News Entries
O’Donovan calls for Dáil debate on the Disappeared
Added November 8th, 2013
Fine Gael Limerick TD, Patrick O’Donovan, has asked the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore TD, to allow time for a Dáil debate on the issue of the Disappeared. Deputy O’Donovan was speaking during Order of Business this week in the Dáil.
“The issue of the Disappeared is one of national importance. The topic has received renewed public attention in recent days following the airing of a documentary about the victims and their families who are still searching for answers.
“I have called on the Tanáiste to facilitate a Dáil debate on the matter, as I believe the political system must continue to demand answers from all of those who were involved at the time.
“It was heart wrenching to hear the stories of the relatives of the Disappeared recounting how their lives were torn apart by the death of their loved ones. Seven families are still waiting on closure and justice; they deserve all of the political support they can get.
“The Tánaiste has told me that a Dáil debate will be considered by the Party whips. I hope time can be set aside for a thorough debate on the issue in our national parliament.”
O’Donovan welcomes funding for the School Minor Works and Summer Works Schemes
Added November 7th, 2013
Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., that he has allocated almost €70 million for school improvements. Over €28 million is being made available as a once-off payment to primary schools as part of the Minor Works Grant scheme. Another €40 million will be allocated under the Summer Works Scheme 2014 which is being re-introduced to fund the improvement and upgrading of existing school buildings.
“I am delighted that the Minister has been able to provide funding for these two invaluable works schemes for schools. The Minor Works Grant will enable schools to undertake small scale repair works without the need to interact with the Department. The funding for the Summer Works Scheme will also allow schools to carry out small and medium scale building works such as gas, electrical and mechanical works, roof and window upgrades, structural improvements; works that will improve and upgrade existing school buildings.”
“From working with many schools in the constituency, I know too well the importance of these schemes and I have no doubt that the many school communities and management bodies will welcome this announcement as the schemes are a valuable contribution to the costs of maintaining school buildings.”
“This announcement is part of this Government’s continued commitment to improve facilities in schools throughout the country, despite the funding constraints that are in place at the present time. The reintroduction of the Summer Works Scheme in 2014 is particularly welcome, as the works will be carried out in schools over the summer months, when the pupils are on holidays, so the disruption to schooling will be kept to a minimum.
“These two schemes will have a positive impact in the learning environment for students, but the projects will also stimulate economic activity by supporting direct and indirect much needed construction jobs in Limerick.”
I would advise any school interested in apply for these grants to make contact on the Department on the freephone service which will assist schools with queries. They can be contacted at 1800 200 955 daily from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4.30pm.
O’Donovan calls on Minister to examine New Zealand approach to cyber bullying
Added November 6th, 2013
Fine Gael Limerick TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications Committee, Patrick O’Donovan, has today (Wednesday) called on the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter TD, to consider the new legislation that is being adopted in New Zealand to combat cyber bulling. The proposed New Zealand law creates a new offence of ‘incitement to commit suicide’.
“The issue of cyber bullying has received considerable attention here over the last year or so, due in no small part to the tragic deaths by suicide of several young people and teenagers. This, of course, isn’t just an Irish problem, it’s an international one, and I think the new law being adopted in New Zealand should be given serious consideration here.
“Under the New Zealand proposals, a new offence of ‘incitement to commit suicide’ is being created, and cyber bullies could face up to three years in prison or significant fines. The legislation is being brought forward by the New Zealand Justice Minister, Judith Collins, in a bid to crack down on bullying via social networking, email, mobile phones and websites.
“I have asked Minister Shatter for his views on the matter and I will also be calling on the Oireachtas Communications Committee, of which I am a member, to consider the issue. The Committee completed a report on cyber bullying earlier this year, and I believe we must continue to pursue the matter. As more and more of our interactions take place online, we must look at ways to protect young people in particular from harassment and abuse.
“I look forward to hearing Minister Shatter’s views on this issue and whether he thinks similar legislation could be feasible here.”
******Deputy O’Donovan has put down a Parliamentary Question to Minister Shatter as follows:
“To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality, in light of the recent announcement of the New Zealand Minister for Justice to introduce a Cyber Bullying Bill which contains provision to create a new offence of ‘incitement to commit suicide’, if the Minister would revert to this deputy on his views in relation to the New Zealand proposal and if he would make a statement on the matter.”
O’Donovan raises new driving licence process in Dáil
Added November 6th, 2013
Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has been told by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar that the delays being experienced by people applying for new drivers licences will be examined. Patrick O’Donovan raised the issue with the Minister in the Dáil, and said that since the introduction of the new scheme he had received calls from people who had to wait up to four and a half hours for a licence.
Patrick O’Donovan told the Minister for Transport that he believes Co. Limerick has a special case for additional staff and possibly a second part-time centre to be located in the county. He said that following the introduction of the new scheme that the up to 250,000 would not have a centre within 50km of their residence and this was something which needed to be addressed. In replying to Patrick O’Donovan, the Minister for Transport acknowledged that the points which the Limerick TD raised were legitimate and he committed to raising them with the Road Safety Authority.
Leo Varadkar also told Patrick O’Donovan that he would raise the possibility of a mobile service to cover remote and rural areas with the Road Safety Authority, who have the contract for the issuing of drivers licences.
Speaking after raising the issue in the Dáil, Patrick O’Donovan, who is a member of the Oireachtas Transport Committee, said that he would also be raising the issue at the Transport Committee and would be asking that the Road Safety Authority appear before the committee to provide an update on the implementation of the new process.
O’Donovan welcomes announcement that 305 new Garda vehicles to be delivered before year end
Added November 4th, 2013
Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD that 305 new Garda vehicles will be delivered before the end of 2013. The vehicles will be provided at a cost of €9m and are in addition to 133 new Garda vehicles already made available in 2013.
“This most recent investment brings to €18m the total amount spent on the Garda fleet for the three years 2012 to 2014 compared with just €5 million spent by Fianna Fáil in the previous three years and represents a very considerable financial investment in Garda transport, particularly at a time when the level of funding available across the public sector is severely limited.
“This Government is focussed on reducing crime and protecting our communities. The hard work and dedication of the members of An Garda Síochána, through difficult economic circumstances in recent years must be highly commended. I am hopeful that we will continue to see a reduction in crime rates in the year ahead as we continue to modernise and invest in our Garda force.”
O’Donovan welcomes decision by EtQ to establish its EMEA Headquarters in Limerick
Added October 30th, 2013
Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan, has welcomed the announcement by EtQ, a leading Quality, Compliance, and Environmental Health and Safety Management Software provider that it is to establish its EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) Headquarters in Limerick with the creation of 30 new jobs.
“The decision by EtQ to establish its EMEA headquarters further enhances Limerick’s excellent position to attract further investments like this one as we continue to get the economy back on track. This is also a vote of confidence in Limerick, its people and the high quality graduates produced by third level colleges in the County.”
“In addition to those who will directly benefit from these new jobs, the local economy will also get a boost from this announcement. Each time a new company sets up in Limerick; there are significant spin-off benefits for other local businesses.”
EtQ provides industry-focused software solutions to specifically address various compliance initiatives such as ISO 9000, ISO 14001, GMP, 21 CFR Part 11, ISO 22000 and ISO 13485. The company incorporates a best-practices approach to automating key business processes to help organisations achieve compliance, identify and mitigate risks, and manage and measure data to impact change and achieve operational excellence.
Home Renovation Incentive Scheme available from today
Added October 25th, 2013
Limerick Fine Gael TD, Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the announcement that homeowners can avail of the special tax relief on renovations, under the Home Renovation Incentive Scheme as announced in the Budget, from today (Friday 25th October).
“This is a really positive measure that will not only provide a welcome boost to the construction sector, it will also provide homeowners who want to carry out renovations with some welcome relief. I am very pleased that Minister Noonan has decided to bring forward this measure from the original start of January 1st 2014.
“Under the Scheme homeowners who carry out renovations on their home between now and 2015 will be provided with an income tax credit. It will be payable over the following two years, and will be calculated at a rate of 13.5% on all qualifying expenditure over €5,000 up to a maximum of €30,000.”
“In a bid to eliminate the black market, the scheme will only be open to fully tax compliant builders. This should act as a boost to legitimate contractors and sole traders who have been so badly affected by the crash in the construction sector. This intervention in the sector is a positive move by Government to help address the huge challenges which have faced the industry in recent years. “
“This scheme will make it much more affordable to build an extension or carry out a range of works on your home, such as getting new windows fitted, or putting in a new bathroom or kitchen. By only making the scheme open to legitimate contractors, we can ensure that works carried out are of a high standard. I am confident that a considerable number of homeowners will choose to avail of the scheme, and that it will provide a much needed stimulus to the building sector.”
O’Donovan: “Scrapping travel tax delivers to Mid West”
Added October 24th, 2013
Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the announcement by Ryanair to provide eight new routes from Shannon Airport which will carry up to 300,000 passengers a year and said that the announcement comes as a direct result of the decision of the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to scrap the travel tax.
“In his budget speech Michael Noonan provided the incentive for airlines to bring more passengers into Ireland and this decision together with the fact that the Government has given Shannon Airport an independent board and management will help turn around the fortunes of the Mid West’s international airport.”
Patrick O’Donovan added that the credit for the initiative went to Michael Noonan who has already delivered in a very significant to the Mid West since he was appointed as Minister for Finance.
“There is no doubt about the fact that initiatives like these in Shannon have come about as a result of Michael Noonan’s determination to help drive the local economy here in the Mid West. The increase in passenger numbers at Shannon Airport which will come from this announcement together with the retention of the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality business will have a major impact on the tourism industry in the region and the Minister for Finance’s absolute commitment to ensuring tourism plays its role in the economic recovery of the country will be a key factor in this.
Patrick O’Donovan said that he looked forward to further developments in the Mid West and in particular in Limerick which are aimed at specific targets of the economy, and he said that he had no doubt about the importance of having Michael Noonan sitting at the cabinet table, in terms of the overall economic recovery in the region.
€23,899,685 paid to 4,472 in Limerick under advanced 2013 Single Farm Payments – O’Donovan
Added October 17th, 2013
Fine Gael TD, for Limerick has welcomed €23,899,685 in funding which has been paid to 4,472 of farmers in Limerick as part of advanced payments under the 2013 Single Payments Scheme, as approved by the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney TD.
“A total of €540 million is being paid to 108,000 farmers across the country, as part of the Single Payments Scheme. I am very pleased that Minister Coveney has secured approval to make these payments six weeks ahead of schedule. This will come as a source of relief to the 4,472 farmers in Limerick which are sharing in a total of €23,899,685 in payments.
“The Single Payments Scheme is a very important source of income for the Irish agricultural community, and this latest series of payments follow the €169 million which has been paid out to over 80,000 farmers under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, which began issuing three weeks ago.
“Minister Coveney was very conscious of the fact that farmers were suffering cash flow shortages due to the challenges posed by adverse weather conditions earlier this year, and with this in mind he approached the EU Agriculture Commissioner to seek approval for early payments. Thanks to the Minister’s representations, payments are being made six weeks earlier than scheduled.
“Payments will be issued twice weekly up until 30th November, with balancing payments to issue as and from the 1st December. It is important that any farmer who has received correspondence from the Department of Agriculture highlighting problems in relation to their application responds without delay. This will ensure these cases can be processed and payments issued as soon as possible.
“The Minister has assured farmers that payments will continue to issue under both schemes, on an ongoing basis, as individual cases are cleared. I urge all farmers in County Limerick to engage fully with the process to ensure they can receive their payments without delay.”
O’Donovan meets Varadkar on Adare bypass
Added October 16th, 2013
Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the decision of the Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar, to bring the National Roads Authority and Limerick County Council together to discuss the future of the proposed Adare bypass.
Speaking after meeting Minister Varadkar this week, Patrick O’Donovan said that he had asked the Minister for Transport to personally intervene to try to break the deadlock in relation to the future of the Adare bypass. “I had requested the meeting with the Minister and his officials on behalf of local people who have been in regular contact with me since the decision of An Bord Pleannála was announced. The people of the Adare area have asked me to try to get certainty in relation to this project. Land and property owners have a right to know what is happening with the proposal and the traders of Adare, many of whom rely on the tourism product there, are also looking for certainty.
At the meeting with the Minister, Patrick O’Donovan asked that the entire road network of West Limerick and the needs of the various towns including Adare, Foynes, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale would be the subject of the meeting between officials of the NRA and Limerick County Council. He said that any decision which was made in relation to one of the projects could have an impact on another, and it was for that reason that he asked that decisions not be made in isolation,.
It is expected that the meeting involving the State Agencies which Minister Varadkar has decided will happen will take place in the coming week.