Latest news with #North-SouthMinisterialCouncil
Irish Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mary Lou McDonald refuses to rule herself out of presidential run in huge U-turn
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has refused to rule herself out as her party's candidate in the upcoming presidential election. It marks a major change in position for the Dublin Central TD who, up until Monday, had repeatedly ruled herself out of the race. It is expected that the party will have a "clearer position" on its plans by the end of July. President Michael D Higgins will come to the end of his 14-year stint in Áras an Uachtaráin in November. An election is likely to take place in October but there have been no candidates declared yet. Ms McDonald has repeatedly ruled out running in the election, saying as recently as March that it "won't be me". However, speaking outside the High Court in Dublin on Monday morning, she refused to rule herself in or out of the race. Ms McDonald said: "We have conducted a consultation with the party membership so I now have a report back from that on my desk. "We have to do a bit more work, roll the process out and I think over the next number of weeks, probably the end of July and into August, we will have a clearer picture of what we are doing. "As you know, we have been in discussion with other political parties around the option of perhaps a joint candidate, supported by all of us across the left and the combined opposition. "We don't have clarity, full clarity, on this. It's a moving picture, as you know." Asked if she was ruling herself out, Ms McDonald declined to do so. She continued: "Well, we're in this process. We're not ruling anything in or anything out. "As and when we have news for you around our own process and procedure, and all the runners and riders, I have seen lots of people's names mentioned. "We're not making any comment definitively on any of them myself." Ms McDonald's comments come just a fortnight after Sinn Féin Vice President and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill also declined to say whether she would enter the Presidential election race. When asked at the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh last month if she would be running for Sinn Féin, Ms O'Neill did not directly say no, despite being asked twice. She said: "We [in Sinn Féin] haven't completed our own deliberations in terms of the presidential race itself." When asked if she was considering putting her name forward, Ms O'Neill said: "I am currently working our way through our deliberations as we speak." Fine Gael, meanwhile, opened its nomination process for the election today. It is widely expected that it will be a two way battle between current MEP and former GAA President Sean Kelly and former European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness to secure the party's backing. The nomination window will be open until Tuesday, July 15 at 4pm. John Carroll, Fine Gael General Secretary, recently told Fine Gael that to be nominated, a candidate needs the nomination of 20 members of the Parliamentary Party, 25 Fine Gael Councillors and five members of the Executive Council. In the event of a contest, Fine Gael will apply the "electoral college" voting system it uses in other votes, such as to elect a party leader or to ratify programmes for government. Anyone who has been a member of Fine Gael for two years has a vote. The membership element of the college is worth 30 per cent of the overall vote, the Councillors' votes are worth 15 per cent and the Parliamentary Party votes account for 55 per cent.
Irish Independent
17-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Foster families to be given back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, under plans going to cabinet
Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary will seek approval to extend access to the scheme, which is expected to benefit around 2,300 more children in 2025. The allowance is a once off payment to those eligible families to help with the cost of clothes, uniforms and shoes when school starts in Autumn. The scheme will be extended to those in receipt of the Foster Care Allowance and is payable for children between four and 17 who are eligible, along with those aged between 18 and 22 who are still in full-time education. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach will look to publish the analysis of the Well-Being in Ireland report for 2025, which will be used to determine certain priorities for the upcoming budget. The fourth of its kind, the report looks at 35 indicators of well-being across 11 sections of society. While the report will show progress in areas including income and wealth, connections, community and participation, the report has identified areas where more work needs to be done. The report highlights that a number of groups in society, including single-parent households, lower income households, and renters paying market rates, are struggling compared to other groups. Areas where Ireland has performed positively over time included the level of the population who felt lonely, the proportion of domestic homes with A or B energy ratings and net Government worth. Tánaiste Simon Harris will also update cabinet on preparations for Ireland's presidency of the European Union next year. As part of the presidency, Ireland will host a summit of the European Political Community, the largest meeting Ireland has ever hosted. ADVERTISEMENT The summit will involve leaders of 47 States as well as several heads of EU institutions and international organisations. Plans for a programme of engagement to involve children and young people will be developed including initiatives with schools and community groups across the country to encourage awareness. Both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste are expected to brief cabinet colleagues on the upcoming North-South Ministerial Council which will take place in Armagh on Friday. Trade will be high on the agenda for the council including the recent EU-UK deal. Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon will bring a memo to cabinet on the first interim report on work by the Timber in Construction Steering Group. The report will recommend looking towards a 'Wood First' policy, which would advocate publicly procured buildings to be constructed using materials primarily of timber other bio-based products.
Irish Examiner
16-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Back-to-school payments to be extended to children in foster care
Back-to-school payments are set to be extended to benefit the 2,300 children currently in foster care. Minister for social protection Dara Calleary will seek Cabinet approval today, Tuesday, to extend the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance to those who are in receipt of Foster Care Allowance. The once-off payment for 2025 is €160 for children aged between four and 11 on or before September 30, while those aged 12-22 years will receive €285. Social protection minister Dara Calleary is seeking Cabinet approval to extend the clothing and footwear allowance to those in receipt of Foster Care Allowance. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA Occupied Territories Bill The Occupied Territories Bill had been expected to be brought to Cabinet today, Tuesday, but has been delayed by a week. Local Property Tax Bill Finance minister Paschal Donohoe will seek approval for amendments to the Local Property Tax (LPT) Bill including one that will change how the tax is calculated on homes adapted for use by people with disabilities. Cabinet will hear that it will provide a reduction of €105,000 in the chargeable value of a property that has been adapted. This is an increase of €50,000 on the previous act and would come into effect on November 1. As a result, people with disabilities and living in an adapted home will assess the value of their property at one valuation band lower when calculating their LPT charge. National Training Fund Higher education minister James Lawless will seek to unlock the National Training Fund package of almost €1.5bn when he brings the heads of the bill to Cabinet. The package would provide €650m in core funding for higher education; €150m to provide training facilities for veterinary, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and dentistry students; €150m capital funding for the further education and training sector; and more. The amendment will allow Mr Lawless to bring the legislation before the Dáil and commence spending from the fund in 2025, if approved. North-South Ministerial Council Ahead of a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh this Friday, Mr Martin and Mr Harris will brief Cabinet on the agenda which will include trade and AI. The meeting, which will be attended by most ministers, will also discuss infrastructure investments and tackling gender-based violence. Well-Being Framework Analysis Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin will bring a memo on Ireland's Well-Being Framework Analysis for 2025, which is due to help outline Government's priorities for the upcoming budget. The report itself highlights a number of groups who are faring worse than others in society, including renters paying market rates, unemployed people, younger workers, people in poor health as well as lower-income households. However, the report does show progress in other areas, including on income, work and job quality and community participation. Presidency of EU Ahead of Ireland's presidency of the European Union next year, Mr Harris will outline the significant preparations already underway. Over the course of the presidency, 23 informal ministerial meetings will be held in Ireland with a quarter of them to take place outside of Dublin. The European Political Community summit will mark the largest meeting Ireland has ever hosted involving leaders of 47 states as well as heads of EU institutions and international organisations. Mr Harris will tell Cabinet that delivering a successful presidency is essential to Ireland's position, influence and reputation in the EU. Work to decide Ireland's policy priorities for the presidency will intensify in the autumn but there are plans for a programme of community, youth and schools engagement around the presidency, which will have a particular focus on children and young people. National Digital Research Centre Minister for enterprise Peter Burke will bring a memo to Cabinet indicating that the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) is to extend its current contract with current provider DogPatch Labs until 2026. The decision to extend was taken to provide certainty to companies supported by the NDRC ensure there is no break in coverage while Mr Burke works with his department and Enterprise Ireland on the successor programme which will take over in 2027.
BreakingNews.ie
28-04-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Cross-border co-operation could be expanded, ESRI report concludes
Cross-border co-operation in key areas identified by the Good Friday Agreement has not met its full potential, according to a report. The latest ESRI-Shared Island report also identifies a number of areas around employment, childcare, and education. Advertisement The Good Friday Agreement established a framework for formal cross-border co-operation on the island, creating six North-South bodies under the North-South Ministerial Council. The report states: 'Despite successes in a co-operative approach to tourism, progress in other strategic areas such as education, health, agriculture, and the environment has not met its full potential.' It argues there are advantages to 'substantially upscaling North-South co-operation' in these existing strategic areas and expanding the remit of collaboration to skills provision, foreign direct investment, labour market access and energy security. The report identifies areas with policy implications, including much higher rates of early school leaving in Northern Ireland having consequences for access and quality of employment, as well as productivity. Advertisement There are also differences in take-up of post-secondary qualifications, showing the 'potential to develop further education and training in Northern Ireland as a route to employment'. The report says there is potential for mutual policy learning around the targeting of local areas or schools as a basis for addressing educational disadvantage, as inequality in this area has knock-on consequences for adult life changes including employment and health. There is a need for workforce development in healthcare and housing supply in both jurisdictions, the authors state. There are similar challenges in the 'gendered nature of care' and impacts on employment, with a need for continuing expansion of early years and after-school care on both sides of the border. Advertisement 'Lone mothers face particular challenges in accessing high-quality employment in both Ireland and Northern Ireland, suggesting the need for appropriate education and training supports as well as childcare.' The latest ESRI report is a synthesis of 15 previous publications under the four-year work programme conducted for the Government's Shared Island Unit. The Taoiseach is scheduled to launch the report at an event in Dublin City Centre on Monday, where he will deliver a keynote address. Micheál Martin said: 'We need data to inform all-island investment and co-operation priorities, as we build a shared future together on this island. Advertisement 'The huge untapped potential of all-island co-operation is a major takeaway from the ESRI's overarching report. This reflects the Government's commitments to expand our Shared Island Initiative, so that we bring co-operation to a new level.' The report said satisfaction with the political system and trust in institutions are generally higher in Ireland than Northern Ireland. Photo: PA. Other key findings include a widening gap in disposable household income between Ireland and Northern Ireland, at 18.3 per cent higher in the Republic in 2018. Education participation rates are higher in Ireland across nearly all age groups, while early school leaving is more common in Northern Ireland. Life expectancy at birth is two years higher in Ireland than in Northern Ireland, reflecting overall differences in welfare and living standards. Advertisement Women with children are less likely to be in paid employment than men in both jurisdictions, with higher rates of part-time work and low pay among women. Market income inequality before taxes and benefits is lower in Northern Ireland. In Ireland, the tax system is more important in reducing inequality while in Northern Ireland, means-tested benefits play a stronger role. Overall, inequality in disposable income after tax and transfers is very similar in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Child income poverty rates are higher in Northern Ireland, while child material deprivation is somewhat higher in Ireland. Both regions have similar GP supply and primary healthcare utilisation, with long waits being a common issue in both regions. Ireland has higher levels of unmet needs due to costs. Ireland Varadkar says US is no longer 'reliable political... Read More Housing costs represent around 20% of disposable income in both regions, with more extreme boom and bust cycles in Ireland. Satisfaction with the political system and trust in institutions are generally higher in Ireland, though attitudes have been volatile. There is some evidence that younger generations are becoming more disillusioned, particularly in Northern Ireland.
