Stimulus package of €2.25 billion
‘to create 13,000 construction jobs’
Enda Kenny insisted the investment underlined the Government’s commitment to tackling the unemployment crisis
Up to 13,000 jobs will be created as a result of a new 2.25 billion euro stimulus package, the Government has claimed.
The investment will go towards “shovel ready” projects in education, transport, justice and health, with building work likely to start as early as the end of this year.
The bulk of the jobs created will be in the construction sector.
But opposition TDs and critics have argued that while economic stimulus is welcome, the Government’s prolonged timeframe, which will see some of the work not started until 2016, leaves unemployed people with little to celebrate.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin, who made the announcement, all insisted the investment underlined the Government’s commitment to tackling the unemployment crisis.
“Job creation is this Government’s top priority,” said Mr Howlin. “The stimulus announced today will help to generate significant numbers of jobs in the construction sector.”
The Taoiseach insisted spending on the stimulus would add nothing to the country’s debt.
One of the biggest projects funded by the package will see the long-awaited build of a new Dublin Institute of Technology campus in Grangegorman, with construction work starting in 2015.
Six new schools will also be built in Cork, Kildare, Louth and Clare by 2018, while work will begin no later than 2014 on new roads in Galway, Kilkenny and Wexford.
Mr Howlin rejected suggestions that the latter – his own constituency – was unfairly chosen to benefit from the boost, insisting projects have been selected based purely on the fact there are existing plans and the work is ready to begin.
Lissadell Sligo rights-of-way appeal case may not be heard until early next year
Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh, the owners of Lissadell
An appeal over rights-of-way at historic Lissadell estate in Co Sligo may be heard in the Supreme Court early next year.
A Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice John MacMenamin, is dealing with pre-appeal case management issues and he indicated today he was aiming for an appeal hearing in January, 2013.
The appeal could take up to ten days, the judge was told.
The appeal has been taken by barristers Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh, the owners of Lissadell, against the High Court judgment of Mr Justice Bryan McMahon, delivered in December 2010. Judge McMahon dismissed their proceedings brought against Sligo County Council concerning the alleged existence of rights of way.
The owners are also appealing an award of costs against them of the lengthy High Court proceedings, which ran for 58 days. Those costs have been estimated as around €6m.
The case was initiated after the Council passed a resolution in December 2008 to amend the Sligo County Development plan to include a provision for the “preservation of the public rights of way” along certain routes at Lissadell.
In their action, the couple had claimed four routes through the 410-acre estate were not subject to any public rights of way but Mr Justice McMahon disagreed. He ruled, while the public rights of way exist, they should continue to be used only during daylight hours as had been the situation in the past.
The Lissadell estate was previously the home of the Gore Booth family for some 400 years and originally consisted of about 32,000 acres. Constance Gore Booth, later Countess Markievicz, was Ireland’s first woman Government Minister, while the poet WB Yeats was a frequent visitor to Lissadell.
Ms Cassidy and Mr Walsh bought the estate in 2003 for €4m and spent some €9.5m restoring it.
Evidence was given during the hearing the State had decided against purchasing the property after former Minister Martin Cullen said restoration work would have cost about €30m
Irish Government to axe 500 Army troops in new shake-up
The strength of the Army is to be cut by 500 troops as part of a major reorganisation of the Defence Forces, it was learned last night.
The move is a major blow to officers and troops who underwent a savage reduction in strength little over a decade ago.
The new reduction is expected to be announced today by Defence Minister Alan Shatter.
It is expected that the reduction will come as officers retire and are not replaced.
It means that the number of troops will be scaled down from the present 8,500 to 8,000 despite the big commitment of soldiers to UN peacekeeping duties overseas and activities at home in support of the garda crackdown on dissident terrorists and criminal bombers.
The officer corps is expected to lose around 100 personnel, with a further 200 cut in non-commissioned officers (NCOs).
Cabinet
The Naval Service and the Air Corps will not be affected by the reorganisation.
Meanwhile, 18 senior gardai are to be promoted immediately and a further eight vacant posts at the top level will also be filled shortly.
Mr Shatter disclosed yesterday that he was awaiting sanction from the Cabinet today before authorising the bulk of the promotions.
Among the 18 are the head of the national drugs unit, Tony Quilter, who will become an assistant commissioner.
New chiefs will include John Gilligan, who has been press officer for more than three years; John Scanlan in Limerick; and Aidan Glacken in Athlone.
Competitions will be held to select the additional eight officers to be promoted.
Mr Shatter said that the announcement of the promo- tions had no connection to the spate of armed raids in Dublin, and that it had been under negotiation for some time.
He was speaking at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, where 95 recruits to the part-time reserve force graduated.
They bring the overall strength of the reserve to more than 1,000 and the authorities say they are on course to achieve their target number, equivalent to one-tenth of the full-time force, by the middle of next year.
Those who graduated included a bank official, teacher, safety consultant, receptionist, waitress, fitter, plumber, carpenter, childcare worker, shop assistants, students and unemployed men and women.
However, the Garda Representative Association said yesterday it continued to oppose the reserve until the full-time professional force was properly resourced.
But Mr Shatter said the reserve had a very important role to play and its members were performing a variety of useful tasks on the streets and in offices without being involved in serious crime investigations.
Reservists are paid €1,000 to meet their annual expenses, including travelling to the Garda College once a year to undergo a refresher training course.
Simon Coveney denies rift over alcohol abuse clamp down plans
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has denied there is a rift between Fine Gael and Labour Ministers over a new plan to clamp down on alcohol abuse.
Some Fine Gael Ministers, Coveney included, have expressed reservations about aspects of a proposed document which contain measures such as a minimum price and changes to advertising and sponsorship.
The plan has been taken off this week’s cabinet agenda. Minister Coveney says some discussions have already taken place however.
The minister said: “I have already had long discussions with Roisín Shortall and they have been very amicable discussions.
“I think she has done a good job and when the proposals come for final discussion before cabinet I’ll have some things to say.
“I will be strongly supportive of her in some of the proposals but I think some of the proposals need more discussion.”
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