Category: press-release

White applauds Minister’s announcement of new scholarship scheme – the Walton Bursaries.

15th April 2012

Alex White TD today applauded the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., who has announced the establishment of a new scholarship scheme for higher education. As part of Budget 2012, the Government committed to abolishing all existing scholarship schemes, and replacing these with a new set of bursaries, aimed solely at students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

Speaking after the Minister’s announcement at TUI Conference in Wexford last week, Deputy White said: “I am delighted with these new arrangements.”

 

60 students from DEIS schools, and who hold medical cards, will receive a bursary of ?2,000 each this September. This number will rise over each of the next three years, with over 350 students a year benefiting by 2015. The awards will be awarded regionally on the basis of the leaving cert results achieved by students.

 

The awards under the new scheme will be fixed at ?2,000 per student. The bursary will be an extra support and incentive to recognise high achievement for students who are from disadvantaged families and attending DEIS schools.

Those students to whom bursaries are awarded will also be entitled to apply for student grants towards the cost of maintenance and the student contribution or fees. 41% of all undergraduate students currently receive a student grant and have their fees or student contribution paid on their behalf.

 

These bursaries will be augmented by a small number of bursaries focussed on students who undertake studies in the Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) areas.

 

“These scholarships will be named the Walton Bursaries after Ernest Walton - Ireland’s only Nobel laureate in science, and the man who, with John Cockcroft, became the first person to split the atom,” said Deputy White.

 

“We hope that these bursaries will help ensure a new generation of Irish people strive to replicate his achievements.”

White welcomes the relaxing of rules for new €30m Sports Capital Programme

2nd April 2012

Speaking after the launch of this year’s Sports Capital Programme, Deputy Alex White today welcomed news that the new scheme will be open to far more clubs and groups than ever before, because a strict requirement on landownership has been relaxed. In the past, all applicants had to own their land or have it on a long lease. The Minister has decided that these clubs will now be able to apply for grants of up to €25,000 to upgrade facilities.

“This is the first round of Sports Capital Funding in four years, and it will crucially offer sports clubs throughout Dublin South access to vital funds. With €30 million available nationwide, the new focus of the sporting programme is to encourage more people to get involved in sporting activity”.

The Sports Capital Programme is the main channel of Government support for developing sports facilities and purchasing sports equipment.

Deputy White said “In line with the Programme for Government, this new Sports Capital scheme will have a stronger focus on projects which increase active participation in sport, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Under this scheme pitches will be drained, floodlights will be installed, sports halls will be improved and dressing rooms will be built”.

Thanks to these grants, people will have more opportunities than ever to get active and stay active in a wide range of sports. It will also have a positive impact on job creation in construction.

Application forms and information about how to apply is now available on the website: www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie.

White applauds Council’s commencement of Age Friendly Programme.

12th March 2012

The Programme will be hosting a series of open consultation sessions across the County over the month of March including a session at Ballyroan Community Centre on Wednesday 14th March at 11.00. These sessions will be an opportunity for older people, and those who work with them, to have their voices heard. Deputy White encouraged participants to make suggestions that will help the Council to develop South Dublin as a great place to grow older.

 

The Age Friendly County Programme aims to create communities where all of us as we age, enjoy a good quality of life and continue to participate fully in the life of those communities.

 

The Programme is based on the WHO Age-friendly Cities Framework and Guidelines – which were developed by 33 cities from across the world (including Dundalk) and involved a major consultation with older people in each of those places.  The framework comprises eight interrelated elements from public spaces to transport.

 

Commenting on the vision for the Programme, Alex White TD said, “The aims of the Programme are ambitious and will require a shift in how we think about ageing and how we collaborate and plan to deliver improvements in supports and services as a result.

 

In this, the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations this Programme offers us a chance to reflect locally on how we are living longer and staying healthier than ever before and to realise the opportunities that this represents. Active ageing can give a new generation of older people the opportunity to stay longer in the workforce and share their experience, maintaining an active role in society so as to live as healthy and fulfilling lives as possible”.

Finance Committee to meet with Central Bank to discuss measures to mitigate technical difficulties

7th February 2012

Representatives from the Central Bank of Ireland’s Financial Regulation Division will come before the Committee on Finance and the Public Service tomorrow, 4th July to discuss safeguards in place to mitigate technical malfunctions in the Irish financial services sector.

Committee chairman Alex White, TD said: “The major technical malfunctions at Ulster Bank, which have now entered their third week, highlight the importance of having robust and reliable systems in the financial services sector for processing transactions and dealing with payments.

As a result of the computer ‘glitch’, Ulster Bank is dealing with a backlog of unprocessed payments which has left many customers without access to funds and unable to make everyday payments. It is an unacceptable situation.

Tomorrow, representatives from the Central Bank’s Financial Regulation Division will address the Committee on the Ulster Bank situation in particular, as well as addressing the overall systems and safeguards that are in place to deal with technical problems across the Irish financial services sector. Committee members will have an opportunity to question the Central Bank representatives on their interaction with Ulster Bank, regulation of the bank, what kind of investigations it has carried out into the issue and what lessons have been learned.”

Finance Committee to visit Bundestag

24th January 2012

A delegation from the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform will visit the Bundestag in Berlin tomorrow as part of a working mission to meet counterparts in the German Budgetary and European Affairs Committees.

Committee Chairman Alex White, TD: “The purpose of our visit tomorrow is to establish direct working relationships with parliamentary colleagues in the Bundestag, and to discuss areas of mutual interest, including the current treaty negotiations on the proposed fiscal compact. At a time of great uncertainty and concern about the future, it is essential that a line of contact and exchange should open up between elected parliamentarians across the European Union. We are looking forward to positive, frank and open discussion, and will also take the opportunity to reflect on the controversy about Irish budget details being revealed in the Bundestag, before they came before the Dáil last December. I hope this is only the beginning of a much-needed process of discussion, debate and mutual understanding.”

The official delegation will be led by Deputy White and includes Liam Twomey, TD; Michael McGrath, TD; Pearse Doherty, TD; and Richard Boyd-Barrett, TD. Four other Committee Members will accompany the delegation at their own expense.

White welcomes 30 new jobs in Sysnet Global Solutions, Carrickmines.

17th January 2012

Alex White TD welcomed the announcement that Sysnet Global Solutions, the Dublin information security and services company, is to invest €1.34m in a major research and development programme, supported by Government through Enterprise Ireland.  This will see the company create 30 new high value jobs in Dublin and 8 in their overseas network, by 2014.

The new jobs will bring total employment in Sysnet in Ireland to 111 by 2014 and global employment to 135 by the same date.

Established in 1989, Sysnet is a leading provider of information security and assurance services worldwide. With this new research and development programme, Sysnet will expand its software development operation in Dublin and invest in the development of the existing compliance management system to meet the changing needs of existing and future clients.  The company has continued to grow its international business over the past six years, and the new development will position Sysnet to build on its existing business and expand into new export markets.

Commenting on the announcement, Deputy White said:

“If we are to get out of this crisis and create the levels of employment we need, we must create an indigenous engine of economic growth. Indigenous companies provide proportionately three times more benefit to the Irish economy than multinational companies, and while FDI will remain a crucial part of our economic strategy, the Government are determined to support high growth indigenous companies in every way possible.

Sysnet is a dynamic Irish tech company operating at the cutting edge of its sector, engaging in R&D and innovating, and today’s announcement that it is investing and creating further jobs is great news. In the forthcoming Action Plan for Jobs the Government will be implementing further measures to support the indigenous companies of the future so that we can accelerate their expansion to create the jobs we so badly need”.

Eurozone agreement will unshackle us from banking debts

7th January 2012

The overnight EU summit agreement constitutes a significant step towards resolution of the Irish and European sovereign debt crisis. The effect of this agreement will be to unshackle massive banking debts from sovereign liability – an essential ingredient for recovery.

Ireland’s 2008 bank guarantee can never be fully reversed. However, this represents a real and singificant step towards lifting much of the grossly unjust burden the guarantee placed on the Irish people. The Taoiseach and the Tanaiste must be warmly congratulated on what they have achieved today.

Like many others, I have long believed that a single supervisory regime for eurozone banks is an essential condition for addressing the banking crisis, and for guarding against future collapses. I welcome the fact that this has now been agreed, and that such a supervisory body is to be put in place as a priority objective, and quickly.

The other essential ingredient for recovery is a sustainable growth strategy. We can bring forward a stimulus strategy ourselves, and I fully expect the government to do so. But given the level of integration and inter-dependence that now exists in Europe, only an EU-wide growth strategy can succeed. I look forward to further announcements today from the summit.

27 new jobs to be created in government-supported start-up companies.

22nd December 2011

Alex White TD welcomed the announcement that 27 jobs will be created over the next three years in two new high potential start-up companies based in Dublin South – SIM Local in Sandyford and Cab Call Communications in Stillorgan, which have been supported by Government through Enterprise Ireland in the third quarter of 2011.

The announcement builds on the 755 new jobs announced earlier this year as part of Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start Ups programme, and once again shows an increase in both the number of companies and new jobs, compared with Q3 last year.

Welcoming the announcement, Deputy White said:

“If we are to rebuild the economy and get jobs growing again, we must create an indigenous engine of growth. While foreign direct investment must and will remain an important part of our economic strategy, indigenous businesses will be the key to achieving the levels of growth and employment that we need. Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start Up programme, which provides support to dynamic, high-growth companies in key sectors, is a central part of the Government’s plan to drive success in our indigenous businesses.

Young Irish Women show the way to Olympic success.

14th December 2011

Praising Irish sportswomen Alex White calls for renewed focus in closing the gender gap in sports participation.

Commenting on the success of Rathfarnham’s very own Annalise Murphy at the on-going World Sailing Championships in Perth, Western Australia, Deputy Alex White said:
‘News that Annalise Murphy has already achieved Olympic qualification for London 2012, is terrific news for all our aspiring Olympians’.

Annalise’s success follows on from Grainne Murphy’s qualification for the 800 metres freestyle swim the previous week in Eindhoven.  And though not yet qualified, Katie Taylor’s successes and UCD’s Joanne Cuddihy continue to inspire a whole generation of young Irish sportswoman.’

Welcoming the work of the Irish Sports Council in this area, Deputy White called for a renewal of the Council’s efforts to close the gender gap.  Recent reports have highlighted a clear gender gap in sports participation, with only 34% of women participating regularly compared to 52% of men.

The importance of women’s participation in sport is well recognised by the Irish Sports Council who have completed a large body of research into the subject. That research revealed that less than one in five Irish women came close to conducting the accumulated 30 minutes of physical activity per day, for at least five days per week, as recommended by the World Health Organisation for good health.

In Ireland’s Interest: Labour’s Proposals for Budget 2011

7th December 2011

A Budget in Ireland’s Interest

The deal concluded by Fianna Fáil with the EU and the IMF does not serve Ireland’s national interest.

While providing Ireland with necessary funding, the deal transfers even more of the costs of the banking failure onto the shoulders of the Irish taxpayer, to the benefit of bank bondholders. Those who lent money to Irish banks to fuel the property boom are not forced to pay for their mistakes. Instead, Ireland has been offered a line of expensive credit with which to bail them out, and to run the state for the next three years, at punishing rates of interest. In addition, Fianna Fáil have caved in to pressure, and have agreed to €6 billion in budget adjustments in 2011.

Labour does not share the conservative consensus in Ireland, and in the European Commission, that a €6 billion adjustment is the right course of action. Ireland does have an unsustainable budget deficit, and tackling it will require hard decisions, but we have to make the right hard decisions. Imposing a €6 billion adjustment in 2011 poses an unacceptable risk to jobs and growth in Ireland. In a highly uncertain economic environment, this level of adjustment risks further stagnation to the Irish economy in 2011, with worsening human consequences. It is a risk that Ireland should not take.

Labour’s proposals for Budget 2011 demonstrate how budget consolidation can be combined with a strategy for growth and job creation. By making some €5.0 billion in adjustments, and by recycling €500m into job creation, a net adjustment of €4.5 million can be made, while at the same time promoting employment.

Our proposals are based on our core commitment to fairness, which should be an essential element in budgetary strategy. To get through this crisis, we must come together as One Ireland. That means that everyone must contribute, but those who have the most must contribute the most.

Ireland needs reform. Rather than lurching from Budget to Budget, we must change the way we manage the nation’s finances - reforming the way we manage public spending, more effective scrutinising of spending and a set of reform measures to ensure that we never find ourselves in a crisis like this again.

Labour’s budget proposals, based on Jobs, Reform and Fairness, serve the interests of the Irish people - the real national interest.

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