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Minister Harris gets green light for €1bn new children’s hospital

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, today announced that the Government has approved the investment required to enable the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board to award the construction contracts for the building of the main children’s hospital on the St James’s Hospital campus and the two Paediatric Outpatients and Urgent Care Centres on the Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals campuses.

26th April 2017

Regular respite a must for carers – Daly

A West Cork TD has drafted legislation that will entitle all full time carers to a respite period at least once every month. If enacted, Jim Daly’s new legislation will, for the first time ever, place respite services on a statutory footing, and compel the Health Service Executive to provide the care.

24th April 2017

Rates reform is good news for our small towns and shops – Mulherin

Fine Gael Senator, Michelle Mulherin, believes that new Government reforms to commercial rates will be good news for businesses and our local authorities.

21st April 2017

O’Dowd reiterates call for Empty Home Tax in RPZ’s

Fergus O'Dowd, Fine Gael TD for Louth and East Meath, is again calling on the Government to consider the urgent implementation of a Vacant Home Tax in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ).

21st April 2017

1,147 couples have said “I do” two years on from marriage equality referendum - Buttimer

Fine Gael Cork Senator and Chair of the Fine Gael LGBT Group, Jerry Buttimer, has said that 1,147 same-sex couples have married since the introduction of marriage equality in Ireland.

13th April 2017

Guidelines needed to shed light on solar farms - Lombard

Fine Gael Cork based Senator, Tim Lombard, has called for the introduction of guidelines to assist Local Authorities with planning applications for solar farms.

12th April 2017

Hotels and restaurants must be included in any change to Good Friday alcohol law - Noone

Fine Gael Dublin Senator, Catherine Noone, has today (Wednesday) said that hotels and restaurants must be included in any change to the law banning alcohol sales on Good Friday. Senator Noone was speaking today (Wednesday) as the Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017 was debated in the Seanad.

12th April 2017

European Parliament joins calls for Volkswagen consumers to be compensated- Clune

Fine Gael Ireland South MEP and member of the European Parliament's Commission of Inquiry into the Volkswagen Emissions scandal, Deirdre Clune, has welcomed the Committee’s final report on the use of defeat devices which was adopted in the European Parliament, Strasbourg. The report called for compensation for European consumers, as well as highlighting the ways in which car testing and the supervisory process must be improved to prevent the use of defeat devices in the future.

11th April 2017

Childcare providers can avail of new grants to extend services to school age children - Daly

Fine Gael TD for Cork South West, and Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Children, Jim Daly, has encouraged childcare providers to avail of new Government grants to establish new services or to expand existing services, in order to cater for children of school going age.

10th April 2017

Over 10,000 new dads have taken paid Paternity Leave

Fine Gael introduced paid Paternity Leave in September 2016. This provides two weeks' benefit, currently paid at the weekly rate of €235 per week, to support fathers in caring for their newly born babies.

7th April 2017

Varadkar and Harris announce significant measures to help People with Disabilities get into employment

Minister Varadkar, Minister Harris and Minister McGrath together published the “Make Work Pay” Report, designed to help people with disabilities to achieve their ambitions and find work, and to remove the many barriers which prevent them from doing so.

6th April 2017

Fine Gael statement on future funding of water services

It is Fine Gael's view that what was voted through in the Water Committee today falls well short of our obligations under the Water Framework Directive and puts Ireland on a collision course with the European Commission.

5th April 2017