30 July 2008
Boyle backs SIPO call to clean up politics – Greens ask other parties to support reforms
The Green Party has welcomed proposed changes to legislation governing politicians and political parties as set out in the annual report of the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO). Green Party Chairperson and Finance Spokesperson Senator Dan Boyle said he expected movement on many of the proposals following the completion in August of a report into establishing an electoral commission, and he asked other political parties to support progressive reform of political funding and disclosure rules.
The Deputy Leader of the Seanad said: "Creating a democratic and transparent political system is a central Green Party policy. With local and European elections less than a year away the time is right to introduce spending limits and to extend the period during which the SIPO monitors spending. Together with upcoming changes to postering rules as announced last week, the electoral process and politics in general would be greatly enhanced as a result of progressive reforms.
"The Programme for Government commits to the establishment of an independent electoral commission to oversee electoral administration, ethics and funding for political parties. In May my party colleague Minister Gormley appointed consultants – led by Professor Richard Sinnott of UCD – to carry out research into the establishment of the commission, and I look forward to reading their report when it is published next month.
"The electoral commission will be responsible for electoral administration and oversight, implementing modern and efficient electoral practices, compiling a new national rolling electoral register, and taking over the functions of the SIPO relating to electoral spending, and the issue of financing the political system. Given Labour's previous announcements in this area, we anticipate good cross-party cooperation when the commission is established and sets about its work.
"Increasingly we are seeing huge amounts of spending during election time and it is important that there is an accurate system of accountability. SIPO reports that political parties spent over €11m on last year's general election yet only €1.12m was declared in donations. As a member of a Party that refuses to accept corporate donations I think it is only fair that other parties – and indeed special interest groups like Libertas – should be expected to at least disclose the sources of their funding.
"Monitoring election spending prior to the officially recognised three week campaign period is something that the Green Party has long called for. In advance of this period, all of the other business-funded political parties go on spending sprees and get rid of as much money as possible before the SIPO is legally permitted to monitor their expenditure. The current system makes a mockery of the purpose of election monitoring – as international organisations like the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe have pointed out.
"I welcome SIPO's annual report and – as a result of the Green Party being in Government – look forward to many of its proposals being implemented," Senator Boyle concluded.
July 28th
Combat Poverty Agency Does Valuable Work - Should Be Allowed To Develop, Says Boyle.
Green Party spokesperson on Social and Family Affairs, Senator Dan Boyle, has called for a decision to be reached on the future of the Combat Poverty Agency, after the completion of the review that has been undertaken into the activities of the Agency.
"I believe that the Agency has done valuable work that has helped inform anti-poverty policies. At a time when resources are becoming more tight this is work which I believe will become even more necessary in the years to come," he claimed.
"The uncertainty that exists as the Agency awaits its fate should be brought to a close. The Agency performs an important role and should be allowed to develop to be able to perform even more important tasks," he concluded.
23 July 2008
Boyle welcomes open consultation on Haulbowline
Green Party Senator Dan Boyle has welcomed a meeting today at the Department of the Environment's headquarters between public representatives from the Cork Harbour area and the consultancy firm White, Young, Green, employed by the Department to assess what current risk exists at the former steelworks site at Haulbowline.
"After decades of neglect and silence I am glad that a more open approach is now being taken. It is important that information is made widely available so public confidence can be restored."
18 July 2008
NESC report deserves proper consideration
Green Party Finance spokesperson Senator Dan Boyle has welcomed a report on the Irish Economy in the 21st Century published by the National Economic and Socail Council (NESC) today.
Senator Boyle, a former member of NESC, said: "The NESC is an important advisory body for the Government and its views must always be given serious consideration. Some of what is being proposed in this report would cause obvious political difficulties but in the context of the ongoing work of the Commission on Taxation, it is important that this debate is held.
"The Commission on Taxation has an important job of work to do to ensure that while overall taxation isn't increased, recommendations can be made to ensure that all taxes are equitable and are fairly distributed amongst the population according to ability to pay."
15 July 2008
Reduce employers' PRSI, not minimum wage says Boyle
Green Party Finance spokesperson Senator Dan Boyle has criticised the call by the Small Firms Association to reduce the minimum wage by €1 an hour to ease competitive pressures on small business.
Senator Boyle said: "Reducing the wages of the least paid in our society is not a response to the current economic downturn. While recognising that small businesses are under increasing pressure in terms of their costs we need to be considering different and more imaginative measures to deal with these problems
"The Green Party has long proposed that in the context of overall tax reform we should be aiming towards reductions in employers' PRSI, thereby increasing incentives for businesses to employ people. This is the type of measure that should be given strong consideration in the upcoming budget."
July 9th
Green Party statements on the death of Séamus Brennan T.D.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Green Party Leader and Environment Minister John Gormley said: "I was very saddened to hear about the death of Séamus Brennan, a very good colleague in Government. I convey my deepest sympathy on behalf of the Green Party to his wife Ann and his children, and to his colleagues in the Fianna Fáil Party. Séamus Brennan had a very distinguished political career and made a great contribution to Irish public life. I got to know him very well when I was a Whip in the Opposition. He could not have been more generous with his time, and he facilitated me with any requests that were made. That established a relationship. It has been rightly said that he played an important role in the formation of this Government. In fact, he played the pivotal role in the formation of this Government.
"After the last election, he got my mobile phone number and sent me text messages. Eventually we spoke on the phone and I began to realise that the offers of negotiation were serious. We ended up in Government Buildings and Séamus Brennan greeted the Green Party team with the immortal words, 'you are playing senior hurling now lads.' He added ominously, 'but you are playing with lads with All Ireland medals.'
He was a model of wisdom, courtesy, calmness, reliability and modesty. When he was Government Chief Whip and getting great press, I remember saying to him, 'Séamus, it seems that you are now a political star.' He said 'John, there are no stars in politics.' It is a lesson we could usefully learn today. We are here to do a job and he did that job. He knew he was here to serve the public and he did that with total reliability, which was borne out by the fact that he topped the poll time and again.
"People are genuinely saddened today. Sitting beside him in Cabinet and watching him fight that illness was a difficult experience for all of us. He did so with great dignity. He never complained. He was a campaigning TD to the very last and served his constituents with total dedication. It is with a genuine feeling of sadness that I come to the House today on behalf of my party to say ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal."
Energy Minister and TD for Dublin South Eamon Ryan added: "I would like to pay tribute to my long term constituency and more recent cabinet colleague, Seamus Brennan and extend my deepest condolences to his wife Ann, his children and the rest of his extended family. Seamus long championed the cause of his constituents here in Dublin South and enjoyed a long and distinguished career in Irish politics spanning over 30 years. I always found Seamus to be a thorough gentleman in all his dealings and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him."
Speaking in the Seanad Green Party Chairperson Senator Dan Boyle added: "Séamus had a disarming charm about him. While he served with distinction in all the ministries he held, he will be remembered for specific achievements. I recall my own experiences with him during negotiations to agree a Programme for Government last June. Séamus was always on hand to try to bring people together when voices were raised and tempers became more heated than they should have been. It was his nature to accept a political argument, never to react to belligerence and never to seek to deny the right of others to make an argument. These were among his greatest political strengths."
July 9th 2008
Boyle proposes new approach on social housing
-Special convention between Government, banks and builders to free up capital and increase social housing stock
Green Party Finance spokesperson Senator Dan Boyle has proposed a special convention on housing to help tackle some of the problems faced by the industries involved. Speaking on a Seanad debate on the issue, Senator Boyle proposed that the Government, financial institutions and construction industry hold a special convention.
Senator Boyle said: "With the combined problems of large local authority housing waiting lists, builders unable to progress with new developments because of a lack of capital, and financial institutions unable to provide further capital until empty units are sold the climate exists for a new innovative approach to social housing.
"I propose that this special convention on housing could identify empty housing units that in the short term can be converted for social housing use, with the Government agreeing to the financial institutions to pay for such units at a deferred time.
"Building companies could then proceed to new projects as the financial responsibility for the empty units would be removed. The financial institutions would also have a guarantee of future payments and a considerable indent into social housing achieved."
8 July 2008
Green Party reaction to budgetary adjustments
Boyle welcomes Govt decisions on decentralisation and cabinet pay
Green Party Finance Spokesperson Senator Dan Boyle welcomed the Government's decision to effectively halt the decentralization programme and defer indefinitely pay increases for members of the Cabinet as part of its amendments to budgetary provisions.
Noting the wide-ranging nature of the measures announced, Senator Boyle said: "Today's decisions on decentralisation and cabinet pay are clear and pragmatic examples of how seriously this Government is taking its responsibilities in managing the economy in challenging circumstances.
"The Green Party has long expressed its support, in principle, for decentralisation as guided by the national spatial strategy. It is clear however that the programme has not to date been optimally implemented. In tightening budgetary circumstances, the time is right to pause, take stock and crucially, to asses value-for-money considerations in any further decentralisation.
"I also welcome the Government's decision to defer the pay increases recommended for members of the Cabinet and other high level public servants. With public sector pay under scrutiny it is very important that Government shows leadership and moral authority and demonstrates that it is both prudent and responsible on this issue.
"I am also encouraged that the review of future capital projects will take into consideration our international commitments under Kyoto and the EU's climate change package. This will ensure that investment in vital sustainable national infrastructure – especially public transport services – receives top priority," concluded Senator Boyle.
6 July 2008
Urgent need for ethical investment guidelines following Pension Fund Zimbabwe revelations – Boyle
The Green Party's Finance Spokesperson Senator Dan Boyle said that a report in today's Sunday Tribune newspaper that the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) has invested over €578m in a variety of Zimbabwe-based companies, highlights the urgent need for full ethical investment guidelines to be put in place for the Fund.
Pointing to his June 2006 Private Members Bill that sought to introduce just such guidelines, Senator Boyle said: "It is entirely inappropriate, at a time when Irish and EU foreign policy is considering additional sanctions against Zimbabwe for its shocking lack of respect for human rights, that the National Pensions Fund – which makes investment on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of public sector workers whose pensions it manages – is putting substantial sums of money into Robert Mugabe's vile regime, and other similar regimes around the world. It is unethical that public money is used to profit from the activities of despots and the misfortune of their victims.
"The board of the Pension Fund has started a process of ensuring that its investments are ethical, and indeed it made a good start when it announced in March that it will cease investing in companies known to have an involvement in the making of cluster bombs.
"But there is an urgent need for this type of action to be extended and for full ethical investment guidelines to be put in place. Under existing legislation, the NPRF Commission's only obligation is to maximise profits. It is clear to me that many taxpayers do not want public money invested in companies with links to evil regimes or in the arms industry in general.
"I would be confident that there is broad cross-party agreement on this issue in the Dail, and I intend to raise it with our Government partners at the earliest opportunity."
3 July 2008
Haulbowline: Boyle raises serious questions on how waste was removed
Green Party Chairman Senator Dan Boyle has said the Environment Minister's examination of the former steel plant site at Haulbowline, Cork, must look into how the contractors were appointed, the level of supervision that existed and what level of additional risk was created by the haphazard approach.
Senator Boyle said: "With every additional revelation about this case, it is clear that the Department of the Environment were correct in asking the contractor to leave the site. However there are serious questions that remain about what happened before engaging contractors and about the work they were subsequently involved. I have asked that the Minister for the Environment John Gormley to seek answers to these questions during the course of the investigation he has initiated.
"As the public representative in the area who has called longest and hardest for a base line health survey to be undertaken, I welcome the commitment of the Minister to seek government approval for such a measure. Given worrying National Cancer Registry figures this survey needs to happen as a matter of urgency.
"After this week's meeting with local residents where the Minister not only announced an independent report on current hazardous waste levels at Haulbowline, but also his willingness to subject such findings to a further independent peer review, I hope that confidence can be restored for all those involved in this case."
2 July 2008
Green Party welcome productive meeting between Gormley and Cork Harbour residents
Following a meeting yesterday evening between residents living in the vicinity of the Irish Steel/Ispat site at Haulbowline in Cork, and Environment Minister John Gormley, Green Party Chairperson, Senator Dan Boyle, said: "Yesterday's meeting was difficult, but productive. There's no doubt that there is a great deal of distrust amongst local residents about state agencies and how they have dealt with this issue in the past. It means that John Gormley has a very difficult job to do in re-establishing that trust. But I am confident that today's meeting was an important first step and will be recognised by the residents who attended the meeting and people living in the local communities as a first necessary step towards bringing about that confidence once again and finally dealing with the legacy of the contaminated Haulbowline site as quickly as possible, and in the most environmentally sensitive way possible."
Green Party Councillor for Passage West, Dominick Donnelly added: "I welcome yesterday's meeting and believe that it marks the start of a process of confidence-building between Government and the residents living near Cork harbour. They do not, at present, have confidence in the organs of the state. I am very much in favour of this new approach, which is based on openness, frankness and a proper consultative dialogue with the local community. I look forward to a speedy and thorough resolution of this issue, so that the residents of the Cork Harbour area are assured that their local environment is clean, safe and healthy."
