Governments approach to Apple ruling: ‘Rotten to the Core’

Speaking after the European Commission ruling that the multinational corporation Apple owes the Irish state 13 billion euro in taxes, Sinn Fein Senior Spokesperson on social protection and TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has said the government’s attitude is rotten to the core:

“The European Commission findings could not be clearer. They have found that the government’s relationship with Apple amounts to unfair state aid and as such Apple is obliged to repay the monies in question to the Irish exchequer. Numerous government spokespeople including Fine Gael TD Richard Bruton have made statements suggesting that the commission is effectively asking the Irish state to act as a taxation policing agent across Europe. The government has also claimed the ruling could frighten off future foreign direct investment (FDI) opportunities, and that the jobs associated with current FDI could be put under threat. This is nonsense, these claims are completely bogus and are in fact a smokescreen to try and deflect from the central issue which is Apple’s responsibility to pay its fair share of taxes the same way as any other company or individual is obliged to do. The failure of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to accept the ruling shows that something is still rotten in the state of these two parties.”

Teachta Brady went on to say that the government’s plan to appeal the decision amounts to nothing less than economic delinquency:
“Minister for finance Michael Noonan supported by his party colleagues along with both Fianna Fail and the Labour party have all said that the Irish government should appeal the decision in support of Apple. Whilst the cabinet has yet to issue a definitive statement on this, it seems absolutely ridiculous that a government would turn its back on a windfall equal in value to the entire annual health budget. Economically this is madness especially given the fact that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has said ‘the company is committed to Ireland and plans to continue investing here’. Apple have a huge operation in Ireland which is phenomenally lucrative, it is one of the world’s richest and most profitable multinationals; 13 billion to a company like Apple is loose change. However, to a country like Ireland which is suffering the after effects of an economic crisis and years of enforced austerity; this money could go a long way in helping to address the many challenges we face in Health, Housing, Homelessness, infrastructure and indeed help the many Irish SME’s employing hundreds of thousands and struggling to survive.

"The government has also claimed that Ireland would be forced to use the money to pay down our national debt even if we did accept it. This claim has also been shown to be bogus. The commission has made it perfectly clear that the Irish government will have complete freedom to spend the money as it sees fit. The attitude of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour amounts to nothing short of economic delinquency, commentators of all shades at home and abroad are simply shocked that the Irish government could come down on the side of a massive multinational against the interests of its people. There are different standards applicable depending on whether the company is a domestic company or a multinational and this is not acceptable. In the same way, there are different standards applicable between a wealthy non-resident Irish Citizen and a less fortunate resident citizen who pays his or her taxes. Revenue have facilitated and concealed tax avoidance which has taken place on a massive scale.”

In Conclusion Teachta Brady said that Sinn Fein along with others is calling for the Dáil to resume early in order to debate the issue:
“The fact that the house is not in session means that there can be no robust debate to challenge the belligerence of the three establishment parties; Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour. The summer recess is long enough anyway, when a serious event like this comes up all members have an obligation to appear in Leinster House and hold the government to account. Sinn Fein will continue to apply pressure on Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in relation to the commission ruling and we are calling on the government to recall the house early in order to allow the issue to be debated fully on the floor and to introduce a tax regime which is fair to all.”

Wicklow Sinn Fein to hold a ‘Back to School day of Action’ this Saturday 27th August across the county.

Wicklow Sinn Féin to hold a 'Back to School' day of action

The Sinn Fein spokesperson on Social Protection and Wicklow/East Carlow TD John Brady has said that the high costs of sending children back to school shows ‘free education’ in Ireland is a misnomer.

“This time of year can be very difficult for families grappling with the cost of sending their children back to school, and if there happens to be two or more children in the one family the pressure can be financially debilitating. As the new school term quickly approaches parents’ right across the country are struggling with back to school costs. Annual surveys carried out by Barnardos and the Irish League of Credit Unions have put total costs at up on €900 for primary school and almost €1,500 for secondary school. One in ten families has to resort to borrowing money to finance their children’s education, with 40% sacrificing other living expenses in order to meet costs. In a country where our children’s education is supposed to be free the government has done nothing to help the situation. In fact, the Fine Gael/Labour government cut the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance in half since 2011.”

“The Wicklow Sinn Fein team and I will be out this Saturday all over the county engaging with people and highlighting the issue of back to school costs. We will be in Bray, Greystones, Blessington, Carnew, Arklow and Wicklow Town meeting with people and putting forward our proposals which we believe will help ease the pressure on families who struggle over this time of year. We will be handing out thousands of leaflets outlining what the Sinn Féin proposals are to help ease the burden of sending children back to school. We will also be collecting names on petitions calling on the government to take action.”

Teachta Brady concluded “Sinn Féin has proposed and costed a number of measures including the restoration of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, the extension of the School Meals Programme by 40%, increased capitation to primary and secondary schools by 10% over a Dáil term and an increase in the School Books Grant by 30% and tackle the cost of school transport.”

Action needed to protect Bray Head-Brady

Speaking after the most recent gorse fire to hit Bray Head, Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has said that all parties responsible for the maintenance of the popular landmark need to come together and devise a plan to tackle the problem:

“As a Bray resident myself I am only too aware of how popular Bray Head is, not only with the local community but with tourists from all over the Country and further afield. Recently however, Bray Head has been extensively damaged by fires burning much of the land causing a dangerous inconvenience to the local area. There have been three serious fires now in as many weeks, the fires have caused traffic chaos due to diversions, serious damage has been caused to the land itself with wildlife and natural vegetation affected, huge costs have been incurred due to the necessary attendance of the fire services, not to mention the obvious dangers involved to fire and other emergency service personnel. The most recent fire motivated the Gardaí to close the famous cliff walk, while smoke billowing from the gorse fire spread across much of South Dublin; poor visibility meant that traffic had to be diverted with local radio stations asking drivers to avoid the area completely.”

Teachta Brady went on to say that since 2007 Bray Head has special status under the law so it is important to ensure that those charged with managing the area are liaising with the land owners and other invested parties including the local community:

“In 2007 a ‘Special Amenity Area Order’ (SAAO) was instituted for Bray Head. This order effectively placed the area in a protected category. According to the SAAO the order is ‘designed to protect areas that are of particularly high amenity value, which are sensitive to intense development pressure and which cannot be adequately protected by existing planning controls’. Moreover, in the case of Bray head the order specifically states that an administrative structure would be established to oversee the aspirations of the order, specifically referring to the need to burn off gorse in a controlled manner; Policy 1.3.4 of the order states - ‘The Council, in accordance with the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 and the National Parks and Wildlife Service shall promote a Heathland Management Programme consisting of controlled burning of the site on a ten year rotation, in small patches, during the legal burning season.”

Teachta Brady continued:

“Apart from the beauty of the area, Bray Head is also of ecological importance and is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The principal habitat across much of the upper area is heath, which is listed under the EU Habitats Directive. Policy 1.3.4 of the SAAO also states the following – ‘The planning authorities shall jointly set up a management committee to manage the Special Amenity Area Order area, which shall be representative of the local authorities concerned, local community interests, including landowners and relevant environmental and conservation Interests at the discretion of the local authorities. The committee shall be responsible for producing a five-year management plan for the area for monitoring environmental quality in the area and for monitoring implementation of the plan’.”

Teachta Brady concluded by saying that he will be organising meetings with all relevant parties over the coming weeks to discuss ways in which a collective effort might help to reduce the incidents of rogue fires in the future:

“I have written to Wicklow County Council requesting information about the structures in place around the management of Bray Head in the context of the Special Amenity Area Order. I look forward to meeting with all concerned parties including the council, land owners and local conservation and environmental groups with a view to discussing ways of ensuring the safety of constituents and protecting the natural environment of Bray Head.”

Varadkar's response on lone parent educational supports "disappointing"-Brady

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Social Protection John Brady TD has said that Minister Varadkar’s long awaited response on lone parents and educational supports tells us nothing new. This issue was brought to national attention by Erica Fleming, a homeless lone parent who has been refused the Back to Education Allowance after securing a place in Trinity College.

Teachta Brady said:

“Minister Varadkar has released a very cold response to an issue that has meant a lone parent has been denied a place at college and an opportunity to be educated in the hope for a career and a better life.

“The statement is useless, it completely misses the point. It details the available payments that are there and expresses how well the Department of Social Protection is providing for lone parents. The Minister does not seem to share the concerns that have been highlighted and his not bothered attitude is deplorable.

“The Minister doesn’t even bother to address the problem which lies within the eligibility criteria for the payment. He doesn’t explore the changes he could quite easily make to better the situation for lone parents and to improve their access to education.

“This response is extremely disappointing. It is another blow for lone parents who have suffered consistently under the austerity agenda of Fine Gael and the Labour Party.

“The Government’s reasoning for taking away the One Parent Family Payment for those with children over the age of seven was to move lone parents into employment or into education. As it turns out, under the Government initiative, lone parents are better off being unemployed. If they are they can receive the Back to Education Allowance. If they aren’t and instead, work part-time receiving Family Income Supplement they are denied an education.

“The Government have failed lone parents time and time again. They took away their One Parent Family Payment with the promise of a Scandinavian style childcare system that we haven’t heard a word about since. They talk about incentivising lone parents into work that in many cases is part-time and cannot cover childcare costs. And now they deny lone parents an opportunity to educate themselves because they do not meet their criteria to be educated.

“Minister Varadkar’s response on this matter is simply not good enough. I call on him to re-consider his position on this matter immediately.”

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party have let young people down-Brady

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Social Protection John Brady TD has today been responding to the newly released Eurostat figures on youth unemployment.

Teachta Brady said:

“These Eurostat figures are extremely worrying and are in no way in line with the Government’s rhetoric of the economic recovery. Figures show that the number of young people not in education, employment or training stands at 19.7% that is compared to 11.9% in 2006.

“One of the first austerity measures taken by Fianna Fáil was to target young people by cutting their social welfare payment. They sent a clear message to young people to leave their families and their communities and to emigrate. They were not wanted.

“While this Government continue to pat themselves on the back for reducing unemployment figures, they are clearly not doing enough. There are almost 40,000 young people on the live register with 16,000 of these on the register for one year or more.

“The options for these young people are to either live on €100 per week or to emigrate. The current work schemes and programmes where a young person receives an extra €50 on their Jobseekers Allowance for working up on 40 hours per week is nothing but slave labour.

“While Fianna Fáil were quite successful in driving hundreds of thousands of young people out of this country, some still remain. These young people need to be in receipt of the full adult rate of €188 per week to allow them to have some kind of life while seeking employment. They should not be discriminated against because of their age.

“Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party have let young people down.

“Sinn Féin will continue to expose flawed work schemes as we have done with JobBridge and we will continue to call for the full restoration of social welfare payments for under 26s.”

Katie Taylor is still the People's Champion

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has stated that Wicklow Olympian Katie Taylor is still the peoples champion and said that it’s not the last we will see of her.

“I want to pay tribute to Katie for representing us in the Olympics. I, like so many people are bitterly disappointed that it didn’t go her way. It does raise serious questions about the judging, but that’s for another day. Katie is in my mind the best ever Irish Athletes winning 5 World Championships, 6 European Championships, 5 European Union Championships and of course an Olympic gold in London, to name but a few”.

“Katie first won the European Championships back in 2005, so to stay at the top of her sport over such a lengthy period says it all about her calibre. Whilst things didn’t go her way in Rio, she is still the peoples champion and always will be. I know that with Katie’s hard work and dedication this is far from the last we’ve seen of her as she still has so much to offer”.

Teachta Brady concluded “Katie is a fantastic role model for so many young aspiring athletes and I know that she will still get a hero’s welcome when she arrives back home.

Brady urges people to have their say in setting the Property Tax rate in Wicklow

Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady is urging local people to contact Wicklow County Council to request that the Council votes to decrease the Local Property Tax by the 15% amount allowed for in legislation.

Teachta Brady said that there is a window of opportunity between now and the end of August for local people to write in to the council requesting the reduction:

“The deadline for submissions is 12 noon on Friday 26th August. The council will then meet in September and take a decision on the LPT rate. In the past, Sinn Fein has been to the forefront in securing reductions to Local Property Tax rates across the Country but last year our efforts were thwarted when Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the majority of independent councillors on Wicklow County Council actually voted to increase the charge. We will be lobbying hard to convince fellow councillors in other parties and independents to support us this time out, however if the public join us by writing in to the council calling for a decrease, it will be much harder for those parties vote down our proposal.”

Teachta Brady said that homeowners have an opportunity to impact on a decision that will affect their pockets:

“A 15% reduction in the LPT could save some families as much as 100 euro depending on the value of their homes. At the very least, all home owners stand to benefit even a modest amount should the reduction be approved. This is money that could be spent in the local community on services, or spent in local businesses; many of whom are still struggling to survive. You can contact the council and have you voice heard by writing directly to - LPT Consultation, c/o Finance Department, Wicklow County Council, County Buildings, Wicklow Town or lptconsult@wicklowcoco.ie”.

The Wicklow/East Carlow TD concluded by saying “Sinn Féin is commitment to abolishing the Local Property Tax (LPT), it’s an unfair tax, not only is it unfair, it is also not working. Local authorities such as Wicklow County Council are struggling to provide basic services, leaving many people wondering where exactly their hard earned money is actually going”.