This week, I voiced my concerns about claims by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council that the age profile of the Stillorgan area could present challenges for the future sustainability of Glenalbyn Swimming Pool.
I was happy to note this week that following on from Leopardstown-based ICON plc’s jobs development, confirmed last Friday, nearly 1,000 jobs have now been announced for the Dublin South constituency in the past four months alone
This week, I welcomed the news that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is asking the public for their views on its plans for the next five years.
Alex White TD pleased that Mount Carmel Hospital will provide over 100 Community Hospital beds
I welcome the news this week that when fully redeveloped Mount Carmel Hospital will provide over 100 community hospital beds. The information came in a letter from HSE Director General, Tony O’Brien, after I requested clarification on plans for the hospital’s development.
Getting more people back to work is a top priority for 2015. This infographic will give you a snapshot on the progress we made nationally in 2014. Locally, I was pleased to see a 17.3% drop in the number of under-25s on the live register at Nutgrove Social Welfare Office in the past year.
Minister for Communications, Alex White T.D., visited the Charlie Hebdo office on Monday, January 12th in Paris, where he left a bouquet of 17 white roses in memory of the people killed in terrorist attacks in the city last week.
I was delighted to meet with local, young scientists who participated in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. Students from Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh, Loreto Beaufort, Jesus and Mary College Our Lady’s Grove and Rockbrook Park School were exhibiting their innovative research at the RDS last week. I want to congratulate the students for their fantastic hard work, creativity and ingenuity. They are incredibly hard-working and I wish them every success into the future.
I attended a Charlie Hebdo remembrance ceremony at Dublin Castle on Saturday which was organised by the NUJ.
Minister for Communications Alex White, TD, today (Monday) awarded €540,000 to twenty-nine projects to help 12,000 people develop basic internet skills. The funding will bring to 114,000 the number of ‘non-liners’ – people who don’t use the internet – who have been helped by the BenefIT Programme since it was established in 2008.
I welcome the confirmation by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council that they have purchased Fernhill Estate for €4.25m. It is intended that Fernhill Estate will be developed as a public park.
Addressing the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, yesterday (Wednesday), Minister for Energy Alex White, TD, said Ireland was accelerating its actions to combat climate change. He said Ireland was playing an active part in meeting collective EU targets and global aspirations for reduced carbon emissions through energy efficiency, renewable energy, afforestation, improved agricultural practices, and financial support for developing countries.
This week I’m representing Ireland at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru. Yesterday I attended the opening address by Ban Ki-Moon. Today, I will address the conference.
I warmly welcome the announcement by Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan, that 27 primary schools in Dublin South will receive a total funding of €306,453 to improve their physical infrastructure and invest in I.T. equipment and furniture.
Minister for Communications Alex White T.D., today published draft media merger guidelines for public consultation. These draft guidelines have been prepared under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014, which came into effect last month.
I warmly welcome the latest CSO figures, published this week, which show that in the past year there has been a 6.7% drop in the numbers signing on the live register at Nutgrove Social Welfare Office and an 11.2% drop at the Intreo Centre in Dún Laoghaire.
The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, and the Minister for Communications Alex White TD, today announced that the roll-out of high-speed (100Mbps) broadband to all post-primary schools has been completed after the final 269 schools were connected in 2014. This brings to a close the third and final stage of this nationwide programme.
Today’s launch of the IS 399 energy efficient design management standard, by Labour Ministers for Energy Alex White and Minister of State for Business and Employment Ged Nash, marks the achievement of another commitment in the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2014.
Minister for Communications Alex White T.D, today (Monday) encouraged qualifying small businesses to take up the Government’s trading online voucher scheme, which offers grants of up to €2,500 to help Irish companies sell online. Speaking on ‘Cyber Monday,’ which sees a surge in online Christmas shopping, Minister White also urged consumers to buy Irish.
Alex White TD pleased that Mount Carmel will return to a Community use in the near future
I warmly welcome the new use of Mount Carmel Hospital as a dedicated community hospital for Dublin, with an allocation of 65 beds, as part of the HSE Service Plan for 2015, which was published today.
The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White, T.D., today published online national and county maps that identify the homes, businesses and schools where commercial providers will deliver high-speed broadband access by the end of 2016. Minister White said that the State would invest in all the remaining areas to ensure that every home, school and business in Ireland has access to high-speed broadband, regardless of where it is located.
Here’s a short video of my speech yesterday in the Dáil on the water package reforms announced on Wednesday by Minister Kelly. These reforms bring simplicity, certainty and affordability to every family and individual in Ireland and represent a fair and reasonable approach to addressing our poor and deteriorating water and sewerage infrastructure.
Speech by Minister Alex White TD
Labour TD for Dublin South
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Wednesday, November 12th 2014
Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel
It is a pleasure to be here tonight at the eighth annual Dún Laoghaire EnviroCom Awards. I will try to keep my speech brief as I know you’re all looking forward to your meal.
The purpose of tonight’s EnviroCom Awards is to recognise businesses and agencies in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown for their environmental achievements. The Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, dedication and success in environmental management in our community. The awards shine a light on the range of actions that businesses and agencies can take to minimise their impact on the environment and in many cases save money and lower costs.
I was very saddened to hear of the death of Brian Farrell, who was among the very best of Irish broadcasters. He had an exceptional insight into Irish politics and current affairs, and he will be remembered as a rigorous and fair analyst and interviewer. He will be very much missed and my thoughts today are with his family.
Local jobseekers who avail of temporary seasonal work for up to 8 weeks over Christmas should know that their social welfare payment will be immediately reinstated when the period of employment ends.
It is around this time of year that temporary seasonal work opens up as the Christmas retail rush gets underway. I want to assure people on either Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance that, should they take up employment over the holidays, this payment will immediately resume once that employment ends.
Re-Opening the Permanent TSB Branch in Dundrum
I warmly welcome the latest CSO figures which show that in the past year there has been a 5.2% drop in the numbers signing on the live register at Nutgrove Social Welfare Office and an 11.6% drop at the Intreo Centre in Dún Laoghaire. These are really positive developments and signal strong progress in renewing our local economy.
Today I obtained Government approval for the appointment of seven new members of the RTÉ Board.
On my nomination, Moya Doherty was appointed as Chair to serve alongside four newly appointed Ministerial nominees; Frank Hannigan, Deborah Kelleher, PJ Mathews, Anne O’Leary. Mr Fergus Armstrong was also reappointed to the Board. In addition, the recently elected RTÉ staff representative, Mr Aengus Mac Grianna, was appointed by Government. RTÉ director-general Noel Curran is also a member of the Board. Four existing board members, nominated by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications, remain in place until their terms expire in February 2015.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White, T.D., has welcomed two developments announced this week, which will see fibre-to-the-home delivered to at least 500,000 homes and businesses across Ireland.
Today the contract was signed for the construction works for the GPO: Witness History Interpretive Exhibition Centre. Construction will begin in November and is expected to take 12 months. GPO: Witness History will officially open on Easter Sunday 2016. The overall development will cost €7.8 million.
I’m pleased to note that Dublin Bus has introduced extra departures at 15.45 and 17.40 on the 145 service from the 39a stop at Belfield Campus.
Budget 2015 – Alex White’s Budget Debate Speech
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Labour TD for Dublin South
Dáil Éireann, October 15th 2014, 5.45pm
[youtube=http://youtu.be/CyMldb1WpUM]
Budget 2015 is the first recovery Budget. The era of tax rises affecting low and middle income earners and cuts in public services is now over. Budget 2015 will help secure employment and a sustainable economic and social recovery for Ireland and our people. Its reliefs are targeted at low and middle income earners, especially families who have borne such a heavy financial burden over the last number of years.
We said that austerity would not last forever and that our collective effort would not be in vain. It is a testament to the resilience of the Irish people and the sacrifices they have made, that we are now entering a period of progress and recovery.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Alex White today (Wednesday) welcomed Budget 2015 as the “first recovery Budget” and said the era of public service cuts was over. Speaking in Dáil Éireann this evening, the Minister and Labour TD for Dublin South said it was a progressive budget with reliefs targeted at low and middle income earners who had shouldered a very considerable economic burden in recent years.
My main priority as Minister is to further advance the National Broadband Plan. Delivering high speed, high quality and future proofed broadband to all parts of Ireland will provide jobs and improve social inclusion, including in rural communities. It will create infrastructure that allows businesses and communities to thrive. To this end, we are in the process of ensuring that high speed broadband becomes available to every citizen and business in the country irrespective of their location.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry that I cannot be with you there today in person, unfortunately pressing European business means that I am unavoidably detained elsewhere.
I warmly welcomed the announcement by local company CarTrawler that it will create 400 new jobs over the next three years at its Dundrum Headquarters.
This week at Cabinet the Government agreed to proceed with legislation that will exempt local sports clubs from paying commercial rates on the non-profit parts of their building.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White T.D., today opened the next phase of the public consultation process as part of the development of a White Paper on Energy Policy.
Today I launched Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week with Anne Doyle. Carbon Monoxide is highly dangerous. You can’t see it or smell it. In fact it is often called “the silent killer”. You can protect your home from the dangers of this deadly gas by taking preventive measures and by learning to recognise the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Check the website Read More
ESB Chief Executive, Pat O’Doherty, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White TD and Jerry O’Sullivan, Managing Director ESB Networks Ltd at the launch of the ESB Networks new electricity Distribution Control Centre in South Dublin. Photo Chris Bellew / Copyright Fennell Photography 2014
I was delighted to open the ESB Networks new electricity distribution control centre in Dublin South on Friday, which provides the capacity to centrally control Ireland’s electricity distribution network.
Tomorrow night (Fri. September 19th) is Culture Night. Dublin South/Rathdown will be buzzing with over twelve unique events taking place across our locality. Please find below information on each of the events and see what takes your fancy.
I would like to alert local parents to a free anti-bullying session which will take place on Tuesday October 7th at the Stillorgan Park Hotel. I welcome the additional funding that Minister Jan O’Sullivan has provided to support the delivery of anti-bullying training sessions for parents of primary and secondary school children across Ireland. It’s positive that one of the sessions will take place in Stillorgan and will be open to parents of primary and secondary school children.
I’m delighted to learn that the HSE, as I had suggested last February, has purchased the former Mount Carmel Hospital. The Churchtown campus will now be brought back to life as a much needed ‘step-down’ facility for patients who no longer need acute hospital care.
Today eircom announced that it has reached a critical milestone in the rollout of Ireland’s largest fibre network by passing the one millionth premises with superfast broadband.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils have been allocated €323,532 and €360, 873 in resources, respectively, to undertake improvement works to social housing.
I warmly welcome the latest CSO figures which show that the number of people signing on the Live Register in Nutgrove has dropped by 10.6% between August 2013 and August 2014, while the Live Register has also fallen by 7.7% in Dún Laoghaire in the same period.
Best of luck to students who are waiting nervously on their Leaving Certificate results. It can be a nerve-wracking time. I want to congratulate students who worked hard to achieve their results, as well as their teachers, parents and guardians who supported them.
Today I was delighted to visit the Kilmacud Crokes GAA Club. It’s one of 70 sports clubs receiving €28m funding under the Better Energy scheme towards insulation, heating and lighting upgrades. GAA, soccer, rugby, golf, tennis, swimming, athletics, squash and horse racing clubs will all benefit from the funding.
I welcome the further annual fall in the Live Register in July in the Nutgrove and Dun Laoghaire areas. In July the Live Register fell by 7.58% in Dublin, with decreases of 9.77% in Nutgrove and 7.03% in Dun Laoghaire.
There’s only three days left to share your views and submissions on the Green Paper on Energy Policy. Members of the public and interested parties are invited to send in their views, observations and suggestions on the shape of Ireland’s future energy policy. You can read the Green Paper here.
Review of Ireland’s radio frequency spectrum policy announced
The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White T.D., today published a spectrum policy consultation paper. The Minister said “This consultation marks the first step in a comprehensive review of Ireland’s radio frequency spectrum policy and a further step in meeting the commitments made in the National Broadband Plan”.
