politcal news from Cork, Ireland
FIANNA Fáil TD for Cork South Central, Micheál Martin, has welcomed the new airline route between Cork and Brussels, which was announced by Aer Lingus this week.
Deputy Martin said: “At a time when everyone is working to develop the tourism product in Cork and around the country, this is significant news.
SPEAKING on his return from an inter-parliamentary meeting in Brussels this week to discuss European fisheries policy, Fine Gael Cork South West Deputy, Noel Harrington, expressed concerns over proposals put forward by the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Maria Damanaki, saying they would not be in the best interest of Ireland.
“Inter-parliamentary discussions which examined the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the Common Fisheries Policy took place this week in Brussels. During these discussion numbers issues arose which were of concern to the Irish delegation and which were brought to the attention of the Commissioner.
Jim Daly
FINE Gael Cork South West Deputy, Jim Daly, who will be representing the Government at an inter-parliamentary meeting on growth and jobs in Brussels next week, has today (Wednesday) confirmed that he will launch a job creation initiative for West Cork in the coming months.
Deputy Jim Daly who is a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform will attend a two day meeting in Brussels on Economic Policy Coordination, which will be attended by representatives from all member states of the EU.
The meeting, which will be held at the EU Parliament in Brussels on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th of February, will centre around discussions on how to achieve sustainable growth, job creation and social progress in adverse economic circumstances.
Alan Kelly
HE’S been an MEP for a little over a year, but Labour MEP Alan Kelly already has set his sights closer to home. The 35 year old Tipperary man let slip this week that he will be meeting party leader Eamon Gilmore in the coming days to discuss running for the national elections.
Speaking to reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr Kelly refused to confirm for definite whether he will try for the Dáil, simply saying that a decision on his political future will be made ‘very soon’.
A landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in Brussels will boost Irish exports to Asia, according to the Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, Billy Kelleher TD.
This is the first significant FTA since the European Union’s trade strategy was redefined by Global Europe – the EU’s trade policy statement issued in 2006.
That policy set an objective for the EU of concluding a series of comprehensive bilateral free trade agreements to create better economic ties with key markets and trading partners.
Batt O Keeffe
MORE than 11,000 Cork farmers will get payments of over €104 million, six weeks earlier than expected.
According to the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD, advance payments of 70 per cent in the Single Payment Scheme, worth over €800 million, will issue early next week to more than 113,000 farmers across the country.
Commenting on the decision to provide the payments ahead of schedule, Minister O’ Keeffe said, “Following negotiations with the European Commission, farmers will be paid six weeks earlier than provided for under the rules of the Single Payment Scheme, with the level of advance payment set at an unprecedented 70pc.
The Lisbon Treaty has been hailed as ‘consumer friendly’ this week by Ireland’s largest watchdog group for shoppers, the Consumers’ Association of Ireland.
CAI Chairman James Doorley pointed out several pro-consumer measures in the Treaty that would empower ordinary spenders against the might of multinationals. [Read more...]
Brian Crowley
THE question of whether Ireland’s neutral status will change under Lisbon has continued to niggle voters even after the government obtained a legal protocol to enshrine Ireland’s policy of military neutrality.
Campaigners for a ‘No’ vote are still painting scenarios of an increasingly militarised post-Lisbon Europe, with Ireland forced to draft its young people into European armies.
One of the reasons these fears continue to circulate is because Lisbon will involve changes to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy. While taking these changes into account, it is necessary to remember that they do not interfere with Ireland’s sovereign neutrality.
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