Fianna Fáil TD for Longford – Westmeath Robert Troy has called on the Government to set out a timeframe for addressing the inequalities in the State pension, which are negatively impacting on women.

Fianna Fáil brought forward a private members motion to highlight the issue. It’s hoping the motion can be used as a roadmap by the Government to create a fairer system.

Deputy Troy explained, “The current pension system puts women at a severe disadvantage. Anyone who took time out from the workforce for caring and childminding duties is penalised. The situation was further exacerbated by the disastrous changes introduced by Fine Gael and Labour in 2012. I have raised this issue on a number of occasions in the Dáil and have highlighted the need for Government action to address the problem.

“Of the 36,000 people affected by these changes, 62% are women. Even the Minister for Finance described this situation as ‘bonkers’ and ‘unbelievable’, whilst Joan Burton the then Tánaiste and Minister responsible for introducing the 2012 changes has said she ‘regrets’ them.

“I have been long calling for this disastrous situation to be addressed. The inequities have resulted in tens of thousands of people losing out on their full pension entitlements – with around 23,000 women impacted. The Government must begin correcting these anomalies to ensure equal treatment of men and women.

“It’s disappointing that the Government has allowed this issue to continue for so long and it is imperative that it is tackled. I would like to see Ministers outline a plan which would allow for the anomaly to be addressed on an incremental basis, reflecting the finances available to the State.

“The State has a roll to play to leading the way in ending gender discrimination in this country. It needs to start with this glaringly obvious problem that is affecting so many of our citizens,” concluded Deputy Troy.

“There has been a lot of disquiet among farm families since Budget 2018 was announced last week and the decision to increase Stamp Duty on farmland sales from 2% to 6% overnight.

“This decision has caused serious concern in farming circles, and Fianna Fáil, conscious of the need to protect family farms, has engaged with Minister Donohoe to secure a waiving of the 67 year old upper limit for the next three years to allow older generations of farmers transfer their land at a reduced Stamp Duty rate.

“If the 6% rate had been implemented, it may have caused many farmers to reconsider whether it was advantageous for them to transfer to the next generation of farmers in their family.

“This could have had very serious repercussions for the Irish farming industry. A lot of work has taken place over the past five years to entice older farmers to transfer their land to their sons and daughters.

“The Budget 2018 proposals, as first announced, would have stalled this good work.

“Fianna Fáil saw the problem, and worked to secure a waiver to allow farmers transferring land to members of their own family obtain the 1% Stamp Duty waiver.

“This waiver will only last for three years so it is important that those considering transferring land start the process sooner rather than later to ensure that they avail of the 1% rate,” concluded Troy

In a statement earlier today, the Olympic Council of Ireland confirmed that they have terminated their contracts with ticketing company THG in relation to the 2018-2026 Olympic Games.

Commenting on the news, Deputy Troy said, “I very much welcome confirmation that these contracts have been appropriately severed, this is in the interest of all involved in what has been a long debacle since the summer of 2016.

“The allegations of impropriety on behalf of THG Sports, Pro10 and members of the OCI caused huge embarrassment for Ireland on the global stage and Irish sport, in particular.

“Emphasis must now be rightfully focused on overcoming the reputational damage that was inflicted upon the organisation.

“Therefore, it is time for Minister Shane Ross to reinstate Government funding to the Olympic Council to ensure that athletes are adequately supported to allow them excel in their given sport and not further penalised for something that was not of their making.

“Today’s decision demonstrates that new officers employed in the OCI, under the leadership of Sarah Keane, are serious about overhauling structures and practicing good corporate governance.

Troy concluded, “Now that these contracts have been terminated, the Government needs to support the OCI in overcoming the issues raised throughout the investigation into the matter and specified in the Moran Report.”

Deputy Troy made the comments following a week of disruption to services in Cavan, Meath, Westmeath, Monaghan and Kildare.

“Thousands of passengers have been left without a reliable bus service over the last week in large parts of the country. Passengers have reported that many Bus Éireann services have been running severely behind schedule. In many instances buses have simply failed to show up entirely,” said Deputy Troy.

“This issue seems to arise as a result of changes to rostering arrangements at the company alongside alternations to some existing services. Workers have reported that they were not adequately consulted in the lead up to the changes and this has led to a great deal of uncertainty which in turn has led to the current disruption.

“I met with management at Bus Éireann yesterday and stressed the need for this issue to be resolved without delay. The current disruption is undermining people’s confidence in Bus Éireann services. The workers have a pivotal role to play in overcoming the service problems that the company is currently experiencing and I believe with the right consultation this will be achieved.

“I believe a monitoring committee should be put in place to oversee the implementation of the new rosters. This committee should be made up of representatives from workers and management and its members should be tasked with ironing out any issues that have arisen as a result of the changes. The committee should focus on restoring the reliability of services while respecting the rights of workers,” concluded Deputy Troy.

Deputy Troy made the comments after officials at SIPTU and the NBRU confirmed that they would ballot the 4,000 strong workforce at Irish Rail for strike action.

Deputy Troy said, “Minister Ross has known about the profound difficulties facing Irish Rail since taking office over a year ago. However he has failed to take any steps to help pave a sustainable way forward for the company. Fianna Fáil published extensive proposals last March aimed at addressing the financial difficulties facing Irish Rail. It’s disappointing that Minister Ross is yet to come forward with his own proposals to overcome the problems facing our national rail operator.

“It’s deeply disappointing that this situation has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that strike action is now on the cards. This will cause significant hardship for those that rely on Irish Rail services. It will also heighten the financial difficulties facing the company and will result in a significant loss of earnings for workers. Every effort must be made to avoid this situation from arising.

“Minister Ross needs to get his act together and move to resolve this situation. He previously committed to establishing a stakeholder forum to help identify solutions to overcome the problems facing Irish Rail but there has been absolutely no movement on this to date. He also needs to publish the outcome of the rail review process and demonstrate to workers and management that he is committed to securing the future of Irish Rail.

“Minister Ross’s tenure in office has been mired by significant disruption to public transport services. Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and LUAS services were all impacted by damaging industrial action which the Minister chose to ignore. The same fate is now facing Irish Rail services,” concluded Deputy Troy.

Deputy Troy urged Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary to accept an invitation extended to him to address the Oireachtas Transport Committee next week.

Deputy Troy said, “The news that Ryanair is to cancel an additional 400,000 bookings in the coming months is extremely worrying. This comes on top of the 400,000 bookings between September and October which were cancelled at short notice. Ryanair has made a tremendous contribution to the aviation industry down through the years, but it’s disappointing that passengers have been left discommoded as a result of the current rostering difficulties facing the company.

“Ryanair have committed to ensuring all passengers affected by the cancellations are adequately compensated. The Commission for Aviation Regulation needs to ensure that Ryanair follows through on this commitment. People cannot be left out of pocket as a result of cancellations which are outside of their control.

“It’s worrying that Ryanair has announced these additional cancellations considering it’s CEO Michael O’Leary stated at a press conference last week that it was on top of the situation and that further disruption was unlikely. People are understandably concerned that further cancellations could be on the way considering the manner in which Ryanair have handled this issue to date.

“I urge Michael O’Leary to take up the invitation that has been issued to him to attend the Oireachtas Transport Committee. While he is under no obligation to attend the committee, it would nonetheless be the right thing to do. Ryanair passengers want assurances that this issue is being dealt with appropriately and the Oireachtas Transport Committee offers Mr O’Leary a forum in which to address these concerns.”

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport Robert Troy TD has criticised Minister Shane Ross for his failure to commit to delivering a second runway at Dublin Airport by the first quarter of 2020.

Deputy Troy made the comments after raising the issue with Minister Ross in the Dáil. Minister Ross was unable to confirm that the Irish Aviation Authority would be designated as the competent agency to deal with noise regulation.

Deputy Troy said, “The aviation sector is key for supporting a small open economy such as Ireland. Securing connectivity is vital for attracting inward investment and ensuring continued job creation. In order to achieve this we need to have sufficient infrastructure in place and ensure our airports have room to expand their operations in the years ahead.

“It has been well flagged that Dublin Airport is experiencing capacity issues at peak travel times due to the congested nature of its runway. The single runway at the airport is expected to shortly reach full capacity and a second runway is needed to allow the airport to expand in the years ahead. Minister Ross previously committed to delivering a second runway by the first quarter of 2020, but his progress on this issue to date has been woeful.

“The construction of a second runway cannot get underway until Minister Ross designates a competent authority to deal with noise regulation at Dublin Airport. Minister Ross has known about this requirement since taking office but to date he has failed to deal with the issue.

“I raised this issue with the Minister in the Dáil in November 2016. At the time I asked him to set a timeframe for putting the IAA on a statutory basis. At the time Minister Ross specifically stated that “if this is done by way of a statutory instrument, it will all be over by Christmas. If primary legislation is by any chance necessary, it will be done very early in the new year.”

“It’s nearly a year since Minister Ross made this statement in the Dáil yet we are still waiting for him to deal with this issue. The delay is inexcusable and is bordering on incompetence. The failure to deal with this issue is putting the timeline for the delivery of a second runway at risk. This in turn is putting the economic development of the entire country at risk. It’s time for Minister Ross to get his act together and designate a competent authority to deal with noise regulation,” concluded Deputy Troy.

“I’m really very disappointed in the manner in which this decision has been carried out and communicated to passengers.

“Passengers intending to travel today or over the weekend weren’t given any warning to allow them make alternative arrangements.

“I do feel that Ryanair have failed in their duty of care to their customers.

“I am calling on Ryanair to publish this weekend all planned flight cancellations for the period in which this policy will be in force and to streamline their refunds procedure to ensure that discommoded customers do not have to wait for their money any longer than is absolutely necessary,” concluded Troy.

Members of the Mullingar community, including business leaders, employees and other key stakeholders, will have the opportunity to submit their ideas on the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs at a special forum organised by local Fianna Fáil TD, Robert Troy on Tuesday, 19^th September in the Greville Arms Hotel at 7.30pm. 

The public meeting will be chaired by Senator Padraic Ó Ceidigh, a founder of Aer Arann and one of Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs. 

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Deputy Troy added: 

“This is a great opportunity for everyone in the Mullingar area to give their opinion on the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs. 

“I have my own opinions on the problems with this Action Plan, but it’s important that we hear everyone’s views on the plan to ensure that sensible, proactive plans are put in place to improve employment opportunities for towns in regional Ireland such as Mullingar and Athlone.

“I am urging all those with ideas and opinions on how to kick-start the regional economy to come along on the night and ensure that they are heard,” concluded Troy.