A Week in Politics..

Every day, every week of a TD’s life is different. The weekday-weekend distinction is almost meaningless. It’s the sitting day-non sitting day distinction that gives us some structure.

How a TD fills their day when the Dáil is not sitting is up to them. There will always be some community event(s) on the weekend that it’s important to support. There will be phonecalls that is certain. And depending on what’s just happened or what’s to come there is invariably a few hours at least of paperwork. If you can fit this all in to one of those two days, great, day off. But you’re never really off.

As for non-sitting weekdays, generally speaking I use Monday to deal with constituency issues, plan the week ahead, and do some reading/writing. At the moment we’re also canvassing for Gay Mitchell in the evenings. Fridays are similar, though I will try and focus more on those things that require solid blocks of concentration (a new Bill for example). It’s also a good time to have meetings that require a bit more time.

But when the Dáil is sitting it’s always busy, hectic in fact, and this week was no different and I’ve tried to capture that below. What I haven’t included is those times when I have been summoned by bell to vote in the chamber, or all those 5-10 minute slots where my staff manage to grab me to make a phonecall, sign correspondence or deal with an email.

Tuesday

9am – meeting in Buswell’s Hotel to discuss an upcoming piece of legislation.

10am – cycle to Ranelagh office to interview potential new interns.

11.30am – breakfast in Hobarts and a quick read of the paper.

12.15pm – office to deal with some paper work.

1pm – cycle in to Dáil.

1.30pm – photocall with Gay Mitchell as he hands in nomination papers at Custom’s House.

2.15pm (and late) – meeting re LUAS interconnector in LH2000.

2.30pm – Dáil commences. I attend at 3.15pm for Leader’s Questions and the Order of Business. On the conclusion of Order of Business I meet with a couple of Ministers re various issues.

5pm – office for a bit of everything: correspondence, reading, constituency work.

6pm – dinner in canteen.

6.45pm – Diaspora Matters event in Shelbourne Hotel.

8.30pm – taxi out to O’Connells, Donnybrook for a local food event.

10pm – homeward bound and a chance to (finally) make some phonecalls.

Wednesday

8.30am – business breakfast in Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

10am – Dáil Chamber

10.30am – preparation for Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

12.30pm – cycle to Berkley Court to meet the new Chinese Ambassador at a reception.

1.15pm – return to Dáil. Correspondence and some reading and some food at my desk.

2.45pm – meeting with C&AG ahead of PAC tomorrow. HSE are coming in and I am second questioner.

4.30pm – meeting with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

5.30pm – Parliamentary Party meeting.

7pm – Presentation on cigarette smuggling.

7.45pm – More PAC reading and a sandwich.

9.15pm – leave Dáil to meet a friend.

Thursday

8.30 – Arrive Dáil office. Prepare some work for later in the afternoon, final preparations for PAC.

10am – PAC.

12pm – meeting re use of depleted uranium shells in warfare.

12.30pm – Join Gay Mitchell campaign in Stephen’s Green. We’re meeting volunteer groups.

2pm – back to Dáil, but I miss meeting of Dublin TDs.

2.15pm – with Minister to discuss a constituency case.

2.45pm – Dáil chamber to discuss Tourism Bill – 5 minutes (I had put my name down on Tuesday, had been thinking about it in the back of my mind since, and found ten minutes somewhere to scribble down my thoughts).

3pm – meeting in a café re upcoming piece of legislation and have lunch.

4pm – meeting to discuss upcoming Bill that I have been working on directly.

5pm – office to work on questionnaire from journalist and some follow up on a high tech thing I’m involved with.

6pm – cycle to Ranelagh office for presidential campaign canvass.

8.15pm – cycle home for dinner.

10pm – phonecalls.

Weekly Message from An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny

This week’s message comes to you from Warsaw, where I am attending the Eastern Partnership summit of heads of states and governments of EU countries and the Eastern Partnership countries. The aim of this initiative is to develop relations between the EU and its six neighbouring countries to the East, namely Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus.

This summit is of particular significance to Ireland, as we will hold the Chairmanship in Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in 2012 and will therefore be expected to play an active role in dealing with any conflict in which these countries might be involved. 

I also plan to use this Summit as an opportunity to discuss economic and trade matters with certain EU partners and to promote Ireland as a place in which to do business, which I have done at every opportunity to date and will continue to do.  I will return to Dublin this evening in time to attend the St. Paul’s College Raheny’s Rugby Captains’ Dinner in Clontarf Castle.

I welcome the fact that there was more good news this week in terms of jobs announcements. On Monday, I was in Galway for the announcement of 200 new jobs at EA Games, Galway. EA is one of the world’s leading interactive games companies and this will further enhance Ireland’s position at the hub of the digital media sector.
These 200 new jobs will be in the company’s new European customer support centre and will bring the total workforce there to almost 400.

The Programme for Government highlights the digital game industry as a particular priority area for growth and the increased presence here of a company of EA’s status is very encouraging indeed. While in Galway, I also took the opportunity to meet with James Browne, President of NUIG.

Yesterday morning, I was delighted to officially open the new Dogpatch Lab in Dublin. Dogpatch already have labs in the US, but this is, significantly, the first of its kind in Europe, and the fact that they have chosen Dublin speaks volumes. The concept of these labs is to bring together a community of likeminded entrepreneurs who in turn share and pass on useful information and points of contact amongst them.

I believe that the presence of a company such as Dogpatch in our capital will add further to our international reputation as a centre for innovation and securing the first European Lab for Dublin is undoubtedly a significant vote of confidence in Ireland.

Ireland secured another first this week when online microblogging service Twitter announced that it has chosen Dublin to be the site of its new European HQ. Twitter is now set to join fellow technological giants Google and Facebook who already have bases in the capital. Also this week, accountancy firm Price Waterhouse Cooper announced the creation almost 300 new jobs, 250 of which will come from the company’s graduate recruitment programme.

I joined Fine Gael presidential candidate Gay Mitchell at the Custom House on Tuesday where he was delivering his nomination papers. Nominations have now closed for the presidential election, which will take place on October 27th. Gay brings excellent credentials to this campaign and it is my expectation that he will ably display these credentials in the coming weeks.

I have spoken in the past of the need to utilise the skills and talents of our Diaspora all over the world and on Tuesday night, I joined Kingsley Aikens of Diaspora Matters and over 400 business and industry representatives in the Shelbourne Hotel to launch the Global Diaspora Strategies Toolkit. The Toolkit is intended to collate, analyse and learn from the experience of Diaspora organisations around the world, and to serve as a guide for all who are interested in developing programmes in this area.

I remain convinced that the Irish Diaspora has a pivotal role to play in Ireland’s economic recovery, and now there is an ever increasing number of means available to us to connect with that Diaspora, particularly through new media and technologies. These people are simply too talented and too experienced for their skills to be neglected.

Strengthening ties with our Diaspora and restoring Ireland’s international reputation abroad will also be on the agenda next weekend when the Global Irish Economic Forum takes place Dublin Castle. The Forum will also focus on engaging fully with the Irish Diaspora in order to best develop Ireland’s global business and trade relations. I am also delighted that President Bill Clinton has accepted my invitation to attend the forum. This event will contribute to our objective of demonstrating that, by 2016, Ireland can be the best small country in the world in which to do business.  

It is my belief that these recent announcements by such prestigious international companies as EA, Twitter and Price Waterhouse Cooper are indicative of an increasing confidence in Ireland as a productive place in which to do business. Of course, the battle has not yet been won, as highlighted by the threat of job losses this week in Athlone, but we do have much to be optimistic about. And if we can effectively harness the extensive talents and skills of our Diaspora all over the world we will have even more to be hopeful for. Kind regards

Yours sincerely

Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach

Google announces new 75m euro investment in energy-efficient, air-cooled data centre in Dublin

New project to provide more than 200 jobs for local and national construction firms, and up to 30 full-time and contractor jobs once operational.

30^th September 2011
Mr Richard Bruton, TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, today announced that Google has acquired 11 acres of land and an existing building on Dublin’s Profile Park and will soon begin construction work on a highly energy-efficient data centre.  A data centre is a specialised building full of computers that run online services such as the Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps.

Once complete, the facility will rank amongst the most energy-efficient data centres in the world. Google will use advanced air-cooling technology that has been tested and perfected at Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin. This technology takes advantage of Ireland’s naturally cool climate and uses outside air to cool computers instead of costly and energy-hungry air-conditioning units.

Google will invest up to 75 million Euros in the acquisition, build and fit out of its new facility, and will provide work for over 200 people from local and national firms at the peak of the construction phase. The contractors have already been selected after taking part in a competitive bid process.

Once operational, the centre will employ up to 30 people in a variety of full-time and contractor roles, including computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, and catering and security staff. The new data centre will be in addition to Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin, which will continue to operate. Google already employs over 2,000 people in Dublin, and last year also bought three major office buildings in central Dublin, including Dublin’s tallest commercial office building, Montevetro.

Minister Bruton said: “As I have said repeatedly, the global cloud computing industry offers Ireland a massive opportunity for jobs and economic growth. I am determined that government will act decisively to seize that opportunity, and that is why I have established a cross-government implementation group to ensure that prompt action occurs.”

He continued: “The decision by Google, one of the most important multinational companies in Ireland, to locate a state-of-the-art data centre in Dublin is an endorsement of our policies in this area, and a sign of what is possible if we continue our focus”.

“We’re very happy to continue investing in Ireland and to build out our presence here even further,” said John Herlihy, head of Google Ireland. “The new data centre will be one of the most energy-efficient in Google’s global fleet. This investment further strengthens our presence here, and I’d like to thank IDA Ireland for the assistance they gave us in selecting this site.”

3.1million in extra funding for small businesses to create 400 jobs – Perry

Need for additional funding shows start-up spirit alive and well in Ireland.

Minister for Small Business, John Perry TD, yesterday, Wednesday 28^th September, announced the provision of an additional €3.1million to the County and City Enterprise Boards directly to fund job creation projects in the remaining months of 2011. The additional funding is provided from savings elsewhere in the Minister’s Department, and is provided in response to specific requests from CEBs. The funding is additional to the €15million already provided to CEBs in 2011.

The Minister made the announcement to the Small Business Advisory Forum, which he chaired this morning.

Making the announcement, Minister Perry said:

“If we are to get out of this crisis, it is crucial that we strive in every way possible to encourage the start-up and expanding businesses that will create the jobs of the future. The County and City Enterprise Boards around the country have a key role to play in providing much-needed capital for these businesses. This year a number of CEBs have indicated that they would not have sufficient funding to respond to the needs of start-ups in their area, and so the Department sought to make savings in other areas to provide funding for these vital businesses.

“I am delighted to announce as a result that we will be providing an additional €3.1million for start-up and expanding businesses. This funding will go to the 28 CEBs which are experiencing additional demand for their services, and will directly fund projects that will create over 400 jobs around the country.

“It is very encouraging that 28 CEBs has sufficient demand from projects in their area to justify these requests, and this shows that the start-up spirit is alive and well in Ireland. The provision of this additional funding to support businesses is further evidence of the Government’s commitment to the small business sector, and ensures that resources are targeted at those CEBs where demand is greatest”.

Each CEB has also examined the funding it currently has available and whether it already has sufficient money to cover the projects coming to them seeking funding over the rest of the year.  Arising from this, 7 Boards concluded that they had sufficient funds available to them in 2011.

Topical Issue Debate – International Day of Peace and Nuclear Disarmament

Eoghan Murphy TD, statement made during ‘Topical Issues’ in Dáil Eireann, 22^nd September 2011, Answered by Minister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton TD.

Deputy Eoghan Murphy:

As the Minister of State Deputy Creighton will be aware, yesterday, 21 September was the international day of peace, a day that has been recognised by the UN for the past 29 years. It was also the first day of the opening of the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where leaders from around the world have come together to discuss their plans for progressing peace and human security for the coming year.

Our first endeavours in the United Nations in the 1950s were always in pursuit of peace, be it in sending peacekeepers around the world, as we have done for many decades and continue to do, or in the control of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament generally. Indeed, the first Minister sent to the United Nations in the 1950s, Mr. Frank Aiken, pursued a treaty on the non-dissemination of nuclear nations. In 1961, the Irish resolution adopted by the UN took a hold of that vision and in 1965 was converted into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT. We have continued to work in the pursuit of arms control and disarmament since then and, most recently, at the review conference for the NPT in 2010, we were successful in achieving some significant progress in the pursuit of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East. We will continue to work towards these endeavours. We have also worked very successfully in trying to abolish landmines and cluster munitions. In 2008, a declaration was signed in Dublin that brought into effect the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Peace day is about more than one day, however. We must continue with these efforts on a constant basis until we have achieved a world that is free from the threat of nuclear weapons and other such threats. Tomorrow in New York, on the margins of the General Assembly, there will be a conference on facilitating the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the Article 14 conference. This is a treaty that was opened for signature 15 years ago, in 1996, yet it still has not come into force. It is the next most important step in achieving a world free of nuclear weapons and the next most important piece of architecture in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Yet it is still not in force.

There are nine countries involved that have held out from signing and ratifying the treaty. It is imperative that Ireland, given its position and its history of involvement in this area, pursues this goal, of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, and that it gives dedicated effort to achieving finally the entry into force of that treaty sooner rather than later. This was the last major WMD arms control treaty to be negotiated by the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva a conference which has been in stalemate for the past 12 years, which is a disgrace. And we must also make efforts in this regard.

The Tánaiste is at the UN General Assembly at present. I wish him well in his endeavours and in the negotiations and bilateral meetings he will hold.

[Minister Creighton responds]

Deputy Eoghan Murphy:

I thank the Minister of State. It is very encouraging to hear that the Government is preparing for the 2015 NPT review conference process. It is particularly encouraging that the Middle East review will be going ahead in 2012, and I wish everyone the very best in that regard because it is very important to what we are trying to achieve in that region as well as in the wider world in regard to nuclear weapons disarmament.

With regard to the measures being pursued at present in relation to conventional weapons, it is commendable that we have a commitment in this area, both through the UN system and also through the NGO system. I wish the Government the very best on both these tracks.

The Tánaiste will become chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe next year. I am the head of the Oireachtas delegation to the parliamentary assembly for the OSCE and I offer him and his Department all my support in everything he hopes to achieve next year. The delegation will be interested in meeting the Minister to hear more about his plans while chairman of that organisation and I look forward to hearing from him in that regard.

[Minister Creighton responds]

To read this debate in full, please click on the following link:

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/09/22/00010.asp

Applications for the Aviva Stadium Community Fund

Just a quick reminder that the second tranche of this year’s Aviva Stadium Community Fund is open for applications.  This will close on 14th October.  In total €50,000 is available under this tranche.

When this tranche has been fully allocated it will bring to over €500,000 the sum that the stadium has invested in projects in the area around the stadium.

If you are involved with any clubs, schools or other organisations in the vicinity of the stadium that may have suitable projects for consideration, you should submit your application by 14th October.

Please click on the link below to find more information on the fund, and to download an application form.

http://www.avivastadium.ie/avivastadium_community_grants_scheme_item.aspx?id=68

Great successes for Dublin-South East at the Community Support Programme Awards.

A big congratulations to the following charities and voluntary groups who all received funding under this year’s Dublin Bus Community Support Programme Awards.

New investment programme for Irish Rail

On Monday 19^th September a €6 million investment programme for Irish Rail was announced by Minister of State Alan Kelly. The funding will go to line speed improvements, further rollout of Wi-Fi on the train service and important fuel saving technology to reduce costs.

The funding is coming from reallocated capital within the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport and is being spent on works that will be completed by years end. Under the initiative, an additional €1million will be spent on improving journey times between Portalington and Dublin, €1million on ticket validating machines and €300K for the additional roll-out of wifi on 63 rail cars and €600,000 for order point heaters to ensure depots are not unduly affected by a harsh winter.

A breakdown of the allocations for this programme is outlined in the table below:

Temporary Road Closure

 Following a request received from Indian Tiger Film Productions Ltd, Dublin City Council Council is considering authorising the temporary closure of Aston Quay, Crampton Quay and Wellington Quay on Sunday October 09^th 2011  between the hours 06:00 hrs  and 13.45 hrs inclusive.

The temporary road closure is to facilitate filming work.

In addition to the traffic management plan as detailed on the webpage below, pedestrian and local access will be maintained during the period of the closure.

 http://www.dublincity.ie/ROADSANDTRAFFIC/SCHEDULEDDISRUPTIONS/Pages/ScheduledDisruptionsHome.aspx

 Any person may lodge an objection, in writing, to Dublin City Council, Roads & Traffic Department, Block 2 Floor 6, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.  The closing time and date for receipt of objections is 12:00 midday on Thursday August 25^th 2011.You can fax your objection(s) to (01) 2222 813.

Weekly Message from An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny

The new Dail term is now underway after the summer break. On entering office, I pledged to lead a transparent Government and I will not sugar-coat the fact that there are challenges up ahead. I want to assure you now, however, that this Government has both the confidence and know how to deal with these challenges in the most effective way and in the most balanced manner possible.

I welcome the fact that the Greek Government has signalled that they are taking further actions to get their public finances in order and I anticipate that this issue will be high on the agenda of the meeting of Euro Area Finance Ministers that takes place at the weekend. In terms of Ireland’s bailout deal, we are firmly on track with our repayments and have met all requirements to date.

On Wednesday of this week, I met with Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers Inc, a company which currently employs approximately 2,300 people here in Ireland. These jobs are based in Limerick and Cherrywood, Dublin. Michael filled me in on the progress of Dell’s first Cloud Centre of Excellence at Cherrywood which is set to create 89 highly skilled specialist programming and engineering jobs. Recruitment is currently underway for these positions, and those who are successful will be responsible for innovating the next generation of cloud computing architectures, application design and prototyping.

Also fact that there are challenges up ahead. I want to assure you now, however, that this Government has both the confidence and know how to deal with these challenges in the most effective way and in the most balanced manner possible.

I welcome the fact that the Greek Government has signalled that they are taking further actions to get their public finances in order and I anticipate that this issue will be high on the agenda of the meeting of Euro Area Finance Ministers that takes place at the weekend. In terms of Ireland’s bailout deal, we are firmly on track with our repayments and have met all requirements to date.

On Wednesday of this week, I met with Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers Inc, a company which currently employs approximately 2,300 people here in Ireland. These jobs are based in Limerick and Cherrywood, Dublin. Michael filled me in on the progress of Dell’s first Cloud Centre of Excellence at Cherrywood which is set to create 89 highly skilled specialist programming and engineering jobs. Recruitment is currently underway for these positions, and those who are successful will be responsible for innovating the next generation of cloud computing architectures, application design and prototyping.

Also this week, I met Mr Kelly Martin, CEO of neuroscience-based biotechnology company Elan, who filled me in on the ongoing progress the company is making. Elan undertakes research, development, and commercial activities for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease and for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

He mentioned in particular the ongoing clinical trials by the company aimed at helping those with Alzheimer’s and Crohn’s disease and also informed me that the company has several very promising drugs in its pipeline which they hope will ease the suffering of those affected by these often devastating diseases.

Both the Tánaiste and Minister Richard Bruton have visited Waterford in the wake of the recent Talk Talk job loss announcement and Minister Bruton has directed IDA Ireland to draw up a jobs action plan for the South East in light of the job losses. In addition, representatives from the Department of Social Protection, the Community Welfare Service, MABS and FÁS are to travel to the Talk Talk facility to deliver a series of joint information presentations to staff, conduct Q&A sessions and generally help them in any way possible.

Yesterday evening, I met with representatives of the board of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Shelbourne Hotel. The board has over 600 CEOs, many of whom are due to travel to Ireland in October for the Global Irish Economic Forum, which President Clinton is also scheduled to attend. I emphasized to them the value of Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax rate as I know that this will be very important in terms of encouraging overseas business to our shores in the future. The 2nd Global Irish Economic forum takes place on 7 and 8 October and will involve some 280 delegates coming together to generate ideas to kick-start the Irish economy.

Today I am in the South East where I will open a new Irish language centre in Wexford before visiting the new Coca Cola plant in Wexford. I must say that the fact that a global brand in the league of Coca Cola has chosen to cement its base here in Ireland is very positive indeed and I hope and anticipate that this move will send a positive signal to other American multinationals – an unequivocal statement that Ireland is in no uncertain terms open for business. I also plan to pay a brief visit to the Enniscorthy Enterprise Centre which supports businesses startups and the upskilling of workers in Co. Wexford.

I would ask you all to support our Presidential candidate, Gay Mitchell MEP, by visiting his website at http://www.gaymitchell2011.com, liking his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gaymitchell and following him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/GayMitchell2011 where you can keep up to date with all the news