Tag Archives: Sinn Féin

More family-friendly policies needed to encourage women into politics, says Violet Anne Wynne CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has revealed that she is expecting her sixth child and is due to give birth in February. Deputy Violet Anne Wynne said the news came as a pleasant surprise to herself and her family, and underlined the need for more family-friendly policies to encourage other women to enter politics. In February 2020, the Psychology graduate was elected after securing just over 15% of first preference votes. The first SF TD elected in Clare since 1922, Deputy Wynne is the third female deputy to represent the constituency since the foundation of the State. The Offaly native will make electoral history again next spring and is determined to prove that motherhood and a busy public role are compatible. “We saw Minister Helen McEntee this year, the first Cabinet member to take maternity leave while in office,” Deputy Wynne noted. “Oireachtas members, in general, are excluded …

THE AVERAGE class size in Clare was the third lowest in Munster last year, but was still much higher than the EU average. Figures revealed in a Dáil question to Sinn Féin have revealed the average class size in Clare was 22.2 last year, slightly less than 22 in Kerry and 22.1 in Tipperary, Cork County had the highest class size in Munster with 23.5, which was followed by Waterford on 23.4 and Limerick on 23.1. The average class size in Clare dropped from 23.1 to 22.2 from 2017 to 2020. There were 74 classes in the Banner county with more than 30 children in them. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne said the Covid-19 pandemic has shown Ireland’s education system is underfunded, understaffed and overcrowded. “The reality is, that keeping school buildings open in the last year was made much more difficult because we have some of the highest class sizes in Europe. “In Clare, there was a shocking 36 kids sharing …

CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has sharply criticised the fact that Clare people, whose homes have defects proven to be linked to pyrite, must continue to pay Local Property Tax (LPT). Deputy Violet Anne Wynne, who last week raised the issue in the Dáil with the Tánaiste, said the lack of action for homeowners here is a source of huge frustration. The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is only open to Counties Mayo and Donegal and covers a maximum of 90% of remediation costs. Earlier this month, the government announced that those eligible for the scheme would get a six-year LPT waiver. Because Clare has not yet been included in the redress scheme, the LPT exemption does not apply here. Currently, at the request of the Department of Housing, Clare County Council is compiling a report on the scale of the pyrite issue here, with a view to making the case for the extension of the scheme. “Homeowners in Clare still …

CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has called for a mental health emergency response system, to support people “gripped with fear” and in crisis because of the pandemic. Contributing to a debate on a successful Sinn Féin motion urging government to take action on the mental health crisis, Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne described the current system as “not fit for purpose”. “We know that mental health was in crisis pre-Covid,” she outlined. “We know also the crisis has escalated throughout Covid, but what does this mean? It means people are suffering and experiencing great trauma and loss, huge change and anxiety, financial strain and pressure, and home insecurity. “The government’s response to mental health has fallen short for many years. I note the Mental Health Commission told the Oireachtas Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that Ireland’s mental health system is not fit for purpose, it is out of date and investment in it and the community is needed. “On behalf of my constituents …

“A YEAR full of change,” was the verdict of first-time TD Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne as she reflected on the last 12 months. On February 10, 2020 she was declared elected on 11,903 votes in a General Election where Sinn Féin claimed victory, nationally, and the largest share of the popular vote. The Kilrush resident admits her success came as a shock to many. “The prediction was that Sinn Féin wouldn’t take the seat in Clare,” she said, “so the result came as a big surprise and a nice surprise. It was proof that the desire for change and for an end to the so-called ‘old politics’ was being felt right across the country.” The result made Deputy Wynne the third female TD to serve the modern-day constituency of Clare since the foundation of the State. First-time TDs can face a struggle in finding their bearings amid the corridors of power, but when you combine that with the upheaval created by …

  The Government’s failure to pay student nurses properly has been criticised as “disgraceful and exploitative’” by a local Sinn Féin deputy. In a recent Dáil vote, Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne said Government TDs from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party voted to prevent student nurses receiving a fair wage despite the essential role they have played during the Covid-19 pandemic. Deputy Wynne recalled Sinn Féin TDs spoke out on behalf of student nurses and voted for them to receive fair pay. “Student nurses do highly skilled work in challenging conditions. They are the glue holding our healthcare system together. Without them, the healthcare system quite simply could not function in the way that it does. “Throughout the pandemic, student nurses stepped up to work on the frontline to protect our communities and fight Covid-19. “They were rightly praised by all politicians at the time but they need more than praise- they need to see proper action from the …

  MAJOR reforms will have to be delivered to transform health services in the Mid-West, particularly in the area of elderly care, according to a local Dáil deputy. If there is a second Covid-19 wave in the Mid-West during the winter, Deputy Michael McNamara has warned that it would not be acceptable if Covid-19 patients were left lying in trolleys in hospital corridors transmitting the virus. “We can’t continue with the current model for our health service and elderly care. We can’t be bringing patients into an overcrowded University Hospital Limerick (UHL). “There will have to profound changes in the way acute patients are treated because we can’t have overcrowding any more. “A stitch in time saves nine. Billions of Euro have been provided to deal with Covid-19. If a fraction of this money was spent improving our health service, we may not have needed to take such draconian measures. “The reason such draconian measures had to be taken was …

THE new coalition government has come under fire from a local deputy for failing to support a childcare motion that would cut fees by 66% reduction over the lifetime of the administration. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne has described the defeat of a Sinn Féin childcare motion in the Dáil last week as “hugely disappointing” and an example of the “same old politics”. If the Sinn Féin Childcare motion had passed, Deputy Wynne outlined the proposals would have seen weekly childcare fees reduced by 13% over the course of the first year and by 66% over the course of the lifetime of the government. The current average weekly cost for one child in full time childcare is €184.36, therefore a reduction of 13% would be to €160.39 per week and by 66% would be to €62.68 per week. The Sinn Féin Deputy said their motion presented the government with a chance to be ambitious to respond to the cries from childcare providers, …