Martin Heydon, TD

Thank you for joining us today for the launch of the Government’s Civil Service Renewal Plan. The past few years has seen our country face huge challenges.

Fine Gael Dublin Senator Catherine Noone today (Thursday) highlighted the real scope for Dublin City Council to cut commercial rates by as much as 2% in their upcoming budget.

At its meeting today, the Government nominated a judge of the High Court as President of the Court of Appeal, as well as, seven judges of the High Court and one judge of the Circuit Court as ordinary judges of the Court of Appeal as follows:

Fine Gael TD for Laois/Offaly and Chair of the Oireachtas Jobs Committee, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, has today (Wednesday), welcomed the World Bank 2015 Doing Business Report which shows that Ireland’s overall doing business ranking has moved four places up to 13th this year.

Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has today (Wednesday), appealed to Irish Water to consider extending the age for the children’s water free allowance to students up to 23 years of age who can prove they are in full time education.

Fine Gael Senator for Dublin Bay South, Catherine Noone, has today (Tuesday), expressed her concern at the announcement by Dublin Bus that they are to increase cash fares, as this change may affect some of the most vulnerable in Dublin.

Fine Gael TD for Longford/Westmeath, Gabrielle McFadden, has said that the approval by the European Commission of a joint project between ESB and Vodafone will ensure a new high speed fibre broadband network for rural towns across the country including Athlone, Mullingar and Longford.

Fine Gael Sligo Senator, Imelda Henry, has said that the decision by heart valve manufacturer, JenaValve, to establish manufacturing capabilities in Sligo will come as a massive boost to the county and the region. The news was announced by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today (Monday) from east coast USA, where he is leading a 5-day IDA investment mission seeking to win new projects for Ireland. The measure is being supported by the Government through IDA Ireland.

Frances Fitzgerald, TD, Minister for Justice and Equality today welcomed the establishment of a new Court of Appeal which creates a dedicated appeal court which will greatly enhance the administration of justice and improve waiting times in hearing appeals.

Fine Gael TD for Longford/Westmeath, Gabrielle McFadden, has said that a range of excellent initiatives to mark the life and works of Athlone’s famous son, John Count McCormack, give due recognition to a man who was the most celebrated tenor of his era.