Joan

The dramatic recovery in the public finances means the Government can now makeplans for long-term investment in education and roads as well as income taxconcessions.

We are seeing a strong recovery in consumer confidence, strong export figures, andimproved prospects for the tourism industry.

Without a doubt there is a boost in consumer confidence. For everybody who has beenat work – taken tax hikes, taken pay cuts – it’s possible now to see a route to restoration.

The latest employment figures confirm the optimistic picture of Ireland’s recovery.Employment is rising rapidly and unemployment is falling. 3,300 jobs are now beingcreated every month.

Unemployment has fallen month by month and is now just above 10%. We can beconfident that it will fall into single digits before long.

The Live Register for the Blanchardstown area has fallen by 13.6% inFebruary compared to the same month last year, while the NavanRoad area saw a drop of 10.4%.

We can now fix our minds on how we can build the recovery.

There are more resources available now, and Ireland is also now able to borrow fundsinternationally at very low interest rates.

It will be exceptionally tricky in every sense to keep the recovery on track. There is a pentup demand among people who have endured a lot through job losses, emigration, highercharges and taxes.

In my view, we should use these funds in a way that secures the future by sensibleinvestment in housing, water services, broadband, and to improve education andtraining.

IRELAND AT WORK AGAINBURTONTD

Spring 2015

Progress Report on School Projects:I have devoted immense effort and time as a TD for Dublin West and Minister to secureapproval for new schools and refurbishment of existing schools to meet the needs of agrowing population in Dublin West. I am pleased to report this month on further progressas set out in the list below.

Hansfield Educate Together:

New 1,000 pupil school.

Gealscoil an Chuilinn Tyrellstown:

New 16 classroom school, along with 7 special needs classrooms.

Powerstown Educate Together:

New 16 classroom school, along with special needs classrooms and 2 ASD classrooms.

Saint Mochta’s Clonsilla:

New 32 classroom school on the existing site, with the retention of the ‘White School’.The designs for the new school have recently been submitted to Fingal County Councilas part of the planning process.

Ashtown:

A new Educate Together school is to be established in the Pelletstown / Ashtown area,opening in September 2015.

St Patrick's Corduff:

The Building project at St Patricks, once complete, will provide a new 20 classroomJunior School and a 16 classroom Senior School on the existing school site. Thisproject is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School:

Hansfield turned the sod on a new Educate Together secondary school. The schoolopened in interim accommodation in September 2014, and work commenced on anew three storey school building in November.

Le Cheile Secondary School Tyrellstown:

New 1000 pupil school. The school opened in interim accommodation in September2014.

Castleknock Community College:

10 classroom extension plus new Sport Hall to provide accommodation for 1100pupils. Building project at planning stage. Project to provide additionalaccommodation to cater for 1,000 pupils and a Fingal Co Council community facility.

Luttrellstown Community College:

The building project for Luttrellstown Community College is currently at the Stage 2Aarchitectural planning stage. This project will provide the balance of accommodationto cater for 1,000 pupils and a Fingal Co Council Community Facility.

Hartstown Community School:

This project is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. Funding hasbeen provided for 8 classrooms.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

A new round of sports capital funding worth €40millionhas been announced, to enable sporting organisations toupgrade their facilities and equipments. I wouldencourage local clubs and organisations to register forfunding before Friday, 10th April by going online towww.sportscapitalprogramme.ie

Working withyour localLabour Team

Cllr. Mary McCamleyMulhuddart AreaMobile: 087 6501441 marymccamley@gmail.com

Cllr. Brendan CarrCabra/Finglas AreaMobile: 087 207 5921brendan.carr@dublincity.ie

0612

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Leinster House, Dublin 2Phone: 01 618 4006

Email: joan.burton@oireachtas.iewww.joanburton.ie

JoanBurton TD

SPORTS CAPITAL GRANTS

Turning the sod at Hansfield Educate Together secondary school

Big Boost for Apprentices:Many large companies have now started to recruit apprentices for the first time in years.First up was Irish Rail to be followed quickly by both Eircom. And only recently, the ESBannounced it is to recruit 300 apprentices over the next five years.

This is a genuine breakthrough which will bring huge benefits to young jobseekers.

I want to see an expanded and enhanced role for apprenticeships. For too long,apprenticeships have been undervalued. In Government we’re busy promoting their valueto industry, particularly in areas such as the food and drink industry, medical devices andfinancial services, which are actively considering the potential of new apprenticeships.We’ve announced a new Apprenticeships Council to put this issue at the heart of our plansin Government.

This is the best route to higher pay levels. Skills can command much higher pay rates as theeconomy grows and employers start to hire again.

I want the new jobs being created to be higher up the value chain commanding higherincomes. For more information see: www.fas.ie/en/Training/Apprenticeships

The agreement between Fianna Fail and the Troika indicated that thebudget for 2015 would require €11.4 billion to service Ireland’snational debt.

Labour in Government has reduced this burden by as much as €4billion for this year.

Did You Know?

BACK TO WORK FAMILY DIVIDEND

I have introduced a Back to Work Family Dividend which is now takingapplications.

This enables jobseekers returning to work to hold on the element of thewelfare payment they receive for their children – roughly €30 a week foreach child. This is in addition to any other family supplements the familymay have.

It’s a very valuable new support, because it means that, over two years,families will receive the following additional payments:

Did You Know?

IBM

40 jobs in the location of a new Software Operations Service Centre in Damastown.

Bristol Myers

400 New Pharma jobs and 600 Construction jobs in major new bio-medicalmanufacturing facility.

Guidewire

Up to 80 new IT jobs in Blanchardstown Corporate Park.

MORE GOOD NEWS ON JOBS FRONT

New Primary Health Care Centres

You might have spotted a new building on the Navan Road, beside the Deaf Centre. It’s thenew Primary Care Centre, which will provide a wide range of medical services for residentsof Navan Road, Ashtown and Pelletstown.

This follows on from the brand new centre that was opened in Blanchardstown last year atGrove Road.

Both centres offer a range of services including public health nursing, physiotherapy, andspeech and language therapy.

The Community Mental Health Team will also be located at these centres, made up of asocial worker, psychologist, community psychiatric nurses and occupational therapists.

These new centres, along with another planned for Corduff, will offer local residents easyaccess to a wide range of social and health care services in one location.

Contact Blanchardstown Primary Care Services: 01 8297233

Paternity leave: Good News for Irish DadsAs Labour Party Leader I have pledged to introduce paid paternity leave of two weeks, shouldthe public finance position continue to improve.

Ireland is in a minority of Western countries in not having mandatory paid paternity leave.

All evidence suggests that paternity leave has many benefits for fathers as well as themother and the young baby.

By the end of this year, we'll set out the steps that will enable us to introduce two weeks'paid paternity leave, so that new mums and dads can both afford to spend precious timewith their new baby.

Low Pay Commission Begins WorkThe new Low Commission has begun its review of Ireland’s minimum wage and is expected todeliver its first verdict by mid- July.

This is the next step in the Labour Party’s efforts to reward work and bring greater fairness forlow paid workers as the economic recovery takes hold.

Having a job is the best protector against poverty. And fair wages and conditions are essentialto that.

Recent US experience has shown that paying workers better leads to better morale andhigher productivity.

So it can be a win –win for both employers and workers.

Number of children Additional payment

One child More than €2,300

Two children More than €4,600

Three children Almost €7,000

Meeting with the Breakfast Club in St. Philip the Apostle National School, Mountview

With graduates of the Feeding Ireland’s Future programme in Ballycoolin With pupils from St. Brigid’s National School, Castleknock marking its 150th anniversary