FAS - Enough of this nonsense. This government must get FAS tackling the jobs crisis

“Plan on internal control at FÁS effectively gave a two-fingered salute to taxpayers" – Byrne SF

 "The Report published today has shown conclusively that the blatant disregard for the plan of internal control at FÁS effectively gave a two-fingered salute to taxpayers in respect of best value for money and the training services provided.

"Following on from the other two reports in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s series on FÁS, today’s report should be the nail in the coffin for corrupt and crony practises that only served to benefit the Directors, the Ministers and senior civil servants.

"The new Board at FÁS have inherited the worst unemployment pandemic this country has ever seen and they cannot afford to be complacent. The actions of their predecessors have left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths and this report magnifies the extent to which FÁS has been corrupted.

"The fact that certification could not be carried out competently by the State’s training and employment authority is an indictment on the former Board of FÁS and the Minister, and reinforces the responsibility of the Board to carry out their functions diligently.

"At a time when there are 426,700 people on the Live Register, when FÁS is needed most, the agency cannot be consumed by anymore scandals. The Minister needs to be proactive rather than reactive and should be in constant dialogue with both the Board of FÁS and indeed the workforce."

AER LINGUS - WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF EUROPE AND TAKE POSITIVE ACTION TO SAVE JOBS

Fergus Byrne, Sinn Féin representative Balbriggan, has expressed his support for Aer Lingus workers in the face of the company’s plans for massive redundancies affecting 676 jobs covering all aspects of its operations.

Fergus Byrne pointed out that once again we are seeing yet another example of panicked and negative thinking on behalf of employers in Ireland. Yes the company, and indeed the country, has severe problems, but simply throwing people onto the dole queues is not the way to tackle them.

Sinn Féin demands that the government take immediate steps to stop any job loses at Aer Lingus and fully supports the workers involved and the demand by their trade union representatives that the threat to their jobs is lifted.

What is needed is for the government to recognise that they can no longer stand aside and allow good jobs to simply disappear. Such inaction by the government creates a viscous circle whereby their refusal to act leads to increased unemployment, this then reduces government tax income and leads to increased social welfare spending, which makes the whole finical crisis in the country worse.

People need to remember that it is not public sector wages that are draining the public finances, but rather having to finance the 400,000 plus people this government has put on the dole queues.

But there is an alternative!

This government was quick enough to jump in and bail out the bankers and property speculators, so now let them help a major employer like Aer lingus get over this difficult period. In Germany and other European economies time limited subsidies are given to struggling companies so that they can keep on their employees. These subsidies help cut the company’s wage bill and it to spend time in upskilling its employees. This is what is needed at Aer Lingus.

The latest world economic figures show many countries are beginning to come out of recession and this will no doubt lead to increased air travel. The present downturn in the industry is therefore expected to be reversed and Aer Lingus needs to be a position to respond quickly to this. If the government takes positive action NOW to maintain jobs in Aer Lingus then the company will have the experienced personnel in place to respond positively to increased consumer demand.

What the people of North Dublin do not want to hear is empty words from local Fianna Fáil or Green Party representatives saying they support the workers and their families. Instead this government needs to show the people of Ireland and North County Dublin that it understands the pain of unemployment and is prepared to do everything in its power to help keep people in jobs.

THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE - but nobody warned us! LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE

Will Fianna Fáil ever stop lying to us?

Fianna fáil are continually trying to blame the disastrous economic situation in this country on unforeseeable world economic circumstances and in no way is Fianna Fáil, Blessed Bertie or Biffo to blame for what the nasty big world has done to Ireland. However, the fact that our economy was being run in a reckless, criminal manner was foreseen by one party, Sinn Féin. We saw the crazy government fuelled property boom for what it was and we called on the government, and other parties, to take action. We called for an end to tax and PRSI cuts because the policy was economic madness. Weere we listened to? No!

Sinn Féin repeatedly tackled government Ministers regarding their failure to take any measures to stop the escalation of house prices. We questioned government Ministers regarding the development of a property bubble and we regularly and consistently warned the Government that the reliance on property and consumption taxes could not be sustained and that the tax base needed to be broadened.

We called for the ending of tax breaks which were fuelling the property bubble and for the introduction of a tax on second homes to curb growing house prices which were seeing investors price first time buyers out of the market. We opposed the cutting of capital gains tax on the basis that it would fuel the property bubble and make it more profitable to speculate in property than to run a business.

Our record is clear, Sinn Féin opposed proposals by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour in advance of the 2007 election to cut taxes on the basis that taxes had already been cut to unsustainable levels and we opposed proposals to cut PRSI on the same basis. Any examination of Sinn Féin’s record in the Dáil from 2002 - 2007 in particular will verify these facts. All of our TDs are on record raising these points on numerous occasions.

Unfortunately, rather than consider or even listen to our views, we were described as economic illiterates and disregarded. We now see the consequences of that attitude in the extent of the economic recession

Now once again they are asking us to believe their lies. They claim NAMA is the only way to solve the banking crisis. They say that cuts to public expenditure are unavoidable and the recommendations of An Bord Snip and the Taxation Commission are the only way forward.

The fact is that Fianna Fáil has neither the mandate nor the moral authority to implement NAMA, the McCarthy report or the Commission on Taxation report. They cannot be trusted, nor do they have the competency, to steer this economy in the right direction and a general election should be called immediately.

We in Sinn Féin believe that the economic crisis created by Fianna Fáil must be tackled, but that those who can afford to pay must be asked to pay the most. Those who are either unemployed, ill, in full time education, have special needs, are raising families on modest incomes etc, these people should not be asked to suffer for the failures of Bertie, the property speculators, the greedy bankers and the super rich. No those that can afford to pay should help us through this crisis.

NEW SINN FÉIN BALBRIGGAN JOBS LEAFLET.

Fergus Byrne

Standing up For Jobs in

Balbriggan

Unemployment is 388,000

Up by over 188,000 in one year.

Predicted to go over half a million

So, what is the government doing?

NOTHING!!!!!

What are their policies to protect jobs?

What are their policies to create jobs?

What are the policies to retrain people?

In the past ten years the government had the chance to build a better Ireland for all of us. We could have built a proper health system, new schools, communities with real facilities and a country that was ready for the economic downturn that would inevitably come.

But what did Fianna Fáil do?

They listened to the greed of the bankers,property developers and the get rich quick brigade.

At the last election Sinn Féin warned of the dangers of the creation of the property bubble. We pointed out the growing gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. And most of all we said there was a complete failure to run the economy in the long term interests of the Irish people.

Sinn Féin was right on these matters and Sinn Féin knows what is needed now. Unemployment MUST be at the very centre of government policy. We need to get Ireland back to work.

'Getting Ireland back to work

Time for Action'

Sinn Féin's key Employment Proposals

Let's build the schools and infrastructure that we need now!!! Create 1,000's of jobs by the fast tracking of the much needed school building programme, expansion of the national home insulation programme, broadband rollout etc. This work needs to be done - So let's do it now!

Help businesses keep people working! Follow the German example of establishing a job retention fund to subsidise workers in viable small and medium businesses. This fund will be time limited and used to help keep people working and training. Remember it costs over €20,000 to keep a person on the dole, so let's spend the money to keep people working?

Fast track business start-ups! We are bailing out the banks, so let's demand they work closely with our current job creation agencies. One-stop enterprise business points should be set up that would bring together funding, expertise and advice for entrepreneurs who want to start
new businesses and create jobs.

Develop our green energy and alternative technologies - We have thewind, we have the waves, so let's set up an agency whose aim is to have Ireland lead the way in green energy. These are the jobs of the future, let's go and get them!

Retrain people in the skills we need. FÁS, the VECs and third level institutions have a combined budget of almost €4billion. They need to have a joined up approach to ensure that we are training people for sectors that will provide jobs in the coming decade.

These and over 70 other proposals are contained in the Sinn Féin document'Getting Ireland back to work - Time for Action'