Tag Archives: Deputy Michael McNamara

Clare County Council has been urged to apply, without delay, for its share of the €3.8billion social housing fund announced by Environment Minister, Alan Kelly. “We have a real social housing need in Clare, and today’s announcement by Minister Kelly to deliver 35,000 homes across the country over the next six years is greatly welcome,”commented Clare TD, Michael McNamara. “I am urging Clare County Council to submit applications to this fund, to address the social housing problem. New rules put in place by Minister Kelly mean that the county council will take a strong leading role in social housing provision in the county, where previously it was mainly the job of private operators,” he added.

Difficulties experienced by low-paid workers on zero-hours contracts are to be the focus of a major new study, Clare TD Michael McNamara has confirmed. The study will survey workers and business owners on the impact of ‘zero hours’ contracts, in which workers are given short-term notice of their hours, if any, of work each week. The Labour Party Deputy said,“Workers in these situations have no idea each week what their wages will amount to, making it all but impossible to plan for bills, rent and other living costs. “To address this, my colleague Minister Ged Nash has announced details of a major new study into the area, which will gather information on how widespread and how common such contracts are, and to look at how they affect employees’ rights. Once finished, Minister Nash will make recommendations to Government based on the findings.”

Clare farmers have been urged to apply for grants being made available under the new Farm Safety Scheme. In making the call, Deputy Michael McNamara said, “Concerns over the issue of farm safety are at an all-time high following a number of accidents across the country recently. I am glad that the Department of Agriculture has responded to these concerns quickly by making the Farm Safety Scheme a reality, so that we can all work to reduce the number of farm-related accidents and deaths. “This is a once-off scheme and it incentivises farmers to invest in new equipment, facilities and other preventative measures. A comprehensive list of investment items covered under this new scheme is available on the department’s website and I would encourage anyone interested in applying to the scheme to examine it for more detail,” The Labour deputy added, “In the meantime, I am pleased it contains safety fencing and covers for external slurry and effluent stores, which will …

Clare Fianna Fáil councillors are up in arms over the distribution of the Local Property Tax (LPT), following claims that €5.6 million will be used to “bail out” other “inefficient” local authorities. Councillors have criticised the transfer of over €2m from Clare County Council’s 2015 LPT allocation of €10.406m to the national equalisation fund, which, in turn, will be distributed to local authorities who don’t have a high yield from this tax. The council was urged by Councillor Cathal Crowe to consider taking a legal challenge against the proposed redistribution of another €3.597m, to self-fund local housing and roads services, at a meeting this week. Councillor Crowe felt it was important the council took a stand if the Government continue to implement its proposed “unfair distribution”, which he claimed penalises the council for being “the best in the class”, while other authorities had adopted a more “casual approach”. The political row over where the proceeds of the LPT will be …

A total of 94 works have been carried out in Clare under the home renovation incentive, since its inception. The scheme, introduced in last year’s Budget, provides tax relief to homeowners who undertake renovation and improvement to their property, using tax compliant tradespeople. “In a great boost to the local economy, €1,079.955 has been spent in Clare under the Government’s home renovation incentive. This sizeable spend shows how much interest there is in the scheme locally, with homeowners taking up the offer to receive a cash boost for getting works done to their property,” commented Clare TD, Michael McNamara. “This is good news not just for Clare homeowners, but also for construction workers and retailers, creating a boost for the local economy, he added.