Sugar Beet for County Wexford

Sinn Féin’s general election hopeful in county Wexford has suggested that the Irish sugar beet industry should be resurrected right here in the model county.  Cllr. Anthony Kelly has said that the opening of a sugar beet processing plant in county Wexford could revitalise Wexford agriculture as well as providing a vital employment stimulus for our county.

“For years now I have been listening to men in suits saying that the Irish sugar beet industry was not viable,” Cllr Kelly said.  “They claimed that sugar can be bought and refined cheaper in other countries, never admitting to the deserved international reputation that Irish sugar has had for quality. They have claimed that uncertainty over a full beet supply, and the collapse of the EU temporary quotas meant that the industry was unsafe for both buyers and sellers. Now it turns out they were wrong.”

A recent report from the EU Court of Auditors found that statistics which culminated in the collapse of the Irish sugar beet industry in 2005 were out of date.  Cllr Kelly claims that this was no mistake and believes strongly that the Irish Sugar Beet industry was purposely run into the ground.

“Now we are being told that it would be hard to return the original services to the old processing plants.  If this is true, then why can’t County Wexford become the home of a new, improved sugar beet industry?  God knows we have enough qualified beet farmers in this county to make it work.  We also have a world class port.  The Rosslare to Waterford Rail line could also be reopened and utilised for the transport of beet once again.  The possible benefits are immense.”

Fill the Potholes or face the taxpayer

“Fill the potholes or face the taxpayer,” was the dire message delivered to Wexford Borough council by Sinn Féin’s Anthony Kelly last week.  Cllr Kelly had his motion calling for the immediate repair of county Wexford’s crippled road network passed at the monthly meeting of the Borough council.

“Everyone knows that County Wexford’s local authorities are cash strapped. It’s an obvious effect of the economic climate in which we live,” Cllr Kelly said, shortly after the meeting had ended.  “Families across this county are cash strapped too, but they still find the money to pay their road tax. It’s a disgrace that they have to drive on roads that resemble the face of the moon and pay for the privilege.”

Cllr Kelly, County Wexford’s Sinn Féin candidate in the next general election, went on to say that he had received phone calls and emails from across the county, begging him to do something to deal with the pothole plague.  “From Ross to Gorey, it’s the same old story – potholes, burst tyres, damaged cars and more bills for the ordinary Joe soap.  One of the things that I will be campaigning for in the upcoming election will be the creation of a special fund to improve roads damaged by our recent hard winters.”

Forgotten County pays for poor representation

Cllr Anthony Kelly has expressed outrage at the amount of expenses paid to Wexford’s five sitting oireachtas members over the past year.  Cllr. Kelly said that the €823,160 paid out to these people in expenses was the equivalent of throwing the families post office savings book down the toilet.

“What precisely gave these men the right to claim such lavish expenses,” Cllr Kelly asked, “In the past year Wexford has lost a rail line and vitally needed hospital beds.  We are in the process of losing our full time psychiatric unit, our special needs assistants in our schools, and god only knows what the future holds for Wexford General Hospital now that health funding is cut.”

“That’s not to mention the thousands of Wexford people who have lost their jobs, those who have been forced to emigrate or those vulnerable citizens who have recently had their benefits slashed.  They even found time to cut the minimum wage but still they have the nerve to claim these expenses.”

Cllr Kelly said that he would be claiming nothing of the sort if elected to Leinster House in the coming election, and promised that he would campaign for the cutting of Dail wages.  “Sinn Féin was the first party to call for cuts to TDs salaries, and a restrictive use of expenses.  We have consistently called for the abolishment of the Seanad, which cost the tax payer €344,364 for Wexfords three senators alone last year.”

“We welcome Labour jumping on this bandwagon now, but fear that their coalition with Fine Gael will prevent them from bringing forth any true reform in this area.”  Cllr Kelly reiterated his party’s position, stating that Sinn Féin would not enter government without these reforms and the necessity of job creation being put at the top of the agenda.

Kelly calls for action on Hospital Crisis

Wexford Sinn Féin general election candidate, cllr Anthony Kelly, has urged the government to reverse cuts to the health service immediately after it was revealed that hospital A&E units are already being over ran.

“We have a record-breaking number of 569 patients on trolleys and chairs in our public hospital A&E departments but this situation is set to worsen as a result of the cuts imposed in the Budget," Cllr Kelly said, "We have had over 1500 acute hospital beds closed due to cuts even before Budget 2011."

“The Fianna Fáil/Green Government has taken €765 million out of the public health budget for 2011 and its four-year plan would take a total of €1.4 billion by 2014."

Cllr Kelly said that this would leave the Irish health service wiped out. He restated that if Sinn Féin enters government, these cuts will be stopped.

Are you entitled to the Household Benefits Package?

In this time of economic misery, its necessary for you to claim all of your entitlements. Due to the nature of the Irish Welfare service, you may not be aware of these entitlements. For example, If you satisfy a number of conditions, you may qualify for the Household Benefits Package.

The Household Benefits Package is made up of:

• The Electricity Allowance
• The Natural Gas Allowance
• The Electricity (Group Account) Allowance
• The Bottled Gas Refill Allowance
• The Telephone Allowance
• The Free Television Licence.

Broken down:

The Electricity Allowance-
This covers up to 400 units of electricity in each two month billing period. It also covers the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy and VAT on the levy.

The Natural Gas Allowance-
Since 1 November 2009, you get €52 deducted from your gas bill every 2 months for the summer months. For gas used during the winter months, you get €111 deducted from your gas bill every 2 months. The summer months are from June to November. The winter months are from December to May. If you don't use your full allowance you can carry up to €150 to your next bill.

The Bottled Gas Refill Allowance-
If your home is not connected to an electricity/natural gas supply but you satisfy the conditions of the scheme, you can avail of the Bottled Gas Refill Allowance of €40.70 each month instead.  The Bottled Gas Refill Allowance is only available to people who do not have an electricity or natural gas supply.

The Telephone Allowance-
This is a payment towards your mobile phone or landline phone bill. You can get only one Telephone Allowance per household which can be used for either a mobile phone or landline but not both. If you use the Telephone Allowance for your landline phone, it is paid as a credit on your phone bill. If you use the Telephone Allowance for your mobile phone, you can use it to pay your mobile phone bill or to buy credit for your phone.

The Free Television License-
When you qualify for the Household Benefits Package, the Department issues you with a TV licence, and also notifies An Post of your entitlement to a free licence for as long as you are entitled to the Household Benefits Package.

Am I entitled to this package?
You may qualify for the Household Benefits Package if:
You are aged 70 or over
OR
You are getting Carers Allowance
OR
You are caring for a person who is receiving Prescribed Relative's Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance
OR
You are between 66 and 70 and are receiving

• State Pension (Contributory)
• State Pension (Non Contributory)

• Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension
• An ordinary Garda Widow's Pension from the Department of Justice and Law Reform or
• An equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement

and live alone or only with certain excepted persons - see 'Excepted persons' below.
OR
You are under 66 and are receiving:

• Invalidity Pension
• Blind Pension
• Incapacity Supplement or Workmen's Compensation with Disablement Pension (for at least 12 months)
•  Disability Allowance
• An equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement

and live alone or only with certain excepted persons.

If you believe that you might qualify for this package, and want help with pursuing it, feel free to contact you local Sinn Féin councillor.

Kelly, AnthonySinn Féin
3 Glenbrook, Wexford Town
Mobile phone: 087 1361785
Email: cllrakelly@eircom.net

Mythen, JohnnySinn Féin
Ballyorril, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford
Mobile phone: 087-9847278

Kelly fears mass "Wexodus"

Wexford Sinn Féin councillor Anthony Kelly has called for immediate action to deal with rising emigration figures, which the ERSI has predicted will hit 120,000 by the end of 2011.  Cllr. Kelly, Sinn Féin’s General Election candidate in county Wexford, has described emigration as being the biggest threat to this county since Cromwell.

“Recently I was talking to a member of a prominent Wexford GAA club, who told me that their minor team would have trouble fielding a side next year due to the loss of so many young players to emigration,”  Cllr Kelly said,  “Over the Christmas period I was also approached by a number of concerned parents whose sons and daughters have been forced to leave their homes to look for work abroad.  They fear that their children will never come home. I don’t want to live in a country where our number one export is our children.”

Cllr. Kelly went on to condemn the Fianna Fail/Green government, and the Fine Gael/Labour opposition for not giving the people who are emigrating an alternative.  “Neither Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour or the Greens have put forward any realistic job creation plans.  Our young people are leaving because there is no work here for them, yet these political parties have put no emphasis on job creation.  We in Sinn Féin have put forward detailed, realistic job creation measures in our recent pre budget document.  We want to transfer €7 billion from the National Pension Treasury Fund and use it to employ Irish people in the construction of much needed infrastructure like schools and hospitals.” 

“Fianna Fail would prefer to pump this money into toxic banks.  This is unacceptable.  It’s time for our politicians to put the needs of the Irish people before the needs of failed banks, NAMA protected property developers and European bond gamblers.”

Are you entitled to a council house?

Local authorities in Ireland are the main provider of social housing for people who need housing and cannot afford to buy their own homes. Local authority housing is allocated according to housing need, and rents are based on your ability to pay.

If you think you may qualify, you should apply to your local authority, which will take account of factors such as your household size, income, your present accommodation (if any), the condition of that accommodation and any special circumstances, including age, disability, medical circumstances, etc. Some local authorities in Ireland impose an income limit on applicants. Someone from the local authority may visit you to assess your present housing circumstances.

There is nothing to stop you applying to more than one local authority, for example, you might register on a county council list, in addition to an urban district council in that area. Local authorities have the power to accept applications from people who do not live in their area, but practice varies from area to area.

If you are accepted by the local authority as being in need of housing, you are then placed in the local authority housing waiting list. Each local authority draws up its own rules for deciding order of priority on the waiting list, called "'schemes of letting priorities". You can get a copy from your local authority. Some local authorities operate a points system. Each household on the waiting list is given a number of points depending on its circumstances. The greater your housing need, the more points you get.

You may be able to specify areas where you would like to live, but you should remember that if you choose a popular area, you may wait longer for an offer of housing than if you choose a less popular area.

As houses become available to your local authority for letting (renting out), they are allocated from the waiting list in order of priority, taking account of all the relevant circumstances. If you want to know your position on the waiting list, your local authority will inform you. You should remember that your position may go up or down depending on the circumstances of other people on the housing waiting list and as your own circumstances change. In practice, priority is generally given to families and elderly people rather than single people or couples without children.

If you are offered a house you do not want, you can refuse it. But if the local authority thinks that you do not have a good reason for refusing the offer of the house, it may reduce your priority on the waiting list, particularly if you refuse more than one offer.

Local authority housing is unfurnished. If you are offered a local authority home and you do not have and cannot afford to buy furniture or appliances, you may be eligible for help from the HSE's local Community Welfare Officer.

If you need help on this or any other issue effecting you in Wexford, please feel free to contact one of local SF councillors or your local SF cumann.

Cllr Anthony Kelly - Wexford town - 0871361785
Cllr Johnny Mythen - Enniscorthy - 0879847278