Dear Member,

A sense of normality has descended on Government Buildings now that the last of our esteemed visitors has departed and day to day duties have taken prominence once again.

Now that the flurry of visits is over, we can reflect on what have been a really fantastic couple of weeks for Ireland, both in terms of the priceless exposure of our country to a massive international media audience and in terms of the lifting of the nation’s spirits.

On Monday, President Obama and the First Lady arrived in Ireland for what turned out to be a whirlwind 12 hour visit, encompassing a meeting with President McAleese, another with myself, a helicopter trip to Moneygall and an open air address in Dublin City Centre.  I met with President Obama in Farmleigh, where we discussed various topics including the economic outlook in a global sense, the issue of undocumented Irish in America and the President’s continuing work on that issue as well as the latest on the Northern Ireland Assembly. In addition, I reiterated to him the fact that there will be no change under my leadership to either the policy relating to American aircraft serving the U.N. resolutions passing through Shannon or to our corporation tax rate.  I also thanked him sincerely for taking the time to visit us and emphasised to him the importance of the visit to the Irish people.

This heartfelt appreciation became apparent to the President himself later in the day when a crowd of over 50,000 people gathered in College Green to hear him speak. I was surprised at some commentary following my introductory speech and my obvious reference to President Obama’s most famous words from 2008.  I thought there no better way to welcome this outstanding orator to Ireland than to pay tribute to his words in this way. In fact, that very speech hangs on the wall of my office! I did the same in the White House on 17 March when I referred to the book “The Audacity of Hope”!

The President’s own speech centered on the enduring strength of the Irish American relationship over the years.  He also praised Ireland for the continued success of the Peace Process as well as the wonderfully dignified reception we gave Queen Elizabeth last week.

I would like to commend the Irish people, particularly those living and working in Dublin city centre, for their patience over the past couple of weeks. No doubt the various traffic restrictions inconvenienced many but the good grace with which they were accepted helped the visits run very smoothly indeed. We can all be justifiably proud of the contribution we made to this end. The army, the Gardaí, the public service and our people all played a part in what was a proud day for Ireland and the Irish.

I announced my own eleven Seanad nominations last Friday night. These nominations include a wide range of figures from various spheres and I am very confident that each of them will bring with them a uniquely valuable perspective to the 24th Seanad which met for the first time on Wednesday. It will, ultimately be down to the people as to whether they wish to retain the upper house in the future and I intend to hold a referendum to decide its fate in 2012.

On Tuesday night, I was in the Aviva Stadium to see the Republic of Ireland overcome Northern Ireland by a very convincing five goals to nil, which was our biggest ever winning margin over our closest neighbour.  It seems that the Carling Nations Cup may now be well within our grasp.

On Wednesday, I visited the outstanding, world class Hewlitt Packard complex in Leixlip in recognition of the company’s 40th anniversary in Ireland.  I then travelled to Colourtrend in Celbridge where I launched their new “Ceramic Matt” paint. Colourtrend is a paint supplier with four branches in Ireland and another just opened in Bath, England. This particular business operates from an old famine workhouse and it is genuinely heartening to see real positivity and success emerge from what was once a place of such desolation.

TV 3’s “Every Job Counts” concluded on Wednesday night and I was in the studio to announce “Maxi Zoo” pet supply store as the winner.  TV3 had called on businesses to submit their plans for job creation, the prize being an advertising and promotional package worth €50,000. Initiatives such as this really highlight the wealth of innovation we have here in this country and are to be warmly welcomed.

On Thursday, I attended the Institute for British Irish Studies Annual Conference in UCD and today I will attend the Bord Bia Pathways for Growth Food and Drink Summit in the Smurfit Business School. The aim of the summit is to highlight the emerging role played by the Irish food and drink industry today.

This morning, I also participated in celebrations for Aer Lingus and their 75th birthday by taking a short flight in the “lolar”, a biplane from 1936 made of canvass and wood! Most exhilarating indeed!

Tomorrow, I will drop in on the Young Fine Gael North West Regional Council AGM in Westport before I don my dinner jacket for the 11th World meeting of Mayo Associations in Hotel Westport. Over 100 delegates from Mayo Associations around the world will come together to brainstorm ideas relating to Ireland’s wind and wave energy and its potential role in our economic recovery, a topic which I anticipate will come increasingly to the fore in years to come.

Kind regards

Yours sincerely

Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach

Dear Member,

The Government’s new Jobs Initiative, formally launched this week by Minister Michael Noonan, includes various measures geared towards stimulating economic growth.

It will be funded by a temporary 0.6 per cent levy on pension funds that will raise €470m a year over four years.

The fact is that pension funds have enjoyed massive tax relief to date, and this will involve only a small portion of that, for a limited time.

The initiative includes the reversal of the cut to the minimum wage, and the creation of over 20,000 back to education and training places.

Employers’ PRSI will be halved for workers earning less than €365 a week, and an internship programme will create 5,000 work experience placements in the private, public and voluntary sectors.

All places will be open to all and advertised publicly from July.

In addition, capital spending will be allocated to employment intensive projects involving outstanding work on schools and roads.

Our tourism industry will play a vital role in Ireland’s future economic recovery, and, accordingly, we have outlined several significant measures to help maximise its return.

The temporary reduction of the lower VAT rate from 13.5 to 9 per-cent will help stimulate tourism related businesses such as restaurants and hotels, which have been so badly affected in recent times.

We also hope the elimination of the travel tax will help encourage cost conscious tourists to visit Ireland.

This week, the Minister for Justice announced a major reform of the visa application system for entry to Ireland.  It will make it much easier for overseas visitors who have already obtained visas for the UK to also come to Ireland for up to 14 days, without applying for a second visa.

I am confident these measures will provide some level of relief to this struggling industry.

The imminent visits of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama will also give the Irish tourist industry a real boost, with the multitudes of foreign media who will also travel affording us a priceless opportunity to showcase our country.

This Jobs Initiative is indicative of this Government’s commitment to bring about real change, though the means readily available are severely limited.

It also sends a clear signal that real efforts are being made to reclaim our position as a dynamic, progressive nation at the centre of Europe.

Ireland’s role in Europe has come under some strain in recent months and years, and rebuilding this relationship is fundamentally important to the work of the Government.

I made this point last Monday when the Dáil had a special sitting for Europe Day.

Monday also saw the launch of ’Getting Ireland Online’ at Google Headquarters in Dublin.

This combined drive by Google, An Post, the County and City Enterprise Boards and Blacknight is aimed at allowing the 40 per-cent of Irish businesses that do not have a website or online presence to set up a site for free in less than 30 minutes.

In the current economic climate, Irish businesses need to give themselves every possible opportunity for success, and I hope the majority of that 40 per-cent will take up the offer.

On Wednesday, I dropped in on the Annual Showcase of Young Social Innovators at the Citywest Hotel, where thousands of young people had completed projects on various social issues. These young people will orchestrate our country’s future, and the enthusiasm and social awareness displayed was immense.

On Thursday, I launched www.siopa.com, an online Irish Gift Shop which delivers speciality gifts from Ireland to the USA. The site sells various Irish quality brands, such as Waterford Crystal as well as handmade crafts and jewelry, and it was encouraging to see the launch of an export focused business.

After the launch,  I headed west to address the inaugural Brehon Law US-Ireland Legal Symposium in Westport. Today, I have several appointments in the Mayo constituency.

The spotlight will be firmly on Ireland over the next 10 days as Queen Elizabeth and President Obama arrive.

I look forward to welcoming the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Tuesday next ahead of the arrival of President Obama and the First Lady on Monday 23rd.

The visit of the first British monarch in over 100 years will be deeply symbolic of the progress made on this island in recent times.

I am also delighted that British Prime Minister David Cameron will fly in on Wednesday for a bilateral meeting as part of the Monarch’s visit.

The President’s itinerary is still being finalised, but will include a free, but ticketed, entertainment event in the capital, as well as a visit to Moneygall.

I am very confident our visitors will be warmly welcomed in the best Irish tradition.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our country and I have no doubt we will take full advantage of that.

Kind regards
Yours sincerely

Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has announced a new jobs initiative for the country, click below to download.

(PDF format / Adobe Acrobat required): Jobs Initiative

Statement to the Dail on the Environment (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill 2011, 13 April 2011

I very much welcome this Bill and all it aims to achieve.

I would note, at the outset, that the proposal in this Bill to subject the non-disclosure provisions of Section 16 of the 1987 Act to the Freedom Of Information Act is a very welcome element to this Bill and is overdue. I would also note the positive provisions in relation to the plastic bag levy.

We quite often, when discussing waste management, find ourselves locked in a bit of false debate. People tend to take sides over which form of treatment is the best. (Incineration or Mechanical & Biological Treatment for example). Or we tend to favour one option over another, for whatever reasons. And that is only natural I suppose.

I say it’s a false debate because when it comes to waste management it’s not about choosing options A or B or C, but about using a combination of the different options available to us. We have a matrix of waste management options, from incineration without energy recovery, to quite simple measures like using less packaging at the point of production. No one option solves all our waste problems. So we must use them together, wisely.

There is a waste hierarchy, as set out by Europe in the Waste Framework Directive. It is there to guide our policies at the national level, with the idea being that we try and move up that hierarchy in terms of prioritising those measures at the top. And it is about prioritising – about doing the best we can to be as efficient and as conscious in our treatment of waste as possible. But we will never fully do away with some of the less popular options. We can however minimise our reliance on this.

How do we prioritise? Well this Bill sets out to address that question. Primarily by increasing the levy on landfilling.

Landfilling is a waste management practice of the past and must be confined to the past. Burying your waste. (I suppose once it was our only option. Now it seems archaic and offensive.) In increasing the levies, we use market forces to put an end to the practice of landfilling. We make better forms of waste management more attractive to people creating waste and people treating waste. We can use advertising etc to do this, but ultimately market forces will decide this. With higher levies we move away from this lowest tier on the waste management hierarchy.

This is a good thing.

But where do we move to? I’m not opposed to incineration with energy recovery as an element in our waste management matrix. It’s necessary and much needed if we are to fulfil our international commitments to move away from landfill.

But there’s no point in moving from a dependence on one waste management option to a dependence on another.

In increasing the levies on landfill, in the absence of levies on incineration, we do just that. We move the market towards an over reliance on incineration, to the detriment of other waste management practices.

This Bill provides for the possibility of levies on incineration. But it does not introduce them. Why wait? The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill recognises the risks posed to the market and to our national waste management policies in not having a levy on incineration. It states it quite clearly. So why wait?

I very much welcome this Bill but I would urge the Minister, following its adoption, to move quickly to introduce a levy on incineration.

I represent a constituency – Dublin South East – where plans are afoot for the construction of an incinerator. The proposal is a controversial one, for many reasons. There is something I want to be absolutely clear about though in the context of this debate:

I am not supporting the introduction of levies on incineration as a way of undermining the proposed incinerator for Poolbeg – in the hope that such levies might make the project untenable and thus indirectly put it to rest.

Others have attempted to do this in the recent past. But I believe such behaviour to be irresponsible. You don’t make national decisions to fit local issues or electoral considerations. It leads to very bad policy and is no way to govern a country.

For the record, I do not support the building of an incinerator in Poolbeg.

But this Bill is not about that. So I won’t abuse my time, and the time of others in this chamber, by focussing my remarks on it.

This Bill is very much welcome.

I would urge the Minister, following its adoption, to move quickly to impose levies on incineration that are 1.) appropriate to the market and 2.) which encourage a diversity in our waste management, yet with a clear bias towards the upper tiers of the European waste hierarchy.

Motion on the Adjournment of the Dail, 6 April 2011, re Dublin Port noise complaints

I wish to raise on the adjournment of the House an issue that, while specific to my own constituency of Dublin South East in terms of the detail of the matter, is one that bears relevance to all constituencies represented in this House. As it pertains to the poor conduct of a semi-state company, Dublin Port Company.

Dublin Port is an incredibly important asset to this country and it is key to our economic recovery. If we as a nation are to do well, then it must do well. It also plays a generous role in supporting local communities in the area, financially and through other means. I have visited the company and I was impressed with the extent of the operation I saw there: 4000 employees; 42% of our GDP goes through the port; 5 ferry companies operating up to 15 sailings with UK every day. It is a vital strategic asset to this State.

And yet for nearly a decade it has ignored its obligations under the Planning Laws, and it has acted with something close to contempt in its dealings with local residents.

I would like to very briefly outline the facts of the matter as I understand them:

• In 2002, three 30 meter high gantry cranes were erected in Dublin Port, on the south quay of the Liffey, where Marine Terminal Ltd. operates.
• No planning permission was sought at the time for these cranes.
• The cranes are located within close distance to a number of homes on Pigeon House Road.
• The cranes produce considerable noise pollution, often through the night given the irregular operation of the Port due to tidal considerations.
• The level of noise pollution has been shown to be in excess of both the World Health Organisation and Dublin City Council’s noise pollution limits.
• It has quite an impact on residents’ lives.
• Both Dublin Port Co and Dublin City Council have been made aware of this serious disruption on a number of occasions, beginning in 2004.
• More recent protests have come to nothing.
• Dublin Port Co. have so far failed to engage appropriately with residents, taking the position that the cranes do not require planning permission, and offering minimal gestures regarding mitigating the noise caused by the operation of the cranes.
• In 2011 residents gained confirmation through the Section 5 planning process that the cranes are not exempt from planning permission.
• This now raises issues in relation to insurance of the cranes.
• Still nothing has been done and they continue, through the night, every day.
• Given the continued operation of the cranes residents now feel compelled to take this matter to the courts.

This isn’t a question of people moving in beside a busy industrial site and then complaining about the work going on at that site.

This is about the expansion of a business – a semi-state company – without proper observance of the laws of the land, and in a manner that has shown wilful disrespect for their neighbours.

It’s not right that people can be treated this way by any company, let alone a semi-state one.

It’s not right that the residents of CoastGuard Cottages now feel their only form of redress is through the courts – a lengthy and expensive process, which they probably lack the finances (and at this late stage, the will) to take on.

Dublin Port and its tenants have to do business, and they have to do it as best they can if we are to prosper as a nation. But they cannot do it by their own rules and oblivious to the lives of others. It is just that kind of attitude at the national level and on the part of the previous government that has brought us to the precarious financial position that we now occupy.

Surely we can do better. We must, if we are to honour the pledges that we made during the campaign and that are contained in the Programme for Government. We must, if we are to meet people’s expectations of what politics is meant to be about. Expectations of what public representation is all about.

I would urge the Minister to investigate this matter immediately, as a priority, and to use his good offices to help find a resolution for all involved:

to address the legitimate problems that residents are facing on a daily basis; and, to put Dublin Port Co. back in good standing both in relation to the law and in its dealings with local residents.

This is a semi-state company. This is our responsibility.

Dear Member,

My 28 hour visit to New York this week included various appointments with heads of Irish companies doing business in the U.S. as well as American companies of Irish interest, numerous Irish-American organisations and the media.

The message I brought with me was straightforward – Ireland has a new Government with a strong majority and is ready to tackle our nation’s problems and build on the links between our two countries.

Ireland, of course, has a very well established relationship with America. Our shared history has been a major factor in it becoming our second largest trading partner as well as being one of our most valuable sources of tourism revenue. The fundamental aim of this visit was to build on that existing relationship and to bring the new Government’s optimistic message for the future to the highest levels of business and policy-making in the US.

On my arrival in the city on Wednesday night, I visited Ground Zero. The death of Osama Bin Laden this week brought the events of 2001 very much to the surface for the people of New York and the emotion it evoked was very evident indeed. I then made my way to the offices of the Consulate General of Ireland where I met with representatives of several Irish-American social, cultural and sporting organisations.

My numerous media appointments in New York provided me with an excellent opportunity to outline the various advantages of doing business in Ireland and included recording a piece for the popular ‘Out of Ireland’ television programme, an interview with Margaret Brennan for Bloomberg Television and another with Connell McShane of Fox Business News.

Yesterday morning, I visited the New York Stock Exchange where I breakfasted with many senior figures from companies including Goldman Sachs, AIG, Merck, Citibank, Gilt, Prudential and the TIA insurance group. Together, these companies currently employ over 6,000 people in Ireland.

We discussed the unique strengths of the Irish workforce and I strongly underlined the fact that our corporation tax rate of 12.5% will be maintained. This remains of fundamental importance in attracting American companies to our shores and I emphasised to those I met that there will be no change in this regard under my leadership. We also discussed the issue of ‘red tape’ and what the Government could do to facilitate further American investment here.

Last night, I delivered the keynote address at the American Ireland Fund 36th New York Dinner Gala. I have told you in the past about the magnificent work this, the largest organisation helping Ireland in the world, does for charities both here and abroad. Indeed, it was expected that this dinner alone would raise in excess of $2.5 million for good causes. The Fund remains a resource of incomparable benefit to Ireland and has helped our country’s development in many different ways since its foundation in 1976.

Prominent Irish Americans from the fields of business, politics and the media came together on the night which also saw former boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and executive vice-president of Coca-Cola, Irial Finan honoured for their extensive charity work.

Earlier in the week in the Dáil, I rejected strongly the suggestion that this Government is changing its position on the sale of State assets. The fact remains that the Fine Gael NewERA document, published two years ago, had signalled that we would sell non-strategic State assets in order to raise funds for investment in vital areas of the economy.

Accordingly, the Minister with responsibility for Public Expenditure and Reform has asked every Department to report back to him regarding the potential disposal of non-strategic State assets. Furthermore, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has set out clearly the view that any profit made from the sale of any non-strategic State asset should be invested in job creation measures. Surely that can not be argued with given the current level of our unemployment here.

I welcome yesterday’s announcement that 300 new full and part time jobs are to be created in Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin. It is my hope that our Jobs Initiative which will be launched next week will also impact positively in this regard by focusing on the development of new business and providing young workers with experience in the workplace. Full details will be announced on Tuesday.

Tomorrow I will open Deputy Anthony Lawlor’s constituency office in Naas before making a presentation to the National Hunt Champions at Punchestown and joining some Kildare South Fine Gael members for a bite to eat.

Finally, my thoughts and prayers are with Dr Garret FitzGerald who is currently ill in hospital. It is my sincere hope that he will overcome the health difficulties he is experiencing.

Kind regards
Yours sincerely

Enda Kenny TD
Taoiseach

Household Waste Collections – Black and Brown Bins:

Household bin collections will take place as normal on Good Friday 22nd April & Easter Monday 25th April. For further information on Waste Collection Services, see Aertel Page 629 or log onto www.dublincity.ie/wastecalendar to view the waste collection schedule for your house address.

Green Bin Arrangements:

Collections due on Monday April 25th will be collected on Saturday April 23rd. Collections due on Good Friday take place as normal. Please refer to www.greenbin.ie for further details.

Bring Centres – Opening Times:

Opening Hours at Bring Centres Easter Weekend 2011
Oscar Traynor Road, Coolock

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Sat & Sun (10.00am – 4.00pm)
Easter Monday (10.00am – 4.00pm) Kylemore Park North, Ballyfermot

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Closed Weekends & Easter Monday
Collins Avenue, (Opposite DCU Ext.)

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Sat & Sun (10.00am – 4.00pm)
Easter Monday (10.00am – 4.00pm)Grangegorman

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Closed Weekends & Easter Monday
Gulistan Terrace, Rathmines

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Sat & Sun (10.00am – 4.00pm)
Easter Monday (10.00am – 4.00pm) Eamonn Ceannt Park, Crumlin

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Closed Weekends & Easter Monday
49-51 Windmill Road, Crumlin

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Sat & Sun (10.00am – 4.00pm)
Easter Monday (10.00am – 4.00pm) Herzog Park, Orwell Road

Good Friday (9.00am – 1.00pm)
Closed Weekends & Easter Monday

Recycling Centres – Opening Times:
Opening Hours at Recycling Centres Easter 2011
Pigeon House Road Recycling Centre – Open: Good Friday, 9am – 8pm; Easter Monday, 9am – 4pm
Ringsend, Dublin 4
Tel: 6144750

Shamrock Terrace Recycling Centre – Open: Good Friday, 10am – 4pm; Closed: Easter Monday
North Strand, Dublin 3
Tel: 8364716

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Thursday 24 February 2011

Hi all,

It’s the final countdown! Only a few more sleeps to go!

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Hi guys,

Tomorrow (Sunday) we’re going for a run starting at 1pm at the constituency office on the triangle and it’d be great if you could join us. It’s an opportunity to get out, blow out the cobwebs, have some fun and show your support. Sunday is the LAST full day we have left so it’s vital that we get out a big crowd and keep the positivity going for the final days of the campaign!

It’ll be a fun, low intensity run so all levels are welcome. Even if you don’t fancy running but want to show your support, please drop by! It is hugely appreciated.

Next weekend it’ll be all over, so let’s give it one last push and leave everything out on the field!

Any queries give Suzanne a shout on 086 379 7291.

Sunday February 20th schedule: