension pots are taxed at an equivalent rate to ensure equity in the tax treatment of pensions.
Introduce an optional second tier contributory pension scheme based on contributions from workers, employers and the State.
Remove tax breaks from contributions to pension schemes.
Instead, citizens would be offered equivalent tax breaks to contribute to state-backed AVCs in addition to the normal state pension.
Give workers options at the pensionable age, where they can choose to accept a full pension; choose to work part time and receive a part pension; or continue to work full time with a special tax relief.
Cap state pensions at a rate of no more than twice the average industrial wage, or €75,000.
Banking reform
The Irish Banking system engaged in reckless practice which has done untold damage to the economic interests of this country.
We believe that there is a need for a small savers, small scale lending bank run on mutual co-operative principles.
A combination of our credit unions, building societies and Post Bank, could provide a viable, alternative third banking sector this economy needs.
Encouraging small savers and lending in small amounts would be just the stimulus for the economy.
This third sector could provide the type of small scale lending that can help meet short term needs of people, who in turn by spending more contribute in the economy more, and in so doing help create more jobs.
Supports for those in mortgage arrears
The Green Party will ensure that the following measures are implemented in full:
A new Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) which will oblige all lenders to consider alternative payment arrangements for those in arrears.
Reform of the Mortgage Interest Supplement (MIS) scheme.
A new voluntary Deferred Interest Scheme be adopted by mortgage lenders.
stabilising our Public finances
Sale of State assets
The Green Party is strongly opposed to a fire sale approach to the sale of state assets.
Given the economic situation and the severe pressures on the public finances, full consideration must be given to making the best use of state assets.
However, a number of our semi state companies including Coillte, the ESB, Bord Gáis, Bord na Móna and EirGrid are pivotal contributors to the achievement of energy policy objectives.
Playing to our strengths
fair and sustainable taxation
Income tax
Budgets 2009 to 2011 saw changes to the income tax system which were aimed at broadening the tax base
and bringing income tax revenue back to a sustainable level.
Those on higher incomes also saw their taxes rise and the highest marginal rate now stands at 55%.
The Green Party believes that the tax system as it applies to income must now be simplified.
PRSI should be integrated with the USC in 2012, taking care that no particular income group is unfairly disadvantaged or advantaged.
We will ensure that the highest marginal rate of 55% will not be increased.
Water usage
The Green Party believes that metered water charges – with a free allowance per household – will lead to better use of scarce clean water and provide funds for investment in the water network.
Site value tax
The Green Party has always been a proponent of a property tax, specifically in the form of a Site Value Tax (SVT) on all land excluding agricultural land.
We will introduce a Site Value Tax on a phased basis,
ensuring the protection of those who are unable to pay.
Carbon levy
A carbon levy was introduced by the Green Party in the 2010 Budget as a way of discouraging the use of fossil fuels and encouraging the shift towards a low carbon economy.
Cap and share
The Green Party believes we should move to a more effective method than a carbon tax to promote the use of renewable fuels.
In this respect, we will evaluate a number of schemes such as Cap and Share.
Fuel poverty
Revenue raised by the carbon levy will contribute to the upscaling of the National Retrofit Programme
and will be used to increase the fuel allowance.
Windfall tax on land speculation
We introduced a windfall tax of 80% on the gains accruing to individuals or companies from disposal of all land over 1 acre valued over 250,000 arising from rezoning decisions.
This will help prevent land speculators profiteering from their damaging activities,
while providing communities with a source of funding.
As part of the next government the Green Party will ensure that this tax is retained.
Corporation tax
The Green Party supports the retention of our current level of corporation tax.
Introducing refundable tax credits
Tax credits operate in an inequitable manner with those earning least gaining nothing.
The existence of welfare traps, where individuals become worse off by taking a job can be mitigated through the introduction of refundable tax credits.
This operates where if an individual has insufficient income to avail of their full tax credit entitlements, the remaining credits are paid as a cash transfer.
Integrating the tax and welfare systems
The Green Party believes that coupled with our proposal to introduce refundable tax credits,
we can simplify the tax and welfare systems while dramatically reducing welfare traps and increasing equity in our society.
In Government, the Green Party will restructure the system so that appropriate welfare benefits are allocated as tax credits instead of cash payments, while payments from the state should be subject to PAYE, given the recipient being in the PAYE tax net.
Better leadership
Transforming the political system
The Green Party firmly believes that our current political system has failed the people.
The depth of the crisis that the country finds itself in at the moment requires reform at all levels of public life.
It is simply not enough to make changes to taxes and spending and hope that a similar situation will not materialise in the future.
What is needed is radical reform.
Within six months of entering a new government, the Green Party will guarantee a range of sweeping constitutional changes which will enable the Irish citizens to change politics and public life in this country.
We believe the result will bring about a cheaper, more efficient and better equipped public service, in which the people can have faith.
A new constitution
The Constitution is the legal bedrock of the nation.
Much of the criticism about the political system and public life that has been made in the last number of years has identified Bunreacht na hÉireann as a cause of many of our problems.
The Green Party believes that one of the first actions the next Government should take is to consult with the Irish people to see if they wish to put in place a Citizen’s Assembly which would draw up a new draft constitution for the country.
The draft constitution would then be put to referendum.
The Green Party will:
Within six months of entering Government, hold a referendum on establishing a Citizens Assembly, which would be tasked with drawing up a new draft constitution within 18 months.
The Government of the day would be constitutionally obliged to put the draft constitution to the country in a referendum, as a proposed replacement for the current Bunreacht na hÉireann.
The Citizens Assembly would be made up of 40 members, elected from a single national constituency through PRSTV, following the model recently employed in Iceland.
There would be a 40% gender quota.
In the event that the initial referendum on establishing a citizens assembly was rejected, the Green Party in Government would then act to bring forward individual proposals for constitutional change to address public concern about specific aspects of the Constitution within 12 months.
This would focus on much needed changes to our political institutions: the Dáil, the Seanad and the Presidency.
Ending localism in national politics
One of the Green Party’s founding principles is that power should be exercised at the lowest effective level.
This means that issues that can be dealt with at a local or regional level should be devolved from central government to the appropriate body at a more local level.
Dáil Éireann
The Green Party proposes:
To reduce the number of TDs from 166 to 120 (a cut of over 25%).
To have 60 of these elected from singleseat constituencies via STV and to have 60 elected from a national top-up list system.
The top-up system will ensure that proportional representation is maintained and smaller parties are represented in Dáil Éireann in proportion to their overall vote.
The Green Party will also ensure that the Dáil should sit for a fixed five year term.
Any early election should only come about by the failure of a Government to win a vote of confidence, and the acceptance by the President that an alternative Government could not be formed.
Seanad Éireann
The Green Party proposes:
A cap on the number of Senators at 50 (a cut of 16%).
Ending the practice of Taoiseach’s appointments.
That 10 Senators would be elected from a panel consisting of graduates of third level institutions across the country.
The remaining 40 would be elected from a list system, divided across four regional panels based on the European Election constituencies.
The possibility of allowing Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and abroad voting for a number of Senators would also be examined.
Persons choosing to exercise their right to vote on the graduate panel would not be entitled to vote on the regional panels, ensuring each person had only one vote in Seanad.
Investigate the feasibility of facilitating the election of a number of Senators by Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and overseas.
Local and regional government
The Green Party will build on the work on local government reform that it has already done in Government.
We will increase the powers and democratic accountability of regional authorities, to allow them to take on a range of functions currently exercised at national or local council level.
Town Councils and County Councils will be replaced with a new tier of Town/District Councils, which will allow purely local decisions to be taken close to the citizen.
We will prioritise the passage of the Dublin Mayor Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The Green Party proposes:
Implement a new regional local government structure responsible for the planning of water, waste, retail, housing and transport services.
That councillors will be directly elected to strong regional authorities, with a directly elected head enjoying similar powers of the directly elected Mayor of Dublin.
Basic local government functions will be carried out by a new universal tier of Town/ District Councils.
To Increase the power of the citizen to influence local decisions through the wider use of local plebiscites and participatory budgeting.
To ensure that in making these proposed changes to local and regional government the overall bill for salaries and expenses will not increase.
The European Parliament
The Green Party will:
Introduce a list system and a national constituency for European Parliament elections.
Support efforts at European Council level to fix the home of the European Parliament in Brussels
and end the financially and environmentally wasteful sitting of the Parliament in Strasbourg.
Non-constitutional reform
Oblige all TDs and Senators to produce an annual report setting out, amongst other items, how often they spoke in the Dáil, attended votes, engaged in committee work.
Provide for Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann to sit for 45 weeks of the year, with sittings running from Monday afternoons to Friday lunchtimes with full days starting at 9.30am and ending no later than 7pm.
Any changes to this to require a two-thirds majority of the either house.
The Ceann Comhairle will be given the power to oblige members of the Government to give full and adequate information to the Dáil.
Women in politics
A number of factors have been identified as barriers to women’s full participation in politics, including childcare, family friendly working hours, candidate selection processes and the perception of Irish politics as an ‘old boys club.’
The Green Party will
Amend the system of State funding to political parties so that a proportion of such funding is linked to a requirement for a political party to have at least 40% of its candidates at a general election from both genders.
The legislation would include a sunset clause for the ending of gender candidate quotas
and would also link political funding to a requirement for 40% of a party’s candidates being from both genders at local and European elections.
Reform the Dáil term to make it more compatible with the school term.
Provide TDs with the opportunity to take full maternity/ parental leave with a pairing arrangement to cover that period of leave.
Uachtaran na hÉireann/The President
We believe that this role can be further enhanced through the implementation of a number of key reforms.
The Green Party will:
Introduce a Citizens’ Initiative of 20,000 voters to become an additional means of nominating candidates for the Presidency.
Abolish the automatic right of re-election, and introduce one term of five years with the possibility of re-election for another five year term.
Remove the minimum age of 35 years for eligibility and replace with 18 years.
transparency
Ending corporate donations to political parties and candidates
The Green Party will:
Pass legislation to ensure that only citizens can make political donations and that private bodies including corporations and businesses would be forbidden, and underpin this with a constitutional referendum if necessary.
Implement the GRECO recommendations on the transparency of political party funding, including requiring political parties to maintain and publish proper accounts.
Establish an independent Electoral Commission, building on the work already underway in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Appointments to state boards
The Green Party in government commenced a process of reforming the way in which people are appointed to State Boards.
We will continue this reforming work by implementing an administrative process whereby vacancies for nominations can be advertised.
At the same time we will introduce legislation to set this new system on a statutory footing.
This system will commit all new board vacancies to be advertised, and the relevant Minister and Department will select nominees from these applications.
Departments will be directed to maintain a register of the directors of state boards under their remit, and will include dates of appointment and expected retirement dates and vacancies.
The legislation will outline a procedure for the publication of all vacancies likely to occur, invite applications from the general public and from the responses, create a panel of suitable persons for consideration of appointment.
The legislation will also specify numbers of persons to be appointed by a Minister and will facilitate the appropriate Oireachtas Committees to make nominations to the panel.
a Better ireland
Creating a fair, safe and sustainable society
we have a vision of an irish society where all our children are cherished and protected regardless of their background or circumstances,
where our older population is truly valued for its contribution to society and can retire in comfort and security
and where discrimination and exclusion are not tolerated
. we believe that everybody is entitled to live in a safe and diverse community
, with easy access to transport, schools and other quality amenities.
Tackling social exclusion
The Green Party proposes to:
Reinstate greater resources for the Office for Social Inclusion.
Ensure that public policies for social inclusion are integrated into the wider policy framework.
Commission further data collection on levels and risk of poverty and the development of indicators to measure relative and consistent poverty trends.
Safeguarding the most vulnerable in society.
Reform of the social welfare system
The Green Party will:
Fully integrate the social welfare and taxation systems.
Remove obstacles from the social welfare system for those who wish to return to casual, part time or voluntary work.
Apply a Tobin Tax to financial transactions, targeted at financing projects of social dividend.
Undertake a review of all social welfare payments with a view to standardising payments and reducing differences that currently exist between means-tested and non means-tested rates of entitlements.
We will work towards abolishing meanstesting for primary payments such as carers allowance and unemployment assistance.
Remove punitive anomalies such as the limited right to appeal refused payment based on failure to satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition.
Introduce a tapered benefit withdrawal system for all.
Adopt a model of social support which includes an earnings related supplement based on previous earnings, to be applied until further employment or retraining is available.
Implement a system of accreditation for job seekers undertaking work experience or volunteering activity.
Initiate a programme of reform in the delivery of services within the Department of Social Protection so that the dignity and rights of customers receiving the services are fully respected.
Children
Child protection
The Green Party will:
Hold without delay a Referendum on the Rights of the Child, placing the best interests of the child at the heart of our Constitution.
Implement in full and without exception the recommendations of the Ryan Report.
Support a change to the Child Care Act to place a statutory obligation on the State to provide aftercare for all children leaving state care.
Develop a comprehensive national aftercare policy based on the belief that failure to invest in aftercare is a false economy as the cost to the state in later the future in terms of providing homelessness and mental health services.
Introduce without delay the National Vetting Bureau Bill.
Protecting the health and wellbeing of our children
The Green Party proposes to:
Initiate an audit of local authorities’ performance in implementing ‘Safe Routes to School’ schemes.
Local authorities that have not yet implemented such schemes will be given a timeframe within which to do so.
Further Legislate to curtail alcohol advertising, sponsorship, sales promotion and marketing, and placed health warnings on advertisements and products.
Ringfence a proportion of revenue received from alcohol sales and direct these funds into linked policy areas, both in the area of drugs and alcohol.
Target drug prevention programmes specifically to “at risk” groups.
Develop a national sexual health strategy.
Eradicating child poverty
The Green Party will:
Replace Child Dependent Additions and Family Income Supplement with a targeted second tier payment, paid where children are living in low-income households.
Prioritise supports for children in singleparent families; nearly half of children in non-working single-parent families live in consistent poverty.
Youth development and diversion
The Green Party will:
Explore the feasibility of allowing for unused buildings to be made available to Youth Sector organisations for provision of services and amenities to young people.
Reduce the voting age to 16.
Broaden the parameters of the Office for Ombudsman for Children in regard to legislative matters.
Ensure the continuation and expansion of the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme.
Ensure the continuation of the over 100 Garda Youth Diversion Projects across the country.
Review the implementation of the Children’s Act.
Resource conferencing which brings together the child, parent(s), Gardaí, educational and social services.
Carers
The Green Party will:
Publish the National Carers Strategy and provide a timetable for implementation.
Maintain current levels of respite care and home help care.
Introduce a National Carers Register to combat the ‘invisibility’ of our carers and also to provide a clear basis for the assessment and planning of services to meet their needs.
Older persons
The Green Party will:
Publish the Positive Ageing Strategy and provide a timetable for the implementation of its agreed recommendations.
Continue to provide fuel allowance to those who are most at risk of fuel poverty.
Continue to support the Rural Transport Programme.
Commission research to investigate how deprivation on particular items is linked to variations in income among older people.
Seek reciprocity with other EU countries for free or low-cost public transportation.
Disability
Ensure the value for money process is complete;
ensuring that the outcome provides for a greater level of direct service provision to disabled people from savings in administration.
Develop mechanisms for personal budgets and
introduce direct payments.
Disabled people must be enabled to have the maximum choice and control over their own service.
Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
Initiate a review of the Disability Act 2005 and engage with disabled people, amending it to give more meaningful legal protection of their rights.
Ensure the full implementation of national standards and inspection of residential centres and community homes for children and adults with disabilities.
Give official recognition to Irish Sign Language.
Same-sex couples
The Green Party will:
In the event of the Supreme Court ruling against Zappone and Gilligan, seek to have the Constitution amended to permit civil same-sex marriage.
Women and men
The Green Party will:
Examine the possibility of introducing a system allowing fathers take up any remaining unpaid leave if their partner goes back to work early.
Implement the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission Report on the Legal Aspects of Family Relationships.
Legislate for fathers to have automatic guardianship of their child from the birth of the child.
Legislate to ensure the registration of fathers’ names on the birth certificates of their child.
Improve the transparency of family court proceedings through relaxation of In Camera rule.
Promote recognition of the problem of domestic violence experienced by female and male spouses and partners.
Continue to fully implement of the National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
Continue to work towards the full implementation of the National Women’s Strategy.
Explore the reasons for the continued unexplained gender pay gap of 8% and take measures to close the gap.
Childcare
The Green Party will:
Introduce tax incentives for extended family members who are taking care of their grandchildren.
Maintain the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme which provides a free year of early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age.
Integration
The Green Party will:
Protect funding for English Language classes.
Develop a learning programme and examination on Irish culture and history for those applying for citizenship.
Ensure further training for Gardaí, HSE and other key public sector organisations in cultural sensitivity.
Review the third-level education tuition fee structures to ensure people with an established immigration history are not excluded by prohibitive costs.
Tackle racism and xenophobia as a national priority through education and awarenessraising initiatives and monitoring of racist incidents nationally.
Travellers
The Green Party will:
Recognise Travellers as a minority ethnic group.
Ensure that Travellers have greater access to counselling and to Mental Health services to help tackle the extremely high rate of suicide amongst young men in the community.
Carry out an audit of local authorities in relation to the delivery and implementation of Traveller Accommodation Programmes.
Homelessness
The Green Party will:
Continue to prioritise funding for homelessness programmes.
Work to realise the goal of ending long term homelessness and the need to sleep rough.
Ensure the full and timely implementation of the The Way Home: A Strategy to Address Adult Homelessness in Ireland.
Seek to provide a dedicated funding stream for long term housing support to be administered by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Seek to reduce the length of time a person must be on Rent Supplement before becoming eligible for the Rental Accommodation Scheme from 18 to six months.
Provide for a reliable annual count of all people in homeless services using the ‘Counted In’ method.
Prioritise a review of the Youth Homelessness Strategy, published in 2001.
Excellence in education for future generations
In Government, the Green Party protected education by: maintaining pupil-teacher ratios;
reversing severe education cuts in Budget 2009; and stopping a reintroduction of third level fees.
The Green Party will:
Work towards increasing investment in Education to meet 7% of GDP.
Reject any recommendations in the Hunt
Report that would result in students incurring penal debt.
As part of the next government, the Green Party will carry out a comprehensive review of the funding of the third level system, with a view to ensuring equality and accessibility for all students.
Review the Education Act to look at issues such as Boards of Management, patronage and enrolment.
Reform school Boards of Management to be more open and transparent to parents students and staff, with student feedback.
This would include a transition to a system of management linked to local government, similar to the UK (LEA) system for Education.
Retain existing pupil teacher ratio in primary and secondary schools.
Extend the one year free pre school to all preschool children.
Improve investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) utilising modern broadband services and cloud computing technology to deliver greater access to all students in a more cost effective manner.
Teacher Training at Primary Level to include more comprehensive modules on Maths, Languages and Science.
Implement key recommendations of the report on school behaviour, School Matters, including new measures to tackle disruptive students such as specialised units.
Review teaching training modules every three years to ensure that best practice is the norm at every level.
Ensure that Post Grad Teacher Training is not privatised by increasing the number of Post Grad teacher training places in State Teacher Training Colleges.
Fast-track the full implementation of the 2004 EPSEN Act.
Ensure the complete roll out on a strict timetable of the Education for Person with Special Needs Act.
Ensure that the Department of Education and Skills develops and implements a strategic action plan to address homophobic bullying and ensure schools and colleges provide a safe environment for LGB students.
Develop energy efficient, multi-use school buildings as ‘community campuses’ providing a range of services that can adapt flexibly as a community develops.
Develop and introduce a ‘healthy schools’ meals policy, building on existing pilot projects, and implement it gradually across the country.
Adult education
The Green Party will:
Target Investment in Adult Education including measurable accredited training – leading to self sufficiency.
Remove the cap on numbers in PLCs.
Implement key recommendations of the McIver Report on the further education sector, immediate priorities will include the establishment of a new, distinct sector of Further Education.
Promote accredited Community Education.
a healthier ireland – Prioritising health in our communities
A single tier universal public healthcare system accessible to all.
The Green Party believes that healthcare services are a human right.
This means that everyone, rich or poor, young or old should have fair access to a decent public health service.
Healthcare should depend on what we need, not on what insurance we have, how much we earn, who we know or where we live.
The Green Party will:
• Phase out all tax breaks for private healthcare and private health insurance over a period of five years.
The Green Party believes:
Private business (general practice or hospital) can have a useful role in providing services on contract to the Public Health Service if they are able to do so at a high standard and lower cost than publicly owned services.
Healthcare in the community
The Green Party will:
Provide for free visits to GPs and other health professionals at a local level (similar to the system in Northern Ireland and Britain) where everyone is registered with a primary care team and where we can get our primary healthcare needs attended to locally.
Eliminate the need for tax incentives and concessions for the purchase or provision of private healthcare services and private health insurance and reallocate them to public healthcare provision.
Ensure that the costs to the public healthcare delivery system arising from investigations or treatment commenced in the private sector should be borne entirely by the private healthcare provider.
When services are moved from hospitals to the community the money and resources must move with the services.
Ensure that the most cost effective medications are used (including “generic drugs”).
Ensure that appropriate alternative and complementary health practices are integrated into the health service.
Ensure that maternity services are fully integrated into the community via primary care teams, with a much greater emphasis on midwifery led care.
Adopt a community based approach allowing us to grow old and to die with dignity in our own communities, supporting active retirement and hospice outreach.
Hospital care
The Green Party will:
Scrap any decisions to subsidise building of private hospitals on public land.
Ensure that the financial cost of private activity in public hospitals be fully recouped from the private sector.
Mental health
The Green Party will:
Ensure a minimum of 12% of the health budget will go to mental health.
In order to realise the commitments made in ‘A Vision for Change’, we will introduce legislation to ensure that mental health services move from institutional settings to the community.
Make appropriate amendments to the Mental Health Act 2001 to address concerns regarding involuntary committals and procedures.
Ensure that adequate support services for mental health are put in place as part of all primary care teams.
Initiate cross departmental action on mental health, bringing together departments with responsibility for social inclusion, disability, employment and education.
Ensure the continuation of the HSE-National Office of Suicide Prevention LGBT Mental Health Programme.
Sustainability of the healthcare System
The Green Party will:
Initiate a public debate which consults all relevant stakeholders, including patients’ representatives, public representatives and health professionals regarding the establishment of a single tiered healthcare system.
Support integrated planning and policy objectives within the healthcare system, covering primary, secondary and tertiary care.
Integrated funding and reporting structures which cover both the public and private healthcare providers should be developed.
Carry out root and branch reform of the HSE to ensure that its decision making processes are transparent and that it permits a reasonable measure of autonomy to local healthcare service delivery agencies in terms of how they achieve their targets.
This will allow local communities and local representatives to have an important role in deciding local priorities for health and healthcare.
Ensure that funding for healthcare reflects principles of transparency and accountability.
The Green Party believes that all healthcare delivery systems, private and public must be required to present an annual report on complaints and adverse outcomes.
Prioritise health prevention and promotion programmes by increasing their proportion of the overall health budget in an effort to encourage a healthier population and maximise existing resources.
Alcohol
Seek to address the human and economic cost burden of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in line with International best practices.
Ensure that all alcoholic drinks carry a label warning of the significant health risks to the developing fetus of drinking in pregnancy.
Water flouridation
During our recent term of Government the Green Party pursued the implementation of the commitment in the agreed Programme for Government to carry out a national study of the total flouride intake in the population.
We believe that this commitment should be further pursued, and as part of the next Government we will ensure it is delivered.
well planned, sustainable communities
The days of haphazard development that underpinned the complete absence of proper planning Ireland are over.
The Green Party is proud of the significant reforms it made to planning laws in Ireland while in government.
The Green Party will:
Ensure the full implementation of the fundamental reforms contained in the Planning & Development (Amendment) Act 2010 to support economic recovery address the legacy of overzoning, create walkable, sustainable communities, regulate quarries and place environmental protection at the heart of the planning system.
Require that all future development is future-proofed for climate change and peak oil
and is aligned with proper infrastructure provision, particularly public transport, community facilities, green spaces, allotments, schools and water services.
Protect the vitality and viability of our cities and towns
and protect small retailers by maintaining the cap on retail floorspace and ensuring that new retail development is prioritised in town centres.
Ensure thriving and economically sustainable rural communities through revitalising our historic network of small market towns and villages and supporting rural economic diversification.
Further amend the Planning & Development Regulations to ensure greater transparency in the planning process
and to ensure residents are fully consulted and have an equal say in all major planning decisions.
Implement the strong enforcement provisions in the new legislation by requiring planning authorities to establish designated performance-driven planning and environmental enforcement teams.
Ensure that guidelines on flood risk management are implemented to prohibit building in flood plains.
Implement the National Landscape Strategy to protect our cultural landscapes as a major tourist resource.
Unfinished housing developments
The Green Party will:
Support the ongoing work of Unfinished Housing Developments Expert Group in devising long-term sustainable solutions for unfinished housing developments.
Instigate a policy that engages local people in a forum to debate what should happen to the unfinished estates in their area.
The local authority, through their community officer, will facilitate this process.
Explore the drafting of a template agreement to be made available to land owners and community groups to allow for the use of unused sites for allotments and other community projects, with the understanding that this arrangement may be for a limited period.
sustainable and smarter transport
The Green Party has a long held vision of a sustainable transport system for Ireland.
This means a transport system which acknowledges the threats of climate change and peak oil and uses smart and innovative solutions.
We need to protect our transport system against sharp rises in energy prices.
Our dependence on the private car as a mode of transport leaves us particularly vulnerable to any sustained rise in oil prices.
Prioritise investment in public, not private, transport
Reorganise a Capital Investment programme around the Smarter Travel Policy, recognising that Transport 21 has been based on undeliverable economic growth projections.
Prioritise investment in public transport over roads by a ratio of 3:1.
Work to introduce a form of road pricing scheme and ring fence its revenues for cheaper public transport and to maintain the road network.
Progressively enhance the role of the National Transport Authority to encompass decision-making power over agencies such as the NRA, the RPA and CIE.
Pilot a flat fee local public transport with the gradual introduction of integrated ticketing; for example €2 for 2 hours.
Tickets will be transferable between different modes.
Improving our rail network
Prioritise the construction of the DART Underground Interconnector rail line.
Prioritise the delivery of Metro North.
Advance Phase 2 and progress planning for Phase 3 of the Western Rail Corridor
Complete all phases of the Navan Rail Project.
Enhance the Cork Commuter Rail Network through the building of planned new stations, Park & Ride facilities.
Re-examine the potential for passenger services through the Phoenix Park Tunnel in the short term while the Interconnector is being planned.
Adopt the Community Rail Partnership approach to run rural and lightly used rail lines as opposed to closing them.
Develop a new management, planning and marketing strategy aimed at enticing new rail freight business in order to revitalise the industry
and open up freight services to competition to provide a more reliable and efficient service.
Introduce Real Time Passenger Information at all railway stations and halts.
Road transport
Rather than building new roads, resources should now be targeted at maintaining the existing network to achieve better value for money and improve road safety.
The Green Party would therefore not advance any new road schemes as part of the next Government and would instead channel funding to maintain and repair the existing network.
Buses
Increase subvention to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to enable cheaper public transport fares through revenues from road pricing.
Prioritise the rapid rollout of Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) to over 500 bus stops in Dublin, having such information available on SMS and the Internet. hroughout the country.
We will extend this RTPI service to bus stops in towns and cities in the country.
Continue the reform of the Dublin Bus Network, following on from the successful phases of Network Direct.
Cycling and walking
Support Dublin City Council in increasing the number of bicycles within the Dublin Bikes Scheme, according to consumer demand and demography, and work with the relevant local authorities to introduce a similar system in Galway, Cork & Limerick.
Introduce a ‘hierarchy of care’ system similar to that in Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands, which gives motorists a greater legal responsibility for the safety of vulnerable road users.
Plan for and implement a new national cycle network to provide safe commuting routes into urban centres and promote both local and long distance recreational cycling should be introduced.
Engage with Local Authorities to ensure that cycle facilities such as bicycle lanes and bicycle parking are cleaned regularly and kept free from parked vehicles.
Progress key city cycle routes such as the Sutton to Sandycove cycle track in Dublin and an Oranmore to Barna track in Galway.
Introducing car free zones in major cities on Sundays for particular times at weekends to allow for safe cycling in city centre locations.
Introduce cycle training in schools as part of the curriculum.
Continue to develop a National Walking Policy with provision of safe pedestrian routes linked, where appropriate, with public transport services, at its core
Finance the construction and enlargement of footpaths, proper drainage, traffic calming and the prioritizing of pedestrians at traffic lights.
Rural transport
Work with Iarnrod Éireann to focus more management attention on rural railway lines.
Apply the Community Rail Partnership approach to the marketing of rural rail and to link it with the Rural Transport Programme.
Retain funding for the Rural Transport Scheme.
We will work with transport providers to an integrated rural transport network to ensure that all communities have at least a minimum daily service, proportionate to their population and connecting where feasible with other transport modes.
Coordinate existing transport resources more effectively through the National Transport Authority.
Encourage the clustering of residential development near existing villages.
Private vehicles
Continue to incentivise the purchase of low emission vehicles through the motor tax system.
Promote eco driving and a more efficient use of roads.
We will introduce a road pricing scheme which will target reducing traffic congestion,
and use the revenue raised to support public transport on a national basis.
Promote Car Share access and the expansion of Park & Ride facilities for areas still out of reach of Public Transport in the immediate future.
Electric vehicles
The Green Party in Government made great progress in the area of Electric Vehicles, setting ambitious and achievable targets toward creating a situation whereby 10% of All Vehicles on Irish roads are electricpowered by 2020, including a €5,000 Grant toward new purchases
The Green Party will work to expand Electric vehicles as a share of the Private Vehicle fleet.
safer Communities
An Garda Síochána
The Green Party believes that the prevention and detection of crime along with addressing the needs of victims crime are of equal importance.
In order to achieve this balance, we need a modern, well equipped police force.
The Green Party will;
Ensure the provision of continued professional training and education within the force.
Implement new disciplinary regulations, new promotion regulations and and act on the findings of Justice Morris.
a whistleblowers charter
Ensure that the recommendations made by Justice Barr arising from the Abbeylara incident are implemented in full.
Address IT deficiencies in Garda Stations across the country.
Introduce external supervision and counselling service for Gardaí following traumatic experiences.
Ensure that all Garda trainees receive comprehensive training in victim’s care and victim’s issues as part of their training.
Reform of the prison system
The recurring problems of recidivism, overcrowding and psychiatric issues in our prison system need to be addressed immediately.
The Green Party will;
Establish a Working Group on Penal Reform to develop alternatives to custody.
Abolish plans to relocate Mountjoy to Thornton Hall and instead review options to refurbish and extend the present building.
Remove children under the age of 18 from St Patrick’s Institution.
Legislate to place the Inspector of Prisons on a fully independent and statutory footing.
Explore the possibility of establishing an Ombudsman for Prisons.
Ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) to ensure national monitoring of places of detention is effective and independent.
Explore the possibility of developing an afterprison support system, with one agency coordinating fully integrated supports for accommodation, education, employment.
Human trafficking
Ireland needs to play a stronger role in the detection and elimination of human trafficking.
The Green Party will;
Introduce legislation which follows the Swedish model in making it illegal for a man to buy sex.
Introduce legislation which criminalises human trafficking.
Legislate to ensure the protection of victims of trafficking.
Support awareness campaigns of human trafficking.
Explore the possibility of introducing a multi-agency centre to provide a central point for the development of expertise and cooperation in relation to the trafficking of human beings similar to the the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre [UKHTC].
White collar crime
We must take measures to ensure that ‘white collar’ or corporate crime is treated by the authorities with the same efficiency and stringency as any other type of crime.
Continue the work already initiated by the Green Party and re-establish a Cabinet subcommittee to consider all aspects of fraud and white-collar criminality
Explore the possibility of holding a referendum to introduce non-jury trials involving a panel of people with specialist knowledge to allow for the courts to deal with complicated prosecutions in the financial sector.
Examine the introduction of a whistleblower’s charter, similar to that in the UK, as a way of making white-collar cases easier to successfully prosecute.
Draft legislation based on the Private Members’ Bill moved by Trevor Sargent in December 2010, which is aimed at amending the definition of treason in the Constitution to include economic treason.
Victims of crime
The Green Party agrees that a rebalancing of the criminal justice system to favour the victims of crime is long overdue.
The Green Party will;
Set down a timeline for the full implementation of the Victim’s Charter.
Establish a system of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Victim’s Charter.
Review the work of the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime and conduct an audit of the victims support services around the country in order to ensure greater coordination and cohesion between victim’s caring groups.
Ensure widespread promotion of the National Crime Victims’ Helpline.
Direct provision
The system of Direct Provision requires those seeking asylum or leave to remain to live in the State assigned accommodation centres.
Asylum seekers are not allowed to work or study and are dependent on the allowance of €19.10 per week for adults and €9.60 for children.
The Green Party believes that this system must be reviewed as a matter of urgency with a view to replacing it with a more humane system
. In government we will prioritise this work.
international affairs
The Green Party will work with coalition partners to ratify the following conventions and protocols without further delay:
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
The Green Party:
Reaffirms its support for the work and instruments of the Good Friday Agreement.
Supports all efforts to widen the Nuclear non proliferation treaty and is against nuclear weapons in all their forms.
Will, in government, and through the UN, the EU and other international fora, work to keep up pressure for change in Burma.
Has consistently supported an independent state for the Palestinian people alongside the state of Israel.
The so-called security wall built by the Israeli government must be removed
and Palestinian groups must recognise the right of the State of Israel to exist if they wish to be included in the peace process.
The Green Party supports those who advocate a two state solution.
Commitment to overseas development aid
Ireland has a strong international reputation in overseas development and international aid.
The government, Irish NGOs and the Irish public together have made a very important contribution in these areas.
The Green Party is dedicated to ensuring that we retain this good reputation by reaffirming our commitment to deliver 0.7% of GNP and advocating for delivery of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The Green Party will:
Reaffirm Ireland’s commitment to deliver on all eight UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
We advocate for a financial transaction tax to fund the Millennium Development Goals.
Ensure that Ireland will deliver on the commitment that our overseas development aid should reach 0.7% of GNP and will publish a plan of year-by-year increases to achieve this.
Seek that aid, as well as addressing basic human needs, should assist in developing democratic structures.
Include aid measures to combat the effects of climate change, which impact on developing countries hardest.
Continue to support Fair Trade goods, including in Government purchasing policy.
Maintaining a vibrant artistic and cultural life
The Green Party has long been a strong advocate for the arts,
and we successfully fought to ensure the viability of the arts in Ireland during our time in government.
In successive budgets, the Green Party protected arts funding from further cuts.
We also secured the future of the Irish Film Board when it was at threat of being scrapped.
The Green Party will continue to support the artistic community through the following measures:
Ensure the continued representation for the Arts and Culture at Cabinet.
Maintain current levels of funding to the statutory agencies for the arts, including Irish Film Board, Culture Ireland and the Arts Council.
Legislate to expand the definition of the arts as currently laid out in the Arts Act.
Through the Department of Education and Skills, ensure that contemporary art education is introduced at primary and secondary level to grow artists and audiences for the future.
In recognition of the vital role the film industry plays in bringing investment into this country, we will ensure the continuance of the Section 481 tax breaks for the industry.
Ensure that Local Authorities allocate sufficient funding to allow the fulfilment of long-term strategic cultural and arts planning.
Recognising the role that technology and innovation will play in the future of our artistic and cultural life, we will seek to form joint ventures between our enterprise and tourism bodies and our artistic and cultural organisations.
In order to incentivise audiences and improve access to arts events, we will initiate a subsidised money-off vouchers scheme.
Each individual in the state with a PRSI number will be issued with a €5 voucher which can be used as part payment for any Arts Council certified event.
The Irish language
The Irish language is an important cultural resource for the people of Ireland, but it is a vulnerable and damaged resource which needs to be protected.
The Green Party will:
Ensure the full implementation of the 20 Year Strategy for Irish which we assisted in developing during our time in government.
Establish an Irish Language Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach in order to ensure that the Official Languages Act is implemented in every part of government.
Ensure that government departments do not use translators who do not have the official seal of Foras na Gaeilge.
Oversee a comprehensive review of the teaching and learning of Irish at primary and post-primary level both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland.
a green vision for ireland
Protecting the environment for future generations
in government the green Party  implemented a significant body of policy and legislation in the areas of climate change and environmental protection including:
Publication of the Climate Change Bill 2010.
Introduction of a Carbon Tax.
Integration of Carbon Budgeting into the Annual Budgetary Process.
Initiation of a Public Consultation Process on Waste Management Policy
Passing into law of the Planning and Development Act 2010.
Introduction of crucial changes to the Motor Tax and VRT systems.
Drafted the Noise Nuisance Bill.
Climate change
In December, the Green Party published the Climate Change Response Bill 2010.
The Bill sets out a robust statutory basis to strengthen the national response to climate change.
Key provisions include;
Ambitious but realistic national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050;
A new national planning process encompassing both mitigation and adaptation;
A new annual process on reporting to the Oireachtas; and
A new Expert Advisory Body to advise Government on policy and implementation.
The objective of this piece of legislation is to reinforce Government policy on positioning Ireland as a responsible country on climate change, with a progressive policy response focussed on transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable future.
Transition aims to address the challenges and embrace the opportunities that climate change presents for Ireland and to significantly reduce our over-dependence on imported sources of fossil fuel energy.
As part of the next government, the Green Party will prioritise the passage of this vital piece of legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Taking Ireland beyond oil
The Green Party has warned for quite some time now that we are close to reaching peak oil.
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.
The Green Party believes that the onset of peak oil represents an opportunity for Ireland to utilise the bountiful natural resources available to us to become an Oil Free Economy.
In this respect we look to the Sweden’s goal, announced in 2006, that it will become an Oil Free Economy by 2020.
With our unique geographical, climatic and human-capital advantages, this move will send a very clear signal to the global community that the direction of public policy in Ireland is unambiguous and that Ireland is a prime location for long-term investment opportunities
As part of the next government, the Green Party implement a strategy to set Ireland on the road to being an Oil Free Economy by 2030.
a green vision for ireland
Animal Welfare
Animal welfare is of great concern to the Green Party and we will continue to build on our significant work to date as part of the next government by undertaking the following measures:
Pass into law the Animal Health and Welfare Bill, which outlaws fur farming and the culling of badgers.
Examine the possibilities of alternatives to live animal exports from Ireland.
Make it a requirement for all retail outlets to label animal derived material such as fur and/or leather, regardless of the percentage of fur and/or leather in the items.
Prohibit the trade in animal fur products.
Implement legislation to end the importation of and trade in exotic species.
Introduce legislation to ban hare coursing.
Make the hunting of animals with hounds an offence under law.
Replace the culling of badgers with more effective and humane methods of control.
End the use of exotic animals in circuses in the long term.
In the short term issue a Ministerial Directive to all Local Authorities prohibiting them from providing land to circuses that use exotic animals in their acts.
Genetic modification
The Green Party will pursue the introduction of a voluntary GM-free logo, which will take advantage of our predominantly grass fed beef and diary cattle, and build on the ‘Brand Ireland’ strategy to differentiate and add value to our produce.
The Green Party will:
Establish a GM-Free regulatory authority to ensure that rigorous testing is put in place to verify that animal feed is free of GM inputs.
Veto any EU proposed legislation that would allow a certain threshold for GM contamination in conventional seeds before the seeds had to be labelled as containing GM traces.
Waste
As Minister for the Environment, John Gormley commenced a process to introduce new levies for landfill and incineration which will increase the existing levy on landfill and introduce a new one for incinerators.
As part of the next government, the Green Party will ensure that these levies are introduced without delay.
The Green Party believes that Mechanical Biological Treatment can offer a much more environmentally friendly method of residual waste treatment than mass burn incineration,
and will continue to advocate for the former technology as a means of responsible waste disposal.
Domestic waste collection
As a party to the next government, the Green Party will continue to transform Ireland’s waste system by implementing the following minimum standards for domestic waste collection:
A collection of paper and card for recycling at least fortnightly.
Collection of textiles for recycling at least monthly.
Collection of food waste at least weekly.
Collection of steel and aluminium cans at least fortnightly.
A collection of plastic bottles at least fortnightly.
A collection of glass containers at least fortnightly.
Bring banks with a density of at least 1 per 600 inhabitants.
Water
Decades of neglect and overuse were highlighted during the severe weather at the start and end of 2010, when widespread water shortages illustrated the need for a more efficient system.
The Green Party will:
Ensure the complete roll out of metering nationwide, with every household given a free basic allowance of water as per the renewed programme for government.
Establish an ombudsman, or other independent authority, to decide on disputes to do with water meters and water charging, or assign this responsibility to an existing relevant authority.
Provide low income households with assistance to deal with the introducing of water charging, and provide support for the installation of water efficient appliances in low income households.
Make rainwater harvesting mandatory in all new developments.
Focus on meeting our water needs now and in the future by reducing demand
and getting the most from existing infrastructure before undertaking major new engineering projects, which have big environmental and economic costs.
Review and reform national structures of water governance.
Focus on maintaining and improving drinking water quality through the protection of important river catchments.
Protect aquatic sites with the highest conservation and biodiversity value.
The Socialist Party's 8 point manifesto sets out our alternative to cuts and crisis.
As well as being available here, it has been delivered into almost every single house in the 9 constituencies in which we are standing
Slashing spending will make the crisis much worse, guaranteeing bankruptcy
The only way to overcome deficits or debt is through economic growth.
The idea that Ireland would not be able to get credit and would financially collapse if we don’t pay the bondholders is wrong.
Working class people in countries defied IMF and forced them to retreat.
Rather than being isolated, many people internationally would support such a stand.
There are many sources for getting credit, including within the domestic economy.
These debts will choke the economy (the interest alone will be €10 billion in 2014, 20% of all tax revenue).
Not paying these debts,
linked to taking key aspects of the economy into public ownership
would give the opportunity to plan major investment and create growth and jobs.
 Resist the  attacks on living standards, fight for jobs.
 Don't pay the bankers’ debts and reject the EU/IMF austerity diktats.
1 Create tens of thousands of jobs now
There are 100,000 unemployed building workers
as well as a need for vital infrastructure like proper public transport, modern water infrastructure, broadband, health facilities and new schools
while billions are being wasted on bankers and speculators (€4.8 billion paid in interest on the debt alone in 2010).
 Create tens of thousands of jobs by  investing in building and staffing essential infrastructure and the public services we require
People’s rights to public services and benefits should not be relegated behind parasitic speculators “right”  to make super profits.
These cuts will result in a downward economic spiral of more unemployment, more indebtedness and more cuts.
 Reverse all    cuts in social welfare, health & education.
 Restore pay rates & the   Minimum Wage.
 Scrap the Universal Social Charge & Water & Home Taxes
3 Take control of the banks
- Reduce mortgage repayments
With the bad debts scrapped, the banking system should be nationalised but not as this government has done, where they refuse to lend to ordinary people or small businesses, but publicly controlled and used for the benefit of society.
 Nationalise all the banks, guaranteeing the savings of all ordinary depositors, and run them democratically under public control and management.
Reduce mortgages & repayments to affordable levels.
Outlaw repossessions.
Take the vacant houses & provide homes   at affordable prices in communities fully  resourced with public services.
Make the rich pay for THEIR crisis
4 Tax big business and the super rich
Ireland’s millionaires have approximately €120 billion.
The top 10% have 25% of total income, 11 times that of the bottom 10%.
e18.5 billion was transferred out of the state from the bank accounts of rich Irish people in 2010.
The idea that multi-national corporations will run at the hint that Corporation Tax will go up is an attempt to intimidate people.
Countries with low tax on profits are worst hit by this crisis.
Taxing the rich, combined with real economic growth would bridge the budget deficit.
For example, corporation tax at the Austrian level of 25% (low in european terms), and scrapping tax reliefs to the rich, could raise e1o billion per annum
Attempts to siphon wealth out of Ireland to evade tax must be stopped, if necessary with capital controls.
 Make the rich & big business pay!
 Scrap the subsidies and tax reliefs to the rich and big business
 Tax wealth and increase  Corporation Tax.
5 Develop an economy that can create jobs
Jobs are the key issue.
There was a 31% fall in physical investment alone, so the idea that private foreign or Irish investors will get us out of the crisis and create jobs is fantasy.
In reality, they are on strike and won’t use the wealth to benefit society.
The only chance of developing productive manufacturing industry and overcoming mass unemployment is through major investment, including in Research and Development.
That will only happen if the major economic resources, including gas and oil resources off the west coast (worth in excess of €500 billion), are taken into democratic public ownership and management and used in a planned way for people’s needs not short term profits.
 End the abuse of wealth by the capitalist establishment.
Take the economy and natural resources into democratic public ownership
and plan the development of a real  manufacturing base, sustainable jobs and a  secure future for all.
For a socialist alternative!
6 End the Mercs, Perks & high salaries of politicians
TDs, Ministers and Senators get huge salaries and “gravy train” expenses.
Retiring Ministers get a pension jackpot!
Most of these  are completely divorced from the lives of ordinary people.
In turn more and more decisions at central and local government level reflect the demands of big business not the public interest.
 Abolish the Senate & end exorbitant salaries & pensions of TDs & Ministers.
Pay them the average industrial wage & verifiable expenses only.
7 Establish a new party for working class people
None of the Dáil parties represent working class people, (workers, the unemployed, pensioners and the young).
Labour now accepts the market.
Sinn Fein is implementing huge cutbacks in the North.
Vote United Left Alliance and help found a powerful new party to represent working class people.
 Elect Socialist Party/ULA TDs so we can launch a new party to organise working class people
8 A government for people’s needs, not profit
We need a real alternative.
With the establishment of a new mass party the struggle for an alternative government for working people becomes real, and that combined with reclaiming the unions and turning them into fighting organisations can create a movement that would be powerful enough to transform society.
 For a government based on working class people that implements socialist policies & puts people before profit.
JOBS
Put jobs and growth first.
That means renegotiating the EU-IMF deal to include a jobs strategy,
to share the debt burden with bondholders, to reduce the interest rate, and to leave room for Ireland’s economy to grow.
Build on our strengths.
Labour has specific plans for job creation in Ireland’s agri-food industry, tourism, renewable energy, creative industries, clean technology, and retail;
for turning scientific research into jobs;
and for developing new markets for Irish exports.
Invest in jobs and training.
Labour’s €500 million Jobs Fund will fund new ideas to grow jobs in strategic sectors of the economy,
while our plan for a Strategic Investment Bank will provide credit to grow businesses
and build vital infrastructure.
The Jobs Fund will also provide 60,000 new education and training opportunities to help those out of work to get back into employment.
Make next generation broadband happen.
Labour’s plan brings together private sector funding in an innovative co-op
to build a high-speed, next generation broadband network.
REFORM
Change politics.
Labour’s job in government is to serve the best interests of the Irish people.
Labour will abolish the Seanad,
end cronyism on State boards, and make Ministers and public servants accountable for their decisions.
A new Constitution.
Labour will ask a people’s convention to draw up a new Constitution setting out the aspirations, the values and the rules that Irish people want to live by now.
Open up government.
Labour will extend the right to Freedom of Information, require political lobbyists to be publicly registered, and introduce legal protection for whistleblowers.
Reform public service.
Labour has a plan to make the public service more flexible, work better, and to get better value for money.
FAIRNESS
Keep taxes fair and balanced.
Under Labour in government, no one earning less than  €100,000 will pay more income tax.
Labour’s plan to close the gap in our public finances is split 50:50 between spending cuts and new revenue-raising measures.
A fairer, more affordable health system.
Labour will reform the unfair two-tier health  system to reduce the cost of delivering care, and use those savings to extend universal access to essential medical care.
We will start by making access to primary care,  such as GPs, more affordable.
Make literacy a national cause.
No child should leave school unable to read and write.
Labour has a plan to improve child literacy for the first time in a generation.
Equality is for everyone.
Labour will hold a referendum on gay marriage rights.
JOBs
Jobs
Finance and Banking:  A Better Deal for Ireland
Time for change
Ireland faces a profound economic crisis,
but while we have serious problems, we also have major economic advantages.
With the right policies the economy can create jobs and return our country to prosperity.
The firsT sTeps
Renegotiate the EU/IMF Deal to re-focus on growth and job creation
Bank Bondholders should share in bank losses
Renegotiate the interest rate on the EU loans
Renegotiate the fiscal strategy to promote growth and fairness
Ensure an adequate flow of credit to the Irish  economy
Labour does not accept that the EU/IMF deal provides a workable basis for restoring the Irish economy.
Labour in government will engage with the EU and the IMF to renegotiate the deal, so as to achieve fair and realistic terms  for Ireland and for the Irish people.
resTore The Banking sysTem
The EU/IMF deal provides funding to support a process of downsizing and restructuring in the Irish banking system, so as to restore international confidence and ensure that the  system can fund itself – i.e. that the banks will be able to function  without support from the ECB.
Labour will apply the following principles to the restructuring and down-sizing of the banks:
Labour will insist that an adequate pool of credit is available to fund small and medium-sized businesses
Labour believes that bank  bondholders should share in  bank losses.
Depositors must be fully protected.
Labour will seek to ensure that burden  sharing with bondholders is part of a renegotiated deal.
Labour will insist that an  adequate pool of credit is available to fund small and  medium-sized businesses in  the real economy during the re-structuring and downsizing programme.
Labour will ensure that, at the  end of the process, a strong and robust banking system exists that will serve the needs  of the real Irish economy.
The banks will have to provide detailed plans on how this will be achieved, including the number of SME lenders to  be involved in achieving the targets, how many new SME clients will a bank achieve, and  how much will be focused onto  existing clients.
Labour will seek to agree more effective alternatives to the  transfer of further portfolios of smaller property loans to NAMA (NAMA2), given the difficulties this will create in  the management of such loanbooks.
Labour is opposed to further fire-sales of bank assets which  impose greater losses than necessary.
We do not support the NAMA3 asset warehousing proposal as a solution that can be implemented in a timely manner.
Labour will explore all options to minimise the cost of re-structuring, including asset insurance models, and  to increase the availability of affordable funding to the banking system in the interim period to provide the real economy with credit.
Labour will seek to dispose of the public stakes in the banks as soon as possible at the best possible return to the taxpayer.
Labour believes that a restructured banking system should include a specialist stateowned, but strictly independent, investment bank, focused on  funding investment to support the strategic needs of the Irish economy,
including project finance for infrastructure and  growth capital for firms.
Such a bank would be capitalised from the funds remaining in the  NPRF and should form an ongoing part of the financial system in Ireland’s open and innovative economy.
Labour will insist on restructuring of bank boards, to ensure replacement of directors who presided over failed lending practices.
Labour will ensure that the  regulator has sufficient powers of pre-approval of bank directors and senior  executives.
sTrong, coherenTdecision-making
Effective decision making in this process demands better decisionmaking structures, in contrast to the fragmented and sometimes contradictory approach that has been in evidence during the crisis to date.
Labour will create a  strong integrated decision-making structure, which while respecting the statutory roles of the different agencies, will incorporate all relevant agencies, with effective inclusion of appropriate advice, led by senior Ministers.
geTTing value for The Taxpayer from nama
Labour has been consistently opposed to the NAMA project, because it presented an unacceptably high and irreversible risk to the taxpayer.
Labour in government will seek to curtail any further transfers of assets to NAMA,  and will seek alternative solutions  to the transfer of large portfolios of smaller property loans.
Effective operations and decision making by NAMA are critical to the future of the Irish economy, in respect both of curtailing losses to the State, and in ensuring that the property market in Ireland functions normally.
The prices at which assets are sold by NAMA is critical.
Labour will also insist  on the highest standards of transparency in the operation of NAMA,
and will work to limit the  costs associated with the agency  such as in respect of professional fees.
Labour will insist on the  fullest recovery of losses from the developers whose loans have been transferred to NAMA and who do  not meet their obligations.
never again
Ireland’s banking crisis clearly demonstrates how Fianna Fáil’s  philosophy of free-for-all, lighttouch regulation, without proper checks and balances risks social and  economic catastrophe.
Labour will restore the soundness  and credibility of the Irish banking sector so that it can again play its valuable social and economic role – a  safe haven for savings, a facilitator of payments, a responsible lender for productive investment and important family purchases.
In the future, regulation must be based not only on sound principles, but on clear, enforceable rules  backed up by stringent oversight and sanctions where necessary.
The Central Bank should be charged with monitoring balance sheet growth at financial institutions under its  jurisdiction, and in the financial system as a whole, and on the sustainability of the funding mix, reporting annually to the Minister for Finance and recommending remedial action if necessary.
Once the banks are put on a sound footing, efforts should be made to accelerate a move to the Basel III  regime with more onerous capital and reporting requirements.
Long before the most recent banking crisis, Irish banks established a  track record on over-charging their customers.
Irish consumers need a  reinforced watchdog with real teeth and the will to take on the bankers.
Fianna Fáil have hived off the  consumer protection function of the Financial Regulator to the National Consumer Agency.
It is essential  that its quasi-judicial role in terms  of investigating wrongdoings  and imposing sanctions is not watered down.
Enhanced coordination is needed  between the Financial Services  Ombudsman, the Office of the  Director of Corporate Enforcement, the National Consumer Agency, and the Head of Financial Regulation at the Central Bank.
There should be a  one-stop-shop portal for consumers with issues with financial service  providers rather than having to navigate these myriad bodies.
paying for The crisis
Over time, the banking sector must pay a fair contribution to cleaning up the mess for which it is responsible.
When the Irish banking system has been put back on its feet, fully recapitalised, and able to access interbank markets, Labour will  introduce a bank levy based on the size of a bank’s liabilities (other than shareholders’ capital).
Labour will insist on the fullest recovery of losses from the developers whose loans have been transferred to NAMA
special resoluTion regime for failed Banks
Because of the important role that banks play in the wider economy, they cannot just be wound up in the same way as other businesses when they are bankrupt.
This should not mean, however, that taxpayers are on the hook for banks’ debts.
Ireland  should work with our European Partners to develop a comprehensive new Special Resolution Regime that ensures protection of banks’ depositors,
but allows for appropriate burden sharing with other creditors.
an end To Bonus culTure
Bonuses in the financial sector have  grown out of all proportion with their social and economic value and  have encouraged risk-taking that is ultimately borne by the taxpayer.
All remuneration schemes at banks  subject to state support should undergo a fundamental review to ensure an alignment of interest between banks, their staff and the  taxpayers who have borne such a heavy burden to keep them open.
regional enTerprise funds
Opportunities should be explored (for instance through JEREMIE, run by the EIF) for the launch of a Regional Investment Fund by refocusing some of our remaining structural funds which have yet to be drawn down from Brussels.
This  would be a revolving fund where the money can be re-invested.
geTTing crediT flowing To small & family Businesses
Across Ireland, viable, profitable, well-run businesses are going to the wall because they can’t access credit.
Labour will introduce an SME  Working Capital Guarantee Scheme which would ensure that viable  small and family businesses can get the loans they need.
Labour will insist on a full and proper investigation into the blanket bank guarantee
a sTrong muTual and crediT union secTor
Labour is committed to maintaining a mutual and community component in our financial system.
Ireland’s credit unions have a rich tradition  and a track record of providing loans in communities and workplaces across the country.
The credit union movement has an important role to play in Ireland’s future financial architecture and the movement  deserves support in its endeavours to increasingly modernise and professionalise the sector.
This will involve a fair and impartial review of credit union regulation.
inquiry inTo The BlankeTBank guaranTee
The blanket bank guarantee was the most disastrous policy decision in the history of the state.
Labour will insist that a full and proper investigation into this decision and the events leading up to it  is completed and that there are public hearings by the relevant Oireachtas Committee.
addressing financial exclusion
Labour is committed to tackling the problem of financial exclusion through measures such as the introduction of basic bank accounts.
We also believe that a new  partnership should be sought to provide banking services through the Post Office Network.
The fuTure of The ifsc
Labour supports the future development of the IFSC as a source of future growth in high value employment, subject to appropriate regulation, including the development of Green financial services
and Islamic banking.
Fiscal Stability, Investment And Competitiveness
Time for change
Labour believes that the growth forecasts in the Four-Year Plan are broadly achievable, provided that the right policies are put in place.
Ireland can achieve high export growth, and see a return to growth in the more job-intensive domestic economy.
The Fiscal Strategy set out in the EU/IMF deal, however, involves excessive  austerity, which will put growth and job creation at risk.
Labour is proposing a strategy that will maximise investment and growth.
The firsT sTeps
Extend the deadline for achieving the 3% of GDP deficit target to 2016
Implement a net adjustment of €7.1 billion in  the period 2012-2014
A fair and balanced approach to achieving savings
A new strategic approach to achieve better public spending
Establish a Strategic Investment Bank to invest in the Irish economy using resources in the National Pension Reserve Fund
ensuring fiscal sTaBiliTy and growTh
As a result of the mismanagement of the economy by Fianna Fáil, Ireland is dependent on the IMF/EU loan facility to fund the fiscal deficit.
Labour has consistently supported the objective of restoring fiscal stability, in line with our obligations as a member of the Eurozone,
and  as a necessary requirement for economic stability and long-run growth.
Labour does not accept, however, that the fiscal strategy devised by the discredited Fianna Fáil government and included in the EU/IMF deal provides a basis for economic recovery or for maximising long-term growth.
In particular, the excessive austerity in the Fianna Fáil plan, endorsed by Fine Gael, poses an unacceptable risk to economic recovery.
Labour does not accept thatthe fiscal strategy devised by the discredited Fianna Fáil government provides a basis for economic recovery
Labour believes that the average GDP growth rate set out in the fouryear plan is achievable, provided that pro-growth policies are adopted.
These include action to enhance competitiveness, to ensure adequate flows of credit, to promote investment
and an appropriate fiscal strategy.
The Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael austerity programme does not allow sufficient room for economic growth and employment creation.
The scale and nature of the cuts being proposed also pose risks to medium and long-term economic growth and to social cohesion.
Labour will
therefore seek to renegotiate the fiscal strategy in the IMF/EU deal.
laBour’s prioriTies for The fiscal year 2011
In respect of the fiscal year 2011, Labour will negotiate with the EU and the IMF to ensure that adequate resources are available in 2011 to  fund key jobs strategies and reforms in the health sector.
We believe these  funds should be provided from cash balances, and not through further expenditure cuts.
It is clear that the Universal Social  Charge was not properly thought through, and that it is having a dramatic impact on the incomes of many families.
The charge has been introduced at a time when  other taxes are increasing, as well as household bills like VHI fees.
This  is causing particular hardship to some families, including working widows and elderly people.
Labour will conduct a detailed review of the  impact of the USC to identify the families that have been hardest hit,  and will reform the tax accordingly.
We will fund these changes by extending the 10% rate of USC on incomes over €100,000 to include  employees’ incomes over €100,000,  and by changes to capital taxes.
fiscal sTraTegy for 2012 – 2014
Labour proposes a net fiscal adjustment in 2012-2014 of €7.1  billion, so as to allow adequate room for jobs and recovery.
Labour will complete the reduction in the deficit to below 3% of GDP by no later than 2016.
Labour believes that the composition of the adjustment should be fairer and more balanced, including fairer taxation and on-going investment in education and other vital services,  which are essential to social solidarity and to long-term economic growth.
new prioriTies in capiTal expendiTure
Ireland needs to take a new  approach to public and private capital investment that reflects the new realities of the economy and the constraints on public resources, while also incorporating the new funding that will be available through Labour’s Strategic Investment Bank.
Labour in government will commission a new study of Ireland’s investment needs (similar to the 2006 ESRI study), and draw up a National Development Plan covering the seven-year period 2012-2019.
In the initial years, when resources will be most heavily constrained, Labour will prioritise investment in education,
in health,
in science and  technology
and in job-creation.
Labour will insist that major capital projects are subjected to proper cost-benefit analysis and evaluation, improving future productivity and growth prospects, and that the value-for-money obtained is significantly enhanced compared to the most recent period.
Labour’s strategy is to support the development of an investment economy, while maximising the return to the public from major programmes of investment.
a comprehensive spending review and wasTe audiT
Given the need for fiscal  consolidation, it will be necessary to curtail current expenditure in the immediate future.
While this  will involve difficult decisions, it  will also afford the opportunity to reform the public service to enhance efficiency and eliminate waste.
Rather than adopting a piece-meal, cheese-paring approach Labour will insist on a properly planned multi-annual expenditure strategy.
To this end, Labour will conduct a  Comprehensive Spending Review and Waste Audit that will examine  all areas of public expenditure.
This will be markedly different to the ‘Bord Snip’ exercise, in its purpose and in the way it is conducted.
The Comprehensive Spending Review and Waste Audit will  be a major exercise in strategic budgeting and will involve a fundamental assessment of all  spending programmes, examining their objectives and how those objectives are achieved.
The purpose of strategic budgeting is to find the most cost effective ways to provide services to the public and to improve future growth and productivity.
It will take account of the changing needs of modern Ireland, and  will be conducted on a ‘whole of  government’ basis.
Learning from the experience in other countries, the spending review will be led, not by external consultants, but by government Ministers and the Secretary General of each Department, co-ordinated from the centre of government.
It will adopt a three-year time horizon, resulting in a plan for public expenditure for the period 2012-2014.
This exercise should be an immediate priority for government and will be concluded in time to feed into Budget 2012.
As part of this exercise, Labour will include a ‘surrender and re-grant’ clause, whereby Departments that propose savings in one programme would be able to propose re-cycling of some of those savings into other priority areas, subject to a ‘reducing ceiling’ on aggregate budgets.
The ‘reducing ceiling’ means that non-pay budgets will be required to be reduced by at least 2% per annum over three years on an aggregate basis – the percentage savings achieved will vary across departments in line with policy priorities.
Labour will also seek to enhance the local flexibility
available to public service managers in how they deploy their budgets to achieve maximum efficiency and service quality.
culling quangos
Non-Commercial Semi-State Bodies  or quangos have mushroomed in recent years.
Labour is concerned about the value-for-money being achieved by these bodies and by the lack of accountability associated with them.
The Comprehensive Spending Review and Waste Audit will include a full evaluation of all  quangos, with each body being required to justify its continued existence outside of its parent department.
Remaining quangos will be required to be properly accountable to the Oireachtas.
Labour is proposing a series of amalgamations of quangos relating to utilities regulation, equality, industrial development and broadcasting that will both save money and achieve greater policy coherence.
reforming social proTecTion
In order to close the fiscal deficit, it  is vital that we reduce the cost of  Fianna Fáil’s failure to address the  problem of unemployment.
Labour is proposing a series of strategies to tackle the growing problem of long-term unemployment, and in doing so to reduce the associated expenditures on social welfare.
We will also launch an all-out  campaign to tackle the problem of welfare fraud.
Labour will conduct a Comprehensive Spending Review and Waste Audit that will examine all areas of public expenditure
leadership from The poliTical sysTem
At a time when savings are being sought across the public service, the political system must also show leadership.
Labour is proposing a cap on all Ministerial and public sector salaries, corresponding reductions in the salaries of Ministers of State, reductions in the number of paid chairs of Oireachtas Committees  and abolition of the Oireachtas  allowance paid to Ministers who have constituency offices staffed by civil servants.
Labour is proposing reform in the transport arrangements for Ministers including a reduction in the number of Garda drivers.
The arrangements for Ministerial pensions and severance packages have rightly been the cause of public outrage.
Labour will ensure that in future these arrangements are set by an independent person, such as the Comptroller and Auditor General.
reducing The puBlic service pay Bill
As part of the process of fiscal consolidation, it is necessary to reduce the public service pay bill.
Our proposals are based on a reduction of 18,000 in public service numbers in the period 2011-2014.
Public employment ceilings will be reassessed during the Comprehensive Spending Review and Waste Audit to ensure that the maximum savings are being achieved and that frontline services are being protected.
Labour will work the Croke Park  Agreement.
It is essential that the agreement should result in savings to the Exchequer and that the pace of implementation of the Agreement be accelerated.
sTraTegic expendiTure prioriTies
In order to achieve recovery and reform, it will be necessary to re-allocate resources to areas  of strategic priority.
This means achieving more savings in order to re-invest in reform and development.
Labour’s adjustment proposals provide for resources to fund a €500  million annual jobs package.
As part of Labour’s health strategy, the cost of providing health care in Ireland will be driven down, with €489  million being provided to ensure a major shift towards primary care.
Additional resources will be provided in key areas of education
and criminal justice to drive reform.
fair TaxaTion 2012-2014
Labour has long argued for a fair and balanced tax structure in Ireland and  we will seek to renegotiate the EU/IMF deal to achieve this objective.
It is an important principle of taxation that those who have the  most, must contribute the most,
and  that revenue-raising must begin with reform, rather than constantly delaying it as Fianna Fáil have done.
Labour does not support further impositions of income tax on people on middle and modest incomes in  the period 2012-2014.
We propose no increases in income tax for people earning less than €100,000.
We  will extend the 10% USC rate to  employee incomes over €100,000.
Labour will insert a new provision in the tax code to ensure that high earners (tax units with incomes  over €250,000) must comply with a Minimum Effective Tax Rate to be  set at 30%.
This will impose a fair restriction on the capacity of high earners to reduce their tax bills  through tax planning.
Labour in government introduced the 12.5% corporation profits tax rate, and we will insist that it remains  in place.
Reforms to the regime for off-setting corporate losses against Corporation Tax can be adopted to increase the yield from the tax
without affecting Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for  inward investment.
Labour will prioritise the elimination of unnecessary tax expenditures, as we have been proposing for many years.
These include the legacy property reliefs, and phasing down of the amount of interest that can be  offset against rental income for tax purposes to 25%.
Labour believes that the total  quantum of tax relief currently in place for pensions is no longer supportable, and that the distribution of relief at present is not fair or equitable.
Labour will target a further reduction of €500 million in  the total amount of relief, but rather  than simply standardising the rate of relief, Labour favours an approach that retains strong incentives for people to invest in pensions while also making the system fairer.
This will include capping the tax relief on pension contributions from both employers and employees, reducing the maximum tax-free lump sum, reducing the maximum pension fund and including pension tax relief in the minimum effective tax rate.
Labour favours the introduction  of new progressive structures for Capital Taxes.
In respect of Capital Gains Tax and Capital Acquisitions Tax, the first €50,000 over the
threshold will be taxed at 30% and  the balance at 35%.
These measures  will raise €236 million in a full year.
The change in Capital Acquisitions Tax will be introduced in 2011 to  finance changes in the Universal Social Charge.
Labour believes that appropriate tax rules have a role to play in protecting our environment.
Labour will  increase the carbon tax to €25 per  tonne,
with an offset of €40 million  to fund fuel poverty measures.
Labour supports a broadly based tax on packaging as proposed by Comhar that will raise €60 million.
Labour is proposing a 1% increase in the standard rate of VAT that will  raise €310 million in a full year.
Labour’s proposals include modest increases in excise on wine and  cigarettes.
Labour will prioritise action to reduce losses to the  Exchequer from smuggling through stronger revenue enforcement.
Labour accepts that it will be necessary to introduce a site value charge, in order to prevent higher taxes on work.
The Government has  not, however, carried out sufficient  work to allow such a charge to be introduced in the short-term.
Further  detailed study will be required to devise a fair basis for such a charge that takes account of the value of  property in different regions,
the need to exempt some categories of homeowners, and the need to  take account of those who have  recently paid large sums in stamp duty or who are in negative equity.
Any charge of this sort, therefore, cannot be set in place before 2014.
Accordingly, Labour will publish a Green Paper by the end of 2012 on how the charge can be structured in a fair and efficient manner.
As  an interim measure, Labour will  increase the second homes levy by  €300 to yield €95 million.
Labour will take action to deal with the scandal of tax exiles, and will further strengthen revenue action to reduce tax evasion
Labour will insist on action being taken to deal with the scandal  of tax exiles, and we will further  strengthen revenue action to reduce tax-evasion.
invesTing in JoB creaTion
Throughout the crisis, Labour has been clear that cuts alone will not  solve the problem.
Ireland needs a strategy for jobs and growth,
and the lack of action on jobs has made the crisis in the public finances and in the banks even worse.
While  difficult decisions are needed,
we  also need a strategy to grow our way out of our predicament.
Despite the financial crisis at home and abroad, we are living in a period of opportunity for the Irish economy.
In the advanced economies, economic  growth is now increasingly driven by what is known as the ‘knowledge economy’, with new technologies driving economic growth both in knowledge-intensive sectors, and more widely across the whole economy.
At the same time, the global trading system is expanding, and the emerging economies such as China and India present enormous opportunities for Irish companies.
Export growth in Ireland is picking up, and competitiveness has improved.
What we need now is a coherent  strategy to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to us.
laBour’s JoBs fund
Labour’s fiscal strategy provides for a €500 million Jobs Fund  to finance a series of pro-jobs initiatives that involve elements  of current expenditure.
The fund would be administered by a Cabinet sub-committee.
Proposals from Departments, agencies and other bodies, including the private sector, would be considered on the basis  of their contribution to an overall  jobs strategy and would be funded accordingly.
The agencies thus funded would not be immune from  making efficiencies in their budgets – funding from the Jobs Fund would be dependent on demonstrated additionality to existing operations.
sTraTegic invesTmenT
To achieve growth, the Fianna Fáil casino economy must be replaced with by the investment economy.
The Irish banking system has not provided the kind of investment finance that is required to meet Ireland’s investment needs.
To  fill the gap, Labour is proposing the establishment of a Strategic Investment Bank.
The Strategic Investment Bank will be established in two phases.
It will be set up initially as a vehicle to invest the remaining funds in the National Pension Reserve  Fund in projects that will enhance infrastructure and boost growth in the Irish economy.
It will be fully
independent and will invest on a commercial basis.
Over time, and when market  conditions normalise, this vehicle  will be developed into a functioning bank that takes deposits and raises long term financing.
Labour believes that the Strategic Investment Bank should be an essential component of the re-structured banking system.
The bank would be set up as an independent commercial operation, using €2 billion of the National  Pension Reserve Fund as capital.
It would operate on a strict arms-length basis from government.
Irish citizens and the Irish Diaspora would be encouraged to make deposits in the bank, and to purchase Citizen’s Bonds, which would be a way to invest in the recovery of the Irish economy, and would be of different maturities.
The bank would attract  funding from a number of sources, including consumer deposits and wholesale markets (once market conditions normalise).
The Strategic Investment Bank would be a key lender to SMEs and innovative firms.
The Enterprise Agencies would develop relationships with the Strategic Investment Bank to facilitate introductions of highpotential firms.
Investment decisions, however, would remain the exclusive  preserve of the bank.
The Strategic Investment Bank would also support investment in large infrastructure projects.
improving compeTiTiveness
Competitiveness has improved during the past three years, but we need to ensure that, as growth returns, these gains are not eroded.
In particular, it is important that costs in the protected sectors of the economy do not undermine the capacity of the traded sector to compete.
To maintain and enhance competitiveness, Labour is proposing the following measures:
Wage Policy
Labour believes that negotiated wage policies can potentially be an important tool of macroeconomic policy in a small open economy.
We will explore options for developing such an agreement, which may include national and/or sectoral wage norms.
Labour believes that investment and job creation can be enhanced through structured multiannual agreements that incorporate wage restraint.
Wage competitiveness should not be confused with a low wage agenda.
Labour is opposed to the reduction in the minimum wage agreed by Fianna Fáil with the European Union and the IMF and we will reverse it.
The national  minimum wage affects fewer than 3% of the work force, who are on  the lowest rung of the labour force ladder.
Labour will reform the JLC  system,
but this cannot be used as the basis to undermine the rights and conditions of employment of vulnerable workers.
Competition Policy
Labour will support robust competition policy and enforcement.
We support structural reform in the professions to drive down the cost base for the traded sector.
Utilities Regulation
Labour will enhance the quality and effectiveness of utilities regulation in Ireland.
We favour a properly planned consolidation of the number of regulators, to make more effective use of regulatory skills.
Labour will retain the Competition Authority as a separate entity.
Labour believes that the Strategic InvestmentBank should be an essential component of the re-structured banking system
Enterprise and  Innovation
Time for change
To achieve economic growth and job creation, the Irish economy must shift from a property-based economy to a knowledge economy.
We need to carve out new markets, and develop new products to sell in them.
Ireland has an open and entrepreneurial economy with multiple natural and developed competitive advantages.
We need a government that will help that economy to grow by driving trade, innovation and productivity growth.
The firsT sTeps
Use Labour’s s500 million jobs fund to grow employment in sectors where Ireland already has a competitive advantage
Make the strategic decision to target the development of new markets for Ireland in the emerging economies
Appoint a trade czar to co-ordinate action across government in opening these fast growing markets
Plug the gap in our national system of innovation by investing to turn new scientific advances into jobs
Create innovation centres focused on  commercialisation of research
a new approach To enTerprise policy
Competitiveness and productivity gains which generated strong exportled growth formed the basis for the Celtic Tiger from 1994 to 2002.
We need a renewal of this strategy in order to create the foundations for  future economic and employment growth.
However the previous blueprint will have to change.
New economic realities, the imperative to decarbonise our economy,
and the need to develop a new generation of export champions will require a reset in our trade and enterprise policy.
Labour will place a much stronger emphasis on the promotion of services exports, including software, engineering, financial services, education and culture.
Labour will establish a Trade Council to strengthen cooperation and coordination across key departments
To support the development of exporting SMEs, we will seek reform of EU procurement rules so that a greater portion of all public procurement goes to small and medium sized enterprises.
We will promptly implement all the recommendations in the Trading and Investing in the Smart Economy Report.
In particular, we will establish a Trade Council to strengthen cooperation and coordination across all of the key departments and State agencies involved in the promotion and development of trade and exports.
Membership of the Council
will be divided equally between government and private sector representatives who have experience in establishing and growing exportoriented business both in Ireland   and abroad.
We will appoint a high profile Trade and Enterprise czar to work with in tandem with the  Trade Council, who will be able to  draw on full diplomatic and civil service resources and who will  report directly to the Minister for Enterprise and the Taoiseach.
A key pillar of Labour’s new enterprise strategy will be to position Ireland to develop better trade relationships with the rising economies of Brazil, Russia, India ,  and China.
Labour will establish a local trade  and investment team reporting to the local Irish Ambassador or  Head of Mission and the Minister  for Enterprise in each of the target emerging countries and other priority markets.
These teams will execute a detailed local market  plan, with progress against targets reviewed annually.
At home, Labour in government will draw on the economic strengths and connections of Ireland’s immigrant communities by appointing a representative from each of the BRICS and other strategic markets resident in Ireland as trade champions for their respective countries, reporting to both the Trade Council and the Minister for  Enterprise.
Trade champions will have a mission of promoting trade to and from Ireland and will be supported by the Department of Enterprise.
Labour will take initiatives to deepen educational cooperation with the emerging economies, financed from Labour’s Jobs Fund.
an innovaTion sTraTegy agency
Innovation is the single most important factor in the transition to a sustainable investment economy.
While Ireland has a number of  key strengths in this area, such as high quality scientific research institutions, scientists and engineers, our innovation system has a number of deficiencies.
Labour’s plan for innovation is directly aimed at addressing these weaknesses, while building on our existing strengths.
Labour will subsume the current  activities and functions of Forfas, the  Innovation Taskforce, the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation and the Sustainable  Energy Authority into a newlyestablished Innovation Strategy Agency an independent agency within the IDA / Enterprise Ireland structure, whose role will be to stimulate  technology-enabled innovation in the areas which offer the greatest scope for boosting growth and productivity.
Labour’s Innovation Strategy Agency will promote and support investment in technology research, development and commercialisation beyond the basic research supported by Science Foundation Ireland, as well as advising government on how to remove barriers to innovation and accelerate  the exploitation of new technologies.
The majority of the members of the board of the ISA will be drawn  from industry and finance from both Ireland and abroad with  experience of technology change and innovation.
The Innovation Strategy Agency will focus its work by targeting key technology areas and sectors where innovation can be applied including but not limited to high value manufacturing, advanced materials, nanotechnology, bioscience, electronics, photonics and electrical systems and information and communication technology.
The ISA will also focus on the  application of technological innovation in established sectors of  the economy like energy generation and supply, transport, creative industries, high-value services and architecture and construction   by identifying challenges, establishing priorities and developing strategies which specify the necessary actions to transition to a more innovative approach.
The ISA will promote Ireland’s full engagement with the ‘Innovative Union’ proposals issued by the European Commission in October 2010 as one of the seven flagship initiatives under the EU2020  Strategy, with the specific aim of refocusing R&D and innovation policy on major challenges and at turning inventions into products.
Turning research inTo JoBs
There is a critical gap between the basic research promoted and funded by Science Foundation Ireland and third level institutions,  and its subsequent development into a commercial opportunity for investors.
This gap can only be closed by making new technologies investment ready.
The Innovation Strategy Agency will be tasked with closing this gap through the establishment of a network of Technology Research Centres focused on applied technological research in specific areas, to be linked to appropriate higher-education institutions.
The centres will accelerate the  exploitation of new technologies by providing infrastructure that bridges the gap between research and technology commercialisation.
The establishment of these centres  will build on the approach already adopted with the Tyndall Centre on ICT and the International Energy Research Centre (IERC) in UCC where  government, industry and academics partner to focus on applied research that will lead to concrete results and  commercial applications.
In order to promote Ireland’s strong historical tradition in science and  technology for the next generation of scientists, each centre will be  named after a renowned Irish  scientist such as Robert Boyle, Ernest Walton, Jocelyn Bell Burnell or Kathleen Lonsdale.
Initially these centres will be funded in a three-way split between the ISA, competitive grants, and contracts with private companies.
Over time, the centres will be expected to supplement their core funding by gaining further income from public and private sector contract research, and through the commercialisation of intellectual property.
The ISA will initially establish three additional centres building on Tyndall and the IERC focusing on biotechnology, nanotechnology and high value manufacturing.
Further centres from a number of other  areas will be selected subsequently.
The Innovation Research Centres will  also be in a position to play a role as anchor tenants in more broadlybased Science and Technology Parks that will attract private firms in the specific research area.
Labour’s Innovation Strategy Agency will promote & supportinvestment in technology research, development & commercialisation
secToral JoBs sTraTegies
As well as creating the conditions for innovation and export-led growth,
Labour is proposing a number of sectoral strategies, which build on Ireland’s existing strengths.
Labour’s proposals for growing employment in tourism, the green economy, the agri-food sector and in the education sector are outlined elsewhere in  this manifesto.
Other sectors with  specific targets include:
Labour’s plan for Creative Industries
Establish common IP  agreements across the digital media sector and third level  institutions.
Support the development of an International Content  Services Centre to make  Ireland a world leader in   the management of intellectual property.
Merge the functions of Culture Ireland and Cultural  Projects into the Arts Council, which will be given an expanded mandate to promote Irish arts abroad.
Extend the R&D tax credit to  the games industry in order to attract game developers and grow the game sector  in Ireland.
Ensure Ireland fully engages in the debate arising from the forthcoming (2011) European Commission Communication  on Cultural and Creative  Industries.
This Communication  should include proposals to promote creative studies, attract investment and provide funding for artists, and to establish networks   with businesses and   improve mobility.
Labour’s plan for Internet services & Cloud Computing
Continue to market Ireland  as an EMEA headquarters location for internet services  companies.
Pursue an aggressive policy of attracting international data centres to Ireland, leveraging the appropriateness of our climate and energy and communications  infrastructure.
Establish an expert group to address new security and privacy issues arising from the use of cloud computing and review the adequacy of current legislation and identify what steps need to be taken to ensure a supportive regulatory environment.
Introduce a policy that all government departments and agencies will adopt cloud based services if they demonstrate value for money and are adequately secure.
Actively encourage new businesses that are cloudfocused.
Review broadband pricing and policies of commercial and other providers to ensure that any obstacles to the adoption of cloud computing are removed.
•   Innovation Strategy Agency to create and fund a programme to actively encourage the use of cloud computing throughout all sectors.
Labour’s plan to sustain the  retail sector
Enact the Labour Party’s legislation to abolish upwardonly rent reviews for all commercial leases, as a matter  of urgent priority for the Dáil.
In the interim, appoint a Commercial Rents  Ombudsman with some  powers currently only granted to an Examiner.
This Ombudsman would have  the power to adjudicate on rents that have the potential to cause a business to fail,  without undertaking a costly  court process.
Reform the Joint Labour  Committee structure,  beginning with the appointment of independent chairpersons to the JLCs.
Retain the existing Retail Planning Guidelines and maintain the retail   planning cap.
Encourage local authorities to introduce differentiated, timelimited rates to facilitate new  business start-ups.
supporT for smes
There are approximately 230,000 SMEs operating in Ireland, representing the backbone of the Irish economy.
SMEs are confronted by a series of obstacles, most notably working capital, but also access to venture capital, complicated bureaucracy, and insufficient resourcing of the patent process.
Labour’s banking policy is focused on ensuring an adequate supply of capital for SMEs, including a working capital guarantee scheme, and greater access to venture capital through Labour’s Strategic Investment Bank.
The Innovation Strategy Agency will work to up-grade the patent process, while the streamlining of bureaucracy will be addressed on a cross-departmental basis.
co-operaTives
Co-operatives, friendly societies and mutual companies are a legitimate and valued part of the Labour tradition.
In Ireland the co-operative movement has played a hugely important role in key areas  of economic, environmental   and social development.
However, in comparison to other countries, the role of the co-operative and mutual company in Ireland is limited.
In many other countries new co-operative models of enterprise have emerged and are meeting vital social, business and environmental  needs and creating worthwhile jobs in important areas such as healthcare, transport, childcare, housing, energy and energy efficiency and environmental protection.
Labour in government will work to promote a greater appreciation of the co-operative model as a distinct form of organisation, ensure a level playing field between co-operatives and the other legal options for structuring enterprise activities, and provide a conducive framework for the full potential of the co-operative model to be realised, including in areas such as childcare, education,  housing, energy retrofitting, environmental protection, transport and healthcare.
Labour is committed to the concept of public enterprise,and is determined to ensure that semi-state companies play a full role in the recovery of the Irish economy
semi-sTaTe companies
Labour is committed to concept of public enterprise, and is determined to ensure that semi-state companies play a full role in the recovery of the Irish economy.
Labour is opposed to short-termist privatisation of key state assets, such as Coillte or the  energy networks.
A New Deal  for Jobseekers
Time for change
Ireland is facing a jobs crisis, that risks becoming a crisis of long-term unemployment.
Labour sees forced emigration as a stark failure of government, not a solution.
Business as usual will not be enough to cope with the unemployment challenge ahead.
We need to reform our social  protection system so that it is the first step on a path back to work, education or training, not a   poverty trap.
The firsT sTeps
A new National Employment Service to replace FÁS
A major work experience scheme for 30,000 recent graduates and apprentices
30,000 new education and training places for people who are unemployed
Reduced qualifying periods for Back to Education Allowance and Back to Work  Enterprise Allowance for the period of this economic emergency
An 18 month PRSI holiday for employers hiring new employees off the live register
laBour’s plan for an inTegraTed naTional employmenT service
Labour will replace FÁS with a  new National Employment  Service to meet the needs of a   21st century workforce.
All employment and benefit support services for people of working age will be integrated in a single delivery unit, a National Employment Service, managed by the Department of Social Protection.
This new employment and benefit support service would absorb:
Labour will replace FÁS with a new National EmploymentService to meet the needs of a 21st century workforce
The functions of the  Department of Social Protection relating to assessment and delivery  of benefits for people of working age.
The functions of the  Department of Social Protection relating to Community Employment participants.
The administration of the  Supplementary Welfare Allowance, currently carried out by the HSE.
The Employment Services unit of FÁS, which provides support to jobseekers.
The Local Employment  Service Network.
This integrated service would provide a ‘one stop shop’ for people seeking to establish their benefit entitlements; looking for a job; and seeking advice about their training options.
It also decentralises the administration of working-age benefits, which will in future be  assessed and managed locally.
This service will offer users a higher level of personalised employment counselling, with more frequent face-to-face interviews.
Training and deployment of staff will reflect this focus.
Those on the live register who are identified as being most at risk of long-term unemployment will receive priority treatment for more intensive support.
As part of these reforms, Labour will also develop a flagship web-based adult career guidance portal, which will provide adults with free advice on how to develop their skills for work.
This will be funded through efficiency savings arising from the reform process.
Helping people move into employment, or into training that leads to sustainable employment, will be the primary function of the National Employment Service.
Its performance will be measured on this basis, and the results published annually.
This development of a flagship National Employment Service is a key part of Labour’s wider reforms of the social protection system, which are grounded in the principle that a person’s first day of unemployment should also be a first step on the way back to work, with appropriate training, education or work experience support and other incentives to make that happen.
This will also apply to those in receipt of working age benefits who are capable of making a transition to work in the community, education, or training, or employment.
meeTing The educaTion and Training needs of JoBseekers
The majority of FÁS funds for direct training, and all of the FÁS training centres, will be transferred to the  further education and Institute of  Technology sectors, with an explicit mandate to deliver high-quality, flexible vocational education and  training and a broader, modern apprenticeship programme that caters to a wider variety of trades, ages and genders.
This will be accompanied by a redeployment of qualified training staff from FÁS to Colleges of Further Education and Institutes of Technology, as appropriate.
The transition will be strategically managed by government to ensure that available training and education opportunities meet the current and projected needs of the labour market, and the needs of jobseekers.
In order to retain the element of  flexibility in the old FÁS system that allowed it to respond to emerging skills shortages, a proportion of the funding would go to create a fund that all providers (public and private) will be able to tender for in order to  deliver training in designated skills shortages. Those skills shortages would be identified in annual labour  market surveys.
Labour’s Jobs Fund will fund 60,000 new training,education & internship places
60,000 new Training,educaTion and inTernship places
Labour’s Jobs Fund will fund 60,000  new training, education and internship places, to help people who are currently unemployed to develop their skills, and position themselves for new job opportunities.
Labour’s initiatives will include:
‘Bridge the GAP’ – a Graduate and Apprentice Work Placement Scheme.
A webbased broker connects recent  graduates and apprentices with employers offering six-month internships.
Participating interns would be paid at the single person’s rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance  for the duration of the  placement, plus a modest cost-of-work allowance.
An ‘Earn and Learn’ scheme  that enables people on ‘short time’ to combine a shorter  working week with training or education.
A reduced qualifying period of three months for the Back  to Education and Back to  Work Enterprise Allowance to make it easier for people to come off the dole and into  education, and greater access to postgraduate courses under the Back to Education  Allowance, for the period of this economic emergency.
A tax-back scheme to help people not eligible for other means-tested supports to claim up to two years of their income tax back to fund full-time study in an authorised institution.
Literacy and basic workplace skills to be a national  priority, with literacy training incorporated into a wider variety of further education and training.
‘Skills Exchanges’ within further education colleges, libraries, Institutes of  Technology or training centres, to enable those  availing of training in one field to use their previous professional experience to help train other people.
30,000 additional training places across the entire education and training system, distributed in line with the recommendations  of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs on the  skill requirements of the Irish labour force.
encouraging employers To Take on new employees
Labour will extend the Employer PRSI Incentive Scheme, and extend  the exemption period to 18 months, to incentivise employers to employ people who have been on the live register for 6 months or more.
We will ensure that employers are made aware of this and other job incentive schemes.
Growing the  Green Economy
Time for change
In the 21st century, a sustainable environment is integral to a sustainable economy.
Ireland has an obligation to reduce our greenhouse gases, and play our part in tackling climate change.
However, this also provides us with an opportunity to create new jobs in sectors such as clean technology, renewable energy, and services that reduce our demand for energy in the first place.
The same is true of managing our water supplies, reducing our waste, and enhancing our environment so that it is safe, clean, and a positive resource for tourism.
Pass Labour’s Climate Change Bill to set legally binding carbon reduction targets in line with EU targets
Introduce a National Retrofit Scheme to make  our housing stock more energy efficient
Clear obstacles to bringing Ireland’s rich renewable energy sources on stream
Position Ireland as a leading player in the global carbon market, and a centre of excellence in the management of carbon
Reform how we regulate the waste sector to kick-start investment and innovation, and  reduce costs for consumers
comBaTing gloBal warming
Labour’s Climate Change Bill will provide certainty about government policy, and a clear pathway for emissions reduction, in line with  negotiated EU targets.
Labour will also work at EU level to set up a national programme for forest carbon offsets.
Ireland also needs a coordinated  approach to the two-pronged challenge of reducing our carbon output and growing our energy independence, with responsibility at the highest level of government.
The Department of the Taoiseach will coordinate both our domestic  and international policy on  climate change.
We also need to anticipate changes to Ireland’s climate that are already inevitable, by urgently developing  a national climate change adaptation plan.
Labour will make it easier and affordable for homeowners to upgrade their home’s insulation
creaTing a low carBon socieTy
One of the easiest, fastest and  cheapest ways to reduce our carbon emissions is to use less fossil fuels.
Labour will improve the energy efficiency of our existing housing stock by initiating a major National Retrofit Scheme.
There are up to 1.2 million dwellings in Ireland in need of an energy efficiency retrofit, creating at least 30,000 direct construction sector jobs with additional indirect and   induced jobs.
Labour will make it easier and  affordable for homeowners to upgrade their home’s insulation by introducing an Energy Efficiency Obligation on energy suppliers, who would in turn be required to offer ‘whole house’ energy efficiency upgrades.
This would be paid for through a ‘pay as you save’ mechanism on the household energy bill.
Labour wants to end poor quality housing in Ireland.
To address the problem of existing, inefficient building stock, all housing will have to meet a minimum standard of energy efficiency at the point of sale or rent.
Labour will also further improve energy efficiency for new buildings, with a view to moving towards zero carbon homes in the longer term.
All new commercial buildings will also be required to significantly reduce their carbon footprint.
In tandem with the development of a smart public transport system, Labour will target having 350,000 electric cars on Irish roads by 2020.
Labour is also committed to an  initial target of 50% green public procurement, and will progressively raise energy efficiency and carbon standards for future procurement commitments.
delivering clean, secure energy
Ireland needs to maximise its rich  wind and wave energy regime, and position itself to become a net exporter of clean energy.
Renewable energy providers need certainty about policy direction to invest and expand their businesses.
Labour will legislate to regulate the geothermal energy sector to provide certainty for investors, and to provide for an efficient Foreshore Licensing and Leasing process for marine energy.
To date, the transition to a lowcarbon energy future in Ireland has been defined by a lack of policy and institutional coordination.
This  lack of clarity in the framework that supports the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies has delayed progress in the energy sector.
Labour will create a coordinating policy office, using existing resources, within the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
This would have  the benefit of joined up thinking and be in a position to enhance sustainability measures in a coordinated way across a number of sectors.
As part of Labour’s enterprise and innovation strategy, Labour will seek to establish Ireland  as a renewable manufacturing hub to attract international and  domestic investment.
Labour will  also position Ireland as a leading player in the global carbon market, and a centre of excellence in the  management of carbon.
Labour will facilitate the  development of energy co-operatives to make it easier for small-scale  renewable energy providers to contribute to our renewables target.
Reducing demand for fossil fuels and growing renewable energy supplies are critical to our energy security.
However, it is important that our gas and electricity networks are kept in public ownership, so that access to this vital infrastructure is not  jeopardised.
Labour will also ensure that Ireland’s royalty regime extends to the Corrib gas field as part of a wider review of the tax regime and conditions of oil and gas exploration.
Labour will scrap the plan by the Energy Regulator to insist on the unnecessary cost of re-branding of Bord Gáis and ESB.
Labour will take immediate action to alleviate the risk of fuel poverty
Labour will not establish any nuclear facility in the state.
We will continue to oppose the Sellafield plant and other installations in the UK which  pose a risk to our people.
Tackling fuel and energy poverTy
In the medium-term, our proposals will result in a cleaner, more secure,  more affordable supply of heat and electricity to Irish homes.
However, Labour will also take immediate  action to alleviate the risk of fuel  poverty in the short term by reinvesting €40 million from the  carbon tax to alleviate fuel poverty, and by developing a national fuel poverty strategy as set out in Labour’s Fuel Poverty and Energy Conservation Bill.
Labour will also direct the  Commission for Energy Regulation to implement a fairer disconnection policy through the use of prepayment meters, and to develop a fair policy in relation to disconnection fees.
a susTainaBle wasTe policy
Ireland needs a national waste  management strategy that is environmentally sustainable, that reduces costs for businesses and  consumers, and that creates jobs.
Labour’s waste policy will adhere to the EU waste hierarchy.
Labour favours a coherent approach to waste management that minimises the waste going to landfill, and that maximises the resources that can be  recovered from it.
At national level, Labour will  facilitate the coordination of  Regional Waste Management Plans in order to ensure households  and businesses have a minimum  standard of waste services, and also  to provide certainty to investors.
Labour will also investigate the potential for a virtual waste ‘clearing house’, where companies involved in the recycling or reuse of waste can bid for material.
This  measure will also provide clarity for investors as to the potential for new waste-related businesses.
In order to address Ireland’s  obligations under the EU landfill directive, Labour will explore the introduction of a ‘cap and trade’ scheme that would phase in the auctioning of permits for landfill.
Labour will also drive a waste  reduction programme through the extension of producer responsibility initiatives, and a levy on packaging.
Labour will consider placing a product levy on hard-to-recycle objects.
Specific producer responsibility requirements will be introduced for construction and demolition  projects over a certain threshold, with recycling and waste management requirements enforced through mandatory compliance bonds that can be refunded at the end of the project.
In order to improve the waste collection service available to  householders and businesses  nationwide, and to improve the amount and quality of materials available for recycling and re-use, Labour will make local authorities  legally responsible for the collection of household waste.
Instead of  multiple operators competing within local authorities, operators will compete to deliver a service to every household in the local authority area, as recommended by the ESRI.
Local authorities can also compete against private operators for this market, in which case the contract would be  awarded by an independent assessor.
These contracts would stipulate a minimum service to be offered  nationwide, and a public service obligation, including a fee waiver scheme for low-income households.
However, licences would be flexible  enough to allow for localised waste management needs and opportunities.
ensuring access To safe waTer
Security of access to clean drinking water is essential for public health.
This has been undermined by recent scandals of polluted water supplies, and drought caused by extreme weather.
Labour does not favour water  charges, which do not address the immediate needs of those who  currently receive intermittent or poor water supplies.
Labour will continue to invest in the water services  programme as part of the capital budget, focusing on minimising treated water lost through leakage.
enhancing The qualiTy of our environmenT
Everyone has the right to enjoy a clean, healthy, peaceful environment.
Labour will clamp down on environmental crime,  such as illegal dumping and graffiti, and strengthen laws against noise pollution to deal with noise from neighbouring residents, allow for on the spot fines, and provide for mediation between neighbours.
Labour will ensure relevant  government departments integrate biodiversity into their plans, policy and actions, and legislate to better protect our coastal zones.
Our countryside and coastlines are positive amenities for tourism, and Labour will work in partnership with local stakeholders to ensure  reasonable and safe access to them.
Labour will continue the  implementation of national and European legislation to enhance biodiversity and improve conservation.
Labour will also  complete the ratification of the Aarhus Convention on access to  information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.
Labour will make local authorities legally responsible for the collection of household waste
Infrastructure for  the 21st Century
Time for change
Behind Fianna Fáil’s rhetoric of the ‘Smart Economy’ is the reality of Ireland’s poor performance in almost every international league table.
Labour’s broadband strategy will extend next generation broadband speeds across Ireland, allowing us to embrace cloud computing, e-health, e-transport, e-learning, improve on our energy efficiency and position Ireland as a world leader in communications innovation.
Together with rebalancing transport policy to favour public transport, Labour will lay the foundations for a greener, more sustainable economy.
The firsT sTeps
Facilitate the establishment of a new  company, NetCo, which would begin the roll-out of next generation broadband
Empower the regulator, ComReg, to ensure all broadband suppliers provide regular data on speeds, and end inaccurate advertising of broadband speeds
Address the growing problem of digital literacy
Protect local postal services by legislating for a comprehensive Universal Service Obligation
Revise the National Development Plan to prioritise public transport projects that deliver the best value for money, reduce road congestion, and reduce greenhouse gases
delivering nexTgeneraTion BroadBand
Ireland’s biggest obstacle to delivering next generation broadband is the prohibitive cost of investing in a new, next generation network.
To address that market failure, Labour  will facilitate the establishment of  a company, NetCo, which will allow investors to share the risk of investing in a new network.
This cooperative company
would be a vehicle for the roll-out of next  generation broadband, connecting the majority of users to fibre optic cables which will allow speeds 100 Mpb/s and greater.
The vast majority of homes would be directly connected to the fibre network, with a wireless solution  only being offered in remote areas.
This network would replace the aging copper network that is currently in existence.
Labour will facilitate private companies to invest in a nextgeneration network
NetCo would own the passive elements of the infrastructure,  but would be barred from  simultaneously providing broadband services, so as not to create a  monopoly.
Telecoms operators and retailers would be charged the same rate to access the network.
However,  initial investors in the network  would be charged a preferential rate in order to incorporate the risk of their initial investment.
This cooperative approach to investing private funds in the fibre network has been successfully exploited in Switzerland, and through a public-private venture in the Netherlands.
BeTTer value firsT generaTion BroadBand
ComReg will be mandated to continue to lower the price of LocalLoop Unbundling.
To further drive value for consumers, ComReg will require all broadband providers to publish average speeds for each package.
We will also introduce a new government rating system so that home owners and tenants can assess  broadband facilities easily, and to restrict misleading advertisements relating to monthly caps.
developing ireland as an ip huB
Labour supports the development of an International Content Services  Centre in Ireland, and its potential to make Ireland a European hub for the dissemination of Intellectual  Property.
We will work at European level to ensure that rights clearance is standardised, to provide for a transparent and competitive market in Intellectual Property across the EU.
Labour will also work towards the  development of EU-wide standards for digitisation and archiving, in order to make the EU a world leader  in digital content management.
mainTaining puBlic service BroadcasTing
Labour supports and values public service broadcasting, which has always been a fundamental cornerstone of the Irish  broadcasting system.
It promotes diversity, social and cultural values that are essential to a properly functioning democracy.
Labour will uphold these values as Ireland makes the transition to digital television and radio, ensuring that access to, and the quality of public service broadcasting, are protected.
Labour will examine the role, and  the collection of, the TV license fee in light of existing and projected convergence of broadcasting technologies.
regulaTing for The fuTure of BroadcasTing
Telecommunications regulatory and licensing matters are currently handled by ComReg, whereas broadcasting regulation and licenses will be the responsibility of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
Given the convergence of technology in this sector – i.e. video on demand, mobile broadband –  we will merge the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and ComReg to form one regulatory body.
This new pan-regulatory body will also have responsibility for protecting consumers from ‘rip off’ charges and for Quality Assurance.
ensuring The survival of prinT media in ireland
Given the intense pressures that newspaper and broadcast media currently face, a detailed and informed policy discussion is required to ensure the future survival of a strong indigenous media presence in Ireland.
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will engage in a structured dialogue on the future challenges faced by the print and broadcast media in Ireland, with  broad input from industry, politics, and consumer and civic groups.
susTaining a universal posTal service
In light of the proposed liberalisation of the postal services, Labour believes that a universal postal service is essential, in particular for rural communities and those  disadvantaged communities affected by the digital divide.
A commercially viable, profitable and efficient An Post is key to the long-term viability of the postal market.
Labour will ensure that the Postal Services Bill  provides for a clear commitment to the universal service obligation.
Labour will implement the recommendations of the all-party agreed Oireachtas Committee Postcodes Report.
making TransporT more susTainaBle
Labour’s vision for Ireland’s travel  and transport system is for one that is modern, reliable, integrated, accessible and safe.
All planned transport infrastructure projects, including Public-Private Partnerships, will be subject to a cost benefit analysis.
Based on this analysis, investment in transport infrastructure that provides the best value for money,
and that reduces carbon emissions from transport, will be prioritised.
In light of the damage caused to roads by recent extreme weather, Labour will allocate, on a once-off  basis, a portion of the existing roads budget to prioritise repair of those secondary roads most affected.
Cycling and walking will be at the heart of any future sustainable transport network.
Labour will provide for contiguous cycling routes for commuters, and safe  school cycle routes.
The safety needs of cyclists will be taken into account in enhanced road junction design, improved signage and road maintenance.
Labour will also  introduce legislation to strengthen the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport commuters in the planning process and the transport  system.
In order to provide for a public transport infrastructure that grows with our population, we will introduce legislation to ensure that all large new residential and commercial developments will have integrated transport services as part of their planning permission.
The Dublin Transport Authority Act and the Public Transport Regulation Act will also be amended to require Development Plans, Local Area Plans and rezoning applications to make provision for public transport services if the population of the areas affected reaches or is planned to reach a specified threshold.
more efficienT puBlic TransporT
Bus services will continue to be the  most cost effective and most flexible  way of delivering public transport both in cities and in rural areas.
Investment in public transport will focus on the further development of Quality Bus Networks, and Park and Ride facilities.
Labour will also  explore the development of the Bus Rapid Transit model in our cities, which can replicate the speed and comfort of light rail at a fraction of the cost.
Labour’s vision for Ireland’s travel and transport system is for one that is modern, reliable, integrated, accessible and safe
Labour will explore the development of the Bus Rapid Transit model in our cities
Labour will complete the roll-out of the Integrated Ticketing System on all modes of transport.
Labour will also complete the planned implementation of Real Time Passenger Information at bus stops in Dublin and Cork, with a view  to extending this service to other regions as resources allow.
Rural transport is essential to prevent social exclusion, help rural business and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Labour will seek to maintain the Rural Transport Programme and make integrated rural transport a key responsibility for the National Transport Authority.
Labour supports the development of a revised framework strategy for the taxi industry under the National Transport Authority.
Labour will defer the introduction of the Nine Year  Rule on compulsory replacement of taxis to 1 January 2012, and end the second-hand market in taxi licences.
keeping ireland connecTed
An island nation that exports 80% of all it produces must have secure shipping lines for international connectivity.
Labour will review our seaport operations to ensure that Ireland has adequate shipping capacity in the medium to longterm and that our seaports have management structures and financial stability to carry out their mandate.
This review will also take into account the current and projected needs of ocean energy providers.
Air transport is of vital national strategic importance to Ireland.
Maintaining strong competitiveness, and regional connectivity, in the airline market will be a priority.
making our roads safer
Labour will support the Road Safety Authority in the implementation of the Road Safety Strategy 2007-2012.
In particular, Labour supports the implementation of the Graduated Driver Licensing System for the training, testing and licensing of new drivers.
Labour will introduce  the legislation necessary to activate these proposals.
Labour will overhaul and consolidate  the Road Traffic Acts to maximise  their effectiveness, and carry out an audit of the national road network  to ensure that all road surfaces,  signage and traffic signals comply with the highest safety standards.
Growing Jobs in Food, Agriculture and Fisheries: Time for change
Ireland has an opportunity to make a quantum leap in food production through the export of food products.
Irish agriculture needs to position itself to take advantage of new markets, a growing world population and a move towards more market-driven policies at EU level, which is pushing up demand for quality food products.
The agri-food sector is one of Ireland’s biggest employers, it is largely Irish-owned, and it is nationwide.
Labour’s plan is to transform one of our traditional strengths into a 21st century driver of economic growth.
The firsT sTeps
Scale up Ireland’s agricultural productivity through the development of the dairy and  meat sectors
Reduce the age profile of the agri-food sector and increase the size and productivity of farms through encouraging farm partnerships
Implement the recommendations of the Food Harvest 2020 report
Focus on developing new brands for Irish food, including an eco brand and local brands
Develop Ireland as a European hub for seafood processing
preparing for change
This is a period of radical change in the agriculture sector.
The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) poses significant challenges for the Irish agriculture and agri-food sectors, which we must be ready to meet.
The overall impact of the CAP proposals will result in a more market-driven  industry, with an emphasis on the need for cost competitiveness for those sectors of the food industry focusing on commodity markets.
In government, Labour will work to retain our €1.3 billion CAP funding envelope.
Our negotiating position at EU level is predicated on retaining this envelope.
Labour also accepts the need for an extensive bi-lateral exchange with other countries to ensure that any changes in policy at EU level and at the World Trade Organisation must not undermine the principle of direct payments to food producers.
Labour will focus on developing the full potential of Ireland’s dairy sector
growing The dairy and meaT secTors
The anticipated CAP reforms will mean economies of scale will  become more important.
Facilitating consolidation in the dairy and beef sector will be a high priority.
Increasing our focus on scale and competitiveness will further emphasise the need for producers and processors to focus on commodity or mainstream markets.
Labour will focus on developing the full potential of Ireland’s dairy sector, by working with the sector to increase  take-up of new technologies
and evidence-based practice that result in higher milk yields at lower cost.
Labour also favours more marketbased pricing to reflect improved products and innovation in the meat and dairy sectors, and the development of more integrated supply chains.
improving farm producTiviTy
Ireland’s scale at producer level lags behind our major competitors, and with an ageing farm population the need for structural change will continue.
Labour favours a model  of Single Farm Payments that will reward innovation and see further  inclusion of younger farmers.
The only way to create scale is to buy or lease, the potential for which is limited by the structure of Ireland’s farm holdings.
We can give farmers approaching retirement, those who no longer wish to farm, or beneficiaries of farms, the opportunity to retain an income from their land, while also  maximising the overall potential productivity of Irish holdings.
Labour will develop mechanisms for farmers, non rural residents  with inherited land and older single farmers to vest their holdings in a local co-operative farm partnership where they would retain ownership, share in the profits of such partnerships and are informed regularly of progress and plans.
They would be free at any stage, given adequate notice, to withdraw their holding from the co-op.
These farm units could be a powerful source of local employment and could have the scale to develop and produce branded produce.
Such holdings should be supported and included for Direct Payments where possible and especially in cases where Community Supported Agriculture Models are developed.
growing our agri-food secTor
A growing and more affluent world population is an opportunity for Ireland to expand its food exports.
Labour supports the recommendations of the Harvest Food 2020 Report.
In addition to implementing these recommendations, our agri-food  policy will focus on the development of the premium artisan food market and of Ireland as a world class food tourism  destination.
Branding of Irish food will be developed, such as eco-food labelling, enhanced organic branding, and the development of local brands.
New Irish food businesses will be developed through a series of coordinated efforts across the food sector and state  agencies.
For example, the building of pilot plant kitchens to allow food producers to develop and manufacture products on a small scale; the further development of farmers’ markets; and the development by Enterprise Ireland of scaleable manufacturing solutions for food businesses that have the  capacity to expand.
Labour will also seek to implement the recommendations of the Eighth Report of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Innovation relating to growing employment in the agri-food  sector.
Labour will support evidence-based development of the agri-food sector through continued support for R&D,
and modernised education and  training options for those seeking to work, or to upgrade their skills, in the sector.
Labour will also examine how  related subjects at second level could be modernised to reflect new demands  and opportunities in the agri-food  sector.
a fair deal for producers
Labour will adopt a joined-up approach to fostering a sustainable agri-food sector in Ireland by examining both the supply of, and demand for, Irish food products.
We will work with local authorities to develop farmers’ markets, and favour a sustainable planning model that promotes diversity in the food retail sector.
We will also put the current voluntary code providing for greater transparency in the food supply chain on a statutory footing.
open To new ideas
Labour will actively welcome constructive engagement by interested stakeholders in growing our indigenous farming, food and biofuel industries.
Labour also supports the proposals by Irish Rural Link for the strategic regionalisation of Irish agriculture policy to maximise the development of the sector.
Biofuels
The EU Renewable Energy Directive sets out targets to ensure that Ireland’s energy is provided from renewables by 2020.
Labour wants to see indigenous Irish industry take up production of renewables to ensure those targets are met.
We support a land use strategy which would swap a proportion of ruminant grazing to perennial energy crops, which will reduce Ireland’s greenhouse gases.
However, Ireland is and will continue to be a  predominantly food producing and exporting country.
foresTry
Labour recognises the importance of forestry as a source of employment,
as a source of renewable energy
, as a public amenity, and as a means of reducing our national carbon footprint.
Labour opposes the privatisation of Coillte and the sale of publicly owned forests.
Labour will set a planting target of 10,000 hectares per annum, and will work with stakeholders to agree a sustainable funding model to achieve this aim.
animal welfare
Labour will ensure that animal welfare  is enhanced and protected, and will strengthen legislation on animal cruelty.
coasTal communiTies,fisheries & marine environmenT
The marine sector faces major challenges in the years ahead,  but it is also an area of major economic potential.
Labour’s priority will be to develop Ireland as a European hub for seafood processing, which will create sustainable, value-added jobs in coastal communities.
Labour will also develop an Irish seafood strategy to grow the market profile and demand for Irish seafood products.
We will support the development of sustainable aquaculture and fish farms by streamlining the licensing process and reducing, as much as possible, the associated bureaucracy.
To further assist the development of the sector, responsibility for maritime policy will, as far as is practicable, be concentrated in one department.
Labour will establish a Sea Fisheries  Sustainability Impact Assessment based on consultation with all major stakeholders.
This report will be brought before the Dáil on an annual basis before EU fisheries negotiations commence, and will ensure that there  is a regular evaluation of Irish fish stocks and the effectiveness of current  policy and quotas.
Labour is open to the experience and expertise of those whose livelihoods depend on maritime activity.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will engage in an ongoing structured consultation with industry representatives, the marine scientific community and other stakeholders to enable them to contribute to national  maritime policy.
Finally, safety at sea and decent working conditions must underpin the development of the fisheries sector.
Labour in government will ensure that the Irish Coast Guard has access to an  Emergency Towing Vessel.
Growing Jobs in Tourism
Time for change
Ireland has a strong tourism product, but we have lost our competitive edge in recent years.
Tourism is a sustainable industry, capable of providing jobs at every skill level, in every corner of the country.
Labour’s plan to grow jobs in tourism takes a fresh approach to providing tourist infrastructure, new ways of using technology to enhance visitors’ stay here, and a joined-up approach to finding new markets.
The firsT sTeps
Grow new markets, including long-haul markets and niche markets, such as activity holidays, eco tourism, food tourism and cultural tourism
Make regaining market share in Ireland’s top overseas markets a priority
Extend free off-peak travel to all over-66 visitors on all CIE services
Use the web and smart phone apps to provide innovative products for tourists
Deal with over-supply in the hotel sector to normalise the market
focus on growing new markeTs
Labour will maintain the Tourism  Marketing Fund as an essential pillar of our tourism strategy,
and will introduce a systematic auditing system to ensure the best return on Exchequer spending.
Revitalising Ireland’s brand identity abroad will be a priority for Labour in government.
Growth in global tourism in the 21st century will predominately come from non-traditional markets,  especially Asia.
Marketing campaigns will be developed in emerging long haul markets such as China, Russia,  India, Japan and the Middle East, using the Tourism Marketing Fund.
This will be complemented by a broader translation policy and a reformed tourist visa process.
Revitalising Ireland’s brand identity abroad will be a priority for Labour in government
Niche markets will be developed, including activity holidays, such as golf and surf tourism; eco tourism; and food tourism.
To  exploit the potential of business tourism, Tourism Ireland will be  mandated to develop a dedicated service organising and promoting sightseeing in and beyond conference locations for   conference delegates.
‘Event tourism’ will also be  prioritised, with strategic planning and prioritisation of funding to bring major international fairs and events to Ireland such as the Volvo Ocean  Race or the Solheim Cup.
As part of an initiative to encourage domestic event tourism, Labour  will make the Culture Night Initiative a twice yearly event, and introduce a National Lottery Funding Anniversary Day, whereby all facilities which have received  funding from the National Lottery will open their doors to the public free of charge.
regain markeT share in TradiTional markeTs
70% of Ireland’s overseas visitors  come from Britain, the US, Germany and France.
Recovery of market share in Britain, and increasing penetration in the other three markets will be a  key priority in a revamped tourism  strategy.
improve TourisTinfrasTrucTure
To encourage tourists to travel around Ireland, a free travel scheme  for every visitor over 66 at off peak times will be introduced on all CIE services, from within CIE’s  existing budget.
Coach tourism infrastructure will be further  developed to encourage organised tourism.
Improved ferry connectivity, with more frequency and additional routes, will be encouraged as an alternative to air travel.
The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport will be mandated to conduct an assessment of the quality and effectiveness of existing signage, with a view to improving the tourist experience and increasing visits to attractions close to major sites.
using Technology To improve our Tourism producT
Improving the e-capability of our tourism product will be a priority.
This will begin with the upgrading of the Discover Ireland website, to  improve online integration between attractions, accommodation, and transport providers, to allow potential customers all the information they require via one site.
Improving the e-capability of our tourism productwill be a priority
Labour will also focus existing expenditure on tourism on other web-based tools which support the tourism industry, and will encourage innovation in this area by digital media companies.
This includes developing information platforms on the internet for various niche audiences, such as a  Surf Ireland or a Golf Ireland web  portal, or new web-based tools such as an interactive Irish tourism  application for smart phones.
normalising The hoTel secTor
The disastrous impact of tax breaks for the hotel sector that served as a  tax avoidance mechanism will need  to be addressed.
Labour will require NAMA to conduct an independent review of the hotel sector, and use  this as a basis for decisions on which  hotels it should continue to support.
Labour will also consider allowing certain hotels that wish to change use to a community facility to exit the hotel capital tax relief scheme and be exempt from the claw-back of the tax relief foregone.
The objective will be to achieve, in consultation with the  industry, an orderly reduction in the number of hotel beds.
making change and JoBs happen
As part of our wider Comprehensive Spending Review, Labour will conduct a critical assessment of the  functions, systems and efficiency of the semi state agencies in the tourism sector with a view to  establishing the optimum support required by the tourism industry, which offers the best value for  money for the taxpayer.
Labour also supports the establishment of an industry-led tourism recovery taskforce to drive growth in the tourism sector, as recommended by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.
REFORM
Reforming Politics
Time for change
Labour’s pledge is that Ireland will never again be vulnerable to the kinds of abuses of corporate and political power that have risked our country’s sovereignty.
To restore confidence at home and abroad in public governance, Ireland must make significant changes in the culture and framework within which business is conducted.
That applies both to the formal rules of corporate governance and to the relationship between money and politics.
Labour will rid Ireland of its ‘Crony Capitalism’ image, and restore trust in our democracy.
The  firsT  sTeps
End political cronyism by opening up positions on state boards to all qualified candidates, and require appointments to be scrutinised by the Dáil
Make good corporate governance a legal condition of being listed on the Irish stock exchange
Significantly reduce political donations and lower the threshold for disclosure of donations
Regulate political lobbying, including ex-Ministers and senior civil servants working as private lobbyists after leaving public service
A Whistleblower’s Law to protect those in the public and private sector who expose corruption or misconduct
ending poliTical cronyism
Labour will end the system whereby appointments to state boards are used as a form of political patronage and for rewarding insiders.
In future, appointment to boards must be based on a demonstrable capacity to do the job.
Labour intends to start this process immediately.
To that end, the Labour Party will reserve the right to seek the resignation of all those appointed to State Boards since 22 November 2010.
Labour will  publicly advertise all vacancies, and invite applications from the public.
A database of individuals who are  willing to serve, together with their qualifications, will be established.
Oireachtas committees will  consider the suitability of nominated candidates, including having candidates appear before the committee, and it will be a  condition of appointment that board members appear before committees as required.
Labour will make good corporate governance the law, not an optional extra
cleaning up corporaTe cronyism
Labour will make good corporate governance the law, not an optional extra.
Fianna Fáil is happy with voluntary codes of regulation.
Labour believes this is a blank  cheque for corporate misconduct, and do not now provide sufficient reassurance to investors, who need  to be convinced that Ireland is a fair,  transparent place to do business.
Labour will enact legislation to provide for a binding code of practice for corporate governance, which will be obligatory for companies wishing to be listed on the Irish stock exchange.
ending The link BeTween Big money and poliTics
Labour will end the link between big money and politics.
It is not enough to fold up the Galway tent.
We have to end the culture that created it: a  culture where money can buy access to power.
To restore its citizens’ faith in democracy,
and our country’s reputation abroad, we need to send a clear message that influence in Ireland is not for sale.
Labour will introduce spending limits for all elections, including Presidential elections and  constitutional referendums and  impose spending limits on political parties for a period of six months in advance of scheduled Local,  European, General and  Presidential Elections.
Labour’s legislation will significantly reduce the limit on political donations to political parties and candidates to €2,500  and €1,000 respectively, and require disclosure of all aggregate sums above €1,500 and €600  respectively.
encouraging openness and Transparency
Transparency is one of the most powerful weapons against corruption.
Labour will introduce Whistleblower’s Protection  legislation that will protect an employee who reports misconduct from losing their job, or being otherwise penalised, to encourage greater transparency, both in the public service and in private institutions such as banks.
It is in the public’s interest to know who is paid to seek to influence public policy and decision making, at national and local level.
Labour will,  for the first time in Ireland, regulate the practice of political lobbying.
Labour will introduce a statutory register of lobbyists and a statutory code governing the practice of lobbying.
This code will make it illegal for an ex-Minister or senior public servant to lobby in their previous sphere of influence for two years after leaving their post.
Labour will restore the Freedom  of Information Act so that it is as  comprehensive as was originally intended.
The fee structure for  Freedom of Information requests will be reformed so that cost  does not discourage individuals and organisations from seeking information, and the remit of the  Freedom of Information and the  Ombudsman Acts will be extended  to the Garda Síochána, the Central  Bank and other bodies significantly funded from the public purse, that are currently excluded.
The Official Secrets Act will also be  repealed, with criminal sanction only retained for breaches which involve  a serious threat to the vital interests  of the State.
Labour will restore the Freedom of Information Act so that it is as comprehensive as was originally intended
a fresh sTarT wiTh a new consTiTuTion
It is time for a fundamental review  of our Constitution, by the people to whom it belongs.
Labour proposes a Constitutional Convention, a coming together of all strands of Irish society to rewrite our Constitution.
The Constitutional Convention  would have an open mandate, and comprise 90 members.
Thirty of its members would be drawn from the  Oireachtas, thirty would be members of civil society organisations and other people with relevant legal or academic expertise, and thirty would be ordinary citizens, chosen by lot.
The mandate would be to review the  Constitution and draft a reformed  one within a year.
Labour proposes a Constitutional Convention, a coming together of all strands of Irish society to rewrite our Constitution
an independenTelecToral commission
Labour will establish an  independent Electoral and Public Offices Commission that  will subsume the Standards  in Public Offices Commission;  the powers of Referendum and Constituency Commissions; and the responsibilities of local authorities and the Department of the Environment in relation to  the electoral register and elections.
Labour will also revise the terms  of reference for the revision of  constituencies to ensure the fairest  and most proportionate distribution of seats possible.
more efficienT,more effecTive, more democraTic governmenT
Labour believes that a nation of our  size, scale and composition only needs one strong, single-chamber, directly elected parliament with real legislative and oversight powers to effectively do the people’s business in the 21st Century.
We will be proposing to the Constitutional Convention that  the Seanad be abolished.
As part of Labour’s Comprehensive Spending Review, all quangos and bodies significantly funded by the taxpayer will have to justify their existence as a separate entity.
Any new bodies established will have a  sunset clause, that requires them to either justify their continued existence, or be folded up.
Labour will also introduce a package of changes that will bring about a 50 per cent increase in Dáil sitting days.
Dáil Éireann will in future meet four days a week.
There will be a summer recess of just six weeks and significantly reduced breaks at Christmas and Easter.
We will  abandon the practice of providing a “mid-term break”.
The Dáil will be made more effective  and more democratic through reforms that give opposition TDs and backbench government TDs more power to propose and scrutinise laws.
Elected representatives will have stronger powers to hold government, and publicly-funded state bodies to account.
Citizens will also be able to petition the Oireachtas to look into issues  of national importance, similar to their rights to petition the European Parliament.
holding minisTers and senior civil servanTs To accounT
Labour will introduce new  legislation making Ministers and senior civil servants legally accountable for their decisions,  and for the management of their departments in the public interest.
Where a responsibility is delegated through several civil service grades, each grade will be held accountable for their element of it.
Restrictions on the nature and  extent of evidence by civil servants to Oireachtas committees will be  scrapped, and replaced with new guidelines for civil servants that reflect the reality of authority delegated to them, and their personal accountability for the way it is exercised.
Labour will also publish the Attorney General’s advice to government when it is appropriate to do so.
emBedding fiscal responsiBiliTy in governmenT
Labour will put an end to the boom and bust economics that defined  Fianna Fáil’s approach to governance.
Labour will establish an independent Fiscal Advisory Council, separated from fiscal decision-makers in  government, that would undertake macroeconomic and fiscal  projections and monitoring.
The Fiscal Advisory Council functions would include identifying and advising on cyclical and countercyclical fiscal policies and structural deficits; the cyclical or temporary nature of particular revenues; and the need to maintain an appropriate and effective tax base.
All of its  recommendations will be published.
Labour in government will also bring forward and reform the annual  Estimates cycle, so that it becomes more timely, transparent and relevant.
Labour will introduce new legislation making Ministers and senior civil servants legally accountable for their decisions
The annual Estimates will in  future distinguish between monies being allocated to maintaining the existing level of service for existing programmes and money to support new programmes or policy decisions.
Proposals for new expenditure programmes will be accompanied by a five-year projection of costs and benefits.
The Book of Estimates will  also be accompanied by a detailed performance report on what the previous year’s spending had achieved.
It will also give details of the level of performance achieved by agencies under service delivery agreements with government.
dáil invesTigaTions insTead of cosTly TriBunals
Labour will establish a strong,  bi-partisan Investigations, Oversight and Petitions Committee of the Oireachtas with the   power to investigate matters  of national concern.
The Committee would receive  parliamentary petitions from individuals and groups in the community seeking the redress of grievances connected with the public services of the State and with the  public administration generally.
Where particular petitions warranted detailed investigation, the Committee would be empowered to order such investigations through a Parliamentary Investigator, who would be appointed from within the public service.
Where the Investigator was unable to establish clear facts, the report of a parliamentary investigator would if necessary be followed by either a formal parliamentary inquiry or other statutory investigation, as appropriate.
reforming local governmenT
Local government needs significant reform.
Its approach to delivering services can be fragmented and costly, and it is prevented from adapting to local needs by excessive control from central government.
Labour fundamentally believes in devolving power to local government, and putting local communities in control.
That is why Labour is committed to reforming local government to make it more democratic,
more effective in  responding to local needs, and better value for money.
puTTing local communiTies in conTrol
Labour will return democratic  accountability to elected councillors.
The position of County Manager will be abolished and replaced with that of Chief Executive, with a limited  range of executive functions.
The purpose of the Chief Executive will be to facilitate the implementation of democratically decided policy.
As resources allow, Labour favours  the introduction of democratically elected mayors,
beginning with an elected mayor for Dublin.
Labour will give councillors the power to seek reports from, and question in public,the providers of public services in their area
A democratically-decided Regional or City Plan will replace the top-down Strategic Planning Guideline model.
Labour will give councillors the power to seek reports from, and question in public, the providers of public services in their area.
Councillors will also be empowered to question private sector service providers, such as internet and digital TV providers, local banks or private schools, on their public service remit.
The voting age in local elections will be reduced to 16, so that teenagers have more of a say in local services.
BeTTer value for money
The Local Government Director   of Audit will be directed to   produce an annual report  covering all of his functions to the Oireachtas Committee on the  Environment.
This will determine  where local government can  produce greater efficiencies.
Labour will also examine what  services could be converged between two or more local authorities, such  as technology support, human resources and fire services.
Labour  will also introduce a single national building inspectorate service.
Local authorities that deliver  efficiencies, either alone or through sharing services, over and above that which is required will be able to reinvest a proportion of that saving in local initiatives.
more efficienT delivery of local services
In the longer term, Labour favours a fundamental reorganisation of local governance structures that will allow for the devolution of  much greater decision-making powers over local services to local people.
This restructuring could give local communities more control over transport and traffic, economic development, educational infrastructure, and local responses to crime and local healthcare needs.
Reforming Public Services
Time for change
The Labour Party believes that the most important needs of our society should not be left solely to the market to provide.
The values that underpin public services are different to those of for-profit private businesses, but that does not mean public services cannot be delivered efficiently, cost-effectively, and when and where users need them.
It is time to reform and  modernise our public service so that it is fit for purpose in a fair society, and a rejuvenated economy.
The firsT sTeps
An Office of Public Sector Reform, headed   by a Minister at Cabinet, established for a limited period, to get the job of public  service reform done
A reduction in the number of quangos  and duplication of agencies and  government departments
Government departments and agencies accountable for meeting joined-up government objectives
Fewer management layers in the civil and public service
, but more freedom for managers to manage staff and budgets
One phone number, one website or one public office for multiple public services, to make it easier for customers to find what they need
driving reform
Labour will establish an Office  of Public Sector Reform with  responsibility for all matters in relation to the public service and headed by a Minister who sits at Cabinet.
This Office will  have particular responsibility for planning and implementing the change agenda and for ensuring that all aspects of that agenda are communicated fully to the public and to public sector staff.
a comprehensive spending review of all puBlic spending
Labour will undertake a  Comprehensive Spending Review of all government spending to assess its effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes, and its value for money for the taxpayer.
As part of that review, Labour will examine the number, range and activities of bodies funded  significantly from the public purse, including at local government level, and reduce their numbers  where appropriate.
In future, when proposing a new agency, the relevant government department will have to prove that its functions cannot be carried out within an  existing framework.
Labour will establish an Office of Public Sector Reform to drive change in the public service
a more sTraTegic approach To governmenT spending.
For ten years in government, Fianna Fáil’s first response to any problem was to throw money at it.
This lack of clear government priorities meant that public spending was less effective than it could have been.
Labour in government will provide clear and unambiguous long, medium and short term strategic priorities, which will be clearly communicated to the public service and to citizens.
Strategic priorities will be translated into high level goals for all relevant Departments, on a ‘whole of government’ basis, and in consultation with Ministers.
Performance indicators will be  identified to allow progress on the high level priorities to be monitored.
Each government department and public service agency will be expected to demonstrate how it will deliver on stated strategic government objectives.
Annual reports of government departments and state agencies will include output statements and audited financial accounts prepared on generally accepted accounting principles.
The performance information provided in output and outcome-focused measurement  will feed into the decision making process for future plans at political and senior management level.
devolving spending wiTh greaTer accounTaBiliTy
Labour will introduce increased  delegation of budgets, subject to detailed plans, relevant performance reporting and audited accounts compiled in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, that will allow managers greater autonomy and increased flexibility, aligned with greater accountability.
Departmental and agency budgets will be prepared for the medium term as well as on an annual basis.
Detailed business cases will be  required for major projects, with review and reporting requirements built in to the plan.
Sanctions will be imposed at an early stage for significant overruns.
In demanding better accountability, Labour will change the current emphasis on performance reporting to performance management.
All medium to long-term projects that involve significant public spending will be subject to a cost benefit analysis, and to ongoing evaluation.
Results of programme evaluations will be published on a programme evaluation website, and programmes not meeting their objectives will be wound down.
more modern managemenT and sTaffing sTrucTures
The proliferation of management grades in the civil service creates huge gaps between the front line and the decision makers, and creates  unnecessary internal bureaucracy.
Labour will review the grading structure of civil service departments and in the public service, and reduce the number of management grades, to move away from bureaucratic box-ticking, and towards a management structure that allows for innovation and flexibility.
Public service managers will be given greater autonomy in deciding how they use staffing budgets and resources to achieve agreed outcomes.
Labour will remove  barriers to mobility across the public service, so that staff can be matched to areas of greatest need and to areas where their skills are  most appropriate.
The capacity of managers in the public service will be improved through management skills training with particular focus on strategic management and evaluation, project management, resource management and communications.
High level strategic goals will be reflected in individual goals in a new performance management and development system for staff.
Labour will review the grading structure of civil service departments and in the public service
Staff recognition schemes will be developed and devolved, with particular emphasis on team awards.
Staff will also be encouraged to put forward suggestions for improving service delivery and organisation efficiency and effectiveness.
Public and civil service staff will be  encouraged to contribute their views and suggestions for reform through channels such as staff forums  and blogs.
Incentives will be put in place to promote good internal communications and to ensure staff  are widely consulted within public sector organisations and given the opportunity to influence their work and working environment.
more user-cenTred service delivery
Labour takes a “citizen-centred”  approach to public service reform.
Government services websites,  public offices, telephone services, and helplines will be reconfigured to facilitate access to the broad range of government services through a single point of contact.
The Comprehensive Spending Review will also seek the input of civil and public servants, and the  users of public services, to assess how frontline services could be made  better from the point of view of the customer.
The success of frontline  service delivery from a user’s point of view will be central to a department or agency’s performance review.
The Office of Public Service Reform  will be responsible for developing a whole-of-government approach to electronic service delivery.
Websites will be developed to provide maximum information to the public about progress on national and departmental goals and facilitating public comment and suggestions.
Reforming Social Protection
Time for change
Labour’s plan to radically reform Ireland’s fragmented job-seeking, training and welfare supports into a single National Employment Service will put work and training at the heart of social protection.
But we also need to tackle the  unemployment traps that keep people in poverty, and ensure that social protection is fair, transparent, and that it works for those who need it most.
The firsT sTeps
Root and branch efficiency reforms to eliminate poverty traps, speed up social protection claims, and save money
A major crackdown on welfare fraud, so that the social protection system is fair and  transparent
Reduce reliance on Rent Supplement in favour of the Rental Accommodation Scheme, with  rents negotiated directly with landlords
Cut down on bureaucracy by replacing multiple means tests with a single unified  means test
Share the cost of social protection with insurance companies where possible
tAckling poverty�
Eliminating poverty from Irish society is one of the core principles of the Labour Party.
Labour is committed to tackling Ireland’s fiscal crisis fairly, and will endeavour to protect those most at risk of poverty.
As a first step, Labour will reverse the cut in the minimum wage implemented by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party in government.
Labour will introduce new antipoverty targets with a particular emphasis on carers, those living alone
and on people with a longterm disability.
We will revise how poverty is measured to give greater weight to reasonable household costs as opposed to the current narrow focus on income.
Labour will complete and publish a strategy to tackle fuel-poverty, and a new national anti-poverty strategy.
Labour will reverse the cut in the minimum wage implemented by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party in government
eliminAting poverty trAps
The Labour Party will tackle poverty and unemployment traps in the social protection system by:
Amending the 30 hour rule for Rent Supplement and Mortgage Interest Supplement for people moving from welfare to work.
Activating people on a reduced week who refuse  extra day(s) employment
Providing for a far more extensive and frequent engagement with jobseekers through interviews and consultations.
Changing operational guidelines for deciding officers.
Reforming eligibility for Back to Education Allowance.
Improving information available to jobseekers
Promoting existing in-work benefit schemes.
Labour will issue clear new  guidelines to ensure the Habitual Residence rule is applied consistently, transparently, and fairly, with specific guidelines to facilitate returning emigrants.
The Habitual Residence rule will be abolished in the case  of family carers.
Labour is also committed to the completion and publication of the Carers Strategy.
This economic crisis has exposed the particular vulnerabilities of people who are self-employed.
Labour will review the position of the self-employed in the social protection code.
Labour is committed to replacing the One Parent Family Payment with a parental allowance when resources permit.
We will cap the rates at which moneylenders can lend.
A zero tolerAnce ApproAch to welfAre frAud
The Labour Party believes that fairness must be at the heart of  resolving our financial crisis.
Labour is committed to tackling Ireland’s financial crisis so that the burden  does not, as far as is possible, fall on those who are dependent on social welfare for their income.
However, it is imperative that every cent of our social welfare bill goes to those who need it most.
Labour will implement a zero tolerance policy in relation to welfare fraud, underpinned by a major antifraud enforcement drive.
The integration of social welfare supports for people of working age and employment services will be accompanied by more intensive activation of people who are longterm social welfare claimants.
As  well as more regular interviews with advisors in the National Employment Service, Labour will undertake other  anti-fraud measures, including a public services card with photo ID, the automatic registration of fathers on birth certificates, and better  sharing of data across government departments and agencies.
geTTing BeTTer value for money
Labour will introduce efficiencies in  the social protection system that will deliver a better service for users, and  save the Exchequer money.
Labour will progressively reduce reliance on Rent Supplement, with eligible recipients moving to the Rental Accommodation Scheme.
In  future, landlords will be paid directly by the state or local authorities, so that rents can be negotiated to achieve the best value for taxpayers, while a new deposit retention scheme will yield further savings.
Rent will only be paid to tax-compliant landlords offering decent quality accommodation, to root out fraud.
Labour will divert staff from  elsewhere in the public service to clear the social welfare  appeals backlog, and introduce a consolidated appeals process, to save on unsuccessful appeals.
The process of multiple means tests for the same individual or  household will be replaced with a single, unified means test, with a single ‘change of circumstances’ adjustment if required.
In future, household benefits  packages will be put out to tender, so that the Exchequer benefits from reduced prices.
Labour will raise the issue of the  payment of Child Benefit in respect of non-resident children at EU level,  and seek to have the entitlement  modified to reflect the cost of living where the child is resident.
Labour  will examine all possible flexibility within existing European legislation to reduce the cost of this payment.
sharing The cosT of social proTecTion
Labour will require private institutions, which benefit indirectly from social protection payments to their clients, to cooperate in reducing the total cost of social protection.
Insurance companies will be required to compensate the Department of Social Protection for illness or  disability payments arising from traffic collisions or other such  accidents or personal injuries, where an insurance policy exists, and where the value of social welfare  entitlements are deducted from the  gross claim settlement.
Labour will implement a zero tolerance policy in relation to welfare fraud
Reforming Policing  and Justice
Time for change
Crime has increased substantially within the last 25 years, serious drug use has spread nationwide, and even though much crime goes unreported, the detection rate is on the decrease.
Re-offending rates are high and it is the law-abiding community that suffers as a result.
There is no simplistic or quick fix, but there are solutions.
Labour will tackle crime focusing on five key areas: protecting victims, strengthened legislation; tackling the drugs crisis; reforming the Gardaí and a more effective sentencing and prisons policy.
The firsT sTeps
Victims’ needs put at the heart of the criminal justice system
Dealing firmly with offenders through strengthened criminal justice legislation
Tackling both drugs supply and demand through a revitalised National Drugs Strategy
Reforming the Gardaí to prioritise community policing
Ensuring that the punishment fits the crime, and benefits the community where possible
proTecTing vicTims
Delays in the bringing of cases to trial must be tackled.
Such delays can mean that opportunities are missed to respond to offending behaviour before it becomes more  serious.
These delays will be reduced by reform of the court system, a nationwide implementation of a case management system, and the appointment of more criminal judges when resources allow.
Victims of crime are still often  treated by the criminal justice system as no more than prosecution witnesses.
Labour will ensure that  victims and their needs are at the  heart of the justice process and that their rights to information, advice and other appropriate assistance are met effectively and efficiently.
New sentencing legislation, which will be introduced by the Labour Party, will make putting the victim in fear of injury a serious aggravating factor in any offence against the person.
Labour will oblige Gardaí to maintain adequate contact, through identified liaison officers, with victims of crime,  to report progress to victims on the investigation and the prosecution of their case and to ensure adequate advance notice is given as to the proposed release of offenders.
Labour will ensure that victims and their needs are at the heart of the justice process
sTrengThening The criminal JusTice sysTem
Labour’s objective is to have a criminal justice system that is fair, efficient, and that puts victims of crime first.
Labour  will strengthen the armoury of criminal justice legislation in order to ensure that the right balance is arrived at between protecting the community and providing for appropriate safeguards.
Stronger legislation is only a part of the solution, but it is a necessary part of the community’s response to an increasing crime problem.
Labour’s legislative programme will include the following:A Proceeds of Crime  (Amendment) Bill to reduce the time period CAB have to wait before forfeiture of  Proceeds of Crime, from seven  years to two years.
A Witness Protection  Programme Bill to put the Witness Protection  Programme on a statutory basis.
Measures to halt white  collar criminals transferring assets to spouses or others – any such assets will be available for court fines or  compensation.
Civil orders against serious offenders following conviction.
This could include,  for example, post-conviction restraints on consumption of alcohol, curfews, or  restrictions on the use of the  Internet by those convicted of child sex offences.
A register of violent offenders so that post-release supervision and notification requirements are imposed on such offenders, akin to those  on sex offenders.
Harmonised and extended  detention periods for all violent and serious crime to avoid  anomalies that now exist.
Statutory provision to enable the prosecution to make a submission on sentence,  which would include  drawing attention to nonincarceration options.
Greater pre trial case management such as U.K. style plea and directions hearing.
Removal of anomalies in  laws, rules and procedure that restrict the due  administration of justice.
Tackling The drugs crisis
Drug use is an escalating social problem and is often characterised by multiple drug use, alcohol abuse, violence and gun crime.
Labour supports the principles and objectives of the National Drugs Strategy.
In government we will give renewed impetus to the fight against drugs and we will ensure that the Strategy once again becomes relevant and effective.
This will include expanding rehabilitation services at local level  in line with need and subject to available resources; integrating drug and alcohol abuse strategies at local level; particularly at local level; expanding the drugs court; developing compulsory as well as voluntary rehabilitation programmes;
strengthening the supply reduction effort and criminal assets seizures, and reducing the flow of drugs to our prisons.
making communiTy policing a prioriTy
Labour wants to build a modern and  effective Garda force, where Gardaí  work in communities they know, serving people they know.
Labour will require the Gardaí to give greater priority to community policing that will see more Gardaí on patrol in the communities worst affected  by anti-social beahaviour.
This will be complemented by Labour’s strategy to deal with anti-social behaviour in local  authority-funded accommodation, as detailed in our housing policy.
Labour will require the Gardaí to give greater priority to community policing
Labour will build on the existing community policing partnerships and forums to enhance trust  between local communities and  their Gardaí.
The community Garda service should also be supported by members of the Garda Reserve drawn from the community.
By building a relationship with the communities they serve, community Gardaí can better tackle the plague of low level crime and anti-social behaviour that is  so destructive of community life.
Labour’s commitment is to ensure  that, within available resources,  there are more Gardaí on patrol in local neighbourhoods, and to make policing more responsive to those communities’ needs.
making The punishmenTfiT The crime
Labour is committed to ensuring that the punishment fits the crime, and protects and serves the community if at all possible.
A key foundation of this approach will be to introduce a Sentencing Bill which will set out aggravating and mitigating circumstances to be taken into account by the Courts, and bring greater consistency.
Information on sentencing practice will be collected and made available  on a systematic and timely basis.
a more effecTive prisons policy
No one could describe Ireland’s  present penal system as effective, and least of all cost-effective.
Ireland’s prisons are overcrowded, and our prison system is among the most expensive in the world.
As well as the human cost, it is  clear that we cannot afford to  commit ourselves to spending everincreasing amounts of public money on a system that has little or no impact on re-offending rates.
The Labour Party will bring in major reforms to ensure that the criminal justice system provides for a safer society at a lower cost to the taxpayer, by switching away from costly prison-based sentences and towards less costly non-custodial options and greater use of open prisons for appropriate prisoners.
Labour’s proposals to reform penal policy include:Reducing the number of prisoners in our jails when alternative sanctions would  serve the same corrective  purpose by specifying in law a core rule that imprisonment is a penalty of last resort for non-violent offenders.
Reforming sentencing practice at District Court level to reduce the number of  very short prison sentences handed down for minor, nonviolent crimes.
Progressively implementing the Children Act 2001 and  the National Youth Justice  Strategy to tackle youth crime, and continuing to resource policies which divert young people from criminality, and provide for alternative sanctions.
Rolling out the Drugs Court initiative.
Making much more effective use of alternative sanctions,  such as the Community Service Order scheme.
Addressing the issue of major overcrowding in Ireland’s prisons.
Judicial reform
Labour will legislate to establish a Judicial Council, with lay representation, that will provide an effective mechanism for dealing with complaints against judges.
a fair immigraTion sysTem
A comprehensive statute to regulate immigration and set out the rights and duties of migrants in Ireland is overdue by almost ten years.
Failure to legislate for a fair, transparent immigration process has resulted in an ad hoc system that can be confusing, inconsistent and anomalous.
Processing of applications and decision-making is subject to long delays, while the absence of legislation means there is frequent resort to the Courts for judicial review.
Every country has the right to determine who may and who may not come to live within its jurisdiction.
Labour in government will enact comprehensive and transparent legislation on immigration within 12 months, setting out the rights and obligations involved.
The administrative process will be streamlined and speeded up and, an independent appeals mechanism for the review of immigration-related decisions will also be introduced.
Labour will enact comprehensive and transparentlegislation on immigration within 12 months
The Labour Party will promote policies which integrate minority ethnic groups in Ireland, and which promote social inclusion, equality, diversity,
and the participation of immigrants in the economic, social, political and cultural life of their communities.
FAIRnEss
Fairness In Education
Time for change
Even in this crisis, we can make  progress.
Labour will put improving educational outcomes, from literacy to third level, at the heart of our  education reforms.
Labour’s ambition is to build not just a knowledge economy, but a knowledge society.
Education is at the heart of a more cohesive, more equal and more successful society,
and it will be the engine of sustainable economic growth.
Labour is committed to protecting children’s education, because we believe they deserve the best start their country can give them.
The firsT sTeps
Improve child literacy standards for the first time in a generation
Reform how schools are managed to focus on improving educational outcomes
Transform the second level curriculum to  equip young people with skills for the 21st  century
Prioritise school building and refurbishment in Labour’s revised National Development Plan
Put high standards of teaching and learning at the heart of third level reform
local educaTion Boards for local educaTion needs
Labour will build on existing Vocational Educational Committees,  and progressively transform them into Local Education Boards.
Local Education Boards will absorb  the existing educational functions of Vocational Educational Committees,  including the patronage of their existing schools at primary and secondary level, and in adult education.
Their membership will continue to be elected in a manner  similar to the present VECs.
New functions for Local Education  Boards will include coordinating support services for schools to get better value for money, for example clustered secretarial services, coordination of supply teachers and tendering for electricity and heating.
The boards will be responsible for repairs and maintenance, and will also act as project manager for all major school building projects and refurbishments within their areas.
Labour will give principals more freedom and responsibility to raise the educational standards in their schools
BeTTer school leadership
Good schools require one thing in common: good school leadership.
Labour will reform school leadership to give principals the skills, support and freedom they need for this increasingly complex job.
Principals will be given substantial autonomy to manage their school’s resources, including staff, and to enable all schools to reach their potential.
Many administrative duties, relating to maintenance, school building projects and human resources, currently carried out by principals could be handed over to Local  Education Boards.
On top of this, Labour will implement a number of reforms to give principals more freedom and responsibility to raise the educational standards in their  schools.
Principals will, with the support of the Inspectorate, draw up five year development plans for their schools and individual teachers.
They will be enabled to allocate and manage staff with required flexibility, with management responsibilities delegated to teachers as school priorities require.
All new principal appointments will be for ten years only, and new principals will be required to complete a Master’s degree in educational management within an agreed timeframe.
make primary school paTronage fiT for purpose in The 21sT cenTury
Labour wants to reform our education  system so that it is more democratic,
and recognises the diversity of ethos within modern Irish society.
Labour will initiate a time-limited  Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector.
This national Forum would be open to participation from all the stakeholders in the  education sector.
The Forum will have  concise terms of reference and sit for  a maximum of 12 months.
The recommendations of the  Forum will be drawn up into a White Paper for consideration and implementation by the Government to ensure that our education system can provide a sufficiently diverse number of schools which cater for  all religions and none.
As part of this process, parents and the local community should also have a say in the patronage of existing and future schools, for example by direct ballot.
Labour in government will ensure Educate Together is recognised as a patron at second level by the Department of Education and Skills.
learning for The 21sTcenTury and improving ouTcomes
Irish second level pupils are learning a 20th century curriculum based on rote learning, while competing in a 21st century labour market that rewards problem solving, flexibility, innovation and creativity.
Labour in government will progressively implement the reform of the Junior and Senior cycle, as envisioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
In particular, Labour will prioritise the reform of maths and science  teaching at second level, including making science a compulsory Junior Cert subject by 2014.
The costs of expanding the curriculum and offering a wide range of subjects to pupils will be reduced by enabling schools to ‘share’ teachers via live web casts and other  technological innovations.
Labour will progressively upgrade the information communications  technology (ICT) infrastructure of schools over the course of new  school building and refurbishment.
Future investment in ICT will  encompass mandatory professional development for teachers to incorporate new technologies into their teaching practice.
Labour will also maximise investment through pooling of ICT procurement.
making liTeracy a naTional cause
Literacy is the foundation stone on which all learning is built.
Labour in government will make literacy a national cause, with a medium-term  goal of ensuring that no child leaves an Irish school unable to read and  write.
Labour will make literacy a national cause
Labour’s approach is three-fold: putting literacy policy at the heart of our agenda in government; embedding literacy in our communities; and focusing on the teaching of literacy in our classrooms.
Labour will develop a national literacy strategy, with school-level targets.
Every school will be required to have a literacy action plan, with demonstrable outcomes.
DEIS primary schools will be mandated to teach literacy for 120 minutes per day; non-DEIS schools will be mandated to teach literacy for 90 minutes per day.
This time includes incorporating structured literacy tuition into the teaching of other subjects.
Teachers are our most important resource in tackling poor literacy.
Labour will improve pre-service and in-service training in the teaching of literacy for all primary and secondary school teachers, and provide dedicated literacy mentors to work intensively with teachers in the most disadvantaged primary schools.
Labour will also work with local  authorities to develop Labour’s Right to Read campaign and to develop community supports for literacy, such as more spacious social housing, longer opening hours for libraries, homework clubs and  summer camps that improve literacy through sport and games.
Labour’s literacy strategy will involve refocusing some existing spending  on literacy goals, and will cost an additional €14 million per annum.
improving equiTy in educaTion
As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, Labour will examine how we can make existing expenditure on educational disadvantage more effective.
Labour will also look at innovative  ways in which teenagers at risk of leaving the school system can stay connected, for example through the use of ICT-based distance learning and projects such as iScoil.
Labour is committed to reversing the cut to the number of psychologists in the National Educational  Psychological Service in Budget 2011 at a cost of z3 million.
Labour  will support schools, parents and children with special educational needs by ensuring that necessary supports follow a child from primary to second level, and achieving greater integration of special needsrelated services.
prioriTise The school Building programme
Labour will prioritise school building projects in our revised national development plan.
In cases where schools spend hundreds of thousands of euro renting prefabs, Labour will enable schools to build  permanent school accommodation instead.
School planning, building and maintenance will be managed and delivered much more efficiently and cost-effectively by new Local Educational Boards.
In future, local authorities will be  required to complete an Educational Impact Assessment on residential zoning, to identify potential need for schools.
The creation of Shared  Educational Campuses will be a core principle for future development of our educational infrastructure.
Schools of different ethos and  patronage could be located on a shared campus and utilise common educational facilities, secretarial  supports, playing fields and sports facilities.
New schools will be built to grow with their communities, and to  provide for a more interactive, childfriendly model of education.
Labour will develop existing standardised designs for new schools, which will be the blueprint for future greenfield developments.
Labour in government will negotiate the transfer of school infrastructure  currently owned by the 18 religious orders cited in the Ryan Report, at no extra cost, to the State.
The existing patronage and activities of these schools will remain unchanged.
We will also ensure that school buildings and land are zoned for educational  use, so that they cannot easily be sold and lost to the system.
reforming Third level educaTion
Labour abolished third-level fees in  1995, and we are opposed to their re-introduction.
We refuse to go back to the days when only the relatively wealthy could count on going to third level, or when a family could only afford to send one of their children to college.
However, Labour will expect radical reform in third level institutions to  maximise their existing funding, in particular the reform of academic  contracts.
In government, Labour will review the recommendations of the Hunt  report on higher education.
Labour supports a vibrant, pluralist third level sector that offers both high quality research and high quality undergraduate teaching.
Reform of third level should be driven by the need to improve the learning outcomes of undergraduate degree students, as well as provide high quality research, and it is this principle which will inform Labour’s policy on the future of the third level system.
Labour will initiate a time-limited audit of level 8  qualifications on offer in Irish third level institutions and the learning outcomes for graduates of these  courses.
In order to ensure that students’  interests are protected in the delivery of third level education, Labour will extend the remit of  the Ombudsman to third level  institutions.
To reduce the bureaucracy associated with student support, Labour will transfer responsibility for the administration of student grants to the Department of Social Protection.
We will also reform the means test  for the student grant to ensure that it is equitable and targeted at those most in need of assistance.
Labour is committed to the  relocation of the Dublin Institute of  Technology to the new campus in Grangegorman.
develop ireland’s Third level secTor as a cenTre for inTernaTional excellence
Labour will devise a National  Strategy for International Education which will seek to attract students  from a select number of countries  to study in Ireland, in line with the employment, academic and skill requirements of our overall economy and education sector.
The strategy will develop an ‘Education Ireland’ brand, and  combine the ambitions and interests  of government policy with those of the higher education sector for a five year period.
The policy will target in particular students from India, China and the Middle East, with  advertising, visa policies and quality assurance managed accordingly.
This will form part of wider relationshipbuilding with BRIC countries through developing educational links.
Postgraduate students should be allowed work in Ireland for  up to a year after they complete their studies.
High-value research students should be allowed bring their families to Ireland if they are staying for more than two years.
Labour will prioritise the development of a one-stop shop website which can enable international students to learn about  Ireland, pick a course and apply for their visa.
lifelong learning
Labour will transfer responsibility for vocational education and  training, including an expanded apprenticeship programme, from FÁS to further education colleges and the Institutes of Technology.
To qualify for this transfer of funding from FÁS, further education colleges and Institutes of Technology will be mandated to develop flexible, high-quality vocational training opportunities for jobseekers, in line with the recommendations of the  Expert Group on Future Skills Needs.
Labour’s Plan for  Fair Health Care
Time for change
Ireland’s healthcare system is broken,
and for thirteen years, Fianna Fáil has chosen not to fix it.
Instead, they focused on privatising the health service, giving huge tax-payer funded windfalls to developers building super-private clinics.
Labour in government will introduce Universal Health Insurance as a way of delivering better, more effective care for every patient, and reducing the cost of our health system.
From our first day in office, Labour will begin the phased introduction of a Universal Health Insurance system, starting with GP care.
The firsT sTeps
Access to GPs covered by primary care insurance for all by 2014
Universal Hospital Care Insurance that guarantees every citizen equal access to hospital care when they need it, phased in over six years
Private hospitals opened to uninsured patients for diagnostic procedures from year one, reducing waiting lists
Hospitals funded according to the number of patients they treat, so that it pays to treat people efficiently
A focus on treating mental health in the community,
with particular provision for young people
exTending access To primary care
Meeting more people’s healthcare needs through the primary care system is key to reducing the overall cost of the Irish health system.
This requires more services to be delivered at local level, instead of in hospitals, and more people being able to afford them.
Under Labour’s plan, GP fees will be covered by universal primary care insurance.
This universal primary care insurance will be extended to  the portion of the population who do not have a medical card on a  phased basis, so that by 2014, every person registered with a GP will be insured for primary care.
This means patients will no longer pay upfront fees when they visit their GP.
Labour will begin this process in our first year in government, by extending primary care insurance for GP visits to people on the Long-term Illness Scheme.
This reform will be paid for out of existing Exchequer funding, and savings in the health budget, which will go into a Primary Care Insurance Fund.
From this fund, GPs will be paid a capitation fee per person registered with their practice, similar to the existing medical card system, but at a lower cost to the Exchequer.
By 2014, every person registered with a GP will be insured for primary care
Building up supply
In the short term, the supply of GPs can be increased by deferring the retirement of existing GPs; by recruiting more practice nurses, who could take on up to half the average workload of a GP; and by recruiting doctors from abroad, including Irish doctors who have emigrated.
These measures will ensure that there is enough supply to meet demand in phase one of Labour’s healthcare reforms.
In the medium to longer term, the number of GPs being trained in Ireland will need to increase.
Care in the community
In order to free up more acute hospital beds, more step-down beds and home care packages need to be available to people who cannot be discharged without some posthospital care.
To facilitate this, Labour will invest additional funds in  community and ‘step down’ care.
phase Two: universal hospiTal care insurance
Hospital care reform
Labour will introduce a system of mandatory Universal Hospital Care Insurance.
Hospital care will be paid for in much the same way we pay for it now – through Exchequer resources and insurance premiums – except that money will be paid into a Hospital Insurance Fund, which will regulate the flow of funds to hospitals and insurance companies.
Premiums will be subsidised  according to income, ranging from a 100 per cent subsidy for people currently eligible for medical cards, to no subsidy for those who can afford to pay for their own premium.
Public, not-for-profit, and private insurers will be obliged to offer a guaranteed ‘basket’ of insured hospital services.
The cost of insurance premiums under a Universal Hospital Care Insurance system should not change from what they are at present.
Implementation of these reforms will result in the cost of delivering healthcare being reduced, which means that more people can be treated for a similar level of funding.
The National Treatment Purchase  Fund (NTPF) and the purchasing arm of the HSE will come together to provide a new non-profit insurer, which will automatically enrol people with a medical card and the uninsured.
However, like all  insurance customers, they will have the choice of whether to switch  insurer.
Initially, half of acute hospital budgets will be paid via the Hospital Insurance Fund, which will manage risk equalisation between insurers, and fund A&E services, ambulance  services, teaching and certain very expensive and rare procedures, such as transplants.
The balance of acute hospital budgets will be paid via insurance payments based on the number of procedures they carry out.
Instead of every patient being a ‘drain’ on a fixed hospital budget, every patient will represent a ‘gain’, giving hospitals an incentive to treat as many patients as efficiently as possible.
This is the ‘money follows the patient’ model of hospital funding that is driven by universal health insurance.
Reform in the management of hospitals, establishment of the new public insurer for acute hospital care, and development of systems of regulation and financing will take time, which is why introducing this system will take six years.
However, a phased introduction of universal hospital insurance will start from year one with an expansion of the role of the NTPF to purchase certain diagnostic tests for people who do not have insurance.
Costs will be controlled through centralised negotiation of the price of drugs and professional fees by the Hospital Insurance Fund, in consultation with insurance  companies.
This centralised negotiation of key costs, in tandem with competing insurers, is similar to the German model of  health insurance, and is critical to  controlling the cost of delivering healthcare.
The role of hospitals
Under Universal Hospital Care Insurance, public hospitals will be given much more independence.
They will no longer be managed by the HSE.
They will operate as independent, not-for-profit foundations or trusts, with managers accountable to their boards.
Boards  will include representatives of local communities.
For some smaller  hospitals it will make sense for them to combine in a local hospital network, with a shared management and board.
Hospitals and hospital groups will be able to compete to supply care to private or public insurers.
This freeing of public hospitals will not be a free market in care.
A free market is not compatible with social solidarity and good planning for community health care needs.
An unregulated market would jeopardise the survival of smaller hospitals in areas where the population is dispersed, and would run counter to the development of centres of excellence for certain  kinds of care.
Under Universal Hospital Care Insurance, the Minister for Health  answering to the Government and Dáil Eireann will be responsible for health policy, including hospitals policy.
Where a hospital plays an important role in supplying care in an area that cannot be fulfilled by primary care services, it will not be allowed to  close.
If, under the system of Universal Hospital Care Insurance, that hospital is failing due to inefficiency, its management will be replaced.
If it is failing because it needs to offer a differing package of care, it will be assisted by the Hospital Insurance Fund in achieving that change.
In the present fiscal crisis, Labour in government will prioritise capital spending in health.
Even with significant reforms in how we pay for healthcare, Ireland’s system needs more acute hospital beds and more step-down beds in the community.
Labour will prioritise investment in new, modern hospitals, including the National Children’s Hospital, a new hospital for the North-East, and supports the policy objective of relocating maternity hospitals to acute hospital campuses in Limerick and Dublin.
Labour in government will also explore the scope for providing health care facilities through non-traditional financing via the Strategic Investment Bank.
resToring accounTaBiliTy for The qualiTy of ireland’s healTh service
The Minister for Health will be  clearly in charge of the health care system and answerable to the Government and Dáil Eireann.
The  Minister will introduce legislation to enact Universal Primary Care Insurance and Universal Hospital Care Insurance.
Labour ‘s plan does not abolish the HSE outright.
Instead, Labour’s plan transforms what we have already, so that the functions of the HSE are split between purchasing hospital care on the one hand, and a continuation of its management of mental health, community care and social care on the other.
Labour in governmentwill prioritise capital spending in health
menTal healTh
Labour’s proposals to reform healthcare and introduce universal  health insurance will incorporate mental health care, both through a strengthened role for GPs, and through the ongoing development of Community Mental Health Teams and Child and Adolescent Mental  Health Teams, as resources allow.
Given the central role of primary care in our reforms, we will take  action to ensure that GPs and other  professionals at primary level have the skills and up-to-date knowledge to identify and treat mental health problems, or to refer patients on to the most appropriate care provider.
Labour will work with health  providers and charitable organisations to explore how a nationwide early intervention ‘walk-in’ service for young people experiencing mental health difficulties, based on the ‘Jigsaw’ service operating in Galway, might be developed from within existing resources.
Labour will also endeavour  to end the practice of placing children and adolescents in adult  psychiatric wards.
Labour will comprehensively review the Mental Health Act (2001) in consultation with service-users,  carers and other stakeholders,  informed by human rights standards, and introduce a Mental Capacity Bill that accords with Article 12 of the  Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
To ensure a joined-up approach to mental health in the community, we will establish cross-departmental group to ensure that good mental health is a policy goal across the range of people’s life experience including housing, education and employment.
Labour’s key reforms of primary care will enable more comprehensive preventative care
Labour will address the high rate of suicide, including a review of the current practice whereby caring family members are frequently given little or no information to assist  them in the on-going care of loved-ones who have been discharged from hospital following a suicide attempt, a psychotic episode or other serious mental illness.
prevenTaTive care and care of chronic illnesses
Labour’s key reforms of primary care will enable more comprehensive preventative care, and the management of chronic conditions in a community setting.
We will develop strategies to address common and chronic illnesses  including heart and stroke, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, rare diseases and Alzheimer’s Disease.
In light of their particular needs, Labour will commit to enter  into discussions with survivors  of Thalidomide to ensure that  they receive fair and equitable compensation and a statutory right to the health care they need for the rest of their lives.
Labour will also maintain progress on the cancer strategy, and progress the recommendations of the  Task Force on Obesity.
Labour will consider the introduction of ‘traffic-light’ labelling of food and drink products and, in consultation with stakeholders, a requirement to clearly display the calorie content of food in restaurants and cafés.
Making Homes Matter
Time for change
Fianna Fáil’s policy of putting the interests of big developers and the banks ahead of people looking to purchase a modest home was a direct cause of Ireland’s disastrous  property boom and bust.
The Labour Party will reform housing policy in Ireland, so that the housing market is never again treated like a private casino.
We are committed to undoing the damage caused by Fianna Fáil’s recklessness, beginning with helping homeowners in distress to weather this recession.
Labour’s vision for housing policy puts people, and liveable communities, first.
The firsT sTeps
A two year moratorium on house repossessions
Develop MABS into a personal debt  management agency
Provide distressed mortgage-holders protection from their creditors
Develop a coherent plan to deal with ghost  estates
Introduce a ‘housing first’ policy when it comes to accommodating homeless people
helping homeowners weaTher This recession
Labour believes that the best way to deal with distressed mortgages is to make keeping people in their homes the absolute priority.
No repossessions should be permitted for at least two years, where a person makes a genuine attempt to pay their mortgage on a home of modest size.
We will provide stronger support for people in difficulties with their mortgage, by converting the Money Advice and Budgeting Service into a strengthened Personal Debt Management Agency with strong legal powers.
The agency will support families who make an honest effort to deal with their  debts, including non-mortgage debt,  providing protection from their creditors where appropriate, so that they have time to sort out their affairs.
In order to do so, the Personal Debt  Management Agency will have quasijudicial status.
Labour will also reform Ireland’s penal bankruptcy laws for those who have to take that route.
The best way to deal with distressed mortgages is to make keeping people in their homes the absolute priority
Labour will make greater use of Mortgage Interest Supplement to support families who cannot meet their mortgage payments, which is a better and cheaper option than paying rent supplement after a family loses their home.
In the longer term, Labour will establish a new Sustainable Homeownership Insurance Programme, which will be aimed at new  residential mortgage holders and existing home owners who switch mortgage providers.
normalising The markeTfor homes
For the Labour Party a ‘normal’ home market is one in which mortgage lending practices are prudent, house price inflation does not sky-rocket, and where the vast majority of people can afford a family home.
In government, Labour will ensure that the Central Bank and Financial  Regulator supervise credit institutions’ mortgage lending practices comprehensively and intensively.
Where credit institutions fail to  adequately control mortgage lending risks, the Central Bank will impose loan-to-value ceilings on mortgages, caps on loan-to-income multiples, limits on the term of new mortgages, and more rigorous procedures for verifying borrowers’ incomes.
A well-functioning housing market requires that both buyers and sellers have access to reliable information on  price trends in their neighbourhood, and for different dwelling types.
Labour will improve the quality of information available on the Irish  housing market by requiring that the selling price of all dwellings is recorded in a publicly available, national housing price database.
dealing wiTh ghosT esTaTes
Ghost estates are a bitter reminder  of the planning failures of the past.
They are a headache for residents of these estates, and for the wider  community.
The Minster for the Environment will bring forward, as a matter of urgency, a coherent plan to resolve the problems associated with ghost estates.
This plan will be developed in cooperation with NAMA and local authorities, and  will include, where appropriate, the demolition or completion of part built dwellings; the acquisition of properties by social landlords;
or the sale of properties on the open market where this is possible, and where it is not, the disposal of dwellings by innovative means such as rent to buy
and co-operative home ownership programmes.
looking To The fuTure:planning for communiTies
Labour will reform how we plan for residential development, to prioritise liveable communities, and a healthier, safer environment.
Labour will link planning permission for residential developments to the provision of public transport, healthcare, recreational areas,  shops and facilities.
As part of this, local authorities will be required to carry out an ‘Educational Impact Assessment’ for all new zonings for residential development to ensure an adequate supply of school places.
To make the planning process more democratic, Labour will amend the  recent Planning and Development Act (2010) to allow for detailed public submissions on zoning, and to rebalance power towards elected representatives.
Local authorities will be required to carry out a flood risk report in the preparation of their City and County Development Plans, and will also be legally required to manage flood risk through sustainable planning and development.
Labour will reform how we plan for residential development, to prioritise liveable communities, and a healthier, safer environment
Labour will pass legislation to allow local authorities take housing estates ‘in charge’ after three years, and substantially increase existing penalties for those who break planning laws.
high qualiTy, accessiBle social housing
Working within existing resources, Labour will introduce a staged purchase scheme to increase the stock of social housing, while achieving the best possible value for public investment.
Under the terms of this scheme, leased dwellings will revert to the ownership of local authorities and housing associations at the end of the leasehold period.
Labour will also enable larger housing associations and local authorities to access private sector funding for social housing by issuing ‘social housing bonds’, secured on the value of their existing housing stock when market conditions allow.
We will direct the Housing Finance Agency to design and oversee the implementation of this funding mechanism, drawing on best practice in the many other countries where bonds are used to fund social  housing projects.
In government, Labour will extend the remit of the Private Residential  Tenancies Board to regulate social tenancies, as well as the private  rented sector.
This will bring much needed regulation to social housing tenancies, which currently undermine tenants’ rights and force landlords to engage in expensive court procedures if they wish to terminate a tenancy.
In addition, we will amend the  Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (1992) to require all local authorities and housing associations to register with the Department of the Environment if they wish to access government subsidies or other supports for social housing provision.
Social landlords will be required to make annual returns to the Department to demonstrate their compliance with specific financial, housing management and governance standards.
Landlords that fail to meet these standards  will not be eligible for any Exchequer  support.
In recent years the standard of social housing management has improved significantly but unfortunately antisocial behaviour remains a problem for many.
In government we will address the issue of anti-social  behaviour by introducing a twelve month probationary tenancy for all new tenants in social housing estates.
If tenants or members of  their households engage in antisocial behaviour during this period the tenancy will be terminated.
supporTing privaTe renTing TenanTs
Labour will establish a tenancy deposit protection scheme to put an end to disputes regarding the return of deposits, and ensure that changes to rent are linked to local market  averages.
The number of people in receipt of rent supplement, and its cost, have more than doubled in the past decade.
Labour will reduce expenditure on rent supplement by making recipients’ contribution to their rent a proportion of their income rather than a flat amount as is currently the case.
This reform will incentivise  recipients to negotiate lower rents with participating landlords.
To further reinforce recipients’ negotiating power the maximum amounts of rent supplement payable in different localities will no longer be made publicly available on the Health Service Executive website.
Labour will also instruct the HSE to  deduct withholding tax from all rent supplement payments to promote tax compliance among landlords.
Labour will also reform the Rental  Accommodation Scheme so that  claimants’ pay an increasing proportion of their rent as their income increases, and set the  maximum contribution with  reference to the total rent paid to the landlord.
homelessness
Despite improvements in policy making, service development, and very substantial public investment, the numbers of homeless people remained high throughout the economic boom and have recently begun to rise as the economy has declined.
Labour will establish a tenancy deposit protection scheme to put an end to disputes regarding the return of deposits
In line with our Comprehensive Spending Review, Labour will alleviate the problem of longterm homelessness by introducing a ‘housing first’ approach to accommodating homeless people.
Labour will lease-purchase or enable social landlords to build adequate numbers of long term dwellings for homeless people and fund support staff to enable them to successfully maintain these tenancies over the  long term.
In this way we will be able to offer homeless people suitable, long term housing in the first instance and radically reduce the use of hostel accommodation and the  associated costs for the Exchequer.
One Ireland For Children, Families & Older People
Time for change
Ireland should be the best place in the world to grow up, and to grow old.
It is a scandal that, despite a decade of prosperity, vulnerable children have been allowed to die for want of proper care;
and that the privileging of profit in healthcare has put older people at risk of abuse by unscrupulous businesses.
The Labour Party believes that it is time to put aside the ‘me first’ philosophy of Fianna Fáil, and to work together to build an Ireland that is a safe place for children,
a supportive place for families,
and which recognises the value and the potential of our senior citizens.
The firsT sTeps
A constitutional amendment on children’s  rights
A radical, area-based approach to tackling child poverty in Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities
New community-based solutions to building age-friendly neighbourhoods and towns
Remove the barriers to older people who want to remain active in the workforce, and use  retirees’ expertise to help new start-ups
Regulation to ensure safe, quality home help services for older people
proTecTing children
The delay in proceeding with the referendum on children’s rights is unacceptable.
Labour will ensure that a children’s rights referendum is urgently progressed.
Labour will legislate, as a priority, to allow for the exchange of ‘soft information’ on suspected abuse of children, and to significantly raise the level of proof which an accused person must reach when they are claiming ‘mistake as to age’ in a prosecution for sexual offences against a child.
The Ryan and Murphy reports identified significant inadequacies in how allegations of child abuse are dealt with in Ireland.
The Ryan Report Implementation Plan set out 99 actions and policy objectives which if delivered will radically change the child protection service.
Labour in government will expedite the implementation programme.
Labour will ensure that a children’s rights referendum is urgently progressed
Labour will also update the Children First guidelines to restore the importance of family support, prevention and early intervention as key objectives of child protection; to clarify the ‘threshold of concern’ requiring a report to be made to the HSE; and to ensure compliance with the HIQA Guidance report of 2010, which deals with crisis intervention  for particularly vulnerable children.
Finally, in government we will ensure that the promised 270 new social workers are brought into the system, and that emergency care is consistently available outside  of standard working hours.
The particular problems faced by separated children, i.e. children who are outside their country of origin, will be taken into account.
childcare and pre-school educaTion
The Labour Party was the first party to propose a free, universal year of pre-school as a vital first step in a child’s education.
Labour will  build on the 2010 Early Childhood Education and Care scheme, when  resources permit, to develop a comprehensive, national pre-school service that is focussed on early childhood development.
In the mean time, Labour will focus  on the improvement of quality in the early childhood education and care sector through the implementation of Siolta standards; by ensuring the sufficient availability of training options for staff.
Labour is also committed to ensuring that all children have the opportunity to avail of a universal pre-school year, wherever their location, and will  review the age structure of the scheme to ensure that any rigidities do not work to the disadvantage of families.
Breaking The cycle of child poverTy
Child poverty in Ireland has remained stubbornly high, even through the boom years.
This shows that simply adding more money is not enough to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched.
Labour will adopt a radical new area-based approach to tackling child poverty, based on the youngballymun project in Dublin, which involves all of the existing state services, such as public health nurses, schools, childcare professionals, and social workers coordinating their efforts, with expert Irish and international support, to tackle every aspect of
child poverty within Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities.
Labour will seek philanthropic partners to co-fund and manage the rollout of this model to up to ten of Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities, at a cost of up to €15  million.
children’s healTh and well-Being
Labour will take action to tackle  the public health time bomb that is childhood obesity.
In government, we will publish a National Nutrition Policy, and will bring together government departments, agencies and educators in a major and sustained campaign to address this vital aspect of childhood health and well-being.
This will address advertising standards, the nutritional content of food sold in  retail outlets and, most importantly of all, a strong educational campaign pitched directly at children and young people themselves.
The huge increase in the number of outlets supplying alcohol was a serious mistake, while the more  recent restrictions on opening hours have had little discernible impact on teen drinking.
Labour will take action to further restrict sales to  under-age persons, notably in offlicence outlets.
We will also work  at EU level to develop a Europeanwide agreement to phase out, or substantially reduce, alcohol-related sponsorship of sporting events.
supporTing modern irish families
Irish family life has changed enormously over the past two decades, but changes in employment and legal rights have not kept pace.
Labour will legislate to guarantee that the State respects family life, whether based on marriage or not
Labour favours moving to a paternity leave model, where parents can share paid leave when a new baby is born, as resources allow.
More  immediately, Labour will introduce a legal right to a career break, subject to reasonable conditions, which  would allow parents to take time out of the workplace without risking future benefits or job security.
This would have the added benefit of  creating mobility in the labour force.
We will also explore the option of introducing a right to part-time work, subject also to reasonable conditions.
Labour will legislate to guarantee that the State respects family life, whether based on marriage or not, by passing our Guardianship of Children Bill (2010).
Building an age-friendly socieTy
Ireland needs the experience, the energy and the patriotism of its older citizens, just as older people themselves can benefit from help in their communities.
Labour will establish ‘Give n Take’, a community response to the everyday needs of people in a local community.
In this exchange, people of all ages volunteer their time, which is lodged in a ‘time bank’.
This exchange, which would be weighted in favour of older people, would be a way of brokering volunteering good will in a community.
This will be a way of connecting people who want to help out in their communities, with those  who need that help.
It will be a local organisation, administered locally through the network of local development/partnership companies with assistance from Volunteering Ireland and new technologies.
It would not require additional resources.
Labour will also initiate a national  annual competition – ‘A Shining Community’ – to find the most  age-friendly community in Ireland.
Structured along the lines of the Tidy Towns competition, communities would research and develop a blueprint for how their community can become a model, age-friendly community accounting for the health, recreational, educational,  participatory, built environment, emotional and security needs of older people.
Labour in government is committed to progressing the implementation of a National Positive Ageing Strategy.
making sure The voices of older people are heard
Labour wants older people to be heard in their communities.
Local  authorities will be required to establish local Older People councils, where members of the community can raise local concerns or issues of  importance.
These councils will be chaired by a representative of the Local Authority, who will be required to report to both local elected representatives, and the Office for Older People.
BeTTer care for older people
Labour’s reform of primary care services, and universal health  insurance, will particularly benefit older people, who will be assured of access to care when they need it.
Labour’s plan to expand the community care sector, to enable older people to be discharged from hospital and cared for in their communities, is detailed in  our proposals on Universal Health Insurance.
Labour will review the role and  operations of the public network of geriatric hospitals and long term care units as part of a coherent strategy for residential care for older people.
Labour will regulate home help services so that older people and their families can have confidence in  them.
Labour is committed to introducing a comprehensive statutory framework on mental capacity, including provision for the appointment of an independent advocate for those who need someone to advocate on their  behalf.
helping older people who wanT To work
Older people who wish to remain economically active should be able to do so.
Phased retirement from full-time work will be facilitated for  those who wish to continue to work  part-time on a contractual basis, underpinned by legislation and subject to commonsense exceptions and conditions.
The experience and skills of older people should not be lost to the economy when they retire.
Labour will initiate a campaign, ‘Flyin’ at 60’, to encourage and support older people finalising one career to make their wisdom available to  a new enterprise.
Retired people with enterprise development and mentoring skills can also play a voluntary role in the services provided by the Local Development-Partnership or County Enterprise Boards.
County Enterprise Boards will also be mandated to develop a specific support package for ‘start-up’ Social Entrepreneurs.
BeTTer, safer communiTies for older people
Ireland needs to plan now for homes and communities that  make it easier for older people to live independently.
Part M of the Building Regulations will be revised and developments complying with Universal Design principles will be favoured in the planning process.
As part of Labour’s broader housing policy, we will seek to promote sheltered housing that meets a high standard of design and specification.
Simple home maintenance can be one of the biggest challenges for people as they grow older.
Through
Labour will allow for the development of ‘No Cold Calling’ Zones
the Give n’ Take a Social Exchange Network, the local development and partnership companies will hold a register of skilled craftspeople willing to volunteer a little of their time, and who can undertake minor  alterations and repairs.
Labour will allow for the  development of ‘No Cold Calling’ Zones in areas with high concentrations of older people.
This will prohibit the practice of cold calling and selling door to door in those areas.
An opt-in Older People Community Register will be established, in  cooperation with Community Gardaí, the HSE, and locally-managed social care networks to maximise  a community-wide response in the event of natural emergencies.
A Fairer and More  Equal Ireland
Time for change
Equality is not a luxury for the good times or a buzzword: it is at the heart of what it means to be a citizen in our  democracy, and it is at the heart of the Labour Party’s view of the world.
Labour believes that everyone has the right to reach their full potential, free from discrimination, and that we all benefit from living in a more equal society.
Fianna Fáil presided over a very unequal and divided Ireland.
Labour is committed to forging One Ireland, built on fairness and equal citizenship.
The firsT sTeps
Bring more women into politics by tying funding for political parties to the participation of women representatives
Reform the law on mental capacity
Stronger laws against unfair discrimination
A referendum on same-sex marriage
Legislation to regulate scientific stem cell research
fairness and equaliTy for women
Women continue to be underrepresented – if they are there at all – in the decision-making arenas at all levels of politics, and on state boards.
Labour will make it a legal requirement that 40 per cent of either gender is represented on state boards and committees, and we will  ensure that other nominating bodies are bound by the same target.
Public funding for political parties will be tied to the level of participation by women as public representatives those parties achieve.
Demanding targets for  all political parties will be set out  in legislation.
Labour will make it a legal requirement that 40 per cent of either gender is represented on state boards and committees
Labour is committed to tackling and eradicating domestic violence.
We will protect funding for frontline services, such as family refuges, and draw on best international practice to reform the way the courts system deals with domestic abuse cases.
Most urgently, we will tackle the delay in hearing domestic abuse cases in the courts, and provide national consistency of access to the courts for urgent applications.
Labour supports updating the Constitution to reflect the role of  women in 21st century Ireland, which we will be recommending to our proposed Constitutional Convention.
a fair deal for people wiTh disaBiliTies
Labour remains committed to an  approach to disability in Ireland based on rights, equality and participation.
We will continue to work to vindicate the rights of people with disabilities to education, health, housing and work and to participate in an inclusive manner in the economic, social and cultural  life of the community, and will work to advance implementation of the National Disability Strategy.
Labour will protect, as a priority, those people with disabilities who are most vulnerable to cuts in public services.
However, it is also essential  that we get the best possible value for money for the investment we make in services with people for disabilities, and that those services  meet the needs of users.
Labour’s proposed Comprehensive Expenditure Review will examine all provision for people with disabilities, with a view to determining how users can get the best services, for the public investment made.
As part of this review, Labour will consider  moving a proportion of public spending on disability services to a personal budgeting model, so that people with disabilities or their families have greater flexibility to make the choices that suit their  needs best.
Labour is also committed to  reforming the law on mental capacity, so as to ensure the greatest degree of autonomy for people with intellectual disabilities or suffering from a mental illness, and to reduce  the need for expensive court proceedings.
lgBT righTs
Labour is committed to holding a referendum to provide for constitutional recognition of samesex marriage.
Labour also supports entitling all parties to a marriage or civil partnership to apply to adopt a child, while ensuring that all adoption decisions must be made in the best long-term interests of the child.
In the immediate term, Labour  will enact provisions to extend the tax benefits of marriage to same sex couples in civil partnerships.
Labour is committed to ensuring all publicly funded colleges operate in accordance with the constitutional  right to Freedom of Conscience.
Labour will ensure the five teaching colleges introduce a Freedom of Conscience clause so that trainee  teachers no longer are obliged to undergo compulsory religious education.
Labour will amend Section 37 of the  Employment Equality Acts (1998) and (2004) to end discrimination against LGBT teachers and trainee teachers, and to ensure that there  is no obstacle to schools tackling homophobic bullying.
Labour will continue to fund Gay HIV Strategies.
Labour will advance equality for trans-gender people by enacting gender recognition legislation, and by extending to them protections afforded by existing equality legislation.
Labour will enact provisions to extend the tax benefits of marriage to same sex couples in civil partnerships
fair employmenT righTs
Labour in government will address the fact that some unscrupulous employers have sought to undermine the right to collective bargaining.
Labour will introduce legislation to strengthen the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining, as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The legislation will also make it illegal to discriminate in any way against an employee because they are a member of a trade union or involved  in trade union activity.
Labour will also amend the  Employment Equality Act to combat age discrimination by shifting the burden of proof to the employer as to why an individual must retire on age grounds.
fosTering a healThy civil socieTy
A robust civil society is essential to building a fair Ireland, where power is shared and dissent and debate are  valued.
Labour supports the aims of the Conversation on Democracy in Ireland project.
Labour’s Comprehensive Spending Review will examine all areas of  government spending, to establish what is the best and most costeffective way to achieve the positive outcomes we want for our country.
This review will provide the basis for a coherent policy framework governing the State’s partnership with community and voluntary organisations.
Labour is committed to  continuing the work of the Forum on Philanthropy under the chairmanship of the Department of the Taoiseach, and to actively supporting the development of a strategy to promote philanthropy at all levels of society
puTTing equaliTy Back inTo governmenTdecision-making
Fianna Fáil systematically filleted state bodies which criticised its  record on equality, human rights and poverty.
The Labour Party will put fairness and equality back at the heart of government decisionmaking.
A new Equality and Social Inclusion Authority with a mandate to promote social inclusion and equality, and combat poverty and discrimination, will replace the Equality Authority and the National Disability Authority.
It will incorporate the policy and research functions of the Combat Poverty Agency, which was dismantled by Fianna Fáil.
Labour will establish an Oireachtas  Committee on Equality, Women and Human Rights, charged with progressing legislation in these  areas.
BioeThics and oTher law reforms
Labour will legislate in accordance with existing constitutional provisions and court judgements to clarify the law – including the law relating to guardianship responsibilities – surrounding assisted human reproduction.
Labour will also legislate to regulate stem cell research, with regard to the recommendations of the Irish  Council for Bioethics.
Labour will legislate for postmortem procedures and organ retention practices as recommended by the Madden report, and change the Organ Donation system to an ‘opt out’ system for organ transplantation rather than an ‘opt in’ system, so as to improve the availability of organs for patients in desperate need.
Labour in government will legislate in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in the X Case, and the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
Culture, Sport  and the Arts
Time for change
Excellence in the arts and in sport will be supported, but the thrust of Labour’s policy will be to widen access to the arts, to grow Irish as a spoken language,
and to build participation in sport from the ground up.
Labour believes that every citizen should have the opportunity to enjoy our shared cultural, artistic and sporting life, and to participate in it.
The firsT sTeps
Vest overall responsibility for developing the Irish language in the Office of the Taoiseach
Develop local sports partnerships nationwide using funding from an increased betting levy
Prioritise multi-use facilities when investing in sports infrastructure
Establish a National Endowment Fund to  leverage private funding for the arts
Focus public spending on the arts on making the best use of our existing arts venues, and on extending access to the arts
The irish language in The 21sT cenTury
The Labour Party recognises that the Irish language is an important part of our national and cultural identity.
Its standing as one of the oldest spoken and literary languages still in use gives it a wider significance not only in Ireland but across Europe.
Its importance goes beyond cultural heritage.
Labour believes that the Irish language can and should contribute to our economic recovery through its continued use in tourism, the arts and in broadcasting.
As a foundation for the Labour  Party’s position on the Irish language, we support the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030.
Labour believes that the  Office of the Taoiseach should be  responsible for coordinating and driving the strategy, and that the Taoiseach should be answerable to  the Dáil for its implementation.
Labour supports the longer term goal of introducing a second subject at primary level that is taught through Irish
reviTalising The irish language in educaTion
Labour will maintain Irish as one  of the three core compulsory Leaving Certificate subjects.
At the same time, we recognise that the teaching of the Irish language needs significant reform.
Irish students should leave school able to hold a  conversation in Irish with their peers.
Labour will undertake a thorough reform of the Irish curriculum in  keeping with the aims of the 20 Year Strategy.
Labour wants to create a virtuous circle where teachers and  students are improving their spoken Irish on an ongoing basis.
This can be done in part by reforming the curriculum so more emphasis is put on oral and aural skills.
Our teachers  will also need to be supported in this process.
Opportunities will be provided, within the existing continuous professional development budget, to primary and secondary school teachers to attend courses in the Gaeltacht during the summer to maintain and improve their Irish throughout their careers.
Labour supports the longer term goal of introducing a second subject at primary level that is taught through Irish.
Working in consultation with all stakeholders  we will explore how this can best be achieved.
The goal of normalising the use of Irish through teaching art, music or drama is one possible way of encouraging the use of spoken Irish.
In government, Labour will implement its strategy for improving literacy in schools.
This strategy will include the improvement of Irish language literacy in gaelscoileanna and in Gaeltacht schools, with  appropriate adaptations of the strategy developed in consultation with educational stakeholders.
creaTing living gaelTachTaí
The Labour party recognises the important place the Gaeltachtaí have in our country.
The survival and enhancement of the Gaeltachtaí  depends on people being able to make a living in these communities.
Údarás na Gaeltachta, along with other enterprise agencies, will be able to draw down additional  funding from Labour’s dedicated Jobs Fund,
if they can demonstrate that this additional funding will directly contribute to generating additional jobs in strategic areas such as food production, tourism, renewable energy, digital media or clean technology.
irish language BroadcasTing and The arTs
When last in government, the Labour Party established TG4.
We will continue to support the Irish language broadcasting sector.
The Irish language is a key part of our artistic tradition, and this will also be  supported by Labour in government.
an ghaeilge
Leagtar bonn síos i leith staid Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre maidir leis  an nGaeilge tríd an tacaíocht a thugaimid don Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge, 2010-2030. Creideann  Páirtí an Lucht Oibre gur chóir d’Oifig an Taoisigh freagracht a ghlacadh as an straitéis a chomhordú agus a chur chun cinn agus gur chóir don Taoiseach a bheith freagrach don Dáil maidir lena cur i ngníomh.
an ghaeilge agus oideachas
ar mhúineadh na Gaeilge. Ba chóir go mbeadh daltaí na hÉireann in ann comhrá a bheith acu as Gaeilge lena gcomhpháirtithe agus iad ag fágáil na scoile.
Tabharfaidh Páirtí an Lucht Oibre  faoi athchóiriú críochnúil ar  churaclam na hÉireann a thiocfaidh  le haidhmeanna na Straitéise 20  Bliain. Táimid ag iarraidh fáinne óir a chruthú ina bhfeabhsóidh múinteoirí  agus daltaí a nGaeilge labhartha ar bhonn leanúnach. Is féidir é sin  a dhéanamh go páirteach tríd an gcuraclam a athchóiriú ionas go leagfar tuilleadh béime ar scileanna labhartha agus éisteachta. Beidh tacaíocht ag teastáil ó mhúinteoirí chomh maith mar chuid den  phróiseas seo. Cuirfear deiseanna ar fáil, laistigh den bhuiséad forbartha gairmiúla leanúnaí reatha, do mhúinteoirí bunscoile  agus meánscoile chun freastal a dhéanamh ar chúrsaí sa Ghaeltacht  i rith an tsamhraidh ar mhaithe  lena nGaeilge a chothabháil agus a fheabhsú le linn a ngairme.
Tacaíonn Páirtí an Lucht Oibre leis  an sprioc níos fadtéarmaí maidir le dara hábhar a mhúinfear trí  Ghaeilge a thabhairt isteach ag an leibhéal bunscoile. Déanfaimid  scrúdú ar conas is fearr is féidir é  sin a bhaint amach agus muid ag obair i gcomhairle leis na páirtithe leasmhara go léir. Bealach amháin a d’fheadfaí spreagadh a thabhairt
d’úsáid na Ghaeilge labhartha is ea an sprioc a bhaineann le húsáid a bhaint as an nGaeilge i ngnáthchúinsí trí ealaín, ceol nó drámaíocht a mhúineadh.  Cuirfidh Páirtí an Lucht Oibre a  straitéis maidir le litearthacht a  fheabhsú i scoileanna i ngníomh agus iad sa Rialtas. Áireofar mar chuid den straitéis sin,  litearthacht na Gaeilge a fheabhsú i ngaelscoileanna agus i scoileanna na Gaeltachta, agus oiriúnuithe cuí den straitéis á bhforbairt i gcomhairle le páirtithe leasmhara oideachais.
gaelTachTaí Beo a chruThú
Aithníonn Páirtí an Lucht Oibre  an staid thábhachtach atá ag na Gaeltachtaí sa tír againne. Braitheann maireachtáil agus feabhsú na nGaeltachtaí ar chumas  na ndaoine chun slí bheatha a  dhéanamh sna pobail sin. Beidh Údarás na Gaeltachta, i dteannta le  gníomhaireachtaí fiontraíochta, in ann maoiniú breise a íostarraingt ó Chiste tiomnaithe Fostaíochta  Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre, más féidir leo  a léiriú go gcabhróidh an maoiniú breise sin go díreach le tuilleadh post a ghiniúint i réimsí straitéiseacha cosúil le táirgeadh bia, turasóireacht, fuinneamh in-athnuaite, na meáin  dhigiteacha nó an teicneolaíocht ghlan.
craolachán gaeilge agus na healaíona
a fresh direcTion for arTs policy
In the interests of value for money, achieving greater efficiencies and a more coherent policy, Labour will make strategic policy formulation the primary function of the Department, with its line agencies and bodies being responsible for policy implementation.
Labour in government will initiate a full review of the areas that receive  state funding through the Arts Council.
Funding will be targeted in areas where it can be most effective  in extending the availability of arts and cultural activities, while  balancing this against innovation and endeavour.
We will also ensure  that adequate support is extended to those sectors of the arts that are  particularly popular with younger people.
In the longer term, Labour favours putting a proportion of Arts Council funding on a multi-annual basis, to allow for longer-term arts planning.
Labour believes that the promotion of Irish arts abroad is important.
However, this does not need to be  done by a separate agency, with a separate board.
Labour will transfer the functions of Culture Ireland  to the Arts Council, and give the Arts Council an expanded mandate to promote Irish cultural projects abroad.
Labour will pilot a Local Arts Partnership to increase participation in the arts
Labour will also pilot a Local Arts Partnership, based on the successful local sports partnerships, in order to increase participation in the arts.
This will be funded from within the  existing departmental budget.
geTTing The mosT from our culTural venues
Labour will seek to capture some public good from NAMA by identifying buildings that have no commercial potential, and which might be suitable as local facilities for art and culture.
We will  also undertake a National Audit  of Arts and Cultural Facilities to  ascertain our current national arts  infrastructure.
However, Labour’s  focus of investment in the arts will  be on ensuring our existing venues are fully utilised.
Labour will also review the opening times of our national cultural  institutions, such as museums, to  allow for later opening at least once a week, and make Culture Night a twice-yearly, nationwide event.
This can be done from within the existing arts departmental budget.
supporTing arTisTs and culTural employmenT
Labour will establish a National  Endowment Fund for the Arts to  leverage private funding to the arts.
We will maintain the Artists Tax  Exemption at €40,000 per year, but will permit a facility that enables artists to spread income over a period of years.
There is a wealth of artistic  talent in Ireland that must not be  allowed to go to waste or be lost to emigration.
Labour’s Bridge the GAP apprenticeship and work placement scheme can be used to employ recent fine arts graduates in schools to facilitate the teaching of art.
The existing apprenticeship scheme could also be expanded to include apprenticeship to artistic and cultural enterprises.
making sporT accessiBle To all
Everyone, regardless of gender, age or background, should have the opportunity to participate in sport.
Labour’s sports strategy will build on successful local schemes to  develop programmes, facilities and activities, to increase participation for all.
Local Sports Partnerships have the potential to build participation from the bottom up.
Labour will mainstream successful sports partnership pilot projects that have proven their effectiveness in broadening participation, using funding from a reconstituted betting levy.
Labour will also support the work of Special Olympics Ireland in building a programme of sport and development in local communities for people with special needs.
a coherenT approach To developing sporTs faciliTies
The National Sports Facilities Strategy will become the blueprint for the future development of all sports facilities in the country.
In future, capital investment in multi-use sporting facilities will be prioritised.
Overall, Labour believes that funding of Irish sport should be reallocated away from capital projects and moved towards employment and promotion of sport on a local and national level.
Any future grants allocated under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme will be cognizant of the National Audit of Sports Facilities and the amount of private facilities in the area.
It will place most emphasis on the refurbishment of derelict pools; on ensuring provision in areas which have experienced rapid population growth; and areas that demonstrate a clear need.
supporTing our eliTe aThleTes
We will continue to support our elite athletes through the International Carding scheme which we will review after London 2012.
Through the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport we will review the current structures and strategic plans of sporting bodies, examining the implementation of High Performance Plans and long-term coaching plans within the bodies.
a more Joined-up,sTraTegic approach To sporT in ireland
It is in the interests of all  stakeholders that national policy for sport should be effective and funding transparent and strategic.
Responsibility for policy-making will revert to the department, while agencies will be accountable for implementing policy, assessing outcomes and value for money.
Funding for state agencies and governing bodies will be made more transparent and structured, with the Minister holding ultimate responsibility for funding decisions.
However, all state funding will be
subject to the beneficiaries signing up to a dispute resolution services, such as the Just Sport Ireland initiative, and the adherence to  new mandatory codes of conduct regarding child protection in sport.
Labour will also encourage,where feasible, partnerships between schools and local clubs to build or develop shared sports facilities
The Irish Sports Council will be renamed Sport and Recreation Ireland, with an expanded remit.
Sport and Recreation Ireland will partner local authorities, OPW, Waterways Ireland and Coillte to identify appropriate outdoor facilities such as treks, walks and  cycle ways, camping and water sports.
It will also work with the local authorities to improve recreation facilities.
A number of positions on the Sports Council’s governing board will be made directly electable.
Labour will also encourage, where feasible, partnerships between schools and local clubs to build or  develop shared sports facilities, which can be self-financing.
changing how we finance The horse and greyhound fund
The horse and greyhound racing industries are part of Irish culture, and important employers.
Labour will maintain the Horse  and Greyhound Fund, though without direct subvention from  the Exchequer.
Instead, Labour will introduce a betting levy of 1.5%, extended across all media and on-course transactions.
Part  of the revenue raised from this  levy will go towards the Horse and Greyhound Fund.
We also favour the benchmarking of Horse Racing prize money to a level above that of our competitor nations in Europe.
How a reconstituted fund will be  raised and administered will be  decided in consultation with all  stakeholders.
Foreign Affairs,  the EU and Northern Ireland
Time for change
Ireland’s international reputation has been damaged by the disastrous mishandling of our economy by Fianna Fáil,
and by the recklessness of those at the top of the banks.
We need to rebuild our relationships and regain our lost influence within the European Union,
and reach out to forge new relationships with emerging world powers.
Ireland has always wielded influence greater than our size on the international stage.
The Labour Party is committed to restoring Ireland’s good name, and to ensuring that Irish solidarity with the world’s poorest people is maintained.
The firsT sTeps
Make restoring Ireland’s international reputation a key objective of every government minister
Maintain Ireland’s overseas development aid budget, and progress to a target of 0.7 per cent of GNP dedicated to ODA by 2015
Make Ireland an international emergency hub for humanitarian aid and personnel
Work with our EU partners to reform international financial regulation, and grow the European economy
Publish a white paper setting out a strategy for the future of our defence forces to 2020
resToring ireland’s inTernaTional repuTaTion
Ireland’s standing within the European Union and in the wider world has been compromised by the disastrous mishandling of our economy by Fianna Fáil.
This loss of reputation is a real threat to Ireland’s prospects of recovery.
Labour will make restoring Ireland’s international reputation as a good, transparent place to do business, and as a responsible member of the international community, a key policy objective for our diplomatic corps, and for every minister in  government.
Labour will ensure that Ireland is  fully prepared, with a strategic plan of action, for both its chairmanship of the Organisation for Security  and Cooperation in Europe in 2012, and the presidency of the EU Council in 2013.
Labour is committed to increasing overseas development aid to 0.7% of GNP
a commiTmenT To developmenT
Labour is opposed to any further cuts in overseas development aid.
Labour is committed to increasing overseas development aid to 0.7% of GNP, which we will seek to achieve by 2015.
We will introduce legislation by 2013 to ensure that the ODA budget is provided for from the Central Fund, rather than being at the mercy of the annual estimates process, at which point we will publish a pathway to achieving the goal.
The legislation will also give legal expression to the values and principles underpinning the aid programme, and will provide a framework to enhance the  predictability, accountability and impact of Irish Aid.
Labour will undertake a review of the  implementation of the 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid, in order to learn from past successes and mistakes, and formulate clear objectives for Ireland’s aid programme to 2020.
Labour will work at EU level to  ensure that EU aid is transparent and clearly targeted at achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Within the UN, we will press for the establishment of the principle of access to clean water and sanitation as a human right in the upcoming review of the MDGs,
and for the establishment of a Rapid Response Agency for natural and human disasters which would work  to anticipate, respond and prevent natural and human disasters.
Labour will also back efforts at UN  level to establish a form of Tobin  Tax at on international financial  transactions to help generate funds to meet the MDGs.
making ireland a huB for humaniTarian aid
One of the major current weaknesses of the international  response to humanitarian crises or conflicts is the absence of a  coordinating centre to assemble resources and personnel.
In government, Labour will position Ireland to become an international  hub for the storage and distribution of emergency humanitarian supplies, and for the assembly of military and civilian personnel for EU or UN peacekeeping missions.
The Shannon airport area, with easy access to ports, extensive space, long runways and large depots would be an ideal location for such a hub.
fairer Trade
Labour is committed to retaining Ireland’s ‘triple lock’
International trade relations must  be developed on the basis of equity between developed and developing countries.
We will support efforts to ensure equity in taxation and trade regimes and in dealing with the burden of international debt.
Labour is also committed to  strengthening policy coherence in relation to development issues across a range of other government policy areas, including trade and climate change.
reform for a more eThical foreign policy
The protection of human rights must be at the heart of any ethical foreign policy.
Through our participation in international insititutions, we  will work towards the international  recognition of the universality and indivisibilty of human rights.
Labour strongly supports the United Nations but recognises the need for significant reform.
The structure, and procedures, of the Security Council must be adapted to reflect the global politics of the 21st century, including the international standing of the European Union.
Changes in the UN related multilateral institutions  are needed to favour integrated approaches to aid, trade and debt.
The importance of UN Conventions in a wide range of policy areas must be recognised.
Labour will seek to speed up their ratification and implementation, for example of the crucial UN Convention  Against Corruption, which is of major importance in the field of development aid and assistance.
Labour in government will pursue a policy of positive neutrality, and we are opposed to Ireland participating in international mutual defence  alliances.
In line with our policy of positive neutrality, Labour will implement measures to restrict the use of Irish airspace, airports and related facilities for purposes not in line with the dictates of  international law,
with permission for military use of such facilities allowable only for international missions with explicit UN Security Council approval.
Labour is committed to retaining the ‘triple lock’, under which Irish defence forces can only participate in missions abroad with government approval, Dáil approval,
and under a UN mandate.
Labour will give priority to achieving progress within the UN on the range of treaties and negotiations in the field of weapons of mass destruction, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the efforts to rid the world of landmines,  cluster munitions and biological  weapons.
securiTy and defence
The Irish Defence Forces have a  proud tradition of participating in peacekeeping missions abroad, and are an important pillar of Irish diplomacy.
Labour will ensure that the Defence  Forces are appropriately equipped and staffed to meet Ireland’s  obligations to United Nations and EU peacekeeping missions.
In particular, Labour will ensure that the Medical  Corps is fit for purpose, and able to attract sufficient personnel, and will develop an appropriate timescale for the renewal of the naval fleet.
The Reserve Defence Force is a  valuable resource, which will be  optimised in overseas missions  with the Defence Forces.
Labour  also supports greater coordination between RDF and Civil Defence  at home.
A stronger role for the RDF will be facilitated by the appointment of a Brigadier General to the RDF.
Labour will reform the governance structures of the Irish Red Cross to  enable it to discharge its duties more effectively and transparently.
Acknowledging the current budgetary restraints, Ireland nevertheless needs to plan ahead to ensure that our defence forces are fit  for purpose over the coming decade.
Labour will publish a White Paper on the Defence Forces setting out our vision for the Defence Forces to  2020.
This will include a strategy to restore the strength of the Defence Forces to 10,500 members.
Such a  paper will also consider what the appropriate role for PDFORRA might be within the wider Trade Union  movement.
Finally, it should also map out how Ireland will deal with future, unorthodox attacks, such as  cyber warfare.
ireland in europe
The Labour Party believes that recovery depends on savings and growth.
While the EU has played a crucial role, more must be done  to simultaneously reform financial markets, counteract the recession
and re-launch the economy to create new growth and jobs.
By acting together in Europe and worldwide, we can forge a stronger path to recovery for us all.
JoBs and growTh
The number one priority for Labour in Europe is to safeguard jobs, create new ones
and promote smart, environmentally sustainable growth.
Europe’s strengths are its economic diversity and high skill base.
Labour favours a European competitiveness strategy based on high skills, effectiveness, gender equality, productivity and innovation in a knowledge-driven economy.
Labour will continue to support reform of financial markets and  banking regulation at a European level.
Labour is committed to maintaining Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax, and will oppose any move toward a mandatory Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base.
Labour will work at European level to progress the development of an EUwide smart grid that would enable Ireland to scale up its renewable energy production for export.
Labour will also seek to draw down  Ireland’s entitlement to European Structural Funds and the European Social Fund to promote employment in areas such as research,  development and deployment of renewable energies and for retrofitting the housing sector.
Labour supports the EU2020 development strategy, and will work to ensure that it has a stronger emphasis on employment, and a genuine integration of the social dimension into EU strategic thinking.
Building a social europe
The European Union is far more than an economic union: it is a political union and community of values.
In a Social Europe, the economic, social, cultural and political rights of all citizens will be safeguarded.
With our sister parties in every member state and the Party of European Socialists, Labour will work to make sure these  rights are recognised and respected.
Labour will work at EU level to ensure the EU takes a lead in climate change negotiations�
Labour will also seek to establish a  European Employment and Social Progress Pact
guaranteeing a more equal society and life of dignity for all citizens, whether employed or unemployed.
This crisis has underlined the importance of strong, sustainable social protection systems.
Through the social progress clause agreed in the Lisbon Treaty, we will ensure the real social and  environmental cost of EU laws is  fully assessed before they are agreed.
fulfilling The lisBon pledges
The Lisbon Treaty has strengthened the role of the EU parliament in the EU legislative system.
Labour Party MEPs, with their colleagues in the Group of Socialists and Democrats, will work for the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty reforms, for the greater transparency and accountability in the work of the EU institutions and for the prioritisation of economic stability, job creation and social development.
The Lisbon Treaty also mandates a much greater role for national parliaments in the scrutiny of EU legislation, which Labour will enforce through the Dáil committee system.
Ireland has played a constructive role in the development and operation of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Labour is committed to continuing this engagement, in the context of our policy of positive neutrality,
and the reaffirmation of that neutrality by our EU partners in the Lisbon Treaty.
With our sister parties across Europe and the Socialist International,
Labour will work to support gradual and considered further enlargement of the Union to bring peace,
high living standards and stable growth across the continent.
cooperaTion on climaTe change
Labour supports a meaningful and equitable international agreement to avoid runaway global warming,
and will work at European level to ensure that the EU takes a lead  in these negotiations.
Such an agreement must be implemented and monitored by a democratic supervisory authority.
Labour also supports a more coherent approach to reducing greenhouse gases across the EU, including the introduction of binding energy efficiency targets by 2020, and reform of the Emissions Trading System.
eu reform
Labour will demand the highest standards of transparency and accountability from EU institutions such as the Commission and  Parliament; including regulation of lobbying.
Labour supports the nomination of candidates for the office of President  of the European Commission in advance of the 2014 European elections from the various political groupings in the European Parliament.
This step will help give voters real choices in the future  direction of Europe.
Labour in government will maintain and encourage the clear, close, and successful co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Labour is proud of our contribution to creating a more peaceful, lawful, and democratic society in Northern Ireland.
We believe that there is considerably more potential for North/South cooperation than has been the case to date, and that this cooperation could be of mutual benefit to all of the people north and south of the border.
Through the North/South Ministerial Council, Labour will seek the immediate publication of the Phase One Review of North/South cooperation that was included as part of the St Andrews Agreement of 2006.
Labour will also press for the earliest possible completion of the Second Phase, identifying new areas of co-operation and implementation between the two parts of the island.
Labour will commence additional work by the two administrations in identifying potential areas whereby savings and efficiencies could be achieved, services improved and developed, and jobs created through greater North-South co-operation.
We cannot forget that there are elements North and South that wish to destabilise and undermine the progress that has been made.
In order to confront this threat, Labour in government will maintain and encourage the clear, close, and successful co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to deal with the threat of all dissident paramilitary groups.
1. GROWTH AND JOBS
Fine Gael’s number one priority in Government will be JOBS.
The ESRI believes that 100,000 jobs can be created over 5 years by Ireland returning to 3% growth.
As outlined in our jobs policy, Working for Our Future, Fine Gael will ensure this happens by investing in key infrastructure and establishing the right conditions for private sector job growth.
Our goal is to make Ireland, as it was in the late 1990s, one of the best countries in the world for doing business. (See section 15)
Fine Gael believes the jobs crisis is the biggest challenge facing Ireland:
First, because of the social misery it is causing:
Over the last three years 300,000 people have lost their jobs - the biggest fall in employment in the OECD - while 100,000 mostly young people will emigrate over the next two years.
Emigration must not become a permanent feature of Irish life.
Second, because we will never fix the deficit
unless we get the economy growing.
The Government has no jobs plan.
Its only strategy is to pump tens of billions of Euros into the banks, cut the deficit largely through job-destroying tax increases, and hope for the best.
Yet no country has ever taxed or cut itself back to recovery.
Fine Gael has a clear, credible jobs plan.
We will create over 45,000 additional work experience, training, and internship opportunities, and increase total employment by at least 100,000 jobs by:
Focusing on budget cuts rather than job-destroying tax increases.
The international evidence is clear:
Tax hikes raise the unemployment rate by three times more than spending cuts.
Investing in the future.
Our NewERA plan will invest an extra €7 billion in energy, communications and water to give Ireland the world class infrastructure it needs to compete.
Since it will be funded in significant part through the sale of non-strategic state assets it will not increase the Government deficit.
NewERA will give Ireland a high-speed broadband network with speeds in the top 5 of the OECD, a “smart” energy grid that will allow us to meet national targets for renewable energy and carbon reduction, and a water system that doesn’t waste tens of millions ever year through leakages.
Supporting small and medium businesses.
We will establish a new partial loan guarantee scheme which will give small businesses the credit they desperately need.
We will overhaul public procurement so that small companies can bid for business, and give tenants the right to have their commercial rents reviewed irrespective of any upward only or other review clauses.
We will reduce costs by opening up the closed parts of the economy to competition and target a €500 million reduction in red tape for business.
Focusing on key growth sectors.
These include education (we will introduce a new more focused strategy to attract international students);
digital media (we want Ireland to become a world class player in digital gaming);
tourism (we will abolish the travel tax if the airlines agree to re-open closed routes);
and food (Fine Gael will introduce a number of proposals to position Ireland as the “Green Food Island”).
2. FAIR DEFICIT REDUCTION
As stated in our banking policy, Credit Where Credit is Due, Fine Gael will reduce the budget deficit to 3% by 2014.
We want Ireland by 2016 to be borrowing only for investment purposes.
Unless the deficit is brought under control in this way, interest costs will cripple Ireland.
Under a Fine Gael Government, tax increases will constitute at most one-third of our measures to reduce the deficit, with any tax increases focused on areas which have a minimal impact on jobs.
We will not increase income taxes, the 12.5% rate of corporation tax or taxes on jobs (employers’ PRSI).
We will, however, either eliminate or restrict all of the tax shelters and tax exemptions that allow the better off to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. (See section 18)
Fine Gael believes that the IMF/EU bail-out deal has not and will not restore investor confidence in our country, and must therefore be renegotiated to reduce the interest rate and to ensure a fairer sharing of the cost of fixing Ireland’s broken banks.
The current deal is bad for Ireland
– and bad for Europe.
Bad for Ireland.
The financial markets are closed to Ireland principally because investors are concerned that any more capital injections into the banks – the cost so far is €100 billion – will sink the Irish economy.
Bad for Europe.
Our EU partners want Ireland to return to the financial markets as soon as possible.
However, it is difficult to see how this can happen unless the market’s concerns about the banking bailout are addressed directly.
Fine Gael favours spending reductions over tax increases not for ideological reasons, but because the experience of other countries shows that tax hikes raise the unemployment rate by three times more than spending cuts.
Some argue that there is no further room for savings in Government spending.
We disagree:
First,  Ireland’s total spending (‘General Government’) as a percentage of GNP is still higher than the EU average, even after recent budget cuts.
Second,  a great deal of spending over the last few years has been wasted.
Many state institutions, the HSE being the most obvious, have seen huge increases in their budgets but relatively little improvement in their services.
Third,  Canada and Sweden in the 1990s showed that it is absolutely possible to cut spending while still growing the economy and protecting frontline services.
The secret of their success was to ensure that cuts were introduced as part of a comprehensive reform of public services.
This is exactly the approach which Fine Gael is adopting.
By cutting down on waste and inefficiency Fine Gael will keep the Old Age Contributory and Non-Contributory Pension at its current level.
Working-age payments to carers, the blind and the disabled will also be maintained.
We will minimise further reductions in job-seekers’ payments and other working-age social welfare payments by getting more people back to work,
and by reducing the massive levels of fraud and administrative cost in the current welfare system.
3. SMALLER BETTER GOVERNMENT
Fine Gael is convinced that the public sector has a crucial role to play in Ireland’s future.
We reject totally the idea that its contribution to Ireland can or should be captured in a narrow profit and loss statement.
Public service is about enriching the lives of people and helping the most vulnerable in our society, not about making a profit.
But as Fine Gael’s Reinventing Government document outlines, reform is essential. (See section 19)
Government must become smaller.
Ireland’s fiscal crisis means there is simply no other choice.
Government has to deliver better value in order to reduce the deficit, avoid job-destroying tax increases
and protect frontline services
Government must perform better.
All too often state institutions have prioritised the interests of the providers and the insiders over the public interest.
A Fine Gael Government will cut costs and increase productivity through a root and branch reform programme which will generate savings of over €5 billion, or 1 euro in every 10 spent by public bodies.
To do this Fine Gael will among other things:
Cut the number of politicians by 1/3rd and reduce back office staff working in government departments.
Our goal is to reduce total public service headcount by 30,000 by 2014 compared to 2010.
There will be no compulsory redundancies.
We will also set a salary cap of €200,000 for everyone.
Abolish 145 state bodies and companies.
This will include the gradual dismantlement of the HSE and FÁS, and the creation of a single, more powerful Competition, Consumer and Utilities Commission to champion the consumer, rather than the big monopolies.
Implement a majority of the non social-welfare recommendations from the McCarthy Report.
We will also follow Canada and Sweden by undertaking a full comprehensive spending review which will eliminate non-priority programmes.
Establish new shared services for Human Resources, Information Technology and Legal Services.
This will allow 10% to be cut from the administration budgets of all departments and public bodies.; and
5. Deliver at least 80% of the spending savings recommended by the Local Government Efficiency Review, e.g., through more shared services.
Fine Gael will reform Ireland’s hugely over-centralised model of government.
A Fine Gael Government will give frontline staff greater freedom in how they do their job and ensure that citizens have more control over services delivered to them.
We will give local authorities more responsibilities and more control over their own funding.
We will create a “one stop shop” for all entitlements and introduce Personal Budgets for individuals, particularly in health, so they can choose the services they want and need.
We will also open up government and make it more accountable.
All appointments at senior level will be opened up to external competition, with one-third of appointments reserved for external candidates for a 5-year period.
The annual work objectives of the top 1,300 civil servants will be published online.
There will be no “golden handshakes” for those who fail to deliver.
4. A New Politics
Fine Gael’s New Politics is the most ambitious programme for political reform since the 1930s.
Our view is simple: Politicians cannot ask others to change and make sacrifices if they are not prepared to do the same.
Fine Gael will reduce the total number of Oireachtas members by a third by abolishing the Seanad and cutting the number of TDs by 20.
In addition ministers’ salaries will be reduced, political expenses fully vouched for and severance payments for ministers axed.
No political pensions will be paid to sitting TDs and no retired politician will get a political pension until the national retirement age.
Politics must be about service to the public, not financial gain for politicians. (See section 17)
A Fine Gael Government will hold a referendum on CONSTITUTION DAY within 12 months of assuming office at which the people will be asked to approve the abolition of the Seanad and other changes to the articles of the constitution covering the institutions of the state – principally the Executive, the Dáil, the Presidency and the Judiciary.
This referendum will not address the articles dealing with rights/social policy.
Fine Gael believes that an over-powerful Executive has turned the Dáil into an observer of the political process rather than a central player and that this must be changed.
We will:
Amend the constitution to give Dáil committees full powers of investigation.
The Abbeylara Supreme Court decision currently limits the ability of Dáil committees to hold investigations into crucial issues of public concern, such as the banking crisis.
Reduce the number of committees and give key committees constitutional standing.
The Dáil needs fewer but stronger committees, resourced properly.
De-politicise their work.
Chairs of committees will be assigned on a more proportional basis, while legislation will typically be introduced in a heads of Bill format to increase the chance of cross-party support.
Initiation of legislation and guillotines.
We will give committees the power to introduce legislation, while a new 10 Minute Rule will allow backbench TDs to introduce their own Bills.
We will also tackle the huge over-use of guillotines to ram through non-emergency legislation.
Fine Gael believes there must also be a real shift in power from the state to the citizen.
Fine Gael has already published an Open Government Bill.
It will significantly strengthen Freedom of Information; establish a “whistleblowers charter”; register all lobbyists;
and create a new Electoral Commission.
We will establish a Citizens Assembly, along the lines of those used in the Netherlands, to make recommendations on electoral reform.
We will also introduce a petitions system for the Dáil.
We will strengthen local government.
We will move many of the functions currently being performed by agencies back to Local Government
and ensure that all property-related revenues are part of the income stream of Local Government.
Fine Gael will reduce the voting age to 17 and give eligible citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in the Presidential election.
If this experiment is deemed a success Fine Gael will consider extending this practice to general elections.
5. Healthcare for All
FairCare is the most ambitious plan for health reform since the establishment of the state.
Longer waiting times, a record number of patients on A&E trolleys and huge hikes in insurance premiums all point to a system in desperate need of change.
FairCare will end Fianna Fail’s and Mary Harney’s privatisation strategy and address two key challenges:
High but Inefficient Spending: Between 1997 and 2009 spending on health more than quadrupled.
While spending per capita is in line with Germany, France and Sweden, the 2009 Euro Health Index Consumer (EHIC) ranks Ireland only 24th for value for money.
The Netherlands is 4th in Europe as a whole and 1st in the original EU 15.
A Demographic Time-bomb: Our population is one of the youngest in Europe.
Without reform, health spending, according to the VHI, will have to increase to €37 billion by 2020 to meet greater demand from an ageing population.
Ireland’s tax take now is only €33 billion!
FairCare will gradually dismantle the HSE and replace it with a system of Universal Health Insurance (UHI) starting in 2016, based on the very efficient Dutch model of healthcare.
Ireland will have a strong public health system in which the State guarantees equal access for all to quality healthcare with the insurance companies administering the system.
Once UHI is introduced the unfair and inefficient two-tier health system will be eliminated.
Every citizen will have private health insurance with the state paying for children/students and those on medical cards.
It will subsidise those with low income.
Public hospitals will remain under public ownership but will be given much more freedom to run themselves. (See section 13)
Prior to the introduction of UHI Fine Gael will introduce a series of reforms to make the system more efficient and fairer.
This will allow us to minimise the impact of budget cuts on frontline services.
Cost Savings: Fine Gael will reduce the headcount by 8,000 through natural retirement and a voluntary redundancy programme.
We will pay hospitals for the number of patients they treat rather than giving block grants (Money Follows the Patient) which will increase productivity by up to 10%.
We will accelerate the transfer of chronic disease management from hospitals to primary care.
This will save several hundred million once introduced and help fund the construction of more primary care centres throughout the country.
We will cut drugs costs further through various reforms.
Driving towards free GP care for all: As part of our preparation for UHI, we will look at a number of ways to widen access to free GP care as finances permit, including increasing the number of people who have a GP Visit Card.
Fine Gael will also enter discussions with the insurers to see how cover for GP care can be extended by them to their clients at reasonable cost.
We will open up the General Medical Services (GMS) contract to all suitable qualified doctors to increase competition and reduce costs.
Reduced Waiting Lists: We will establish a Special Delivery Unit (SDU), reporting directly to the Minister, to better manage waiting lists.
A similar approach in Northern Ireland significantly reduced waiting lists.
A More Competitive Insurance Market: Fine Gael will introduce risk equalisation to make the system fairer, tackle the VHI’s dominant market position, and encourage new entrants into the market.
1. Agriculture and Seafood
The agri-food sector has huge potential to contribute to export-led economic recovery.
Agri-food exports are worth almost €8 billion sustaining over 150,000 jobs and 128,000 farms.
But the agri-food industry has seen farming income fall by 40% between 2007 and 2009, three times more than the EU average.
Farm incomes have recovered somewhat in the past year but the average still rests at approximately €16,500, significantly lower than the average industrial wage.
Fine Gael will provide agri-food businesses with the environment needed to position Ireland as a world leader in the food industry.
1.1 A Decent Living for Farmers
Fair Trade: Removing unfair practices which hinder competition will lower food prices for consumers and will give producers a fairer price for their produce.
We will enact a Fair Trade Act, which will ban a number of unfair trading practices in the retail sector such as ‘hello money’ which suppliers have to pay to get their goods on supermarket shelves.
Competition, Consumer and Utilities Commission: To save taxpayers’ money and to streamline resources, Fine Gael will merge the Competition Authority, the National Consumer Agency (NCA), Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) and the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) into a single, more powerful Competition, Consumer and Utilities Commission.
We will seek to empower this new over-arching regulator and consumer champion to enforce our Fair Trade Act.
Farm Gate Schemes: Fine Gael recognises the contribution that farm gate schemes make to farm incomes and will do the utmost to protect farm-gate supports from further cuts.
AEOS: Fine Gael particularly values the contribution that agri-environment schemes play as an income support for farmers.
We will investigate the possibility of expanding the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) to those farmers locked out of the scheme following the conclusion of their REPS 3 contracts by delivering efficiencies within the current budgetary framework.
1.2 Promoting Farming Interests in Europe
CAP Reform: Fine Gael is committed to negotiating a fair deal for Irish farmers and will use our membership in the European People’s Party, the strongest political grouping in Europe, to campaign for a good deal for Ireland under the Common Agricultural Policy.
Our primary aim is to secure a fair overall budget for agriculture under the renegotiated CAP.
We will also prioritise a Single Farm Payment system which best benefits active farmers and the Irish system of production.
Trade Negotiations: Domestic economic problems must not overshadow emerging threats from ongoing trade negotiations.
Fine Gael will work with our partners in the European People’s Party to avoid any damage to the agricultural sector from future trade deals.
Market Volatility: We will negotiate a pragmatic approach in the EU to address the impact of volatility in commodity prices on producers.
1.3 Positioning Ireland as a world leader in agri-food
A More Efficient Department: The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has traditionally acted as a payment processing facility rather than a driver of growth in the agri-food industry.
We will move responsibility for agri-payments to a new one-stop-shop under our Reinventing Government proposals.
We will also develop a new innovation unit in the Department to drive new policy initiatives in the agrifood industry.
Added Value Products: We will develop a stronger, collaborative approach to food research and
will amend the R&D tax credit regime to make it more attractive and accessible to smaller businesses.
Marketing Ireland: We will develop a single brand for our agri-food sector globally, to market Ireland as a Food Island.
Regional Branding: We will encourage co-operation between Bord Bia and local business support centres to give small businesses assistance in developing individual food brands and will seek protected geographical indicator status for indigenous foods,
which will help Irish products to increase exports.
Food Tourism: We will develop a culinary tourism strategy through Fáilte Ireland to sell Ireland’s network of artisan food producers, cookery schools and restaurants.
1.4 Reforming Rules and Regulations
Freedom to Farm: We will conduct an audit of existing regulations for farmers to identify ways of reducing the burden of compliance without compromising on animal welfare, environmental or food safety standards.
Agri-proof EU legislation: We will examine new EU rules for any practical difficulties before finalisation in the EU, through a new European Legislation Committee.
1.5 Food Safety
Single Food Safety Agency: Building on the existing Food Safety Authority, Fine Gael will create a single food safety monitoring agency responsible for food safety inspection from farm to fork.
This will enhance the food traceability system and reduce the burden of red tape on business.
Food safety is paramount in maintaining Ireland’s reputation internationally as a producer of healthy food.
However, there are currently too many different agencies involved in food safety including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, local authorities, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Children, the Health Services Executive and Sea Fisheries Protection Authority.
1.6 Enhancing the competitiveness of Irish Agri-food Businesses
Reducing Labour Costs: Fine Gael will review Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) to deliver a more competitive environment for job creation in the agri-food sector.
We will allow farmers to negotiate a collective agreement at farm level with their staff which would exempt them from the ERO but not minimum wage and other employment protections.
Business Inspections: We will cut down on inspections for small business by rationalising the existing structures dealing with health and safety laws and labour laws.
We will cut the red-tape burden for small businesses by 25%.
Greater Access to Public Procurement: Fine Gael will ensure small Irish businesses including those in the agri-food sector are given every opportunity to win valuable public sector contracts for goods and services.
Carbon Tax: Fine Gael will exempt farm diesel from further increases in the carbon tax.
1.7 Encouraging Young People in the Agri-Food Industry
Young Farmers: Fine Gael will increase the educational opportunities available to young people interested in a career in farming or in the agri-food sector through our agricultural colleges and third level institutions
, as well as practical workplace opportunities in agri-food businesses.
New Farm Models: We will review current farm partnership arrangements with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners to identify reasons for the poor take up of this model.
We will publish revised arrangements for farm partnerships and shared farming arrangements and promote new models through Teagasc.
CAP Reform: We recognise the need to support young, active farmers.
Fine Gael will work with the European Commission to ensure that the value of young farmers in ensuring a sustainable agricultural sector within the EU is a key policy of the CAP.
Tax Commitments: Stock relief is an important benefit for young farmers at a time when other incentives and supports have been abolished.
We will maintain the existing relief.
SME Loan Guarantee Scheme: We will introduce a partial loan guarantee scheme for small and medium sized businesses,
including sustainable small agri-food enterprises.
1.8 Animal Welfare
Outdated Legislation: We will enact new animal welfare legislation to update existing animal welfare rules which are outdated and need to be reformed.
All-island Approach: We will encourage greater co-operation across the island of Ireland on animal welfare issues.
1.9 Food Labelling
Single Irish Food Label: We will introduce a single food label for all Irish produce, which will be simple and easily recognisable in both domestic and international markets
and will emphasise Ireland’s ability to produce green, quality, healthy food.
Country of Origin: We will seek final agreement at an EU level on an extension of country of origin labels to a broader range of food products.
Nutritional Information: To promote quality Irish products as part of a healthy lifestyle, we will work with industry to introduce a Guideline Daily Amounts label for a broader range of food products.
1.10 Protecting the Environment through Renewable Opportunities
Forestry: We will deliver an afforestation programme of almost 15,000 hectares of forestry per annum through our NewERA plan, creating new jobs for rural communities.
Biomass: We will merge Coillte and Bord na Mona into a new company called Bioenergy and Forestry Ireland which will expand Ireland’s position in biomass.
This will not only create additional jobs for rural Ireland
but will also provide farmers with a very real market opportunity for renewable crops.
Anaerobic Digestion: We will develop a new agriculture energy and land use policy for the country and will investigate opportunities for anaerobic digestion as a means of producing electricity and providing an added income option for farmers.
Sugar Production: We will carry out a feasibility study into the possibility of redeveloping the sugar beet sector, particularly with a view to the possibilities for biofuel production.
1.11 Supporting the Seafood Sector and Marine
Expanding the Industry: Fine Gael believes Ireland, as an island nation with a strong and valued fishing tradition has huge potential to succeed as a serious competitor in the international seafood sector.
The seafood industry currently generates annual revenues of €718 million and provides direct employment for 11,000 people.
With an estimated 40 million tonnes of seafood to be required annually by 2030, there is significant scope for further expansion.
Common Fisheries Policy: We will negotiate the best possible deal for Irish fishermen in the context of the ongoing review of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Our priorities are:
A progressive reduction of discards, fishery by fishery and in all maritime regions in the EU.
Protection of the Hague Preferences.
A uniform and transparent regulation regime.
A clear, independently audited database of infringements across the EU.
The development of a sustainable aquaculture plan.
A strong focus on seafood marketing, labelling and country of origin to ensure imports meet the same standards on safety, hygiene, traceability, recall, information and audit.
Sea Fisheries Bill: We will publish legislation to replace the criminal sanctions system for minor fisheries offences with an administrative sanction system to bring Ireland into line with other European jurisdictions.
Funding for Fisheries: Fianna Fáil and Green Party in-fighting has limited Ireland’s ability to draw down EU funds for seafood development.
We will resolve difficulties blocking the drawdown of available funds.
Aquaculture Licensing: An additional 42 million tonnes of farmed seafood will be required to keep pace with demand each year by 2030, just 20 years away.
We must increase our raw material supply and expand our aquaculture sector.
We will remove administrative obstacles and clear the backlog of aquaculture licences currently preventing the creation of thousands of jobs in the aquaculture sector.
Value Added Products: Currently, 85% of all Irish seafood is commodity traded.
There is a significant opportunity to generate more value from this raw material base.
Fine Gael will task Bord Iascaigh Mhara with assisting Irish companies in adding value to their products through innovation.
Single Food Label: We will create and market a single label for all Irish produce and will drive a targeted marketing campaign to grow the Irish brand in new markets.
1.12 Steering the Marine
Marine Department: Marine and fisheries policy is currently spread across three Departments.
Fine Gael will merge these responsibilities under one Department for better co-ordination in policy delivery.
National Marine and Coastal Plan: We will develop an integrated marine and coastal planning process to reach the full potential of our coastline in fishing, aquaculture, ocean energy
and tourism.
Ports Development: We will support the development of our ports and marine sector as important drivers of economic growth.
We will also replace the Boards of all State Port companies and Harbour Commissions within one year of entering government.
2. Arts, Culture and Sports
Ireland’s creative industries contribute massively to the economy, raising hundreds of millions annually and supporting thousands of jobs.
Most importantly, the sector promotes a positive view of the country internationally in difficult times.
Fine Gael appreciates how important this sector is to Ireland’s reputation and the role the industry will play in rebuilding Ireland’s reputation globally in the future as a centre of innovation.
2.1 Core Supports
Arts Funding: Fine Gael is committed to supporting the Arts and will do the utmost to maintain funding to Arts organisations at adequate levels to support the industry and protect investment in existing Arts infrastructure.
Struggling Artists: We will review the mechanisms in place to support struggling artists to ensure available resources are targeted at those most in need of assistance.
Skills Development: We will encourage stronger linkages between Arts organisations and the business community to develop skills in fundraising, business planning and grasping sponsorship opportunities and networking opportunities.
We will build on existing initiatives such as the ‘New Stream’ programme which supports the creative industries through private investment in training and skills development.
2.2 Arts in Education
Arts and Education Collaboration: We recognise the role that the Arts must play in education and are committed to the delivery of Arts education.
We will strive to deliver better access for students to the Arts through stronger links between educational institutions and the Arts sector and in particular between schools and regularly funded Arts organsiations supported by the Arts Council.
Best Practice: We will investigate Arts in education models such as the ‘Cultural Rucksack’ in Norway, which have succeeded in bridging problems in accessing the Arts,
particularly for those from disadvantaged communities.
2.3 Philanthropy and Sponsorship
Private Investment in the Arts: Fine Gael will work with stakeholders in the Arts community to develop new proposals aimed at building private support of the Arts in Ireland.
We will develop a strategy in consultation with the sector for the exploitation of philanthropic, sponsorship or foundation support opportunities.
2.4 Building on Ireland’s Creative Edge
Film Industry: We will ensure Ireland remains a tax competitive destination for the development of film by extending the Section 481 Film Relief to 2016.
Expanding the Irish Gaming Industry: Fine Gael will allocate funding from the Innovation Fund Ireland to Irish digital gaming start-ups.
In the last seven years, jobs in the gaming industry have grown four-fold to 1,400 people.
Ireland must use its reputation as a technological leader to assist indigenous gaming companies to expand and develop new products and technology.
2.5 Putting Culture at the Heart of National Identity
Commemorative Events: We will develop a cultural plan for future commemorative events such as the Centenary of the Easter Rising in 2016.
UNESCO City of Literature: Ireland’s literary tradition and modern successes is one of the strongest selling points of the Arts industry.
We will maximise the tourism potential that Dublin’s recent designation as a UNESCO City of Literature offers the country.
2.6 Arts at a Local Level
Local Arts Plans: Fine Gael will facilitate Local Authorities to co-operate to develop cultural tourism opportunities, supporting local jobs and businesses and ensuring regional Arts and cultural centres around the country are properly utilised.
Local Authority Arts Officers: We will encourage greater co-operation between local authorities to provide assistance where possible for local authorities currently lacking a local authority Arts officer due to recruitment restrictions.
Touring: We will encourage the Arts Council to continue to dedicate resources to touring in order to protect the State’s investment in regional Arts infrastructure around the country and to bring cultural tourism opportunities to towns and villages across the country.
2.7 Sport
Fine Gael is firmly committed to the continued development of sport in this country.
At a time of economic difficulty, sporting events and successes are vital in lifting the country’s spirits and are a proud reflection of our nation’s potential for success.
We appreciate the important contribution that sport also makes to building a healthy nation.
In Government, Fine Gael will promote greater participation in sport
and will provide the environment for our athletes to succeed on the international stage.
National Sports Audit: We will publish a National Sports Facility Audit to identify where gaps in sporting infrastructure exist.
This audit will inform any future investment on sports infrastructure.
Representative Bodies: We recognise the role of the various sporting organisations in developing high performance individual athletes and sporting participation at all levels across the country and
will ensure available funds are distributed fairly amongst those in most need of assistance.
GAA Players Grants: We will continue to provide support for GAA players through the Irish Sports Council.
Good Governance: In consultation with sporting organisations, we will develop a code of good governance for sport.
We will also encourage engagement with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to avoid costly court proceedings where disputes arise.
IRFU: We will not implement ‘free to air’ proposals on Six Nations and Heineken Cup games.
Sports Tourism: We will investigate the possibility of developing a specific sport event bidding entity, mirroring initiatives like Sport Event Denmark, which has been very successful in bidding for international sporting events and generating revenue from sports tourism.
Philanthropy: We will review any obstacles to philanthropy in sport and will encourage sporting organisations to seek private investment opportunities where possible.
EU Funding: We will support sporting organisations in bidding for available EU Sports Funding.
Increasing Participation: We will encourage greater co-ordination between National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships to increase participation in sports
and reaching out to under-represented groups and the unemployed.
Fine Gael will encourage and promote mass participation in sport.
Cross Departmental Approach: We will ensure greater co-ordination and co-operation between the Departments of Sport, Health and Education so that issues like obesity and physical education in schools can be tackled in a structured way.
Special Olympics Ireland: We will support Special Olympics Ireland in furthering opportunities for people with learning disabilities to participate in high quality sport and development activities that bring life changing experiences of increased skills and self-confidence.
3. Banking and Debt Distress
Banking is built on trust.
But reckless lending by – and to – Irish banks during the property boom,
encouraged by an irresponsible Government that put its election prospects over the stability of the Irish economy,
means that Irish banks have lost the trust of depositors, investors and society at large.
And the response of the banks and the Government to the crisis has made matters worse.
Committing €100 billion of taxpayers’ money to the banks so that they can repay their foreign debts while starving the Irish economy of credit has made the recession far deeper than it needed to be.
The current IMF-EU bail-out plan signed has not – and will not – restore confidence in Ireland, because at its heart is a commitment to continue the failed banking policies of the present Government.
A Fine Gael Government will make our banking system an engine of economic recovery by restoring public and market confidence in its financial health, management competence and ethical integrity.
3.1  A Fairer Sharing of the Cost of Restructuring and Funding Irish Banks
Re-negotiating the EU-IMF Programme of Support: Borrowing up to €25 billion in additional funds from the EU / IMF at 5.8% to cover additional bank losses from fire-sales of loans and other bank assets at rockbottom prices, as this Government has agreed, will push Irish Government debt towards unsustainable levels and hinder economic recovery, threatening the stability of the entire euro area.
A Fine Gael Government will seek a mandate from the Irish people to renegotiate a more credible, fairer package that is better for Ireland and Europe.
A Transparent Assessment of the Capital Needs of Irish Banks: We will defer further recapitalisations of Irish banks until the completion of the Prudential Capital Assessment Review, which is expected to be available within weeks of the formation of a new Government.
It makes sense to know the size of the hole in the banks before committing further taxpayer resources.
This might also make it possible for the stronger banks to reduce the taxpayers’ exposure by raising private capital.
European Support for Bank Recapitalisation: We will seek to re-negotiate the terms of reference of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) and / or European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) to allow them to take equity stakes in systemically important European banks, such as AIB and Bank of Ireland.
A similar option is that Ireland could buy “insurance” from the EU against the risk that losses in Irish banks will be significantly greater than projected under the PCAR exercise.
Agreed Procedures for Restructuring the Debts of Troubled Banks: Fine Gael in Government will force certain classes of bond-holders to share in the cost of recapitalising troubled financial institutions.
This will be done unilaterally for the most junior bondholders (owners of preference shares, sub-ordinated debt and similar instruments), but could be extended – as part of a European-wide framework – for senior debt, focusing on insolvent institutions like Anglo Irish and Irish Nationwide that have no systemic importance.
A More Sustainable Funding Solution for Irish Banks: Irish banks need to shrink their balance sheets to reduce their dependence on volatile non-deposit funding sources.
We will seek to collaborate with U.S. regulatory authorities to collate the dollar assets of Irish banks (up to $50 billion) that could be used as security to secure funding from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Long-Term EU Funding for Irish Banks: Rather than selling assets at fire-sale prices with the losses covered by already over-stretched Irish taxpayers, we will negotiate with the EU/ECB to fund – on a longer-term basis – the transfer at par value of relatively-secure Irish bank loan books – such as tracker mortgages – into a “warehouse” or Special Purpose Vehicle.
This might involve the EU funds buying longterm bonds to fund such entities.
This would shrink the Irish banks to a size where they can fund most of their remaining loan books through deposits, helping to address market concerns about their long-term liquidity position.
3.2  Re-Building a Competitive, Well-Managed, Privately-Owned Banking System
Putting the Government Back in Charge of Restructuring the Banking Sector: We will establish and staff with the necessary expertise a new banking policy division in the Department of Finance to manage, from one central point, the efforts of the Central Bank, the NTMA and the banks’ management themselves to repair the Irish banking system.
Promoting New Leadership and Management in the Banks: A Fine Gael Government will accelerate the replacement of directors and senior managers in the Irish banks.
To expedite this change-over we will openly construct a pool of globally experienced, turn-around managers and directors to be inserted into key executive and non-executive positions in banks receiving taxpayer support.
Banks Should Squeeze Their Costs before Their Customers: The cost-income ratios of AIB and Bank of Ireland are still out of line with comparable European banks.
A Fine Gael Government will direct any mortgage provider in receipt of State support to present it with a plan within 100 days of coming into Office of how it intends to cut its wage bill and other costs – over and above existing plans – in a fair manner by a sufficient amount to forego a 25 basis point increase on their variable rate mortgages.
This plan should include a new, lower pay cap for senior staff and a verifiable commitment to suspend all bonus payments until the banks are no longer in receipt of State support.
Returning Viable Banks to Private Ownership: Fine Gael will complete the sale of EBS to a new, private owner, and will support the new institution as a lynchpin for building a third force in Irish banking to compete against AIB and Bank of Ireland in the business and personal banking markets.
We will consider selling AIB to a large, foreign bank in order to bring access to new funding and capital for Irish enterprises,
and to address market concerns about the threat to the national finances from the banking system.
We will seek to retain Bank of Ireland under domestic ownership and control,
and will give individual Irish citizens an option to buy the State’s shares at a strike price that, at the very least, recovers the investment made by taxpayers.
Shutting Down Dead Banks: Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide have no further role to play in the Irish economy.
A Fine Gael Government will wind up both institutions by the end of 2011, by transferring their remaining assets and deposits to other financial institutions or other asset recovery vehicles as appropriate.
Further losses incurred in this process will be shared with remaining bondholders.
A Healthy Credit Union Movement: Fine Gael recognises the important role of credit unions as a volunteer co-operative movement and the distinction between them and other types of financial institutions.
In Government, we will establish a Commission to review the future of the credit union movement and make recommendations in relation to the most effective regulatory structure for Credit Unions, taking into account their not-for-profit mandate, their volunteer ethos and community focus,
while paying due regard to the need to fully protect depositors savings and financial stability.
3.3  Supporting New Lending to Firms and Households
Mortgage Lending to First Time Buyers: The housing market will not be recover unless First Time Buyers have access to mortgage credit to enter the market.
Working with the regulatory authorities and the industry, a Fine Gael Government will encourage new funding for Irish mortgage lending again by drawing a line under past practices and creating a new brand or status around the Irish mortgage market that puts the quality of Irish mortgages beyond any question in international markets.
With this aim in mind, and drawing from best international practice, we will introduce new universal Mortgage Indemnity Insurance (‘negative equity insurance’) that provides security for prudent lenders and borrowers against future risks of negative equity.
Making Sure Banks Deliver on their Lending Promises: We will direct the new Credit Review Office to publish a delivery audit of the commitments by AIB and Bank of Ireland to make available a total of €12 billion in additional lending to small and medium enterprises in 2010 and 2011.
A Partial Business Loan Guarantee to Support Job Creation: To get banks lending again to industry and entrepreneurs, a Fine Gael Government will implement a temporary, partial credit guarantee scheme that will provide a level of insurance to the banks against losses on qualifying loans to job-creating firms.
Micro Finance Start-Up Fund: Drawing from funding from the NPRF and private institutional funds, we will construct a €100 million Microfinance Start-Up Fund which will provide start-up loans and equity to new businesses.
Private not-for-profit organisations like First Step, Chambers of Commerce or Local Business Units in the City and County Councils could apply for capital from the Fund for investment in local start-ups, as part of a necessary move away from non-repayable grants.
Financing for High-Tech, High-Potential Firms: We also support the development of a more dynamic, venture capital industry in Ireland by attracting top-tier venture financing and investment companies to Ireland, as recommended by the Report of the Innovation Taskforce.
To begin, we will seek negotiations with Silicon Valley Bank to entice it to establish offices in Ireland.
We will also fix the regulatory problems to allow private pension funds to invest more in Irish business.
3.4 Supporting Families and Businesses in Debt Distress
Debt Responsibility: A Fine Gael Government will expect every family and every business to do everything possible to service their debts, and will not ask others to pay the debts of the reckless and dishonest.
A mass Government-imposed mortgage debt forgiveness scheme would close down new lending for First Time Buyers
and further raise interest rates for families on variable rate mortgages.
Where, however, families and businesses have made best efforts and find themselves unable to service their debts, we will support them through the recession and help re-integrate them back into the economy.
Helping Families in Mortgage Arrears: We will ensure that funding for the means-tested Mortgage Interest Supplement scheme can adequately cover families in need by capping the interest charged by lenders benefitting from this scheme at the ECB base rate plus 1%, or the contracted mortgage rate, whichever is lower.
To improve uniformity of access and speed of processing applications, we will centralise its administration under our proposed single Payments and Entitlements Service.
Banning Penalty Interest on Re-Structured Mortgages: We will legislate, if necessary, to stop mortgage lenders charging penalty interest rates (or forcing families to give up their low-cost tracker mortgage rates) on mortgages that have been rescheduled (i.e. the payment term lengthened) where the borrower has co-operated with the lender in agreeing a new, sustainable re-payment plan.
Mortgage Interest Relief: We will increase mortgage interest relief to 30% for First Time Buyers in 2004-08 (from the current sliding scale of 20% to 25% depending on the year the mortgage was taken out), financed in part by bringing forward the abolition of relief for new buyers from June 2011.
Deferred Interest: We will require banks in receipt of State support to give homeowners every chance to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage to avoid repossession during difficult times.
For example, as recommended by the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Group (November 2010), we will require all mortgage lenders to offer distressed home-owners a Deferred Interest Scheme (DIS) that enables borrowers who can pay at least 66% of their mortgage interest (but less than the full interest) to defer payment of the unpaid interest for up to five years.
Trading Down: For some mortgage holders that are in negative equity, trading down would produce a reduction in mortgage debt and more affordable monthly payments.
We will work with the Financial Regulator and the industry to facilitate trading down and “negative equity mortgages” by borrowers in this situation.
Such options would have to be in the customers’ best interest.
Using Pension Savings to Ease Debt Distress: Many middle-aged home-owners and / or owners of small businesses have generally-funded personal pension schemes, but are facing difficulties in servicing mortgages or other current financial obligations.
A Fine Gael Government will amend pensions legislation to allowing defined contribution pension savers to access funds early, subject to reasonable limits, to meet their current business and personal responsibilities (while taxing the draw-downs).
A New Insolvency Regime for the Financially Responsible: Bar the most extreme cases, bankruptcy reflects the failure of the system.
Where common sense is applied to most debtors’ circumstances, there is no need or point to making someone a bankrupt.
The sale of non-essential assets should be a part of any arrangement made between a debtor and their creditors.
Once the ability to provide for creditors from the income of the debtor through a Debt Settlement Agreement is taken into account and the proceeds from the sale non-essential assets are distributed there should be no need to go any further in most cases.
But where this is not possible, Irish bankruptcy laws must be updated.
They currently are unpractical, unused, excessively costly and overly penal.
A Fine Gael Government will fast-track the reforms needed to bring us into line with best international standards,
focusing on the following elements:
Reducing the time to discharge from bankruptcy from six years to one for “honest bankrupts”, defined as one that has materially complied with the Tax, NAMA and Companies Acts among others;
A Non-Judicial Debt Settlement System that will change bankruptcy from a judicial to an administrative process, with filings being made with a new Debt Settlement Office within the Courts Service without the need for legal representation;
New Commercial Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), which are legally binding arrangements between the directors of a company and their creditors (at least 75%) that would protect the debtor from interest charges and the threat of enforcement during the period of the life of the CVA;
A Limited Residence and Personal Assets Safe Harbour that will permit a bankrupt to ring fence from the bankruptcy process ownership of a principal private residence (within limits based on size, value and family numbers) and specified personal assets not to exceed €40,000 in value;
and
A Prohibition against Discrimination against Discharged Bankrupts to ensure that former bankrupts are treated fairly in their applications for credit or other services.
3.5 Making NAMA a Credible Vehicle for Recovery
A new Fine Gael Government will make a number of changes to the way NAMA works to help reduce taxpayer exposures and to kick-start the economy.
Stopping Further Asset Transfers to NAMA: We do not believe that transferring the land and development loans of Irish banks of less than €20 million to NAMA is in the best interests of the Irish economy, and will seek a mandate from the Irish people to renegotiate this element of the Programme of Support from the IMF and EU.
As an alternative, we will force Irish banks to take loss provisions against these loans similar to the haircuts that would have been applied by NAMA.
This offers the advantage of forcing the banks to recognise their potential losses, as well as significant upside potential for new investors in Irish banks.
It also provides a more manageable administrative system for loans of this relatively small scale.
Kick-Starting the Property Market: Getting the property market functioning properly again is a condition of strong economic recovery.
This will require NAMA to dispose of property assets secured from developers in default of their loans into the private sector as quickly as possible.
We are open to considering new types of investment vehicles – such as U.S. style Real Estate Investment Trusts – that can help create a new, liquid investment market in commercial property for Irish pension funds and smaller investors.
Reintroducing Diversity and Competition into the Property Market: We will force NAMA to outsource management of at least 70% of its assets to 3-4 competing private asset management companies.
Exposing NAMA to Public Scrutiny: A Fine Gael Government will strengthen the transparency of NAMA’s operations and its management of the assets paid for by the taxpayer.
The details of all non-performing loans acquired by NAMA will be available for scrutiny on a Public Register, including the names of the creditors, the price paid by the taxpayer for the loans and the actions taken by NAMA to recover the loans.
Persons that have defaulted on loans acquired by NAMA will be banned from ever purchasing any asset from NAMA.
3.6 Never Again Will Banks Be Allowed to Ransom the Irish State
Punishment for Financial crimes: Fine Gael will ensure that rogue bankers are pursued for their crimes and that the full rigours of the law will apply to them, and the courts will have the powers necessary to impose appropriate fines and jail sentences.
We will enact a new consolidated and reformed anti-corruption law to punish white collar crime and end the impunity from consequences for corporate behaviour that has threatened the economy.
We will ensure that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement has sufficient resources to tackle White Collar Crime
Stronger Regulation of Financial Institutions: We will strengthen the financial regulatory regime by funding the planned increase in staffing levels.
We will, before the end of 2011, commission an independent benchmarking of the quality of Ireland’s reformed banking supervision regime as against best global practice.
Higher, Loss Absorbing Bank Capital to Protect Taxpayers and Depositors: We will raise core equity capital requirements for systemically important banks on a permanent basis.
This will provide a greater buffer against banking losses before external intervention is required.
To be counted as capital, “hybrid” debt instruments issued by Irish banks, such as sub-ordinated bonds, must include clear mechanisms for taking losses, either through write-downs or conversions into equity, without winding down the entire bank.
Structural Reforms to Make Banking Safer: We will legislate, consistent with emerging EU frameworks in this area, to give the Financial Regulator additional “bank resolution powers” to take over and wind down banks that threaten financial stability, with losses being absorbed by investors and bond-holders before the taxpayer.
Fine Gael will consider new legislation to separate more risky, speculative financial activities from the traditional banking activities of taking deposits and lending to enterprise.
Fine Gael will also intervene directly to stop banks from encouraging risky lending in the way they pay senior executives.
Bank Levy / Dividends: As banks return to profitability and private ownership, we will target additional contributions from the sector to repay the Irish taxpayer for the cost of the bank bail-outs.
Initially, these contributions will be in the form of dividends, but will over time be restructured into an additional bank levy on the types of transient funding sources of the Irish banks that have caused so much instability.
3.7 Strengthening Confidence in Independent Audit of Banks
Public Scrutiny of Audit Firms: To give the Oireachtas and the public confidence that auditors are doing their job properly, a Fine Gael Government will mandate the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (the independent regulator of the audit profession in Ireland) to publish their conclusions from their annual inspections of individual audit firms in respect of public interest entities.
Shareholder Approval of Auditors: To emphasise the primacy of shareholders, in particular over management, in the appointment of auditors to financial institutions in receipts of State support, that audit committee chairpersons be required to propose at each AGM the appointment of the auditor and to set out their reasons for doing so.
We will also make it a standard practice that auditors should answer questions to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of public companies.
We will also require the audit committee of banks and other Public Interest Entities to evaluate the effectiveness and competence of the auditor every three years and set out for shareholders how they have done so.
Regulator Veto over Audit Appointments: For systemically important institutions (e.g. the banks) we will legislate to give the Financial Regulator a right of veto over the banks’ choice as auditor.
We also commit to implementing other proposals that are finalised at EU level on strengthening the future role of auditors.
4. Children, Older People and the Family
4.1 Protecting Our Children
Referendum: As a priority Fine Gael will ensure children’s rights are strengthened through a Constitutional referendum.
Reforming Child Protection Services: Fine Gael will fundamentally reform the delivery of child protection and welfare services to achieve a better and more effective service for children that is fully accountable to the Dáil.
We will enact legislation that will significantly increase the power and function of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
Children First: Fine Gael will put the Children First national guidelines on the protection and welfare of children, that apply to individuals and agencies dealing with children, on a statutory footing so that they are effectively and consistently implemented throughout the State.
Ryan Report: Fine Gael will implement the recommendations of the Ryan Report which revealed the horrific wrong-doings perpetrated against children living in residential institutions, so that we give the highest priority to the care of children, especially those in the care of the State.
Vetting: We will enact legislation to facilitate the use of soft information in vetting individuals working with children. We will also seek a review of the Garda Vetting Unit with a view to improving application processing times.
Child Benefit: Fine Gael will implement a rebalanced and integrated “Child Income Support” with both universal and targeted components to make the system of child support better targeted at child poverty.
Early Childhood Education: As public sector reform savings are achieved through our Reinventing Government plan, we will invest in an early childhood education programme called ‘First Steps’, for disadvantaged children, building on existing targeted pre-school supports for families most in need of assistance.
Pre-School Year: Fine Gael will maintain the free pre-school year in Early Childhood Care and Education to promote the best outcomes for children and families.
Childcare: Fine Gael will examine ways to reduce the cost of childcare to ease the burden on working families.
Obesity: Fine Gael recognises the challenge posed by obesity among children and young people and will seek to develop a series of health and education initiatives to combat this.
National Children’s Strategy: Fine Gael will review and update the National Children’s Strategy 20002010.
4.2 Prioritising Older People
In preparation for the longer term needs of an ageing society, Fine Gael is committed to supporting older people and ensuring that they are treated fairly and looked after to a high standard.
Positive Ageing: Fine Gael will complete and implement the National Positive Ageing Strategy so that older people are recognised, supported and enabled to live independent full lives.
This will include important matters such as age discrimination, elder abuse, encouraging volunteerism in the community as well as the issues outlined below.
Income: Fine Gael will not cut the Old Age Contributory or Non-Contributory Pension.
Care in the Community: Nursing homes should the option of last resort.
To help older people stay in their own homes, Fine Gael will ensure that the eligibility criteria for the home help and the Home Care Package Schemes are applied fairly and consistently across the country.
Nursing Home Support Scheme: Fine Gael will seek to address the anomalies in the Nursing Home Support Scheme such as the level of care services available under the Scheme, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and chiropody for example.
We will also provide clarification around the definition of a “sudden illness” for the application of the three-year cap to farms and small businesses.
Pensions and Retirement: Fine Gael will fundamentally reform the pension system to set Ireland on a path to achieve universal coverage, more generous supports for the lower paid, greater equity between public and private sector workers, lower costs, lower risks for individual savers and more flexible retirement arrangements.
Fine Gael will increase the age at which people qualify for the State Pension to 66 years in 2014, in line with the existing EU/IMF agreement.
Health: FairCare will radically reform the health service and introduce Universal Health Insurance for all.
This will end the unfair two-tier system so that access to health care will be on the basis of need, not on ability to pay.
FairCare will also improve community based services so that people are supported in living in their own home for as long as they wish.
These services will include home help, home care packages and carers services.
Fuel Poverty: Fine Gael will protect and maintain the Warmer Home Scheme to retrofit low income housing for greater energy efficiency.
We will produce a national strategy to address energy poverty, with a specific focus on conservation, pricing and income support with a targeted approach and a timeframe for delivery.
We will also target energy costs with a view to squeezing the energy companies and the regulator to provide cheaper energy in the coming years in order to tackle fuel poverty.
Transport: In any reform of rural transport services, Fine Gael will continue to support the needs of older people particularly those living in isolated rural communities.
Participation: In Government, Fine Gael will engage with senior citizens in the development of policies that affect their lives.
Knowledge Economy: Fine Gael supports the concept of the “silent knowledge economy”
and will encourage retired skilled people to provide mentoring or expert services to those who can benefit from their experience.
4.3 Protecting the Family
Supporting Marriage: Fine Gael recognises the value of the family based on the institution of marriage.
Tax and Social Welfare: Our tax, social welfare and other laws should not discourage people from getting married.
Currently, our social welfare system does.
Two single people who are on social welfare lose substantial benefits if they marry.
Addressing the ‘marriage penalty’ in social welfare would be very expensive if done in one go but when social welfare rates start to increase again, a Fine Gael Government will steadily remove the penalty.
Reforming the One Parent Family Payment: Single mothers lose the One Parent Family Payment if they marry.
Over time, we will transform it into a family income-based payment that does not discourage marriage or work.
Home Carers’ Tax Credit: We will not cut the ‘Home Carers Tax Credit’.
European Court of Human Rights Judgement on Abortion: We will establish an all-party committee, with access to medical and legal expertise, to consider the implications of the recent ruling of the ECHR and to make recommendations.
Such a process would, we believe, be the best way of examining the issues in a way that respects the range of sincerely-held views on this matter.
Regulation of Embryo Research: We will legislate to regulate human embryo research.
Regulation of Assisted Human Reproduction: We will legislate to regulate Assisted Human Reproduction services.
Maternity/Paternity Leave: We will review maternity leave to permit parents to share leave entitlements, recognising the changing needs of modern families.
Family Law Reform: We will modernise and reform outdated elements of family law.
5. Community and Rural Affairs
Fine Gael believes that strong and vibrant urban and rural communities are a vital foundation for the return to growth and prosperity of our nation.
We are committed to ensuring that local communities are sustained with fair access to services, a sense of inclusion and the security of a safe environment.
5.1 Active Citizenship and the Community and Voluntary Sector
Community and Voluntary Groups: Fine Gael is committed to ensuring that we have an active, engaged citizenry and a vibrant community and voluntary sector that works in partnership with Government to create a fairer and a better Ireland.
Policy makers in countries at the cutting edge of public service modernisation are also broadening their thinking to assess the case for working with the independent sector and “social entrepreneurs” to address with earlier interventions some of the thorniest social problems linked to billions of euros in public spending. In Government, we will ensure that the following programme will be put in place:
Support for social enterprises to engage in the public procurement and public sector contract opportunities, as is the case in Italy, the UK, and France
A strategy to support the acquisition of assets to community trusts which would assist communities to generate income, and
An instruction from central Government to State agencies to view social enterprises as important stakeholders in regenerating local economies
We will continue support for social innovation projects for young people through our education, community and voluntary structures.
Social Investment Bonds: We will introduce a new model of financing called ‘Social Investment Bonds’ that share audited exchequer savings with community and voluntary organisations for social programmes delivered by them.
We will pilot the use of Social Investment Bonds to help voluntary bodies to finance interventions that cut rates of homelessness and re-imprisonment by re-integrating ex prisoners into society and the workforce.
Charity Regulatory Authority: Fine Gael is fully committed to full implementation of the Charities Act 2009 and the establishment of the Charity Authority during the life of the next Government.
Philanthropy: Fine Gael recognises that philanthropy plays a crucial role in supporting a robust community and voluntary sector and is committed to developing a fiscal and regulatory infrastructure that encourages philanthropy.
This will be done by
Renewing the mandate of the Forum on Philanthropy under the chairmanship of the Department of the Taoiseach;
The creation of a Government strategy for the sector that supports research, funding of the sector, ongoing review of the tax code, the promotion of philanthropy amongst ordinary citizens as well as high net worth individuals and corporations, and facilitating stronger links between Government, the community and voluntary sector and the business community.
It will be based on international best practice and widespread consultation.
5.2 Jobs in the Community
Local Enterprise Initiatives: We will promote alternative locally-based enterprises for rural dwellers, particularly part-time farmers.
We will also target rural development funding to economic activities which have strong growth potential such as energy projects, micro enterprises such as specialist food production and sustainable tourism projects.
One Stop Shop for Businesses: We will support the creation of jobs and businesses locally through the creation of a one-stop-shop in rural regions for business supports, advice and needs.
Broadband: We recognise that poor broadband connectivity,
particularly in rural regions has prevented rural enterprises from doing business efficiently.
Our NewERA policy has outlined a plan to rollout next generation broadband to homes and business across Ireland.
5.3 Keeping Communities Vibrant
Post Offices: Fine Gael will ensure the network of post offices around the country are maintained
and communities have access to adequate postal services in their locality.
Emigration: Employment is key to halting the new wave of emigration that is resulting in the desertion of our communities.
Fine Gael’s focus in Government will be job creation, providing new opportunities for young and old to live and work in their own communities.
Rural Activities: Fine Gael will reverse the ban on stag hunting.
Supporting Irish Pubs: Fine Gael recognises the importance of the Irish pub for tourism, rural jobs and as a social outlet in communities across the country.
We will support the local pub by banning the practice of below cost selling on alcohol, particularly by large supermarkets and the impact this has had on alcohol consumption and the viability of pubs.
5.4 Community Services
Community and Rural Transport Services: We will maintain and expand the rural transport network as a reliable and sustainable transport service that is vital for rural communities.
We will also integrate the school transport and non-emergency HSE transport with the Rural Transport Programme locally as much as is practicable.
Development of Health Care in the Community: In Government, we will develop a comprehensive network of new Primary Care centres to serve our communities.
Special incentives for disadvantaged areas will be considered.
Home Supports: Fine Gael will develop support services for individuals in their own home so that home help, home care packages and meals on wheels services are improved.
Community Gardaí and Rural Policing: Fine Gael will put an increased emphasis on Community Gardaí and encourage members to live in the communities they serve.
We do not believe that the closure of rural Garda stations will deliver any significant savings to the State.
Community Supports for Older People: Fine Gael will continue community supports for elderly people living alone, particularly those living in isolation in rural areas.
Government Supports for Traveller Communities: We will adopt greater co-ordination and integration to the delivery of services to the Traveller community across all Government departments, using available resources more effectively to deliver on the principles of social inclusion, particularly in the area of Traveller education.
6. Crime, Justice and Drugs
Fianna Fáil has failed the Irish people on law and order.
Our money is being wasted by putting the wrong people in jail while violent criminals and drugs thugs walk free.
Drugs are the reason for the increase in gun murders and mayhem on our streets, home burglaries, and robberies from people going about their daily lives.
Fine Gael will ensure that taxpayer’s money is spent on cleaning up crime by intelligent sentencing and efficient policing.
6.1 Confronting White Collar Crime
Financial Crimes: Fine Gael will ensure that rogue bankers and all those that misappropriate or embezzle funds are properly pursued for their crimes and that the full rigours of the law will apply to them.
We will give the courts the powers necessary to impose appropriate fines and jail sentences.
Anti-Corruption Law: We will enact a new consolidated and reformed anti-corruption law to punish white collar crime and end the impunity from consequences for corporate behaviour that threatens the economy.
6.2 Stopping the Gang Empires
Anti-Gang Laws: Fianna Fáil introduced laws to take gangs off the street and, 18 months later, not a single person has been imprisoned under that law.
Fine Gael is serious about breaking up organised crime gangs and taking them off the streets and will ensure that anti-gang laws are fully implemented.
End of Drug Empires in Prison: Fine Gael will crack down on the use of drugs and mobile telephones in prisons.
We will ensure that those who violate prison regulations by the use or possession of mobile phones in prison, are deprived of their remission and are prosecuted before the courts with the possibility of serving additional sentences.
Stop Criminals Getting Off on Technicalities: We will reform the rules of evidence to ensure that Gardaí have maximum power within the Constitution to collect evidence to prosecute crimes.
6.3 Prisons and Sentencing
Thornton Hall: We will revisit the proposal to build a new prison at Thornton Hall and consider alternatives to avoid the enormous cost yet to be incurred by the state in building a new prison.
The total cost to the state of the proposed prison has been €43 million to date and not even the perimeter wall has been built.
Sentencing Reform: We will overhaul current sentencing practices to ensure violent criminals serve their full term in prison.
We will end the cost to the taxpayer of short term sentences, which lead to high rates of re-offending, and use more cost effective and community based methods of punishing offending.
We will end the practice of imprisoning people who cannot pay their fines and debts and introduce a system which takes a small amount of money from a persons’ wages or social welfare by an “attachment order” to pay off the fine or debt over time.
Offender Management: We will merge the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service to provide an end-to-end offender management system and to reduce administrative costs.
End of Automatic Remission: Fine Gael will ensure prisoner remission is earned, based on good behaviour, participation in education and training and completion of addiction treatment programmes and, where appropriate, sex offender programmes.
Tagging Sex Offenders: In 2011, nearly 100 sex offenders will leave prison, only 22 of whom will have had rehabilitative therapy.
Fine Gael will provide for electronic tagging for high risk sex offenders on their release from prison to reduce the risk of reoffending.
6.4 Strong and Efficient Policing
DNA Database: A DNA Database will be established to assist the Gardaí in the investigation of serious crime, such as homicides and sexual offences.
The database will also be utilised to enhance cooperation within the EU in the area of asylum and immigration.
Ending the Waste of Police Time on Administration: Fine Gael will ensure that administrative duties are carried out by civilian staff in order to free up highly trained Gardaí for preventing and detecting crime.
We will, for example, stop the practice of highly trained Gardaí checking passports at airports, and will transfer this function to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
This will also free up members of the Gardaí to engage in community policing.
Ending the Waste of Police Time in Court: Gardaí spend too much of their time in Court, instead of out on our streets protecting our communities.
Fine Gael will introduce a new prosecution system that reduces the number of Gardaí detained in the courts.
Community Gardaí: Fine Gael will put an increased emphasis on Community Gardaí and encourage members to live in the communities they serve.
6.5 Judiciary and Courts
Judicial Pay and Expenses: As part of wider changes to improve the way our Government works, we will introduce a constitutional amendment to allow the Government to reduce the pay of the judiciary as a whole in line with other public sector reductions.
We will also provide a modern and reformed framework for judicial expenses.
Judicial Council: Fine Gael will establish a Judicial Council to provide for accountability for the judiciary and to provide a mechanism to address alleged judicial misbehaviour.
Criminal Legal Aid: Fine Gael will close the loopholes that allow wealthy criminals to avail of criminal legal aid and will empower the Criminal Assets Bureau to pursue convicted criminals with extensive assets for any legal aid costs awarded to them.
Family Law: Fine Gael will propose a constitutional amendment to allow for the establishment of a distinct and separate system of family courts to streamline family law court processes and make them more efficient.
Mediation: Fine Gael will take the steps necessary to encourage and facilitate the use of mediation to resolve commercial, civil and family disputes in order to speed up the resolution of such disputes, reduce legal costs and ameliorate the stress of being involved in contested court proceedings.
Commercial Disputes: Fine Gael will provide a civil commercial court to facilitate speedy resolution of disputes at Circuit Court level, where the monies in dispute do not warrant use of the High Court jurisdiction.
Settlements for Serious Injuries: Fine Gael will enact legislation to facilitate courts making provision for structured settlements in circumstances where damages are currently awarded as a consequence of individuals suffering catastrophic injury because of the negligence of another.
This will provide certainty over time to the injured party.
6.6 Law Reform
Victims’ Rights: Fine Gael will enact legislation strengthening the rights of victims of crime.
Immigration and Asylum: Fine Gael will bring into force comprehensive reforms dealing with immigration, residency and asylum issues which will include provision of a statutory appeals system to ensure we comply with best international standards
and bring to an end the enormous waste of public funds resulting from delays in processing applications and expensive court actions taken against the state.
Domestic Violence: We will introduce consolidated and reformed domestic violence legislation to address all aspects of domestic violence, threatened violence and intimidation in a manner which provides protection to victims.
Modernising and Reforming the Legal Profession: Fine Gael will establish independent regulation of the legal professions to improve access and competition, to make costs more transparent and to ensure adequate procedures for addressing consumer complaints.
6.7. Drugs, Addiction and Illegal Smuggling
National Addiction Strategy: We will publish a National Addiction Strategy that deals with both drugs and alcohol addiction.
We consider the first step in implementing a successful strategy will be to outline key priorities for short-term implementation underpinned by a realistic timeframe and targets.
Using Drugs Funding More Effectively: We will ensure that every Government Department, Agency or task forces responsible for implementing elements of the National Addiction Strategy will be required to account to the Minister for their budget annually and demonstrate progress on achieving targets.
Education: We work with Local and Regional Drug Task Forces to implement effective programmes aimed at preventing addiction in schools.
We will require all local and regional drugs taskforces to build on the success of Education Prevention Units in other taskforces.
These Units offer training and information to teachers and schools and liaise with local HSE Drug Education Workers to support schools in a dedicated Alcohol and Drug Awareness Programme.
We will update outdated drugs awareness programmes in schools to reflect the current attitudes and reality of recreational drug use amongst teens.
Voluntary Drug Testing: We will introduce a voluntary drug testing code in schools where the boards of management, teachers, parents and pupils agree to take action to prevent the infiltration of drugs on school premises.
Schools will be recognised for being drug free.
Rehabilitation: Fine Gael is committed to targeting resources to increasing the number of needle exchange programmes and rehabilitation places across the country where it is needed most.
Community Employment Schemes: We will assist drug users in rehabilitation through participation in suitable local community employment (CE) schemes.
Stopping Drugs at Source: We will cut off the drug supply at the source by providing an x-ray scanner at major ports; greater patrols along the coastline and by increasing the presence of Customs officers at Ireland’s smaller airports.
International Co-operation: We will strengthen cooperation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Lisbon (EMCDDA) and develop cross border initiatives to track drug dealers travelling in and out of the country.
Tobacco Smuggling: Cigarette smuggling costs the Irish economy €556 million each year in lost revenue and is a cash cow for criminal gangs.
Fine Gael will increase the penalty for tobacco smuggling to 10 years in jail and stop illegal smuggling with the x-ray machines at ports, funded by tobacco companies.
Roadside Drug Testing: We will investigate roadside drug testing programmes in other jurisdictions with a view to developing a system here to combat the problem of drug driving.
End of Drug Empires in Prison: Fine Gael will introduce x-ray scanners to all prisons to screen people and goods entering prisons to stop the flow of drugs and mobile telephones into prisons.
We will immediately start using mobile signal blocking technology, which is already regularly and easily used in cinemas all over the country, to stop mobile being used in prisons.
Dublin Drugs Treatment Court: We will carry out a full review of the Drug Treatment Court Programme (DTC) to evaluate its success
and potential in dealing with young offenders identified as having a serious problem with drugs.
7. Defence
Fine Gael recognises the substantial contribution made by the Defence Forces both domestically, in providing aid to the civil power and civil authority,
and internationally, in UN mandated peace support for over fifty years.
Fine Gael’s Defence policy is built on key principles – maintaining the rule of law and the authority of the state from all challenges,
ensuring Ireland’s active participation in peace support missions,
and delivering an effective, highly trained Defence Forces capable of fulfilling all roles given to it by the Government.
7.1 Overall Defence Policy
Security and Defence: Fine Gael wants Ireland to get involved in the construction of a new European security system at an early stage so that we can join and influence it on our terms.
We want any EU common security and defence system to be guided by five key principles:
The commitment to adhere to the fundamental principles of the United Nations (UN);
The commitment to the pursuit of universal nuclear and biological disarmament, and a promise never to use either type of weapon;
The commitment to providing peacekeeping and peacemaking operations;
The commitment to respect the right of other EU States to enter other military alliances, or to be neutral, as they choose.
The right of Ireland to opt-in and opt-out of aspects of a mutual defence and security system on a caseby-case basis.
Defence Industry: We will explore with the European Security and Innovation Forum (Esrif) the scope for increasing the Defence and Security Industry in Ireland to supply items such as hardware and information technology to police forces, civil aviation, maritime, emergency services and the Defence sector.
We will impose strict controls as to what can be manufactured and the markets to which it can be sold.
Prohibition of Use of Weaponry: We will enact a single Act listing the types of weaponry the Irish Defence Forces are prohibiting from using or facilitating the use of.
These will include cluster munitions, depleted uranium weaponry, anti-personnel landmines, and nuclear weapons.
Emergency Planning: We will streamline the approach to emergency planning to improve Ireland’s preparedness and capacity to cope with emergencies.
Medical Services in the Defence Forces: We will implement as much as feasible of the Defence Forces Medical Services Review as resources allow.
Women in the Defence Forces: Our aim is that at least 10% of the Defence Forces will be women and we will put policies in place to encourage female recruitment.
Decentralisation: We will review the process of decentralisation of the Department of Defence and Military Headquarters.
Commemorations and Ceremonial: We support the participation of the Defence Forces in ceremonies commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising and in events leading up to the centenary of the Rising.
7.2 Permanent and Reserve Defence Forces
Barracks Closures: Closed barracks that are currently unsold will, where possible, be used for appropriate State or community uses, government offices and agencies.
Overseas Missions: We believe that the Triple Lock must be modified to allow Ireland participate in peacekeeping missions.
The failure of the UN Security Council to pass a resolution should not prevent us from taking part in overseas missions.
We believe that Irish troops should be capable of being deployed at short notice, if requested, to assist in emergency relief efforts at times of humanitarian crises.
Army Equitation School: We support the continued existence of the Army Equitation School and in government will use the Equitation School to showcase the Irish sport horse industry.
Michael Collins Medal: To commemorate the forthcoming centenary of the creation of the Irish Volunteers, we will strike a medal named after General Michael Collins and will discuss with military authorities the nature of the award and to whom it should be given.
Reserve Defence Force: We recognise the importance of the Reserve Defence Forces within communities, including the Naval Reserve.
In Government, we will review the process of integration between the Reserve and Permanent Defence Forces.
We will amend the appropriate legislation to provide postal votes to RDF members who may for RDF-related reasons, missions or events be unable to cast their votes in their local polling stations.
7.3 Air Corps
Drug Interdiction: We will maximise the resources available to the Air Corps to target the illegal importation of drugs into Ireland.
Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS): We will introduce a new code of practice for the use of the government jet ensuring cost effective and transparent travel.
To stamp out any abuse, cheaper commercial alternatives must be taken when possible.
7.4 Naval Service
Flotilla: We support the replacement of two ships in the Naval Flotilla that have exceeded their maritime lifespan, subject to fiscal constraints and safety and operational needs.
EU Intelligence: We support Ireland’s continuing involvement with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre-Narcotics, based in Lisbon which focuses on intelligence exchange amongst States to tackle drug shipments by sea and air.
Civil Defence: We strongly support the work of the civil defence and will ensure a close working relationship between civil defence and the military as required
7.5 Red Cross
Red Cross: Fine Gael supports the initiation of a detailed legal review of the basis, structures and governance of the Red Cross in Ireland to improve its functioning in the light of changing circumstances.
8.   Disability
Fine Gael will ensure that the quality of life for people with disabilities is enhanced and that resources allocated reach the people who need them.
To achieve this, we must reform the delivery of public service to bring about the back room savings that will protect front line services
8.1 Income Support and Independence
Income Support: We will retain disability and blind payments at the current rate.
Fine Gael will also facilitate people with disabilities in achieving a greater level of participation in employment, training and education.
Personal Budgets: Fine Gael will give adults and children with disabilities and their families the option of needs-based Personal Care Budgets so that they have much greater choice and control over the services they need.
Personal budgets introduce greater transparency and efficiency in funding so that service providers only get paid for the services they deliver.
8.2 International Obligations
UN Convention: In order to make sure that the legislation on decision making is clear and that the rights of people with disabilities are protected and promoted, Fine Gael will update the mental capacity legislation as quickly as possible to allow for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
8.3 Improved Services for People with Disabilities
Disability Strategy: Following consultation with all stakeholders, Fine Gael will publish a realistic implementation plan for the National Disability Strategy, including the Disability Act, EPSEN Act and sectoral plans, which will include achievable timescales and targets.
We will ensure whole-of-government involvement and monitoring of the Strategy, in partnership with the disability sector.
Irish Sign Language: Fine Gael will examine different mechanisms to enhance the recognition of Irish Sign Language.
Standards and Inspection: Fine Gael will ensure that national standards apply to residential services for adults and children with disabilities and that these are independently inspected by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
Transparency: Fine Gael will ensure that money spent on disability services under the National Disability Strategy will be clearly laid out and audited.
Universal Design: In planning legislation, Fine Gael will promote and support universal design whereby all environments can be used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of age, ability or disability.
9. Education
Achieving the highest possible standards of education will be at the heart of Ireland’s long-term economic prosperity.
Unfortunately, the latest international studies indicate a fall off in educational outcomes in Ireland compared to other countries, with a major decline in performance over the last decade.
This fall off in standards places Ireland’s future economic progress at risk.
Finland, on the other hand, shares some things in common with Ireland but is driving ahead in education performance.
A deep recession in the 1990s led to a transformation of the Finnish education system.
We will draw from this success by prioritising two key fundamentals to strengthen our schools; teacher quality and local autonomy.
Fine Gael will prioritise the frontline and support schools to inspire and equip the next generation with the skills and knowledge needed to rebuild our country’s future.
9.1 Protecting the Frontline
Class Sizes: As we cut spending levels across all Departments, Fine Gael’s priority is to protect the quality of the educational experience received by our children.
We will not increase class sizes.
Efficient Work Practices: In order to avoid further increases in class sizes, we will work with the education partners to seek further efficiencies in work practices – in line with the Croke Park Agreement
– and to devolve more power to school principals and teachers to make tight budgets go further.
9.2 Parental Choice in Education
Parental Choice: Fine Gael will give parents a real say in how schools are governed.
We believe the current situation with over 90% of primary schools under Church patronage is not reflective of the needs of a modern Irish school system.
We will hold a National Forum on Education to allow all stakeholders, including parents to engage in an open debate on a change of patronage in communities where it is appropriate and necessary.
9.3 Early Intervention
Pre-School Year: Fine Gael will maintain the free pre-school year in Early Childhood Care and Education to promote the best outcomes for children and families.
Investing Early in First Steps: As public sector reform savings are achieved through our Reinventing Government plan, we will invest a proportion of these significant savings in an early childhood education programme called ‘First Steps’, for disadvantaged children, building on existing targeted pre-school supports for families most in need of assistance.
Special Needs: We will publish a plan for the implementation of the EPSEN Act 2004 to prioritise access for children with special needs to an individual education plan.
We support diversity in the education of children with special needs, recognising that both intensive education and mainstreaming can be seen to work for individual children.
Autism: Fine Gael recognises the critical importance of early diagnosis and intervention and will address the current deficits in this area.
Speech and Language Therapy: Our FairCare plan will revolutionise the health service and will ultimately result in better and earlier access for children to speech and language services as required through the provision of primary care centres.
9.4 Building Schools for the Future
School Inventory: The building programme has been open to politicisation and has been fundamentally lacking in transparency.
Fine Gael will overhaul the Department’s central database of school accommodation to ensure a complete inventory of school buildings and associated structures is maintained so that deficiencies are easily identifiable.
Local Control: We will pilot the devolution of an annual capital budget to schools to allow schools to plan for capital projects on a multi-annual basis rather than applying year on year for capital funding.
Temporary Accommodation: We will give the Office of Government Procurement and Property (OGPP) responsibility for the negotiation of prefab rental contracts to encourage greater value for money, transparency and reduce dependency on temporary accommodation.
9.5 Innovation in Education
Greater Autonomy for Schools: We will give greater autonomy to school principals and boards to incentivise innovation,
new thinking and progressive approaches to learning and to free up restrictions in the day to day running of schools.
21st Century Learning: Our NewERA stimulus plan will invest in broadband development to ensure that at least 90% of homes, schools and businesses have access to fibre-powered broadband.
We will seek industry support to finance and develop a range of e-learning initiatives, such as:
Learning Lighthouses: A pilot programme, developing ‘learning lighthouses’ in a number of schools where students are equipped with an iPod touch, iPad, laptop or tablet pc.
Teachers in these schools will be given specialist training
and the pilot will be used to test new online learning initiatives.
Digital School: A new Digital School Resource for all, bringing together existing resources from the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, the Department of Education and other sources, including new content developed by teachers and pupils from Lighthouse schools.
We will use this online tool to develop new, cost effective approaches to learning languages from a younger age and provide schools and students with new learning methods targeting areas where we have dropped in PISA performance, such as reading and maths.
Promoting Educational Achievement: We will investigate ways to share expertise in education, by making valuable lessons in subjects on the curriculum available for all students online.
Online Textbooks: We will engage with the publishing industry to develop more online learning resources and new mediums for their learning materials.
Technology Awards Programme: We will establish a new awards programme for students, rewarding students who achieve use their interest in technology to develop individual or group enterprises.
Maths Performance: In the 2009 PISA Study, the proportion of high achievers in maths was below the OECD average and its decline was one of the biggest internationally since 2003.
We will introduce a system of bonus points for maths which is linked to specific maths or science courses to encourage greater participation in courses where skills shortages currently exist.
We will also invest available resources in professional development for mathematics teachers.
Irish Language: Fine Gael is committed to overhauling the way in which Irish is taught at primary and second levels of education, to ensure teachers are equipped with the right tools to instil a love of the language for all students
and the curriculum is designed to inspire students to continue speaking the language after leaving school.
We will overhaul the curriculum at second level and we will critically examine the effect of current training methods of teachers to teach.
Irish as an optional subject for Leaving Certificate will only apply following consultations on both matters.
We will allocate 50% of marks to oral Irish exams.
We aim to double the proportion of Irish students sitting the Higher Level Leaving Certificate exam by 2018.
9.6 Quality and Standards
International Success: We will ensure that Ireland is ranked in the top ten countries for PISA by 2018.
Quality Schools: Fine Gael will improve the system for evaluating schools so that parents have access to more information when choosing a school for their family.
We will introduce a new system of selfevaluation, requiring all schools to evaluate their own performance year on year and publish information across a wide range of criteria including extra-curricular activities, special needs education, learning support, music or drama as well as exam performance in an annual school report.
Quality Teachers: Fine Gael’s priority in education is to recruit, train and support the highest calibre of teachers.
We will investigate new policy approaches to ensure more teachers are qualified to Masters level in their area of expertise.
Leading Learning: We will introduce a numeracy and literacy programme for school leaders to inspire new methodologies across schools in these areas,
encouraging principals to set new standards for learning at a local level in every school.
Curriculum Reform: It is of great concern that the school system is leading to a dependency on rote learning and is not equipping students for third level and beyond.
We will review the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate systems in Government and outline any reforms necessary to encourage greater innovation and independent learning.
Gifted Students: We will examine the supports in place for gifted students and create improved links with third level institutions on a regional basis, to provide gifted students with access to new programmes or educational resources.
Anti-bullying Policy: We will encourage schools to develop anti-bullying policies and in particular, strategies to combat homophobic bullying to support students.
Traveller Education: We will adopt greater co-ordination and integration to the delivery of services to the Traveller community across all Government departments, using available resources more effectively to deliver on the principles of social inclusion,
particularly in the area of Traveller education.
Tackling Disadvantage: The DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme, which aims to overcome disadvantage in education has just been reviewed by the Educational Research Centre.
We will consider the recommendations of this review and use it as a platform for new initiatives to deliver better outcomes for students in our schools.
9.7 Children First
Stay Safe Programme: We will require all schools to effectively implement the mandatory Stay Safe Programme.
Residential Redress: We support the establishment of an Independent Trust for survivors of child abuse.
We will publish the legislation underpinning this Trust without undue delay and will consult as to the best possible use of the funds involved.
9.8 Upskilling for Recovery
A new “One Stop Shop” for Welfare and Job and Training Referral: We will create a new ‘one stop shop’ for getting back to work, the Payments and Entitlements Service.
It will provide extensive skills assessment, training guidance and job referral services to the unemployed, as well as other welfare and service entitlements (see Section 19.5).
Many job-seekers will continue to be referred to existing FAS training centres and services, which will operate under a new slimmed down governance structure.
Community Employment schemes will be maintained and expanded
but will be managed by local authorities.
Labour Market Activation: A Fine Gael Government will no longer subsidise a passive welfare system that does not help people get back to work.
The new Payment and Entitlements Service (PES) will offer earlier interventions to support those losing jobs to remain engaged with the labour market.
Among the measures that will be introduced will be:
A requirement on under 25s to maintain a Jobs Diary recording search experience and skill enhancement activities, with sanctions for unreasonable rejections of training and job opportunities;
Conditionality whereby benefits will be reduced if recipients refuse offers of training, education, work experience;
A reduction in the frequency of signing on in favour of a more meaningful schedule of engagement with Jobseekers; and
The introduction of Training Vouchers, that empower the unemployed to define and acquire their own upskilling needs rather than relying on a State bureaucracy to decide what courses to provide.
National Internship Programme (23,000 places): We will subsidise part-time one-year placements in the public service, private sector and voluntary sector for unemployed graduates to gain valuable experience while studying for a masters or diploma.
They will be paid the entry-level going rate and will get a €3,000 bursary to help fund their higher education.
Among the positions available will be classroom and teaching assistants in schools and nursing assistants in hospitals.
IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland will be explicitly mandated to develop 5,000 work experience placements in the companies that they support.
Second Chance Education (17,000 places): This will offer former retail and construction workers that did not finish school or to college ‘back to education’ placements for two years.
Participants will receive a premium payment of €20 per week on top of their social welfare payment, a €500 payment towards books etc and a €3,000 completion bonus.
9.9 A Quality Third Level Education
Graduate Contribution: Fine Gael will develop a fairer funding system for third level to ensure every student has access to a high quality education.
This will involve a graduate contribution from students of roughly a third of the cost of their course.
The contribution will be made by new entrants to publiclyfunded third level institutions after the student graduates, enters employment and reaches a defined income threshold.
Third Level Efficiencies: We will not increase the student registration fee further.
Instead, we will pursue greater pay and non-pay efficiencies in the third level system through greater flexibility in working arrangements, in line with the Croke Park Agreement.
Phasing Out the Student Registration Fee: As the student contribution model begins to return funds to the third level sector, we will phase out the student registration fee as an upfront charge.
Student Loan System: In the intervening period, we will establish a subsidised loan system for students and their families that are struggling to pay the student registration fee.
Speedier Student Grant System: We will introduce a faster and more cost effective system for paying student grants through the one-stop-shop Payments and Entitlements Service.
Quality and Standards: We will give students a better third level education by repositioning our universities and institutes to become world leaders in education through greater collaboration, specialisation and focus in every educational institution.
Improved Accreditation: We will ensure the training scandals of recent years are consigned to the past by overhauling the accreditation system for courses and providers.
We will merge the existing accreditation authorities; the National Qualifications Authority, FETAC and HETAC to increase transparency.
Applications for University Status: We will amend the Universities Act 1997 as necessary to facilitate applications for university status.
9.10 Developing Ireland as an international education hub
Doubling Student Numbers: We will seek to double the number of international students studying in Ireland, maximising the revenue potential of this rapidly growing, profitable global market by overhauling the student visa system, identifying key target markets and exploiting the potential of the diaspora to develop the sector.
Fine Gael’s International Horizons plan for international education aims to create at least 6,000 jobs and to double revenue in the sector to €1.8bn.
10. Energy and Communications
Under-developed energy and communications networks threaten to hold back Irish economic recovery.
Fine Gael has outlined detailed plans on how to pay for vital investment in these areas over a five year term.
If implemented these policies can make a real difference to Ireland’s energy cost competitiveness, energy security, and carbon footprint.
10.1 NewERA – Development of Ireland’s Energy Networks
Smart Grid: We will merge Eirgrid and ESB Networks to form an independent single state-owned company to own and manage the distribution and transmission network, to be called ‘Smart Grid’.
Consideration will be given to merging the gas network into Smart Grid as well.
SmartGrid will be tasked with accelerating the planned investments in our electricity networks needed to exploit greater levels of renewable power sources on a technology neutral basis.
It will also be charged with giving Irish consumers greater control over their energy consumption, by allowing homes and farms with micro generators to sell excess energy back into the grid and with facilitating the roll out of electric cars.
We will use the National Pension Reserve Fund, investments from public and private pension funds
and the proceeds of the sale of state assets to finance the investment through NewERA.
We will sell nonstrategic assets such as Bord Gais Energy, ESB Powergen, and ESB Customer Supply.
All strategic networks, distribution and hydro assets will be kept in majority state ownership, such as the gas pipelines and the electricity grid, and all sales will only take place when market conditions are amenable.
Bio-Energy: We will merge Coillte and Bord na Mona to form a new commercial State company BioEnergy and Forestry Ireland to exploit Ireland’s natural advantage in biomass, engage in a 15,000ha per year afforestation programme
and to facilitate a roll out of combined heat and power technology.
10.2 Energy Pricing and Regulation
Lower Energy Prices: Fine Gael will set a target of reducing electricity prices to at or below the Eurozone average within 3 years by driving efficiencies in the energy companies, reforming the PSO/ReFIT subsidy system, increasing equity investment in new infrastructure through NewERA and reducing capacity payments.
Cheaper energy will be a vital cost competitiveness tool on the road to economic recovery.
Peat: Peat still plays an important role for heat requirements of many families and for Irish energy security.
Recognising that a very conservative and restrictive interpretation of the Habitats Directive is now in force in Ireland, we will allow an exemption for domestic turf cutting on the 75 National Heritage Area sites, which are designated under Irish Law, subject to the introduction of an agreed environmentally national code of practice.
In tandem with this, we will establish independent mediation between all relevant stakeholders with the specific objective of facilitating a resolution to the 55 SAC designated bogs.
Furthermore, the independent mediation will be made available to resolve the outstanding issues associated with turf cutting on blanket bogs.
It is premature to cease the cutting of turf for domestic purposes in 2011 pending the establishment of the management structures and the appointment of an independent Chairperson.
We accept that peat will be phased out as a fuel for generating electricity over the next ten to fifteen years.
We will support the replacement of this fuel with biomass to retain jobs in the Midlands.
New Technologies: We will continue to fund research into ocean energy and will support one geothermal demonstration plant.
Energy Planning: To keep down the cost of electricity, we ensure that future wind farms are built in locations where the wind regime is best and that they are built in large numbers or in clusters to reduce the cost of connection to the grid under a new ‘plan-led’ Gate 4 process as opposed to the existing ‘developer led’ system.
PSO Levy: We will review and reform the PSO levy to ensure that only the most cost-effective projects are supported by a ReFIT tariff and that the consumer can benefit from a claw-back when market prices exceed the tariff or where appropriate, a share of the profits or a royalty.
Rationalising Regulators: To save taxpayers’ money and to streamline resources, Fine Gael will merge the Competition Authority, the National Consumer Agency (NCA), Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) and the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) into a single, more powerful Competition, Consumer and Utilities Commission.
North-East Pylons: We will appoint an independent international expert commission to review and report, within six months, on the case for and cost of undergrounding all or part of the Meath-Tyrone 400KV power lines
10.3 Energy Security
Micro Generation: We will provide a ReFIT for micro-generators wishing to produce electricity for their own homes, farms and businesses and facilitate them selling surplus electricity to the grid.
The tariff, however, will not be significantly above the single energy market price for electricity.
Electricity Interconnection: Fine Gael will explore the provision of an electricity interconnector with mainland Europe for security of supply.
Strategy for Import Disruption: Fine Gael will devise a contingency strategy for the allocation of energy resources in the event of a serious disruption of oil or gas supplies.
Recent climate emergencies highlighted the problems when Government does not have plans in place to deal with the unexpected.
10.4 Communications
Investing in Next Generation Broadband: Fine Gael in Government will co-operate and co-invest with Eircom, UPC and other telecommunications companies to provide Next Generation Access (high-speed broadband) to every home and business in the State.
This will be achieved by delivering fibre to the home or kerb for 90% of homes and businesses in Ireland with the remaining 10% provided with high-speed mobile or satellite broadband.
e-Government: Fine Gael will develop Ireland as a ‘Digital Island’ and will set tough targets to provide more Government services online such as all business services, planning applications, electoral register and driving licence applications.
We will set an ‘e-Day’ of January 1st 2016 for all these services to be available online.
10.5 Broadcasting
TV Licence: We will change the TV Licence into a household-based Public Broadcasting Charge applied to all households and applicable businesses regardless of the device they use to access content.
We will look a new ways of collection including the possibility of paying in instalments through another utility bill (electricity or telecom), collection by local authorities, the Revenue or a new contract with An Post.
This will reduce the cost of collection and widespread evasion and could yield a further €20m per annum.
TG4 will be funded from the charge by 2014.
Independent Broadcasting: We will increase the broadcasting fund from 7% to 15% over five years and will encourage more production companies and independent TV and Radio networks to bid for funding.
Broadcast Levy: The Broadcast Levy imposed on television and radio stations to cover the costs of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) will be reduced as a consequence of the savings that will be made from the merger of the BAI and ComReg under the umbrella of a new Competition, Consumer and Utilities Commission.
Digital Broadcasting: Fine Gael will ensure that digital switchover happens on time and that a vigorous public information campaign is carried out.
We will strengthen the powers of BAI (or its successor) to facilitate an agreement on a commercial multiplex.
Postal Services: We strongly support An Post as a state-owned company providing mail and other services.
We will seek to expand the remit of post offices to include banking services, internet services and as a portal for government services to communities and business.
We will enact into law the Postal Services Bill which opens the postal market to competition.
And will protect the universal service obligation (five day delivery to every home and business) by assigning it to An Post for at least twenty years, make provision for state subvention and require that any decision by ComReg to reassign or scrap the USO is subject to ministerial approval.
Postcodes: Fine Gael will introduce a new post code system that works on the principle of codes unique to the location of buildings as opposed to the Government’s current plan for an area code system.
Free to Air: We will maintain the current regime with regard to the Heineken Cup.
10.6 Natural Resources
Mine remediation: We will work with communities, the industry and stakeholders to ensure that closed mines are remediated and that responsibility for monitoring and managing closed mines can be taken over by the state after thirty years.
Oil and Gas: Exploiting Irish oil and gas reserves in Irish waters is important to maintaining security of supply and to providing much needed revenue.
We will incentivise and promote off-shore drilling and will streamline the planning and regulatory process for bringing ashore these reserves.
We explore the possibility of the Government taking an equity share in any new finds accepting that this will entail sharing in the investment costs as well as the profits.
11.  Environment and Climate Change
The environment is vital not only for sustainable living but for economic recovery too.
With the right leadership we can enjoy a clean environment and a roaring economy.
11.1 Climate Change
Climate Change Legislation: Fine Gael will legislate for a climate change law that sets the Kyoto and EU2020 targets in national legislation but only on the basis of all party agreement.
Effects of Climate Change: In response to natural disasters such as flooding we will legislate to give the relevant line Minister temporary powers to take charge of the State’s actions under the guise of a National Emergency Response Action Committee.
Investing in Clean, Green Infrastructure: Fine Gael’s NewERA plan will help transform Ireland into a low carbon and competitive economy by investing an extra €7 billion into new modern infrastructure in areas such as energy and broadband.
Electric Vehicles (EVs): We will incentivise consumers to switch to EVs by providing an ambitious roll out of electric transport charging points.
We will invite companies from the private and public sector to roll out these charging points.
We will commission a study into the feasibility of replacing government-owned vehicles with EVs.
Carbon Tax: The €15 per tonne increase in the carbon tax to €30 per tonne proposed by Government for 2014 is excessive, and will be particularly hard felt by the elderly and in rural Ireland.
With an increase of this scale, Ireland would likely have the highest carbon taxes in the world, making some energy-intensive industries uncompetitive here.
We will reduce the increase proposed in the Government’s 4-year plan by €5 per tonne (to €25 per tonne).
An increase to solid fuels will be phased in only when progress is made to control imports of dirtier, more carbon–intensive solid fuels from the UK.
Fine Gael will provide an exemption from the additional carbon tax increases for agricultural diesel.
Cutting Home Energy Use: We will double funding for home energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes until the end of 2013, after which time these schemes will be ended.
Pre-announcing the closure of taxpayer-funded schemes will encourage homeowners to invest now and stimulate extra activity in this area
and create an additional 5,000 jobs.
After 2013, Fine Gael will roll out a ‘pay as you save’ scheme to continue home energy efficiency retrofitting work without recourse to public funding.
The Warmer Home Scheme will be protected.
Energy Efficient Public Buildings: We will tender for a ‘pay as you save’ contract to insulate all public buildings in the state.
The contractor will be expected to come up with the capital.
This will be labour intensive, will save energy and reduce cost in the long run.
Bio-Energy in Buildings: We will reduce carbon emissions from energy hungry buildings by making combined heat and power generators the norm for large buildings.
A new State company, Bioenergy & Forestry Ireland, will grow and market the biomass to feed a nationwide roll out of combined heat and power generator technology.
Afforestation: Fine Gael will develop a new ambitious afforestation programme of 15,000 ha per annum as part of our NewERA strategy to feed the bio-energy production industry.
This is required to power the developing combined heat and power industry but also has the added advantage of acting as a ‘carbon sink’ to trap emissions.
Carbon Sinks: Fine Gael will push for organisations involved in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to be allowed to fund new forest carbon sinks in Ireland in lieu of purchasing foreign carbon credits.
High Speed Broadband: We will reduce emissions from transport by developing dependable high speed broadband to allow more teleconferencing and shared digital information.
11.2 Waste
Waste Competition and Regulation: We will offer better waste services and choices to residents by fostering greater competition in the waste market.
Local Authorities will become a waste operator ‘as a last resort’.
The sector will be subject to independent regulation by the new Competition, Consumer and Utilities Commission.
National Waste Policy: Fine Gael will develop a single National Waste Strategy incorporating regional waste plans.
We must attract investment in waste infrastructure in a way that maximises potential economies of scale, competition
and enables the market to pass on the benefits to businesses and households.
Ireland will only meet stringent EU targets on environmentally sustainable waste disposal via a coordinated and planned approach by Government.
Recycling: We will continue to develop recycling services such as brown, green and grey wheelie bins in order to facilitate waste segregation and recycling.
In addition, we will extend the network of bring banks and bring centres designed to empower householders to separate and recycle waste.
Zero Tolerance Litter: Fine Gael will take a tough approach with those who litter our communities.
We will increase fines and adopt zero tolerance for people found fly tipping in order to protect our natural environment.
Waste Tax: We will introduce an environmental tax on packaging, as recommended by Comhar.
11.3 Water
Delivering Water: Fine Gael will deliver clean and reliable drinking water in all parts of the country by creating a single water utility company to take over responsibility of water from the fragmented local authorities that will use new investment and best practice to deliver better water services.
Water Charging: Fine Gael will introduce a fair funding model to deliver clean and reliable water.
We will not ask home owners to pay for a broken and unreliable system and that is why Fine Gael will only introduce water charging after the establishment of a new State owned water utility company to take over responsibility from the separate local authorities for Ireland’s water infrastructure and to drive new investment.
Septic Tanks: Fine Gael will tackle leaking septic tanks that pollute our groundwater.
We will introduce new regulations and standards to address the serious problems associated with septic tanks.
As part of our Home Improvement Scheme we will provide short term finance for septic tank remediation assistance for home owners.
11.4 Air
Noise pollution: Fine Gael will introduce new laws to deal with the nuisance of intrusive noise.
Air Quality: Fine Gael will further improve air quality by encouraging greater use of electric vehicles and also facilitating a model shift away from private cars to public transport through the development of convenient park and ride facilities and additional rail services.
12. Foreign Affairs
Fine Gael’s key foreign affairs priority is to work towards the building of ever-stronger links between North and South and towards the removal of any threat to peace from dissident groups.
We will continue to work with our Northern counterparts to realise the full economic, cultural and social potential of this island.
The European Union was vital in our economic development over the past three decades and will now play a critical role in our recovery through access to funds and markets.
We must ensure we maintain strong representation at EU level to promote Irish employment and Irish citizens’ interests.
Abroad, we will make our Agencies and Embassies work hard to bring trade, tourists and talent to Ireland supporting a return to a thriving economy.
12.1 Northern Ireland
Good Friday Agreement: Fine Gael supports the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
We will work to ensure closer links between North and South that are respectful of both communities.
St. Andrew’s Agreement: We are committed to publishing the review of the North-South Implementation Bodies and Areas for Co-operation, as provided for in the St Andrews Agreement, to recognise work that has been carried out and to build on successes.
New areas for co-operation, currently under review, should also be identified as set out in the Agreement.
Economic Co-operation: We will continue to forge closer links in research and development, trade, investment and enterprise to help speed up the process of economic recovery on the island.
We will also support enhanced co-operation and co-ordination in the provision of key infrastructure on the island of Ireland, including energy, transport and telecommunications.
Border Economic Plan: We will propose the preparation, in partnership with the British government, of a joint economic plan for the border regions in both jurisdictions.
Fine Gael has already established a Border Forum to develop new policy initiatives designed to capitalise on the potential of this region.
Dissident Groups: We will ensure An Garda Siochana have the necessary resources to monitor the activities of dissident groups in this State.
A concentrated effort to disrupt their recruitment methods and other activities will reduce the risk of further atrocities by these groups.
12.2 The European Union
Fine Gael sees our membership of the European Union as the cornerstone of our economic recovery.
We firmly believe that remaining a central member of the EU is essential for attracting inward investment and for access to markets.
We are determined to restore Ireland’s position as a respected and influential part of the European family
and to undo the damage done to our reputation by the outgoing Government.
A key priority for Enda Kenny as Taoiseach will be to lead a major diplomatic effort to repair our relationships with our European partners and institutions.
We will use our role in the European People’s Party, the strongest political grouping in the EU, and Enda Kenny’s senior position of Vice-President of the EPP, to further this cause.
Re-negotiating the EU-IMF Programme of Support: Borrowing up to €25 billion in additional funds from the EU/IMF at 5.8% to cover additional bank losses from fire-sales of loans and other bank assets at rockbottom prices, as this Government has agreed, will push Irish Government debt towards unsustainable levels and hinder economic recovery, threatening the stability of the entire euro area.
A Fine Gael Government will not make Irish taxpayers borrow at such penal interest rates to pay for a firesale of Irish bank assets.
We will seek a mandate from the Irish people to renegotiate a more credible, fairer package that is better for Ireland and Europe.
European People’s Party: As a member of the European People’s Party, Europe’s largest political grouping, Fine Gael fully supports greater EU co-operation and integration on issues of mutual concern, particularly the current economic crisis.
An Irish role in EU Judicial and Home Affairs Cooperation: We believe that Ireland should be fully involved in the fight against international crime, especially as there is increasing evidence of this country being used as a route to import illegal drugs into Europe.
The result of this new crime threat can be seen in the violent gangland conflicts in our major cities.
Security and Defence: Fine Gael wants Ireland to get involved in the construction of a new European security system at an early stage so that we can join and influence it on our terms.
We want any EU common security and defence system to be guided by five key principles:
The commitment to adhere to the fundamental principles of the United Nations (UN);
The commitment to the pursuit of universal nuclear and biological disarmament, and a promise never to use either type of weapon;
The commitment to providing peacekeeping and peacemaking operations;
The commitment to respect the right of other EU States to enter other military alliances, or to be neutral, as they choose.
The right of Ireland to opt-in and opt-out of aspects of a mutual defence and security system on a caseby-case basis.
Remove the Triple Lock: We believe that the Triple Lock must be modified to allow Ireland participate in peacekeeping missions.
The failure of the UN Security Council to pass a resolution should not prevent us from taking part in EU humanitarian and overseas missions.
We believe that Irish troops should be capable at short notice, if requested, to assist in emergency relief efforts at times of humanitarian crises.
Enlargement: We will support carefully planned European Union enlargement.
We reaffirm that all applicant countries must meet the criteria for accession in full.
We believe that all applicant countries must recognise each of the current members of the European Union.
Taxation: We will oppose any attempt to dilute the unanimity requirement for tax harmonisation.
Implementation of EU law: We will commission an independent audit into the transposition and implementation of EU law,
particularly focusing on legislation which has caused concern or been deemed burdensome to business administration activities.
12.3 Ireland Abroad
Ireland’s Diplomatic network: We will ensure Ireland’s Embassies play a key role in both helping to win inward investment and in supporting the work of Enterprise Ireland and IDA for economic purposes, focusing particularly on emerging economies.
We will also establish ‘educational attaché’ roles within Embassies in key markets to work with educational stakeholders and provide information about Ireland as an international education destination.
Ireland Houses: We will expand the concept of ‘Ireland House’ whereby our Missions abroad and the offices of State Agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and the IDA come together in a single location.
Reaching out to the Diaspora: Using our extensive diplomatic network and enterprise Agencies around the world, we will develop strong relationships with Irish entrepreneurs
abroad with a view to creating employment and business opportunities in Ireland, and expanding our Global Irish Network.
Irish Emigrants: We will establish an Executive Office for the Irish Abroad within the Department of Foreign Affairs that will deal with the needs of Irish Emigrants in the UK, USA and young emigrants leaving Ireland today.
This new Office will ensure that Irish people who emigrate in the current climate are properly prepared to live independently in different societies.
Undocumented Irish: We will campaign for a more effective visa agreement with the United States, to provide Irish and American citizens with the opportunity to live and work in both countries.
We will also use every opportunity available to push for the development of a bilateral agreement with the U.S. to regularise the status of the many undocumented Irish living in America.
Terrorism: We will work with both our European Union colleagues to combat terrorism and the threat posed by extremism, without engaging in, or supporting directly or indirectly, methods or operations which compromise our respect for human rights.
UN Decision Making Reform: We support reforms of the United Nations that enhance decision-making processes and representation at the U.N.
Fine Gael also supports the view that the European Union should have stronger voice at a reformed UN Security Council.
Middle East: We will assert the European Union as a key player in the Middle East peace process.
We believe the EU could take a more active role and offer peacekeeping troops to support the crossing points around Gaza in an effort to restart peace talks.
12.4 Ireland and the Developing World
Overseas Development Aid: As we resolve our budget crisis, Fine Gael will place a renewed focus on and approach to meeting the U.N’s Millennium Development Goals.
We will review the implementation of the 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid with a view to addressing shortcomings and to build on successes.
We will establish a Civilian Corps, which could include job seekers to use and share their skills in developing countries while retaining job seekers benefit.
We will also restructure the Irish Aid Programme to ensure stricter funding criteria and to introduce a quality standard mark for aid delivery in Programme countries.
We will use the leverage that Ireland gains through our aid programme to encourage and support democratic development and respect for human rights in the countries of the developing world.
We will support partner Governments and civil societies in their fight against corruption.
Emergency Humanitarian Assistance: In times of humanitarian crises, we will unite NGOs that provide humanitarian aid to create a single appeals mechanism for national fundraising and public response.
This will maximise publicity for the cause, the receipt of emergency funds and ensure the effective and co-ordinated dispersal of emergency aid.
The State will financially support these NGOs in their response.
Ireland’s Defence Forces have a proud record in international peacekeeping.
We believe that Irish troops should be deployed, if requested, to assist in emergency relief efforts at times of humanitarian crises.
12.5 Our Passport Service
A Transformed Passport Service: We will transform the loss making Passport Service into an independent Executive Agency that will be self-financing and will have much greater degrees of managerial autonomy.
It will be able to make investments in equipment, develop online application processes, provide a swift and reliable service and will have greater accountability to Parliament.
Preventing Passport Abuse: We will introduce security measures to prevent any further international abuses of the Irish passport.
We will also introduce new procedures, including interviews or financial penalties, for the loss of an Irish passport.
In 2009, over 34,000 Irish passports were lost or stolen.
13. Health and Mental Health
13.1  FairCare – Fixing the Health Service
Fine Gael’s health plan, FairCare, represents the most ambitious plan for health service reform since the establishment of the State.
It is designed to reduce costs,
increase access and make the system much fairer.
It will dismantle the dysfunctional Health Service Executive (HSE) that was created by Micheál Martin in 2004,
and end the efforts of Fianna Fail and Mary Harney to privatise the health system by favouring private over public care.
Our ultimate goal is to establish a system of Universal Health Insurance (UHI), based on the very efficient Dutch model – but adapted to Irish circumstances.
The underlying philosophy is that the patient should be treated at the lowest level of complexity that is safe, timely and efficient.
Once UHI is introduced the unfair and inefficient two-tier health system will be eliminated.
Patient will be treated on the basis of medical need – not on the basis of how much money they have.
There will be one strong public health system, where the state guarantees the level of service and quality and competing insurance companies are responsible for much of its administration.
Fine Gael believes it will take up to ten years to fully reform the health system and, as result, our programme for change is divided into two parts.
13.2  Fine Gael will radically reform the current health system (2011 – 2015)
Treating More Patients in the Community: This reform will allow an increasing number of patients, especially those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, stroke and asthma, to be treated near or at their homes and will save the health service several hundred million euro annually once fully introduced.
This increased patient flow will, in turn, provide GPs with the incentives and resources to expand their services.
Fine Gael will see to it that a network of purpose built Primary Care Centres is delivered by the end of our first term in Government.
These new centres will cater both for chronically ill patients as well as patients needing X-rays, blood tests or treatment for minor accidents or illnesses.
Reducing Waiting Lists: We will establish a Special Delivery Unit (SDU) in the Department of Health, reporting directly to the Minister to eliminate existing long waiting times.
The SDU’s role will be to ensure that targets are met, and to act as a source of expertise for healthcare professionals and managers.
Key personnel may need to be seconded from other health care systems that have successfully reduced waiting lists.
A similar-type system in Northern Ireland reduced waiting times significantly over four years with little or no additional money.
Increasing Productivity by Changing the Way Hospitals are Paid: We will pay hospitals for the number of patients they treat rather than, as is currently the case, giving them block grants.
This system, which is known as Money Follows the Patient, should increase hospital productivity by between 5% and 10% and will make the system much more transparent and accountable.
Driving towards Free GP Care for All: As part of our preparation for UHI, which will gradually deliver Free GP Care for all, we will look at a number of ways to widen access to free GP care as finances permit, including increasing the number of people who have a GP Visit Card.
Fine Gael will also enter discussions with the insurers to see how cover for GP care can be extended by them to their clients at reasonable cost.
We will open up the General Medical Services (GMS) contract to all suitable qualified doctors to increase competition and reduce costs.
Using Information Technology (IT) to Cut Costs: We have looked at how other health systems, such as Sao Paolo in Brazil and the Veterans Administration in the US, have significantly increased efficiency through the proper use of IT.
Fine Gael will establish a separate IT agency for all of the public sector which will work directly with the SDU in order to ensure that projects are implemented on time and on budget.
The HSE’s track-record on IT to date is very poor.
Ending Co-location: More than five years since the announcement of Minister Harney’s co-location plan, not one of the promised beds has been put in place.
Fine Gael will end the Government’s efforts to make the two-tier system even more unfair by allowing private hospitals to develop on the lands of public hospitals.
Protecting A&E: No A&E services will be withdrawn unless a demonstrably better service is put in place and is seen to work.
Reforming the Insurance Market: We will introduce a system of risk equalisation to ensure that the Irish insurance market works more effectively.
13.3  Fine Gael will introduce Universal Health Insurance (2016–2020)
UHI – Changing the Role of the State in Healthcare Delivery: Under UHI every citizen will have health insurance from one of a number of competing insurance companies, which will provide equal access to a comprehensive range of hospital and medical services.
The insurance companies will take over much of the burden of administering the system.
The State’s role will be to:
Pay for children/students and those on medical cards (and their families).
It will also subsidise those on low income
Require all insurance companies to offer a standard package of health insurance that will cover all key service such as hospital care, GP care, maternity care, etc.
A system of Community Rating will be introduced which will ensure that no insurance company can discriminate on the basis of age, sex or health status, and
Be responsible for regulating the system, ensuring that safety and quality are maintained, and funding services that are not covered through UHI such as long term care, mental health, disease prevention, etc.
Public hospitals will remain under public ownership but will be given much more freedom to run themselves
FairCare will split the HSE into two before the introduction of UHI:
A Healthcare Commissioning Authority (HCA) for the acquisition of “cure services” – hospital care, GP care, etc.
A Care Services Authority (CSA) for the acquisition and provision of “care services” for the elderly, disabled, children, etc.
Once UHI is introduced the HCA will cease to function and the majority of the people it employs will instead be employed directly by the hospitals.
Professionals whose work is not directly related to hospitals will have their employment contracts switched to the CSA.
Fairness and respect for employment conditions will be central to this transition, and will be negotiated with trade unions.
Opening Up the Insurance Market: UHI will double the size of the health insurance market.
This will attract new entrants, increasing competition and choice for customers.
Reforming the VHI: Fine Gael believes that the VHI can provide a “public option” for customers once UHI is introduced.
However, we believe it should be slimmed down considerably so that it no longer has a dominant market position.
Giving Local Hospitals More Control: Under FairCare individual or networks of hospitals will be managed by hospital trusts, where patients, staff and members of the local community have a real say in the services delivered and in the development of the hospital.
Gradually Introduce Free GP Care for All once UHI is established: Once UHI has been fully implemented Free GP Care will be available to everyone and the two-tier system will end.
13.4 Fine Gael will make the Current Health System More Efficient
FairCare’s cost reduction programme will protect front line services as much as possible even as we see reductions in the health budget as a result of the fiscal crisis.
Reducing Bureaucracy: Fine Gael will reduce HSE staff numbers by 8,000 by 2014 through a combination of natural wastage and voluntary redundancies.
Compulsory redundancy will therefore not be required.
Cutting Waste and Inefficiency: Significant savings will be found by reducing the cost of agency staff, taxis, absenteeism and non-core pay such as overtime and allowances for example.
Cutting the Cost of Drugs: Fine Gael will introduce Reference Pricing and reduce the cost of generic medicines in order to make savings to the State drugs bill.
Private patients will benefit from cheaper medicines in their local pharmacies.
Fine Gael will improve efficiency by 5-10% by introduce Money Follows the Patient.
Fine Gael will cut costs by transferring chronic disease management from hospitals to primary care.
13.4 Fine Gael will Introduce Better Care Services
Home Supports: We will ensure that the eligibility criteria for the home help and the Home Care Package Schemes are applied fairly and consistently across the country.
Nursing Home Support Scheme: Fine Gael will seek to address the anomalies in the Nursing Home Support Scheme such as the level of care services available under the Scheme, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and chiropody for example.
We will also provide clarification around the definition of a “sudden illness” for the application of the three-year cap to farms and small businesses.
Caring for Carers: Fine Gael appreciates the important contribution carers make to society and the fundamental role they play in supporting people at home.
Fine Gael is committed to protecting the current rate of Carers Allowance and the Carers Benefit and will also develop a National Carers Strategy to address issues of concern to carers.
Dementia: We will develop a national dementia strategy by 2013 to increase awareness, ensure early diagnosis and intervention and the development of enhanced community based services.
This Strategy will be implemented over five years.
Terminal Illnesses and Medical Cards: Fine Gael will expedite the medical card application process for people with terminal illnesses.
We will also consider abandoning the medical card means test for people with terminal illnesses.
Personal Budgets: By the end of our first term in Government, Fine Gael will give people with disabilities the option of “Personal Care Budgets” so that they can choose the services that meet their individual needs.
Personal budgets introduce greater transparency in funding and improved targeting of resources.
End-of-Life & Palliative Care: Fine Gael will improve end-of-life and palliative care services by promoting better collaboration between health and social service providers,
supporting the implementation of the Palliative Care National Development Framework (2009 – 2013) which seeks to addresses the regional disparities that exist in the provision of palliative care services and by enacting legislation to provide for recognition of Advance Care Directives and the regulation of the funeral industry.
13.5 Key Issues
Manpower Crisis: Fine Gael will initiate a long-term manpower strategy to tackle the chronic front line staff shortages we face in specialities such as general practice, mental health, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy to mention but a few.
National Children’s Hospital: Fine Gael is committed to the development of a national paediatric children’s hospital.
Community Pharmacy: Fine Gael recognises that pharmacists are working to improve community health services and preventive health services.
Fine Gael believes that the greater use of community pharmacy in delivering care and treatment will give patients more choice, more access and will give Ireland a more efficient health care system.
Fine Gael will seek to develop new pharmacy services such as medicine use reviews and where appropriate, screening and vaccination programmes.
Cystic Fibrosis: Fine Gael will expedite the completion of the Cystic Fibrosis Unit at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Cancer Services: Fine Gael will extend BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, to 65 – 69 year old women.
Fine Gael will introduce a cervical cancer vaccination catch-up programme for all girls up to the age of 18 years.
We will also expedite the appearance of graphic images, such as lung damage caused by smoking, on cigarette packages to help reduce smoking.
Dental Care: Fine Gael will re-instate preventative dental care to the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (Medical Card Scheme), as outlined in Reinventing Government.
Medical Negligence: Fine Gael will extend the Injuries Board remit to medical and clinical negligence so that the non-adversarial approach can be used to save legal fees.
No-Fault Compensation: Fine Gael will pilot a no-fault compensation scheme for children who suffer catastrophic birth injuries, utilising scarce resources to support families rather than paying massive legal bills.
Patient Rights: Fine Gael will create a Patient Safety Authority that will incorporate the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) so that patients have an independent, proactive and inexpensive place to bring their complaint.
They will have someone who acts as an advocate for them and ensures that investigations take place where appropriate.
Autism: Fine Gael recognises the critical importance of early diagnosis and intervention and will address the current deficits in this area.
Lourdes Redress Scheme: We will find a mechanism to compensate those women who were excluded on age grounds alone from the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme.
Thalidomide: We will reopen discussions with the Irish Thalidomide Association regarding further compensation for victims of thalidomide.
Rare Diseases: In Government, Fine Gael is committed to developing a national plan for rare diseases by 2013.
Neurological Care: Through the implementation of FairCare, Fine Gael will prioritise the development of neurological services and implement the national rehabilitation strategy.
Migraine: Fine Gael will liaise with the Migraine Association of Ireland to improve awareness and access to information on migraine and to improve diagnostic services in GP practices.
Ambulance Services: Fine Gael will review the fire brigade and ambulance service with a view to achieving greater efficiencies and economy.
Maternity Care: Fine Gael will immediately review maternity services, using existing reports to hand, so that we can put in place high quality maternity services to meet patients’ needs and to ensure more choice.
13.6 Mental Health Matters
Fine Gael policy on mental health incorporates the recommendations of A Vision for Change.
We are committed to reducing the sigma of mental illness, ensuring early and appropriate intervention and vastly improving access to modern mental health services in the community.
13.6.1 Early and Appropriate Intervention
Primary Care: Under FairCare, modern purpose built Primary Care Centres will accommodate a range of healthcare specialists such as GPs, nurses and speech and language therapists for example, as well as mental health specialists such as psychologists and counsellors.
Community Teams: Fine Gael will develop community mental health teams and specialist services as outlined in A Vision for Change to ensure early access to more appropriate services for adults and children.
This staffing of these teams will be funded by a reallocation of resources within mental health services.
13.6.2 Opportunity and Reform
Suicide: Fine Gael is committed to implementing Reach Out, the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, and will increase funding for the National Office for Suicide Prevention to €10 million to reduce the incidence of suicide and self-harm, improve suicide prevention strategies and develop better bereavement support services.
Psychiatric Institutions: Fine Gael will close unsuitable psychiatric institutions moving patients to more appropriate community-based facilities.
Resources, arising from the sale of psychiatric institutions, will be ring-fenced for the development of mental health services.
Central Mental Hospital: Fine Gael is committed to developing a new Central Mental Hospital.
Mental Health Act: Fine Gael will review the Mental Health Act 2001 and update it in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
13.6.3 Universal Health Insurance
UHI: Insurance packages under UHI will incorporate a range of mental health services including mental health assessment, access to mental health treatment and where necessary in-patient services.
14. An Ghaeilge
Tá Fine Gael go láidir ar son forbairt na Gaeilge agus na gceantracha Gaeltachta.Aithnímid luach agus tábhacht cultúrtha ár dtraidisiúin Ghaelaigh
agus ár n-oidhreachta agus táimid diongbháilte go bhfuilimid chun a chinntiú go mairfidh agus go mbeidh borradh ar an teanga agus ar na ceantracha Gaeltachta.
Straitéis Náisiúnta: Táimid ag tacú le mórán gnéithe den straitéis fiche bliain do thodhchaí na Gaeilge agus tabharfaimid i gcrích na spriocanna gur féidir agus na haidhmeanna atá curtha chun tosaigh.
Oideachas: Tacaíonn Fine Gael le forbairt leanúnach na nGaelscoileanna agus aithníonn sé an ról suntasach atá ag gluaiseacht na nGaelscoileanna in athbheochaint na Gaeilge taobh istigh agus taobh amuigh dena ceantracha Gaeltachta.
Chomh maith le sin, oibreoimid lena Coláistí Samhraidh chun níos mó scoláirí a mhealladh go dtí an Ghaeltacht.
Táimid meáite ar athchóiriú a dhéanamh ar an mbealach ina múintear an Ghaeilge sa chóras bunoideachais agus sa chóras iarbhunoideachais, chun féachaint chuige go bhfuil múinteoirí in inmhe grá don teanga a spreagadh sna scoláirí go léir agus go bhfuil an curacalam leagtha amach ar bhealach a ghríosóidh na scoláirí chun an teanga a labhairt tar éis dóibh an scoil a fhágáil.
Creidimid má dhéanaimid athchóiriú ar an mbealach ina múinimid an Ghaeilge go spreagfar níos mó scoláirí chun staidéar a dhéanamh ar an teanga agus chun í a úsáid taobh amuigh den chóras oideachais.
Creidimid nár chothaigh an Ghaeilge éigeantach fás na teanga nó grá don teanga.
Déanfaimid athchóiriú ar an gcuracalam dara leibhéal agus scrúdóimid go criticiúil an tionchar atá ag na modhanna oiliúna do mhúinteoirí atá i bhfeidhm i láthair na huaire.
Ní bheidh an Ghaeilge mar ábhar roghnach go dtí go mbeidh cainteanna ar an dá ábhar tugtha i gcrích.
Bronnfaimid 50% dena marcanna ar an mbéaltriail.
Déanfar iniúchadh ar churacalam dúbailte go dtí an Ardteist, ceann amháin ar an gcóras reatha agus ceann eile ar an nGaeilge chumarsáideach.
Déanfar iniúchadh ar phoinntí breise sa chóras iontrála go coláistí tríú leibhéal.
Déanfaidh Fine Gael lion na ndaltaí atá ag gabháil don chúrsa Ardteiste Ard leibhéal a mhéadú faoi dhó faoin mbliain 2018.
Cruthú postanna sna ceantracha Gaeltachta: Cabhróidh ár bpleananna Ré Nua agus Ag obair don todhchaí chun fostaíocht sna ceantracha Gaeltachta a chur ar fail,
Déanfaimid infheistíocht i mbonneagair fuinnimh, leathanbhannda agus uisce, chun an bonneagar atá riachtanach chun comhluchtaí agus postanna nua a mhealladh agus a choimeád a chruthú.
Tabharfaimid tacaíocht láidir do chruthú postanna sa turasóireacht agus i ngníomhachtaí mara.
Scála Líofachta Náisiúnta: Déanfaimid iniúchadh ar fhorbairt scála líofachta náisiúnta don Ghaeilge.
Oileáin: Creidimid go láidir go gcaithfimid pobail a chothú ar na hoileáin agus oibreoimid chun feabhas a chur ar na seirbhísí riachtanacha dona hoileáin i dtreo is go mbeidh fail cuí ag pobail na n-oileán ar sheirbhísí sláinte agus ar sheirbhísí sóisialta eile.
Acht um Teangacha Oifigiúla: Déanfaidh Fine Gael athbhreithniú ar na dualgaisí faoin Acht um Teangacha Oifigiúla chun a chinntiú go bhfuil an caiteachas ar an teanga dírithe ar fhorbairt na teanga ar an mbealach ia éifeachtaí.
15. Jobs, Enterprise, Growth
Since the recession took hold three years ago, 300,000 jobs in Ireland – 14% of the total – have been wiped out.
This is the biggest fall in employment of any advanced country since the crisis began.
As a result of the jobs crisis, the ESRI forecast an additional 100,000 emigrants in the next two years – a higher rate of emigration than occurred even during the depths of the recession in the 1980s.
The Government’s response to the crisis has made matters worse.
Fiscal austerity to pay for massive bank bail-outs has not restored confidence and employment in the Irish economy.
Unlike this Government, Fine Gael understands that we cannot fix either the fiscal or banking crises without also fixing the jobs crisis.
The ESRI believes that Ireland has the capacity to generate a net increase of 100,000 jobs over the next five years.
This is a realistic ambition for a new government to set itself- but it will plainly need a new prioritisation of jobs and competitiveness.
15.1 Fixing the Deficit While Protecting our Tax Competitiveness
Eliminating the Deficit: We aim to restore confidence in, and funding to, the Irish economy by bringing the day to day public finances back into balance by 2016.
Keeping Direct Taxes Competitive: Drawing from international best practice, we will protect jobs
as we cut the deficit by limiting tax increases to at most one-third of the total deficit-reducing measures.
We will not increase direct rates of tax on income, company profits, employment and enterprise investment,
and we will re-structure VAT to help shift consumer spending from imported goods into labour-intensive services.
Employers’ PRSI: There will be no increased tax on employment such as employers PRSI which can be as high at 10.75%.
To help employers hire people off the dole, we will halve Employers PRSI on jobs paying up to €356 per week for two years.
15.2 A ‘NewERA’ Semi-State Investment and Reform Programme
Extra Investment in Key Networks: As we fix the deficit in a way that restores confidence, a Fine Gael Government will use the remaining funds in the NPRF, sell non-strategic state assets and restructure the commercial semi-state sector in order to finance €7 billion in extra investment in water services, telecommunications and energy.
This will support demand and employment in the short-term, and provide the basis for sustainable, export-led jobs and growth for the next generation.
These will be profitable, commercial investments, repaid by charges on users, businesses and consumers.
In this way, these investments will not count as Government expenditure, and their benefits to jobs, growth and taxation will underpin the effort to close the Government deficit.
A New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA): These investments – and the accompanying semi-state restructuring and privatisation process – will be financed and pro-actively managed by a state holding company to be called the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA), which will absorb the National Pensions Reserve Commission.
NewERA will manage a portfolio of commercial semi-state companies, re-structure their operations and sell those assets that can operate in competitive markets and that are no longer of major strategic interest to the State.
A ‘Bord Snip” for the Semi-States: We will also appoint a committee to examine the accounts and cost base of the semi-states – a ‘Bord Snip’ for the semi-states – to recommend ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies in each company with a view to passing on any savings to customers.
15.3  Helping Irish Businesses Grow Their Overseas Markets
‘Home to Export’ Programmes: A new ‘Home to Export’ programme will be established to share the expertise of exporting companies with firms currently reliant on declining domestic markets.
A ‘Source Ireland’ portal will be developed to market Irish goods and services abroad.
VAT Exemption for Service Exporters: Service companies that export more than 90% of their output will be allowed become VAT exempt, improving their cash-flows and cutting down on red tape.
Strengthening Links between Multinationals and Irish Firms: We will offer tax credits to multinational companies that provide the funding and mentoring needed by emerging Irish-owned companies to enter international markets.
15.4  Giving Entrepreneurs the Freedom and Support Needed to Create Jobs
A Single Business Tax for Micro Enterprises: Fine Gael will direct the Revenue Commissioners to examine the feasibility of introducing – on a revenue neutral basis – a Single Business Tax for micro enterprises (with a turnover of less than €75,000 per annum) to replace all the existing taxes on sole traders and small businesses (i.e. income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, VAT and PRSI).
This could cut compliance costs and make starting a business much less daunting.
Social Protection for Entrepreneurs: With a view to extending greater social protection for entrepreneurs and self-employed people who fall on hard times, we will appoint a Commission to report on changes that should be made to the tax and social welfare system.
Regulatory Exemptions for Start-Ups: We will also consider a set of temporary exemptions from employment and company regulations designed for bigger firms.
Helping “Honest Bankrupts” Back to Work: Antiquated bankruptcy laws will be overhauled to provide “honest bankrupts” with clear and accessible routes back into normal economic life (see Section 3.4).
15.5  Improving Access to Finance for Business
A Partial Loan-Guarantee Scheme: To get banks lending again to industry and entrepreneurs, we will implement a temporary, partial credit guarantee scheme that will provide a level of insurance to banks against losses on qualifying loans to job-creating firms.
Microfinance Start-Up Fund: Drawing from funding from the NPRF and private institutional funds, we will construct a €100 million Microfinance Start-Up Fund that will provide start-up loans and equity.
Private not-for-profit organisations like First Step, Chambers of Commerce or Local Business Units in the City and County Councils could apply for capital from the Fund for investment in local start-ups.
Venture Capital Industry: Alongside the restructuring of the domestic banking system, we will also support the development of a more dynamic, venture capital industry in Ireland by seeking to attract toptier venture financing and investment companies to Ireland, such as Silicon Valley Bank.
15.6 Supporting Research and Technology Development
Making the R&D Tax Credit More Accessible to Small Firms: We will amend the R&D tax regime to make it more attractive to smaller businesses.
All R&D expenditures below €100,000 in any one year will become allowable, as opposed to just the increment over the 2003 base year.
We will also give companies the option to offset the R&D credit against employers’ PRSI as an alternative to corporation tax.
To cut down on red tape in the applications process, companies in receipt of a Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) grant from one of the development agencies will be automatically deemed as entitled to the R&D tax credit.
Accelerated Capital Allowances on Software Purchases: We will accelerate Capital Allowances on software purchases against income tax and corporation profits tax from eight to three years.
This will not only support local, high-tech jobs in the software industry but will also facilitate productivity increase across the economy.
“Fair Use” of Copyright: We will pioneer within the EU a model of ‘fair use’ in European Copyright Law, like in the USA, which effectively permits the use of portions of a copyrighted work so long as the normal economic exploitation of the originating work is not undermined.
This will allow internet companies and other digital innovators to bring their services to market.
Intellectual Property: We will review and update Intellectual Property legislation currently in place to benefit innovation.
Also, we will develop a national Intellectual Property protocol to give clarity about the terms on which business can access IP created in Higher Education Institutions, clarify the laws relating to on-line copyright infringement and the enforcement of rights relating to digital communications, and revamp the Patent Office website to make it more user-friendly and to facilitate on-line filings such that it is on a par with its European counterparts.
Digital Island: We want to develop Ireland as a ‘Digital Island’ and first-mover when it comes to information technology.
We will establish an E-day on January 1st, 2016 by which all government services to business will be on-line only.
We will approach it in the way that we did the Euro changeover.
15.7 Matching People to Opportunities
A new “One Stop Shop” for Welfare and Job and Training Referral: We will create a new ‘one stop shop’ for getting back to work, the Payments and Entitlements Service.
It will provide extensive skills assessment, training guidance and job referral services to the unemployed, as well as other welfare and service entitlements (see Section 19.5).
Many job-seekers will continue to be referred to existing FAS training centres and services, which will operate under a new slimmed down governance structure.
Community Employment schemes will be maintained and expanded
but will be managed by local authorities.
Labour Market Activation through “Welfare to Work” Reforms: A Fine Gael Government will no longer subsidise a passive welfare system that does not help people get back to work.
The new Payment and Entitlements Service (PES) will offer earlier interventions to support those losing jobs to remain engaged with the labour market.
Among the measures that will be introduced will be:
A requirement on under 25s to maintain a Jobs Diary recording search experience and skill enhancement activities, with sanctions for unreasonable rejections of training and job opportunities;
Conditionality whereby benefits will be reduced if recipients refuse offers of training, education, work experience;
A reduction in the frequency of signing on in favour of a more meaningful schedule of engagement with Jobseekers;
The introduction of Training Vouchers, that empower the unemployed to define and acquire their own training needs rather than relying on a State bureaucracy to decide what courses to provide; and
Welfare reforms to make re-entry into paid work more attractive.
Rent supplement and other secondary benefits will be converted into means-related supports that are unaffected by working status (with tapered withdrawal).
15.8 45,000 New Employment and Training Places to Target Youth Unemployment
National Internship Programme (23,000 places): This will offer part-time one-year placements in the public service, private sector and voluntary sector for unemployed graduates to gain valuable experience while studying for a masters or diploma.
They will be paid the entry-level going rate and will get a €3,000 bursary to help fund their higher education.
Among the positions available will be classroom and teaching assistants in schools and nursing assistants in hospitals.
IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland will be explicitly mandated to develop 5,000 work experience placements in the companies that they support.
Second Chance Education (17,000 places): This will offer former retail and construction workers that did not finish school ‘back to education’ placements for two years.
Participants will receive a premium payment of €20 per week on top of their social welfare payment, a €500 payment towards books etc and a €3,000 completion bonus.
Apprenticeship Guarantee (700 places): This will offer unemployed craft apprentices direct employment by the state, agencies or semi-states until their apprenticeship is completed.
Community Employment (5,000 places): This will offer community employment places to people currently on the live register.
We will reform CE to make it more market-orientated with many more placements in private sector businesses.
With this aim in mind, we will cut in the length of the standard Community Employment Scheme to six months, except for specific progression purposes, and strengthen the programme with regard to job search support.
15.9 Reducing Red Tape and Bad Regulations
Cutting Red Tape through Risk-Based Regulatory Enforcement: We will reduce the cost of Governmentimposed red-tape on business by €500 million, in part by streamlining regulatory enforcement activities.
Out of a merger and rationalisation of existing structures, we create a Business Inspection and Licensing Authority (BILA) that absorbs the existing business inspection activities of the Health and Safety Authority (safety laws), the National Consumer Agency (pricing displays and consumer laws) and the Equality Authority.
The BILA will be charged with applying international best practices in regulatory compliance and risk-based enforcement.
A Single Food Inspectorate: Building on the existing Food Safety Authority, we will create a single food safety monitoring agency responsible for food safety inspection from farm to fork.
This will enhance the food traceability system and reduce the burden of red tape on business.
Unique Business Identifier: We will develop a Unique Business Identifier for use by all government departments and agencies that will facilitate the sharing of information within Government and reduce repetitive information requests from businesses.
Simplifying Tax Compliance: We will allow all companies to base their preliminary corporation tax returns on prior year tax liabilities, reducing their need to hire advisers to estimate their current year tax liabilities before the year is finished.
We will also combine PRSI and tax data for employees, and simplify PRSI classes.
Regulatory Impact Assessment: We will require Departments to publish Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) before Government decisions are taken, thereby offering a further channel to obtain the views of civil society on new rules and regulations.
Employment Regulation: To protect jobs, we will review and renegotiate the Employment Regulation Orders (ERO) imposed on the hotel, restaurant, security, agricultural, retail and other sectors under the Joint Labour Committee system within six months.
We will also allow employers and workers in ERO sectors to negotiate enterprise-level collective agreements with their own staff which will make them exempt from the ERO.
All existing employment law will be consolidated into a Single Employment Act to ease compliance for employers.
Public Procurement: We will use Public Procurement as a tool to support innovative Irish firms.
Tender documents, regulations and procedures will be reformed to make it easier for Irish SMEs to gain access to valuable public contracts.
15.10  Cutting Business Costs by Strengthening Competition in Sheltered Sectors
A New Powerful Consumer Champion: We will merge the Competition Authority, the National Consumer Agency (NCA), the Communications Regulator (ComReg), Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) into a powerful consumer champion,
and we will give it additional powers – by constitutional change if necessary – to break up public and private sector monopolies and cartels.
Opening Up Sheltered Sectors to Competition: We will take additional actions tackle the high costs from sheltered sectors of the economy – such as transport, medical, waste and legal services – by better regulation and by removing barriers to entry.
Commercial Rent Reviews: We will pass legislation to give all tenants the right to have their commercial rents reviewed in 2011 irrespective of any up-ward only or other review clauses.
15.11 Unleashing the Potential of High Growth Sectors
International Education: We aim to double the number of international students in five years, bringing revenue in this sector to €1.8 billion annually and creating at least 6,000 jobs, in part through a radical overhaul of the visa system that fast-tracks student visas from key markets and provides Green Cards for PhD graduates in high growth sectors of the economy.
International Financial Services: A Fine Gael Government will establish a dedicated new public-private partnership to promote the IFSC, particularly in South East Asia, the Middle East and South America.
The Digital Gaming Industry: The rise of casual gaming, apps and smart phones have revolutionised digital gaming design.
Ireland has traditionally performed strongly in the creative industries such as film and animation and with the right supports in place digital gaming can be the next big creative industry in Ireland.
Fine Gael will set aside €10m from Innovation Fund Ireland for a seed capital scheme for Irish digital gaming start-ups to expand the industry from the ground up and also we will introduce a digital media component to Transition Year programmes and promote Ireland as a digital gaming hub.
Digital Media: Fine Gael wants Ireland to become a global base for digital media, creating thousands of jobs over 10 years, by focusing on such areas as data warehousing, rights, licensing etc.
Travel Tax: International access is vital to Irish economic recovery.
That is why Fine Gael will abolish the €3 travel tax subject to a deal being agreed with Ryanair and Aer Lingus to re-open closed routes and bring more tourists into Ireland.
If no deal can be done, there will be no reduction in the tax.
Construction: Our NewERA programme will release an extra €7 billion investment in water, energy and broadband, stimulating significant employment creation in construction, engineering and other related professions and crafts.
Fine Gael is committed to protecting all small building subcontractors that have been denied payments from bigger companies by implementing the main provisions of the Construction Contracts Bill that will require notice of an intention to withhold contractor payments or else payments should be made in full or the payee may suspend all works or services.
Fine Gael is also committed to supporting the development of the Cork City Docklands.
Fine Gael is committed to finance, with other stakeholders, the commissioning of an economic development study for the Cork Docklands, to determine the future potential of the site with a view to progressing a development that is ambitious and viable.
15.12 Making it Happen
A New Cabinet Office: We will convert the Department of An Taoiseach into a Cabinet Office that oversees the delivery of a Programme for Government and that will ensure that our job creation priorities are reflected across all Departments.
A New Department of Jobs and Economic Planning: In order to enhance political and administrative attention across Government on pro-employment, pro-competitiveness enterprise and regulatory policies needed for economic recovery, we will merge Forfás into the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation to create a new Department of Jobs and Economic Planning
A Dedicated Minister of State for Competitiveness: Continuing to supporting the Department and the Minister will be the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).
A dedicated junior Ministerial position will be established within the Department of Jobs and Economic Planning to co-ordinate implementation of the NCC’s recommendations to Government on measures needed to boost exports and jobs.
A Common Board for the IDA and Enterprise Ireland: We will appoint a common board to act as directors of both Enterprise Ireland and IDA to strengthen linkages between foreign owned and indigenous businesses to improve the capacity for job creation and export penetration.
16. Local Government and Housing
Fine Gael will restore power to Local Government.
Recognising the disconnect between local authorities, councillors and their respective communities Fine Gael will empower local authorities to solve problems at a local level.
16.1 Local Government Reform
Restoring Power to Local Level: We will confront the traditional, centralised top down approach to delivery and responsibility of local services by transferring powers and services from unelected Quangos to Local Authorities in areas such as job and housing supports.
By doing so we intend to make local authorities more relevant to the communities they serve and to give people a say in how local services are provided.
Promoting Local Job Creation: Fine Gael will merge the local enterprise and job support functions of local, regional and national agencies into a single business and enterprise unit within Local Authorities.
This will allow the streamlining of local job creation and support functions, increased shared knowledge capability and resources while saving on administration costs.
Directly Elected Mayor for Dublin: We support the concept of a directly elected Mayor for Dublin but reforms of local government are firstly required to avoid additional costs and bureaucracy.
Fine Gael will implement these reforms before creating a directly elected Mayor for Dublin in 2014 to co-incide with the local elections.
Efficient Local Government: Fine Gael will reduce wasteful spending and cut back the bloated structures of politics and public administration built up over the last decade.
We will deliver at least 80% of the spending savings recommended by the Local Government Efficiency Review, including cutting the number of county/ city managers from 34 to 24 and reducing senior managers in local authorities.
16.2 Housing
Home Improvement Scheme: We will double funding for home energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes until end 2013.
Pre-announcing the closure of taxpayer funded schemes will encourage homeowners to invest now and stimulate extra activity in this area and create an additional 5,000 jobs.
We will also temporarily expand this scheme to include septic tank remediation assistance and radon gas prevention products to protect public health.
Fine Gael will roll out a ‘pay as you save’ scheme post 2013 to continue home energy efficiency retrofitting work without recourse to public funding.
Family Home Repossessions: Fine Gael will increase mortgage interest relief to 30% for First Time Buyers in 2004-08 (from the current sliding scale of 20% to 25% depending on the year the mortgage was taken out), financed in part by bringing forward the abolition of relief for new buyers from June 2011.
Fine Gael is also fully supportive of new guidelines to compel banks to give homeowners every chance to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage to avoid repossession during difficult times.
Funding Local Government: Fianna Fail’s proposal, now endorsed by the Labour Party, to introduce by 2014 an annual, recurring residential property tax on the family home is unfair.
But as we tackle the fiscal crisis, we will have to cut central exchequer funding for local authorities,
and we recognise that local authorities will have to find more sustainable sources of revenue appropriate to local circumstances.
What will be viewed as fair in South Dublin might be viewed as unworkable in rural Clare.
In this context, we will empower local authorities to put in place, following the 2014 local elections, fairer alternatives to Fianna Fail’s and Labour’s recurring annual tax on the family home.
The options would include:
No extra local taxes, forcing local authorities to close non-priority services and / or to deliver increased efficiencies;
Increased local user charges for waste etc.; or
The option of a local “site sale profits tax”. Such a tax would be levied on the profit made from the site value on the sale of a residence (sales proceeds, less cost indexed by inflation, less stamp duty paid and less home improvements)
The final measure might be considered as both fairer and more economically sensible than an annual recurring property tax.
Whichever option local electorates choose, for the first time since the 1970s local government will have real independence from central government in deciding what services to provide at local level and how to fund them.
Social Housing: Fine Gael will use the additional funding allocated in our Home Improvement Scheme to improve the energy efficiency of older local authority social housing.
Fine Gael will direct NAMA to study the possibilities and consequences of seizing newly built vacant houses from bankrupt developers and selling them to local authorities for social housing proposes.
Management Companies: We will change the rules governing management companies to provide more security and protection to home owners suffering at the hands of unscrupulous developers.
Fire Safety: Fine Gael will legislate for tougher and clearer rules relating to fire safety in apartment buildings and will introduce a new fire safety inspection and certification regime.
Homelessness: Fine Gael is committed to ending long term homelessness and the need to sleep rough.
We firmly believe that prevention is better than cure and in Government we will aggressively target the root causes of homelessness, as in the long term it will be a more effective way to prevent homelessness.
A key part of Fine Gael’s public service reform strategy is to invest now to reduce future demand for services.
By having a dedicated body to coordinate policy across Government we can target initiatives in cross cutting areas such as education, health care, and housing which will aim to prevent as much as possible problems like homelessness, child poverty and other avoidable problems caused by lack of joined up action.
To address the issue of existing homelessness we will review and update the existing Homeless Strategy, including a specific focus on youth homelessness,
and take into account the current demands on existing housing and health services with a view to assessing how to best provide additional services.
16.3 Building Better Communities
Ghost Estates: We will create tough penalties for developers that leave unfinished ghost estates and those in breach of planning permission.
In addition, within six months of entering Government we will compel all local authorities to produce an action plan on how they intend to deal with each ghost estate in their locality.
We will also completely overhaul the system of planning development bonds to ensure greater conditionality is placed on developers to finish projects to reduce the exposure of local planning authorities to unfinished developments.
Planning Co-ordination: Fine Gael will seek to better coordinate national, regional and local planning laws in order to achieve better and more coordinated development that supports local communities instead of the current system that favours developer led planning.
Anti-Social Hotspots: Fine Gael will target bad planning and anti social hotspots by developing a ‘Good Practice Guide’ for planners and developers to make housing developments, streets and parks safer, better places.
The aim will be to draw attention to crime prevention principles which has been lacking in many modern high density housing areas.
Local Transport: We will improve local transport access by making local transport plans an integral part of local Development Plans.
We will force all local authorities to develop a transport plan in conjunction with their County/City Development Plans, and Local Areas Plans.
A transport plan must make provision for transport infrastructure and state clearly how local communities can access public transport.
Urban Centres: Fine Gael will create proper urban centres for the benefit of local communities by creating new guidelines for urban and village centres so that we can renew and rediscover the concept of having a genuine public space as the nucleus of any neighbourhood.
17. Political Reform
Fine Gael’s New Politics is the most ambitious programme for political reform since the 1930s.
We believe that a broken system of government and politics, which Fianna Fail manipulated for its own electoral advantage,
is at the heart of Ireland’s economic collapse.
In any Republic the people are supposed to be supreme -judged by that standard Ireland today is a Republic in name only.
The expressions “Golden Circle”, “Crony Government” and “Crony Capitalism” all describe the same thing:
The abduction of our Republic by both public and private sector vested interests, aided and abetted by Fianna Fail.
17.1 Fine Gael Will Restore A Voice to the People
Reclaiming the Republic: Fine Gael wants to reclaim Ireland from the vested interests which have done such terrible damage to our nation.
We want to build a new Republic in which the interest of the people and not those of the insiders are placed at the centre of politics in Ireland -in so doing we will be guided by three key principles:
Change must start at the top: The political system cannot ask others to change and make sacrifices if it is not prepared to do the same.
Fine Gael will cut the size of the Oireachtas by one-third by abolishing the Seanad, if the public approve in constitutional referendum, and cutting the number of TDs by 20.
In addition ministers’ salaries will be reduced, political expenses fully vouched for and severance payments for ministers axed.
No political pensions will be paid to sitting TDs and no retired politician will get a political pension until the national retirement age.
Politics must be about service to the public, not financial gain for politicians.
Change must be fundamental and comprehensive: Modern Ireland cannot be governed by a system of government originally designed for 19th Century Britain.
Ireland needs more than piecemeal reform.
It needs radical root and branch change.
Change must involve the citizens: The people must be consulted on and involved in the process of political reform.
That is why we will establish a Citizens Assembly, along the lines of that used in the Netherlands to make recommendations on electoral reform.
It will be composed of up to a 100 members who will be chosen from the public to reflect the demographic make-up of the country.
Constitution Day: A Fine Gael Government will also hold a referendum on CONSTITUTION DAY within 12 months of assuming office at which the people will be asked to approve the abolition of the Seanad and other changes to the articles of the constitution covering the institutions of the State – principally the Executive, the Dáil, the Presidency and the Judiciary.
This referendum will not address the articles dealing with rights/social policy as we want the focus to stay on political reform.
17.2 Fine Gael Will Hold Government to Account
A Stronger Parliament Holding Government to Account: Fine Gael believes that an over-powerful Executive has turned the Dáil into an observer of the political process rather than a central player and that this must be changed.
We will:
Amend the Constitution to Give Dáil committees Full Powers of Investigation:  The Abbeylara Supreme Court decision currently limits the ability of Dáil committees to hold investigations into crucial issues of public concern, such as the banking crisis
Reduce the number of committees and give key committees constitutional standing: The Dáil needs fewer but stronger committees, resourced properly
De-politicise Committee Work: Chairs of committees will be assigned on a more proportional basis, while legislation will typically be introduced in a heads of Bill format to increase the chance of cross-party support
Initiation of Legislation and Guillotines: We will give committees the power to introduce legislation, while a new 10 Minute Rule will allow backbench TDs to introduce their own Bills.
We will also tackle the huge over-use of guillotines to ram through non-emergency legislation
Women in Politics: Fine Gael recognises that there needs to be a substantial increase in the number of women in politics.
We will ask the Citizens Assembly, which is examining electoral reform, to make recommendations as to how the number of women in politics can be increased.
17.3  Fine Gael Will Overhaul the Way Politics and Government Works
Devolving Power to Citizens: Government is too centralised and unaccountable. Fine Gael believes that there must also be a real shift in power from the State to the citizen.
Open Government Bill: This will significantly strengthen Freedom of Information; establish a “whistleblowers charter”;
register all lobbyists; and create a new Electoral Commission.
A Ban on Corporate Donations: Fine Gael will introduce the necessary legal and constitutional provisions to ban corporate donations to political parties.
Stronger Local Government:  We will move many of the functions currently being performed by agencies – such as community employment and enterprise supports – back to local government and ensure that all property-related revenues are part of the income stream of local government.
Reducing  the Voting Age to 17 and Giving Citizens the Right to Vote at Irish Embassies in the Presidential Election:  If this experiment is deemed a success Fine Gael will consider extending this practice to general elections.
17.4  Tackling Cronyism and Feather-Bedding in Politics
Cleaning Up State Boards: Where appropriate, Agency boards will be scrapped and managers will be accountable directly to Ministers on performance against targets.
Where Agencies can justify continued separate legal identities and boards of governance, we will strengthen their democratic accountability by introducing parliamentary scrutiny of the appointment of their chairpersons.
Vacancies for all remaining paid directorships on public boards will be advertised on the website of the Public Appointments Service, and short-lists of qualified applicants will be presented to Ministers.
To facilitate the transition to the new regime, the directors of all State bodies will be asked to resign and re-apply for their positions within six months of a Fine Gael led Government coming into power.
Severance Pay and Pensions: Fine Gael will abolish severance pay for Ministers.
We will restrict the payment of pensions to politicians so that a pension can only be received after someone has ceased to be a TD and reached the national retirement age (currently 65).
We will cap taxpayers subsidies for pension schemes for politicians (and indeed for everybody) that deliver income in retirement of more than €60,000.
Ministerial Cars: We will halve the cost of the existing provision of ministerial transport.
We will end the automatic entitlement to a State car for every Government Minister.
Instead, Ministers will be encouraged to take public transport or use a personal car where appropriate.
We will also introduce a car pooling system for Office Holders, where cars are available at short notice with security-cleared drivers for Ministers.
Government Jet: We will introduce a new code of practice for the use of the government jet, ensuring transparent and cost effective travel.
To stamp out any abuse, cheaper commercial alternatives must be taken when possible and permission to use the jet will require sanction from the Taoiseach’s Department.
18. Public Finances and Taxation
Ireland now relies on other Governments and international institutions to fund our State.
That Ireland has been brought to this tragic juncture in our history reflects a massive loss of market and international political confidence in the last Government’s economic policies.
Bringing order back to our public finances is now crucial to restoring our national sovereignty.
Those who founded the State sought to create the economic foundations for our political independence.
The purpose of the next Government, and the next generation, will be to turn again to that task.
18.1 A Plan for a Current Budget Surplus
IMF-EU Fiscal Targets: Fine Gael accepts the fiscal targets set out in the National Recovery Plan, including the 3% of GDP deficit target by 2014.
We will review the scale, pace and timeframe of the fiscal adjustment with the EU and IMF on an annual basis to take into account developments in the real economy.
€9 Billion 3-year Deficit Reduction Programme: Fine Gael’s Budgetary Programme sets out a 3-year budget programme delivering €8.9 billion in deficit reduction measures by 2014,
including growthenhancing measures and other policies needed to bring order back to our public finances in a fair and credible manner.
A Current Budget Surplus by 2016: On the basis that Ireland achieves the growth rates projected under the ESRI’s Recovery Scenarios (“low growth scenario” updated in July 2010), Fine Gael will achieve a surplus of revenues over the day-to-day cost of running the Government by 2016.
By 2016, a Fine Gael Government will only borrow to finance the investments needed for a growing economy and population.
Earmarking the Proceeds of Growth to Debt Reduction and Investment: In setting this target, Fine Gael is committing to using any proceeds of growth over the final two years of the next Government to finance debt reduction and/or investment, rather than the types of pre-election tax and current spending give-aways under Fianna Fáil that have so damaged our economy.
Renegotiating the IMF-EU Programme of Support: While Fine Gael accepts the IMF-EU deficit reduction targets, we will seek to renegotiate with our EU partners to make the total cost of the bail-out package more sustainable and affordable.
Making Irish taxpayers borrow up to €25 billion in additional funds from the EU / IMF at 5.8% to cover additional bank losses from fire-sales of loans and other bank assets to UK hedge funds could push Irish Government debt to unsustainable levels and hinder recovery.
We will seek a mandate from the Irish people to renegotiate a more credible, fairer package that is better for Ireland and Europe (see Section 3).
18.2 Tackling the Deficit in a Way that Supports Growth and Jobs
Maintaining Investment in Vital Networks: As confidence in the Irish public finances is restored,
Fine Gael will sell state assets, reallocate the National Pension Reserve and restructure the commercial semi-state sector to bring forward €7 billion in extra investment in water services, telecommunications and energy,
aimed at supporting demand and employment, and at providing the basis for sustainable, export-led growth.
These will be profitable, commercial investments.
In this way, these investments will not count as Government expenditure, and their benefits to jobs, growth and taxation will underpin fiscal consolidation.
Keeping Tax Increases to a Minimum: Under a Fine Gael Government, tax increases will constitute 27% – or €2.4bn – of the €8.9bn in measures needed to hit our fiscal targets.
International evidence shows that tax hikes on average raise the unemployment rate by three times more than spending cuts.
This approach will bring total Government spending back to 50% of GNP by 2014, from 59% in 2010.
This will also set Ireland on a path towards the share of tax and Government spending in the economy recorded in the late 1990s,
when the Irish economy was returned to full employment through strong export-led growth.
18.3  Protecting our Competitiveness by Keeping Taxes on Jobs and Investment Low
12.5% Rate of Corporation Profit Tax: Fine Gael will protect the Corporation Profit Tax rate at 12.5%.
Our low corporation profit tax rate remains an anchor of Irish industrial policy that draws foreign direct investment and jobs into Ireland, fosters innovation and keeps companies from leaving for non-European lower cost locations.
No Further Increases in Income Taxes: Following the massive income tax hikes of recent years, as well as the introduction of the Universal Social Charge, Ireland is no longer a low tax country when it comes to income tax.
That is why Fine Gael opposes proposals to raise either the standard 20% or the top 41% rate of income tax, or the further reductions to tax credits and bands proposed in the Government’s 4-year plan.
Combining the top 41% income tax rate, 4% employees’ PRSI and the top 7% Universal Social Contribution, the marginal rate is already 52% for income earned over €32,700 per annum.
Increasing the marginal rate further would be counterproductive.
It would discourage people from working harder, doing overtime and aiming for promotion.
It would inhibit companies from creating and locating highly-paid knowledge economy in Ireland, and it would push self-employed people into the grey economy.
Employers’ PRSI: There will be no increased tax on employment such as Employers’ PRSI which can be as high at 10.75%.
To help employers hire people off the dole, we will halve Employers’ PRSI on jobs paying up to €356 per week for two years.
18.4  Other Tax Reforms to Support Job-Intensive Consumer Spending
VAT Reform: The rise in the standard 21% rate of VAT committed to by this Government will be accompanied by a temporary (2-year) cut of at least 1.5% in the reduced 13.5% rate of VAT on labourintensive services (construction, hotels, restaurants, hairdressing, newspapers etc.), bringing it down to 12%.
This will boost the competitiveness of our tourism sector
and help divert domestic consumer spending from import-intensive goods into labour-intensive domestic services.
DIRT: Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) will be increased from 25% to 30% to encourage higher levels of household consumption.
Carbon Tax: The €15 per tonne increase in the carbon tax (to €30 per tonne) proposed by government for 2014 is excessive,
and will be particularly hard felt by the elderly and in rural Ireland.
We will reduce the increase proposed in Fianna Fail’s Manifesto by €5 per tonne (to €25), with the effect that, compared with Fianna Fail’s proposals, a bag of coal will be 60c cheaper, a tank of petrol (60 ltr) will be 78c cheaper, and a 1,000 litres of fuel oil for home heating will be €17 cheaper.
The application to solid fuels of the higher carbon tax proposed by Fianna Fail will be phased in only when progress is made to control imports of dirtier, more carbon-intensive solid fuels from the UK.
To keep our food industry competitive, we will provide an exemption from the additional carbon tax increases for agricultural diesel.
18.5  Other Tax Measures to Support Jobs, Enterprise and Growth
Travel Tax: International access is vital to Irish economic recovery.
That is why Fine Gael will abolish the €3 travel tax subject to a deal being agreed with Ryanair and Aer Lingus to re-open closed routes and bring more tourists into Ireland.
If no deal can be done, there will be no reduction in the tax.
A Single Business Tax for Micro Enterprises: Fine Gael will direct the Revenue Commissioners to examine the feasibility of introducing – on a revenue neutral basis – a Single Business Tax for micro enterprises (with a turnover of less than €75,000 per annum) to replace all the existing taxes on sole traders and small businesses (i.e. income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, VAT and PRSI).
This could cut compliance costs and make starting a business much less daunting.
Making the R&D Tax Credit More Accessible to Small Firms: We will amend the R&D tax regime to make it more attractive to smaller businesses.
All R&D expenditures below €100,000 in any one year will become allowable, as opposed to just the increment over the 2003 base year.
We will also give companies the option to offset the R&D credit against employers’ PRSI as an alternative to corporation tax.
Accelerated Capital Allowances on Software Purchases: To help companies to finance additional investment in technology, we will accelerate Capital Allowances (from eight to three years) on software purchases.
This will not only support local, high-tech jobs in the software industry but will also facilitate productivity increase across the economy.
Simplifying Tax Compliance: We will allow all companies to base their preliminary corporation tax returns on prior year tax liabilities, reducing their need to hire advisers to estimate their current year tax liabilities before the year is finished.
We will also combine PRSI and tax data for employees, and simplify PRSI classes.
To ensure that this is a revenue neutral proposal for the State, we will also consider bringing forward a proportion of the payment to earlier in the fiscal year.
18.6 Equitable taxes
Civil Partnership: We will amend tax law in a second Finance Act in 2011 to give effect to the rights for civil partners and cohabiting couples introduced in the Civil Partnership Act 2010.
18.7 Cutting the Deficit by Broadening the Tax Base
Closing Down Tax Loopholes for the Rich: Income tax yields will be increased by restricting or eliminating tax expenditures, tax shelters and tax exemptions to ensure that the wealthy cannot avoid paying their fair share.
We will suspend (now closed) property-based tax reliefs (subject to the forthcoming impact assessment study), introduce new residency rules for tax exiles (as per the Commission on Taxation’s “Economic Test” and reduce the thresh-hold of the application of the minimum effective 30% tax rate to €250,000.
Water Charges: Fine Gael will only support the introduction of household water charges when responsibility for water delivery is transferred from 34 local authorities to a single national water company, which will be responsible for cutting operating costs and making the investments needed to fix water leaks, as set out in detail in our NewERA plan.
Bank Dividends/Levy: As banks return to profitability and private ownership, we will target additional contributions from the sector to repay the Irish taxpayer for the cost of the bank bail-outs.
Initially, these contributions will be in the form of dividends, but will over time be restructured into an additional bank levy on the liabilities of the Irish banks that receive an explicit or implicit guarantee from the Irish State.
Funding Local Government: Fianna Fail’s proposal, now endorsed by the Labour Party, to introduce by 2014 an annual, recurring residential property tax on the family home is unfair.
But as we tackle the fiscal crisis, we will have to cut central exchequer funding for local authorities,
and we recognise that local authorities will have to find more sustainable sources of revenue appropriate to local circumstances.
What will be viewed as fair in South Dublin might be viewed as unworkable in rural Clare.
In this context, we will empower local authorities to put in place, following the 2014 local elections, fairer alternatives to Fianna Fail’s and Labour’s recurring annual tax on the family home.
The options would include:
No extra local taxes, forcing local authorities to close non-priority services and / or to deliver increased efficiencies;
Increased local user charges for waste etc.; or
The option of a local “site sale profits tax”.
Such a tax would be levied on the profit made from the site value on the sale of a residence (sales proceeds, less cost indexed by inflation, less stamp duty paid and less home improvements)
The final measure might be considered as both fairer and more economically sensible than an annual recurring property tax.
Whichever option local electorates choose, for the first time since the 1970s local government will have real independence from central government in deciding what services to provide at local level and how to fund them.
Environmental Taxes: We will auction carbon permits under the EU Emissions Trading System from 2013. .
Following consultation with industry, Fine Gael will introduce a new levy on packaging to prevent excess waste from entering the waste cycle in the first instance.
Betting Tax: Fine Gael will draw from successful betting tax regimes in other jurisdictions to capture revenue from overseas online betting operations that sell into the Irish market.
The current regime will only raise revenues from Irish operators and is therefore a tax on Irish jobs.
A Fair Pensions Tax Reform: As a fairer and more effective alternative to Fianna Fail’s plans, we will make tax savings of a similar scale through a combination of the following measures:
A temporary, annual 0.5% contribution for all private pension funds, so that older beneficiaries of past tax relief make some contribution to deficit reduction.
An equivalent reduction could be applied to public and private sector defined benefit entitlements;
Abolition of PRSI relief on employer pension contributions;
Allowing defined contribution pension savers to access funds early to meet their current business and personal responsibilities (and taxing the draw-downs);
A cut in the standard fund threshold for pensions to €1.5 million for public and private sector workers, while also increasing the notional annuity cost of defined benefit, final salary schemes from the current 20:1;
An increase in the “deemed distribution” rate on large (Annual Retirement Funds ARFs) to avoid their use for inheritance tax planning.
Capping Tax Relief on Big Pensions: The net objective of our changes will be to cap taxpayer contributions to existing public and private sector schemes that deliver pensions of greater than €60,000 in retirement, while maintaining adequate incentives for younger, middle incomes families to continue to save for their retirement.
There will, per usual, be transition arrangements for those approaching retirement.
Fair Tax Treatment of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs): We will put the tax treatment of employer contributions to Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) on an equal footing with employer contributions to occupational pension schemes.
18.8 Public Sector Numbers and Payroll
Additional Reduction in Back-Office Public Sector Numbers: As set out in our Reinventing Government plan, Fine Gael will reduce the size of the public service by 10% – just over 30,000 – without undermining key front-line services in health, policing and education, through over 105 reforms to cut back-office bureaucracy and delivery improved value for money.
This means that Fine Gael will reduce back-office administrative positions in the public service by an additional 18,000 over and above the 12,000 reduction set out in Fianna Fail’s 4-year plan and by an additional 12,000 over the 18,000 reduction set out in Labour’s plan.
All of these extra reductions will be targeted at back-office administrative functions.
These extra reductions will be achieved through voluntary redundancies.
A Smaller Civil Service: As part of the overall reduction in numbers, the numbers of staff working in central Government Departments will be cut by one-third, in part through six new shared-service operations in Payments and Entitlements; Business Inspections; Pay and Pensions Administration; Procurement and Property Management; IT; and Finance and Accounting.
A Smaller Political System: We will seek to cut the number of national politicians by 35%, while improving the ability of our Parliament to hold the Government and its agencies to account.
Additional Measures to Cut Public Sector Payroll Costs: Excluding savings from headcount reductions, Fine Gael will seek additional payroll savings of 1% each year, to be negotiated and delivered locally, out of the costs of overtime, sick leave, flexitime, special allowances and expenses.
Leading by Example: A Fine Gael Government will implement the pay reductions for the 650 most senior public servants recommended by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in 2009.
Fine Gael will also set a salary cap of €200,000 across politics and the public sector.
18.9  Savings in Programme Spending from Reform and Re-Prioritisation
Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR): Within six months of entering Government, we will complete a Comprehensive Spending Review to identify non-priority and non-performing programmes, and services that could be delivered in new ways at less expense to the taxpayer.
This review will be steered by a senior cabinet sub-committee and will critically examine every public spending programme against six key tests:
Does the programme serve the national interest or vested interests?
Should the service be funded by taxpayers or service users?
Is the State the best provider?
Is it effective in meeting its goals?
Can its efficiency be improved?
Is it affordable in the current context?
An Bord Snip: As part of the CSR, we will deliver at least half of the savings options from the Special Group on Public Expenditure and Numbers (“An Bord Snip”) including 100% if the savings recommended in the Oireachtas budget.
Local Government Efficiency Review: As part of the CSR, Fine Gael will deliver at least 80% of saving options from the Local Government Efficiency Review.
Quangos: As part of the CSR, we will cut the number of Government quangos, regulators and inspectorates by 145, ending the confusing, wasteful fragmentation in service delivery.
Health: Our FairCare reforms represent the most radical overhaul of the health system in the history of the State.
By treating people with chronic illnesses in the community instead of acute hospitals, by only paying hospitals for what they deliver instead of giving them block budgets and ultimately by dismantling the expensive HSE bureaucracy,
it will be possible to make significant further savings in the health budget while protecting, and ultimately improving, the quality of Ireland’s health service.
Education: In order to avoid further increases in pupil-teacher ratios, we will work with the education partners to seek further efficiencies in work practices – in line with the Croke Park Agreement
– and to devolve more power to school principals and teachers to make tight budgets go further.
Enterprise and Training: We will create a new ‘one stop shop’ for getting back to work, the Payments and Entitlements Service.
It will provide extensive skills assessment, training guidance and job referral services to the unemployed, as well as other welfare and service entitlements.
Many job-seekers will continue to be referred to existing FAS training centres and services, which will operate under a new slimmed down governance structure.
Community Employment schemes will be maintained and expanded
but will be managed by local authorities.
Justice and Policing: We will protect front-line policing by making savings in other areas.
We will abolish Prison Visiting Committees and amalgamate the Probation Service and Irish Prison Service into a single Offender Management Service.
We will reform the immigration system by establishing an independent appeals mechanism which will reduce costly High Court judicial review cases.
We will extend court sittings to reduce the length of the asylum list and clear the backlog of those who need to be accommodated pending their hearing.
We will reform sentencing to cut the number of people in prisons for non-violent offences, such as non-repayment of debts.
Energy Saving Subsidies: We will end taxpayer subsidies for residential and business energy saving technologies in 2014, helping to achieve fiscal targets in 2014 while also stimulating extra activity in this area as people accelerate investment plans in the interim period.
From 2013, we will shift to a ‘Pay as You Save’ scheme and on insulating public buildings that does not require taxpayer subsidies.
More “Choice and Voice” for Service Users: Across the public service, we will seek opportunities to make limited resources go further by giving service users more choice and influence.
Rather than giving fixed budgets to traditional public service providers like the HSE, VECs and FÁS, we will put resources into the hands of citizens to acquire services that are tailored to better suit their needs and less expensive for the taxpayer.
18.10 Cutting Welfare Costs While Protecting the Most Vulnerable
Protecting the Most Vulnerable: Fine Gael is committed to achieving the targets in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion to reduce the numbers of people experiencing poverty.
Fine Gael will not cut the Old Age Contributory or Non-Contributory Pension.
Working-age payments to carers, the blind and the disabled will be maintained at current levels.
Universal Social Charge: Fine Gael will carry out a review of the effect of the Universal Social Contribution on work incentives and employment participation in time for the 2012 Budget.
Making Work Pay: Welfare will be reformed to make re-entry into paid work more attractive.
As wage levels in the economy revert to more competitive levels in order to protect employment, it will be necessary and fair to also reduce social welfare payments for those with the capacity to work beginning with €3 weekly cuts in 2012 and 2013 and a final €4 cut in 2014.
Rent supplement and other secondary benefits will be converted into means-related supports that are unaffected by working status (with tapered withdrawal).
There will be additional conditionality whereby benefits will be reduced if recipients refuse offers of training, education or work experience.
Tackling Social Welfare Fraud: Further reductions in job-seekers’ payments and other working age social welfare payments will be minimised by cutting the massive levels of fraud, mistakes and administrative cost associated with the current welfare system.
Fine Gael will create, out of a merger and rationalisation of existing structures, a new “one-stop shop” Payments and Entitlements Service (PES) to process all major welfare and other entitlements.
The PES will be mandated to apply global best practices to cut down on fraud and mistakes in the social welfare payments, including the introduction of a new ‘Smart Identify System” and of new powers to withdraw or reduce welfare payments for people convicted twice of a welfare offence.
Pensions: Fine Gael will increase the age at which people qualify for the State Pension to 66 years in 2014, in line with the existing EU/IMF agreement.
Fine Gael will fundamentally reform the pension system to set Ireland on a path to achieve universal coverage, more generous supports for the lower paid, greater equity between public and private sector workers, lower costs, lower risks for individual savers and more flexible retirement arrangements.
Social Protection for Entrepreneurs: We will appoint a Commission to report within six months on changes that should be made to the tax and social welfare system to provide greater protection for selfemployed people who fall on hard times.
A More Targeted Child Allowance: In government, Fine Gael will implement a rebalanced and integrated “Child Income Support” with universal and targeted components to make the overall system more coherent and effective, and to deliver target savings of €250 million by 2014 (about 7.5% of the current total budget for child supports).
The “Child Income Support” will replace Child Benefit, the Qualified Child Increase and the child related component of the Family Income Supplement.
It will be integrated into the social insurance system to support the low paid at work.
We will protect the 300,000 children at greatest risk of poverty from any cuts in child income support.
18.11 Smarter Ways to Prioritise, Fund and Deliver Infrastructure
NewERA: Under Fine Gael’s NewERA plan, streamlined and restructured semi-State companies will invest an additional €7 billion, over and above current plans, over the next four years in “next generation” infrastructures in energy, broadband, forestry and water.
Some of these investments – in water infrastructure for example – will offset cuts to exchequer spending planned by the present Government.
The National Pension Reserve Fund: In discussions with the IMF, Fine Gael has confirmed that some funds from the National Pension Reserve Fund and proceeds from the sale of state assets are available, under conditions to be agreed, to finance the NewERA investment programme.
The investment programme – and the accompanying semi-state restructuring process – will be financed and pro-actively managed by a New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA), which will absorb the current National Pensions Reserve Commission.
In the longer-term, sales of state assets will help reduce Ireland’s debt levels to help prepare the public finances for increased pension spending on an ageing population.
Re-Prioritisation of Exchequer Capital Spending: Given the constrained fiscal situation, exchequer capital funding will be reprioritised for smaller projects that deal with specific immediate problems.
Recent weather events have resulted in significant damage to existing infrastructures.
Dealing with specific local bottlenecks carries the highest return.
Not dealing with this damage is likely to result in a further deterioration of the infrastructure and will have wider economic costs.
Smaller projects are more labour intensive and more likely to be carried out by local contractors increasing short-run domestic economic impact.
Review of Decision Making Processes: In the absence of proper structures and procedures for the selection of projects, many projects that have been promoted by the current Government are highly questionable.
Going ahead with these without a re-evaluation risks wasting scarce resources.
We will review the structures and processes used to make decisions on major infrastructure projects/programmes.
The current situation where agencies, whose raison d’être depends on finding new projects, control the decision making process is subject to significant moral hazard.
18.12 Budget Reform to Eliminate Waste and Restore Confidence
Independent Fiscal Council: Fine Gael will establish an independent Fiscal Council and a fiscal responsibility law to ensure that Governments respect prudent fiscal rules set by the Oireachtas, and to assess the economic assumptions on which Government budgets are based.
Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment: We will ask the Oireachtas Finance Committee and the new Independent Fiscal Council to complete an assessment within six months of the merits of proposing a constitutional amendment
– which would have to be approved by referendum – to set limits on the freedom of any future Government to spend more than it takes in revenue, adjusting for the cyclical state of the economy and for natural disasters.
Opening up the Budget Process to More Scrutiny: Fine Gael will open up the Budget process to the full glare of public scrutiny in a way that restores confidence and stability by exposing and cutting failing programmes and pork barrel politics.
Public bodies will be required to openly compete for budget resources by publishing their pre-budget spending requests, and what they would deliver in return for such allocations to help deliver the Programme for Government.
Fine Gael will publish cost-benefit analyses for major infrastructure proposals and “tax expenditures” in advance of Government approval.
Office of Public Spending and Modernisation: Responsibility for public service modernisation (including the preparation of the annual spending estimates) will be vested in a new Office of Public Spending and Modernisation, which will also be responsible for expenditure management within the overall envelopes determined by the Minister for Finance, and will be represented by a Minister at Cabinet.
Reforming the Department of Finance: For too long the Department of Finance has misdiagnosed the state of the Irish economy, damaging the country’s credibility with international markets.
A Fine Gael Government will make an external appointment through open competition of an economist of international repute to head up the Department’s Budget and Economic Policy division.
More Spending Transparency: Every Purchase Order by a Government Department or agency for more than €20,000 will be published online.
We will also give the Comptroller and Auditor General and Oireachtas Committees the extra powers needed to carry out value-for-money audits of State programmes.
19. Public Sector Reform
Changing the politicians around the cabinet table is necessary to restore confidence in Ireland’s Government, but that alone will not be enough to put the country back on track.
What are also needed are fundamental changes in the structures and systems of the State itself to improve the quality of governance experienced by the country, and to chart our economy’s course back to full employment.
19.1 A Smaller, Better, Less Expensive Government
Reinventing Government: Our Reinventing Government plan commits Fine Gael to making over 100 real, tangible changes to the shape, size, ethos and ways of working of the State and its public service designed to:
Save one euro in every ten spent by public bodies – over €5 billion – by confronting waste, duplication and inefficiency;
Cut the size of the public service by at least 10% from 2010 levels (30,000 positions), including a one-third cut in the numbers of politicians and of staff working in Government Departments, protecting resources for the front-line;
Cut the number of public bodies, regulators and inspectorates by 145, ending the confusing and wasteful fragmentation in service delivery;
Pin down accountability for results at every level of the public service – from Ministers down – with clear consequences for success and failure.
Croke Park Agreement: Pending a built-in review of its implementation, Fine Gael remains committed to honouring the pay elements of the Croke Park Agreement.
Fine Gael has always indicated its commitment to go beyond the Croke Park Agreement in terms of the reform agenda needed to get Ireland working again.
The planned reduction in public sector numbers will be achieved through voluntary mechanisms.
19.2 A Smaller, More Strategic, More Skilled Centre of Government
A Cabinet Office: We will downsize the Department of An Taoiseach, re-assigning non-core functions and transforming it into a Cabinet Office that oversees the delivery of a new Programme for Government.
Reforming the Department of Finance: We will bring in new leadership and skills into the Department of Finance to restore its capacity and credibility in financial and macro economic management.
Office of Public Spending and Modernisation: Responsibility for public service modernisation (including the preparation of the annual spending estimates) will be vested in a new Office of Public Spending and Modernisation, which will also be responsible for expenditure management within the overall envelopes determined by the Minister for Finance, and will be represented by a Minister at Cabinet (analogous to the Chief Secretary of the Treasury in the UK).
Senior Public Service: We will create a new Senior Public Service where senior officials are rotated across the public sector to nurture the collaborative culture needed to tackle the biggest cross-cutting social and economic challenges.
A Smaller Staff in Government Departments: As routine tasks are rationalised and automated and control over service delivery is devolved to the front-line, we will reduce the number of civil servants working in central policy-making Departments by a third (from about 17,000 at present).
Upskilling: Civil servants from Administrative Officer grade and above will be required to adopt a specialised “skills stream”, such as human resources management, procurement, finance, economics, corporate services or information technology.
This will require additional investment in upskilling across the civil service.
Bringing in New Skills: All appointments at Principal Officer and above will be open to external competition and at least one-third of such appointments will be reserved for candidates from outside traditional civil service structures for a 5-year period.
Setting an Example during Fiscal Austerity: We will set a salary cap of €200,000 across politics and the public sector.
The pay reductions for 650 of the most senior public servants recommended by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in 2009 – will be implemented.
19.3 Greater Openness and Performance Accountability
Public Service Agreements: Ministers in a Fine Gael Government will sign – in public – Public Service Agreements with service delivery bodies, specifying the activities, outputs and long-term outcomes that the Government will promise to the Oireachtas in return for money from the taxpayer.
On-Line Work Plans: Consistent with the new Agreements, the individual annual work objectives of the top 1,300 civil servants (Principal Officers and above) will be published on-line.
Public Service Delivery Reports: Performance and progress will be published in new, audited annual Public Service Delivery Reports.
Oireachtas Committees will expose failure to hit milestones and targets.
In this sense, every Committee will take on new powers similar to those currently wielded by the Public Accounts Committee to hold Ministers and public servants to account for value for money in their relevant areas.
This will then feed into the Oireachtas’ consideration of the next Budget.
More Accountable Agencies: Where appropriate, agency boards will be scrapped and agency managers will be accountable directly to Ministers on performance against targets as part of a new UK-style “executive agency” governance structure.
Public Bodies: We will encourage all public bodies to take due note to equality and human rights in carrying out their functions.
Appointments to Agency Boards: Where agencies can justify continued separate legal identities and boards of governance, we will strengthen their democratic accountability by introducing parliamentary scrutiny of the appointment of their chairpersons.
Vacancies for all remaining paid directorships on public boards will be advertised on the website of the Public Appointments Service, and short-lists of qualified applicants will be presented to Ministers.
To facilitate the transition to the new regime, the directors of all State bodies will be asked to resign and re-apply for their positions within six months of a Fine Gael led Government coming into power.
Freedom of Information: Restrictions introduced by recent Governments to Freedom of Information in the public sector will be reversed.
Open Government: Subject to exceptional considerations, memos to Government prepared by the civil service will be published within two years.
We will also empower public servants to give testimony to the Oireachtas on matters of policy, reflecting the reality of the authority delegated by Ministers to them and their accountability for the way it is exercised.
OpenGov.ie: We will establish a new public sector website www.opengov.ie to publish more Government data for public sector scrutiny, including:
Real-time public sector purchase orders for over €20,000
Real time energy consumption data for Government departments and agencies
Real-time hospital waiting times and latest infection rates
Pay levels for top public sector staff
Absenteeism levels for every public sector body
19.4 Revolutionising the Budget
Fiscal Advisory Council: We will establish an independent Fiscal Advisory Council within the Oireachtas to ensure that future Governments respect new, prudent fiscal rules set by the Oireachtas.
Open Competition for Resources: Public bodies will be required to openly compete for budget resources by publishing their pre-budget spending requests during the Estimates Process, together with the promised activities and outputs for the citizen.
Cost-Benefit Analyses: We will publish cost-benefit analyses for proposed major infrastructure projects and “tax expenditures” in advance of Government approval.
Transparency in Public Spending: Public sector bodies will be required to publish balance sheets and to move to accruals from cash-flow accounting.
Every Purchase Order for more than €20,000 will be published online.
More Rigorous Value-for-Money Audits: We will give the Comptroller and Auditor General and Oireachtas Committees the extra powers needed to carry out value-for-money audits of State programmes.
19.5 Streamlining Government and Cutting Quangos
An Bord Snip: We will implement a majority of the (non social-welfare) recommendations from the McCarthy Report, including all the recommended savings for the Oireachtas and running the political system.
Local Government Efficiency Review: We will deliver at least 80% of the spending savings recommended by the Local Government Efficiency Review, including cutting the number of county/ city managers from 34 to 24 and the number of senior managers in the Dublin and Cork local authorities by 15%;
Shared Back-Office Services: We will establish three new shared service operations for Human Resources, Information Technology and Legal Services.
Once established, we will cut 10% off the administration budgets of all Government Departments and public bodies to reflect to cost efficiencies available from procurement of services from these new shared service organisations.
A “One Stop Shop” Public Entitlements Services: We will create, out of a merger and rationalisation of existing structures, a new “one-stop shop” Public Entitlements Service (PES) to process citizen entitlements, including supplementary welfare allowances managed by the HSE Community Welfare Officers; medical card applications administered by the HSE; higher education grants administered by local authorities and VECs; housing supports administered by local authorities; welfare allowances administered by the Department of Social Protection and employment referral and training supports provided by FÁS.
A Business Inspection and Licensing Authority: Out of a rationalisation of existing structures, we create a Business Inspection and Licensing Authority (BILA) that absorbs the existing business inspection activities of Departments and agencies, starting with the Health and Safety Authority (safety laws); the National Consumer Agency (pricing displays and consumer laws); and the National Employment Rights Authority (labour law).
Irish Water: We will establish a single state-owned commercial water company – ‘Irish Water’ – to take over and rationalise the water functions of 34 local authorities, to address Ireland’s water needs in the 21st century.
SmartGrid: We will merge ESB Networks, Eirgrid and Bord Gais Networks into SmartGrid a single energy grid operator for Ireland.
Bio Energy and Forestry Ireland: We will merge Coillte and Bord na Mona into a new single renewable energy leader, Bio Energy and Forestry Ireland.
Broadband 21: We will merge State-owned telecoms assets (spread between ESB, MANs, CIE, Bord Gáis, National Roads Authority and Waterways Ireland) into ‘Broadband 21’
to work with private sector providers to accelerate the build-out of a next-generation broadband network across the entire country.
Cutting Quangos: Altogether, we will reduce the number of State bodies and companies by at least 145.
19.6 Investing Now to Make Big Savings Later
First Steps: A proportion of the savings from our reform programme will be earmarked to fund a new, targeted First Steps early childhood education programme aimed at breaking the cycles of disadvantage and at providing pathways out of poverty.
Social Investment Bonds: We will introduce new Social Investment Bonds to finance a new generation of “social entrepreneurs” to work alongside the State in tackling many of the most difficult social problems, including obesity, illiteracy and criminal recidivism.
19.7 More “Choice and Voice” for Service Users
‘Money Follows the Service User’: Rather than giving fixed budgets to traditional public service providers like the HSE, VECs and FÁS, we will put resources into the hands of citizens to acquire services that are tailored to better suit their needs and less expensive for the taxpayer.
School Reports and Patronage: Schools will publish annual reports taking into account exam results, facilities, extra-curricular activities, ICT resources, and special education resources.
We will also deliver better choice, diversity and standards in education by asking parents who they want at the helm of their children’s schools.
Training Vouchers: To support training, we will re-allocate money from FÁS into Training Vouchers that allow the unemployed to define and acquire their own re-skilling needs.
Money Follows the Patient: Instead of giving block budgets to hospitals, our FairCare plans will put in place a “money follows the patient” system that pays hospitals for the patients they treat.
Personal Care Budgets: We will also give – out of existing HSE resources – adults and children with disabilities and their families the option of Personal Care Budgets to choose the services they want and need.
Fix My Street: In local services, we will establish a website – www.fixmystreet.ie – to allow residents to report to problems with street lighting, drainage, graffiti, waste collection and road and path maintenance in their neighbourhoods, with a guarantee that a local official will respond within two working days.
19.8 Empowering Public Servants by Devolving Authority
Devolved Authority: Agencies across the public service will get devolved authority – within strict budget caps – to set their staff levels, recruit staff, automate or outsource routine processes and adapt employment conditions to local staff and customer needs.
Hospital Trusts: We will, among other things, transfer the governance and management of HSE Hospitals to Hospital Trusts, free to determine their staff mix and to find ways to incentivise cost efficiency, productivity and quality.
When the reform process is complete, the HSE itself will be dismantled.
School Autonomy: We will give school principals more discretion as to how the school’s budget is deployed.
20. Tourism
Our tourism industry sustains jobs, generates significant revenue and sells a positive image of the Irish brand globally.
Under Fianna Fail’s watch, visitor numbers have reverted back to 1998 levels and revenue is down by €1.8billion since 2007.
At the heart of our tourism sector are thousands of small businesses that are being crippled under the current economic climate.
Fine Gael will develop Ireland’s potential as a tourism destination, using our unique natural resources,
cultural tradition, creative artistic and literary credentials that our country has to offer to bring tourists back to Ireland.
We will do this by increasing competitive access to Ireland and developing a more competitive business environment.
20.1 Access
Travel Tax: International access is vital to Irish economic recovery.
That is why Fine Gael will abolish the €3 travel tax subject to a deal being agreed with Ryanair and Aer Lingus to re-open closed routes and bring more tourists into Ireland.
If no deal can be done, there will be no reduction in the tax.
Airport Charges: Fine Gael will work with the Aviation Regulator to cut airport charges in order to deliver increased routes, airlines and passenger numbers.
We will allow Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports operate independently.
Visitor Visas: We will explore the possibility of a new agreement on visitor visas with the UK, offering tourists the opportunity to visit the UK and Ireland with one visa, at a reasonable cost.
Ireland loses out on tourists from markets outside the EU because of unnecessary red tape.
A new visa agreement with the UK would allow us to tap into the tourism market for significant events such as the forthcoming London 2012 Olympics.
20.2 Keeping Costs Down for Tourism Businesses
Cut to VAT Rate: We will reduce the 13.5% VAT rate to 12% for a period of two years which will benefit tourism businesses.
Jobs Tax Cut: Fine Gael will halve Employers PRSI on jobs paying up to €356 per week for two years.
This will reduce by over 4% the cost of employing people in low paid sectors.
SME Loan Guarantee Scheme: Fine Gael will introduce a partial loan guarantee scheme for small and medium sized businesses.
Reducing Other Labour Costs: We will review and renegotiate Employment Regulation Orders (ERO) imposed on sectors such as hotels and restaurants.
Rates Review: Fine Gael will freeze rates and reduce them where possible. We will expedite the national revaluation programme by the Commissioner of Valuation to review rates for businesses including hotels.
20.3 Communicating our Tourism Message
Tourism bodies: We will streamline the bodies dealing with tourism marketing, promotion and product development to create a single voice for tourism.
Marketing Spend: We are committed to retaining a strong focus on marketing and see this as essential in bringing tourists back to Ireland.
New Markets: We will market the Irish tourism message in new markets such as Asia and untapped markets in continental Europe.
London Olympics: We will develop and effectively market a London Olympics 2012 strategy to bring as many tourists to Ireland during what will be a major tourism and sporting event in 2012.
20.4 Cultural Tourism
Historic Visitor Attractions: We will encourage the Office of Public Works and State agencies to work effectively together to develop clusters of visitor attractions as a significant tourist draw for certain areas, identifying attractions of outstanding scenic, cultural or historic appeal, of particular interest to those attracted to niche holidays.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites: We will prioritise the development of specific Irish historic and cultural sites that have the potential to obtain World Heritage Status.
Holiday Packages: We will target available resources at developing and co-ordinating niche tourism products and activity packages that are unique to Ireland and are attractive to international visitors with a particular focus on niche tourism areas such as; food, Sports, Culture, Ecotourism, Activity breaks, Waterbased recreation and Festivals.
Genealogy Tourism: Fine Gael will examine the feasibility of releasing the 1926 census to stimulate genealogy tourism.
We will also explore philanthropic opportunities for the development of a national archives and genealogy quarter, providing easy access to archives and tapping into an area of cultural tourism which is of huge interest to the vast Irish diaspora.
21. Transport
Ireland needs a safe, integrated and sustainable transport network that is efficient and provides the taxpayer with value for money.
Fianna Fail has failed to confront poor performing transport organisations such as CIE and the DAA, and instead has allowed these companies to limit competition in their sector.
The public can be better served by encouraging the private sector to invest in and compete with public sector monopolies.
We will promote ambitious and far reaching transport policies that tackle issues such as electric car networks and fully integrated transport services, while facilitating competition.
We will also be putting public transport at the forefront of capital investment and will ensure these projects stimulate the economy, create jobs and improve our competitiveness.
21.1 Public Transport
Nationwide Bus Competition: We will completely overhaul the bus market in Ireland by introducing competitive tendering for all bus routes in the country as soon as practicably possible.
More operators will provide more routes and services to the public and at a cheaper cost to the taxpayer and passenger.
Community and Rural Transport Services: We will maintain and expand the rural transport network as a reliable and sustainable transport service that is vital for rural communities.
We will also deliver better services by integrating the school transport and non-emergency HSE transport with the Rural Transport Programme locally as much as is practicable.
Rail Services: We will support the expansion in range and frequency of high capacity commuter rail services, particularly Metro North and the Western Rail Corridor, which will be subject to a cost benefit analysis by independent experts.
We also recognise the need to maximise the integration of our public transport services through route management and integrated ticketing.
Rail Electrification: Fine Gael supports the electrification of our rail network and will pursue further electrification subject to the availability of finance.
Priority will be given to the electrification of the Maynooth to Dublin and Kildare to Dublin suburban rail lines.
Public Transport Safety: We will create a single transport safety body comprising the Road Safety Authority, the Railway Safety Commission and the Maritime Safety Directorate.
Roll Out Park-and-Ride Facilities: We will develop Park & Ride facilities as local transport ‘hubs’ with some local services beginning or terminating at the facilities.
We will direct the National Transport Authority to take advantage of existing State lands to develop these facilities on major public transport routes into major urban centres.
Taxis: We will review the Nine Year Rule and will look at options to encourage existing taxi licensees to upgrade to new emission friendly vehicles.
We will subsidise the upgrade of wheelchair accessible taxis.
We will direct An Garda Siochana to robustly enforce taxi regulation through a national crackdown on illegal taxis.
Public Electric Vehicles: We will carry out a feasibility study to examine the possibility of replacing most government vehicles with electric vehicles.
21.2 Ministerial Transport
Ministerial Cars: We will end the automatic entitlement to a State car for every Government Minister.
Ministers will be encouraged to take public transport or use a personal car where appropriate.
We will also introduce a car pooling system for Office Holders, where cars are available at short notice with securitycleared drivers for Ministers.
We will halve the cost of the existing provision of ministerial transport.
Government Jet: We will introduce a new code of practice for the use of the government jet, ensuring transparent and cost effective travel.
To stamp out any abuse, cheaper commercial alternatives must be taken when possible and permission to use the jet will require sanction from the Taoiseach’s department.
21.3 Roads
Roads: We will adopt a road funding programme that is funded by the public purse and Public Private Partnerships.
We will ensure that future PPP projects are designed better to ensure an equal risk between the State and private companies on falling traffic numbers.
Road Maintenance: We are committed to reprioritising capital funding to address the widespread deterioration in non-national roads due to recurrent severe weather.
Fine Gael recognises the necessity of providing adequate funding for road maintenance and upgrade.
Adopt a Road Scheme: We will study an ‘Adopt a Road’ scheme that would allow private companies to advertise on national routes in return for contractual agreements to keep sponsored roads litter free and in good condition.
The result will be better kept national roads and savings for the local authorities.
Motorway Rest Areas: We will ensure that motorway rest areas are built on all motorways.
We will immediately seek private sector investment to design, build and operate these rest areas.
Regulation of Private Clamping: We have introduced legislation to the Dáil to regulate the vehicle clamping industry.
In Government, we will pass new legislation to protect the motorist and regulate the industry.
Incentives for Electric Vehicles: We will proactively incentivise consumers to switch to low emission transport by providing an ambitious roll out of electric transport charging points and free parking for electric vehicles.
We will invite companies from the private and public sector to roll out these charging points.
Biogas as a Fuel Source: We will apply international best practice to put in place a biogas and biofuel plan for the transport sector.
21.4 Road Safety
Mandatory Alcohol Testing: We will legislate for the introduction of mandatory alcohol testing at the scene of an accident very shortly after entering government.
Drug Driving: We will work with the Road Safety Authority to introduce the most up to date technology to test for drug driving.
There must be a serious deterrent to combat the increasing prevalence for driving under the influence of drugs.
Speed: We plan a complete review and overhaul of speed limit zones and signage across the country.
We will work with the RSA to develop “off road” driver learning centres to accommodate driver training in a safe and controlled setting.
We will require local authorities to target accident black spots for prioritised upgrade.
We will also ensure the increased use of speed cameras, specifically in accident black spots.
21.5 Cyclists and Pedestrians
Rewarding Successful Programmes: We recognise the success of the National Cycle Policy Framework and the Dublin Bikes initiative.
We will continue to invest in these programmes.
Prioritise Cyclists and Pedestrians: We will ensure that cyclists and pedestrians have priority over road traffic in built up areas and central business districts, thus further encouraging low carbon travel.
Safe Cycling: We realise the need to redesign cycle-ways to improve the safety and priority of cyclists as set out in our local government reform document.
21.6 Aviation
Airport Charges: Fine Gael will work with the Aviation Regulator to cut airport charges in order to deliver increased routes, airlines and passenger numbers.
We will ensure that the Dublin Airport Authority is exposed to benchmarking and competition within its sector.
We will allow Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports operate independently.
Regional Airports: We continue to support the role of our regional airports in a pro-active regional development strategy.
Travel Tax: International access is vital to Irish economic recovery.
That is why Fine Gael will abolish the €3 travel tax subject to a deal being agreed with Ryanair and Aer Lingus to re-open closed routes and bring more tourists into Ireland.
If no deal can be done, there will be no reduction in the tax.
Air Traffic Controllers: As an island nation, Air Traffic Controllers provide an essential service to the Irish economy.
We will legislate to ensure any ATC grievances must first be taken to the Labour Relations Commission and then Labour Court before any industrial action can take place.
Section  1 Reviving  the economy  and Restoring  the Public  Finances
Reviving The Economy And Restoring The Public Finances
Despite the crisis, the irish economy has enduring strengths.
these have survived the downturn and give this country a good platform for our recovery:
A young, well-educated workforce
Favourable demographics
High quality physical infrastructure
An open economy with a strong high-technology exporting base
A pro-enterprise environment
A highly flexible economy
the aim of every action Fianna Fáil has taken in government over the last three years has been to return our country to the path of sustainable economic growth in which jobs can be created and protected.
The decisions we have taken have  been difficult.
But they have been the right decisions for our citizens.
the latest economic data prove this.
Last month’s exchequer returns show tax revenues have stabilised and public spending is under control.
Conditions in the labour market are also beginning to stabilise.
Last month, the Live Register fell by nearly 7,000 and is down 11,000 since its peak in august.
over 90,000 new jobs will be created during the lifetime of the National Recovery Plan.
The labour  market reforms contained in the Plan will assist job creation and will guard against  the scourge of endemic long-term unemployment.
it is important to recall that there are still 1.86 million working in ireland, up from 1.5 million in 1998.
Public Finances
Faced with the rapid deterioration in our public finances, Fianna Fáil took swift and decisive action.
We have worked continuously to bring our budgetary position under control.
In six separate budgetary adjustments since July 2008 including  the last Budget, we have made savings and raised revenue to the value of over €20 billion.
We successfully stabilised the deficit in 2010 and as a result of the decisions we took in the budget, it will come in below 10% of GDP in 2011.
Current Outlook
Our National Recovery Plan spells out in detail the measures we will take in government over the next four years to return our public finances to a sustainable position.
With savings of just over €20 billion, we are already two thirds of the way through the overall adjustment of €30 billion required to bring our deficit down below 3% of GDP by 2014.
We continue to provide substantial resources for public services.
this year we will spend €20.1 billion on social welfare;
€14.1 billion on health;
and €9.2 billion on education.
over the lifetime of the Plan, current spending will be brought back to 2007 levels.
We have sought to protect essential services while making savings by reducing staff numbers and pay costs.
the public service pay bill has been reduced by €1.8 billion since 2009.
the national Recovery Plan commits us to bringing the overall figure down to €14.7 billion by 2014.
Public service staff numbers will be brought back to 2005 levels.
savings have also been achieved in administrative costs and in the area of procurement.
the reduction in numbers over the last two years has resulted in increased productivity.
the reductions in numbers set out in the national Recovery Plan will require further significant improvements in performance and service delivery across all parts of the public service.
Fianna Fáil will continue to work with public servants to ensure that the reforms necessary to achieve the targets in the Plan are achieved.
that is the only way in which we can build a sustainable public service for our citizens.
Composition of Expenditure Savings 2011 -2014
our approach to spending reductions has been balanced and has been guided by the need to protect our long term economic interest.
For that reason, we have prioritised investment in education
and we have ensured that the reductions that have been achieved in this area do not impact on frontline services.
the numbers employed in education will increase over the period of the Plan by nearly 2,500 to meet demographic needs.
there will be no reduction in the number of special needs assistants in our schools over the period of the Plan: it will be capped at 2011 levels.
Capital Spending
Spending on public investment projects increased substantially between 1997 and  2008.
this investment has transformed the quality of our national road network, our public transport system,
and our education and
health infrastructure
as well as our national sport and cultural facilities.
Capital spending will be progressively reduced over the period of the Plan but the level of investment still compares favourably internationally and is in line with average government investment as a proportion of national income in the oeCD.
the reduction is also mitigated by the greater value the state is now getting for the taxpayer in public capital projects.
The NPRF will also increase its level of investment in public infrastructure projects  that provide a return to the fund.
Capital Investments as a % of GDP
Taxation
We cannot tax our way out of a recession,
as the Labour Party and sinn Féin are proposing to do.
But we must have a tax system that will raise the revenue we need to pay for essential public services without hindering economic development.
it was simply not sustainable that 45% of income earners paid no tax.
Under our Plan, two thirds of the money we need to bridge the gap in our public finances will come from savings in public spending.
the remaining one third will be raised in taxation.
all taxpayers will contribute according to their means.
those who have most will pay the most and no group will be sheltered.
Main Revenue Increases over the Period of the Plan
the bulk of the income tax increases we have proposed under the national Recovery Plan have now been introduced.
any further tax increases over the next four years will largely be in the area of indirect taxation and by means of the closing of tax breaks and will be broadly based.
our economic recovery will be driven by high valued-added businesses in highend manufacturing and services.
High income taxes will kill off prospects for growth in these crucial sectors.
We know from our history that punitive taxes drive out investment and stifle employment.
The tax changes contained in our plan will  broaden the base by bringing more taxpayers into the tax net and by abolishing or curtailing the tax exemptions and reliefs used by higher earners to reduce their tax bill.
these changes will bring us back to an income tax structure last seen in 2006.
a fundamental principle of our plan is to continue to protect the most vulnerable.
analysis by the esRi shows that the budgetary measures introduced over the past 2½ years have been progressive and have distributed the burden fairly.
We have significantly increased the state pension over the past ten years and
it is our view that the security this has brought to older people should be preserved.
our commitment is to achieve the further savings needed in social welfare spending through reform of the system and enhanced control measures.
Achieving Economic Growth
the repair of our public finances will enable us to win back the confidence of business and consumers in our economy.
But we must also have a strategy for growth.
as a small open trading nation, the only path to sustainable recovery is through export-led growth.
The Irish economy enjoyed strong export-driven growth as  recently as the 1990s.
We can do so again.
the consumption and construction fuelled boom of the last decade put upward pressure on our cost structures and undermined our competitiveness.
as a result, we lost market share in international trade.
the steps we have taken since 2008 have resulted in a marked improvement in our competitiveness.
ireland is the only eU member state in which the level of consumer prices has fallen in recent years.
Wages have been reduced.
energy and other utility costs have fallen.
the european Commission forecasts that by 2012, ireland’s competitiveness will have improved by 14%.
This downward adjustment of our cost base together with the recovery in the  global economy is producing a strong, broadly-based revival in our exports.
our exports are now at their highest level ever.
Recent data show that our manufacturing sector is growing at its fastest rate in 11 years.
Both the multinational sector and indigenous exporters are winning increased market share abroad.
many export businesses, in sectors ranging from agri-food and agriculture to computer software, healthcare and financial services, will create new jobs this year and next year to meet rising demand.
Irish operations  of multinational companies are successfully competing for new investment in this country:
Last year was the best year since 2006 for new foreign direct investment into ireland.
the success of our export sectors is proof that Fianna Fáil’s policies to return the economy to export-led growth are working.
we must continue to drive down the cost of doing business;
we must continue to invest in education and skills;
public investment in key infrastructure projects must be maintained;
and we must continue to encourage businesses to innovate to compete.
export growth will in turn boost consumer spending and investment.
this will create new jobs in hard-hit sectors such as retailing, hospitality and construction.
the new minimum wage and the reform of employment agreements are crucial to the revival of these key jobs-rich sectors of the economy.
Our National Recovery  Plan shows in detail how we will deliver on these promises and grow employment.
We have protected investment in employment by increasing the budget allocations for the iDa and enterprise ireland.
enterprise capital expenditure will rise from 10.8% to 15.9% over the period of the Plan.
this investment will support job creation in world class, export oriented enterprises.
Infrastructural investment has been focussed on employment rich projects such  as the national retrofit programme and in water services which will provide employment in the construction sector.
in government, Fianna Fáil will:
Reduce energy, waste, rental costs and local authority charges for businesses.
Make next generation broadband available to more businesses.
Boost key labour-intensive domestic sectors such as agriculture, agri-food,  tourism, retail and construction.
Mortgage Arrears
Fianna Fáil is aware that people are worried about their mortgages.
the party is very conscious of the high value placed on home ownership in ireland and in particular of the efforts irish people make to secure and retain their own home.
Fianna Fáil policy is that home owners who lose their jobs should be assisted to  retain their homes during their period of unemployment.
at the request of Fianna Fáil in government a Code of Conduct for mortgage arrears (CCma) was introduced and subsequently this code has been revised by the Central Bank to reflect present economic circumstances.
Banks and other lenders are required to comply with the revised CCma as a matter of law from Jan 1st 2011 but have been given a period of six months’ grace  (from Jan 1st 2011) to deal with administration support issues.
the most significant changes to the Code include the following:
Lenders are prohibited from moving homeowners in arrears off existing  tracker mortgages.
Homeowners in arrears who co-operate with their lenders under a Mortgage  arrears Resolution Process (maRP), which has been put in place in all the regulated institutions, will not incur penalty interest charges;
Harassment of mortgage holders through unsolicited communications has  been outlawed.
Homeowners in financial difficulties, but not in arrears, will be allowed to  have their cases dealt with under the maRP.
The existing 12 month moratorium on legal action in arrears cases is restated  and clarified in the new code.
Qualifying loans taken out in 2012 will receive  the relief at a reduced rate of  15% for first time buyers and 10% for non first time buyers with ceilings of €6000 per annum for married couples and €3000 per annum single people.
The revised CCMA was published on 6 December 2010 and came into effect  on 1 January 2011.
We established an Independent Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Expert  Group to look at the issue of mortgage arrears and how best to assist homeowners in difficulty.
they determined after looking at international best practice the best solution was to introduce a deferred interest scheme (Dis).
a deferred interest scheme (Dis) allows borrowers who can pay at least 66% of their mortgage interest and will provide eligible mortgage holders with an extended period to get back on their feet.
Furthermore under the Dis deferred interest is put into a deferred interest account and no penalties is charged on the interest.
Lenders representing the majority of the market have indicated their  willingness to implement the Dis.
Fianna Fáil will amend the enforcement of court orders act to prohibit the  granting of a court order for the repossession of a primary family residence unless all of the steps above are met to the satisfaction of the court.
While the Dis is voluntary for all lenders, those who have signed up in support of the scheme will be monitored by the Central Bank to ensure compliance.
Fianna Fáil is totally committed to introducing the new laws required:
In the case of the Department of Finance, recommendations on the scope  and the admissibility in Court of the CCma  is being progressed.
Legislative changes to the Mortgage Interest Supplement Scheme will be  introduced in the Department of social Protection.
New regulations and guidance regime will ensure that housing authorities  will disregard the household’s current accommodation for the purposes of determining eligibility for social housing support.
this will involve a new needs assessment process which will allow an earlier trigger point for the social housing needs assessment process to take place where a case has been determined to be unsustainable in the long term, following exploration of all other options.
Bankruptcy legislation must be modernised.
We will introduce a non-judicial debt settlement system so that families can  be protected as much as possible from losing their homes.
it is worth recalling what Fianna Fáil in Government has already done to support those in difficulty with their mortgages.
We have:
Provided financial help to almost 18,000 borrowers, through the Mortgage  interest subsidy scheme
Increased the advisory services provided through the Money Advice  Budgeting services
Introduced the statutory Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears for all  lenders requiring all major banks and lending agencies to protect the home  owner as much as possible
Extended the 6 month moratorium on legal proceedings to 12 months
Refocussed mortgage interest relief on those who bought their homes at  the peak of the market with extensions up to the end of 2017
Established the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Expert Group to  protect home owners and implemented its recommendations
Reduced the rate of stamp duty in Budget 2011 which will facilitate trading  down for some borrowers in difficulty.
Banking System
We have put all political considerations aside to stand behind our banking system through state guarantees, nama and the recapitalisation of individual institutions.
We have revamped our system of banking regulation and have brought in new regulators with proven expertise to make sure that past failings will never be repeated.
every decision we have taken has been guided by the need to maintain a financial system that will serve the needs of the economy.
Without banks we can have no economy.
the eU/imF Programme for the banking system builds upon and intensifies our approach to fixing the banks.
it provides the funding to restructure and recapitalise our banking system so that the banks remain safe places for deposits and can support the economic recovery by lending to creditworthy businesses and households.
the Programme provides for a fundamental downsizing and reorganisation of the banking sector to make it more proportionate to the size of the economy.
When the Programme is complete, irish banks will be capitalised to the highest international standards and be able to return to normal market sources of funding.
the Programme provides €10 billion for immediate additional bank recapitalisation and the remaining €25 billion to be used as a contingency fund, only to be drawn down if needed.
in government, Fianna Fáil will meet this country’s obligations under the eU/imF Programme.
The EU/IMF Programme
Under the Programme, ireland will have access to €50 billion of funds needed to maintain social welfare, the health service, the education system and other services.
€50 billion in new borrowing is the amount that the state will require to finance itself over the next three years, assuming the Government sticks to the targets for reducing the budget deficit that were agreed in the Programme.
We also have access to additional funding that is necessary to resolve the remaining issues in irish banking.
ireland’s average interest rate will be around 5.8% for loans that are on average for 7½ years.
These interest rates were set long before we applied to join the EU/ imF Programme.
the Programme provides these funds at a far lower rate than currently available on the market – if we could get the funds at all.
the rates charged are exactly the same as those for any other country borrowing in similar circumstances – no better or worse.
Despite a series of significant measures taken at european level since the Greek crisis last spring to ensure the euro’s long-term stability, a decisive solution to the euro area debt crisis has not been found.
that is why governments in eU member states have been working together intensely over recent months to redesign the euro area institutions and reconfigure the european bail-out funds.
one issue being discussed as part of these talks is the interest rate charged to any member state that borrows from these funds.
as a borrower, ireland would clearly benefit from a reduction in the rate currently on offer.
Fianna Fáil is continuing to work towards this aim.
Brian Lenihan has successfully worked to get the issue of a reduction in the interest rate onto the agenda and progress is being made at the eU level on this issue.
Governments from the 17 euro area and the 27 eU member states are expected to agree a comprehensive package of reforms to the rescue funds by end-march.
it is obvious that the terms of the eU/imF Programme - from the interest rate on the loans to the issue of defaulting of senior bonds – cannot be renegotiated unilaterally.
Yet during this election debate we have heard the opposition parties talk about “tearing up” the agreement: its either “Frankfurt’s way or Labour’s way” we’ve been told.
such bravado is reckless and dangerous and is bound to prove counterproductive.
the Labour Party are pretending that they can borrow more from the eU/imF than already agreed – yet somehow do so at a lower interest rate.
their plan to stretch out the fiscal adjustment to 2016 and run larger deficits over the next few  years means that €50 billion will not be enough.
it is nonsense to think that our colleagues in europe will reward shirking from our budgetary commitments under the Programme with more favourable borrowing terms.