Dear Constituent,

We exited the EU IMF bailout on the 15th of December 2013. Labour inGovernment has played a vital role, beyond the limits of our mandate, in movingour country towards recovery in the fairest way that we could achieve:

� We are delivering 3,000 jobs per month

� Exports are up

� Our live register figures are going down

� We are hiring 1,400 additional teachers next year

� We are rolling out Labour’s plan for free GP care

Many commentators said we could not get to where we are today. Politicalopponents hoped we would fail so that they would benefit politically.

What this government is doing is working. Recovery is real and Labour is playinga very important role in shaping that recovery. But this recovery could not beachieved without the patience and endurance of the Irish People.

That patience and endurance must be rewarded in post-recession Ireland with acommitment that all politics and public policy, in future, will be people-centredand that what the last Fianna Fail government visited on the Irish People can neverbe allowed to happen again.

Meanwhile, I will continue to be as available, approachable and accessible as ever.I will continue to be the voice in Government for people of Dublin Fingal to thebest of my ability.

BRENDAN RYAN TD

Your trusted voicein the Dáil

January/February 2014

CONTACT Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Phone: 01 618 3421 Fax: 01 618 4584 Email: bren.ryan@oireachtas.ie

BRENDAN: Web: www.brendan-ryan.ie www.labour.ie/BrendanRyan @BrendanRyanTD

LABOUR HAS ALREADYLAID THEFOUNDATIONS FOR ABETTER IRELAND

� Personal insolvency options

� Free pre-school year retained

� Reduced costs of education

� Free GP Care for 5 year olds and under

� Area-Based Child-hood Programmes

� Children’s Rights in the Constitution

� Youth Employment Guarantee

� Literacy and Numeracy Strategy

� Restored the Minimum Wage

� Reinstated system to protect wages

� Activation measures to preventpoverty traps

� Better Energy Area schemes

� On-line Digital Strategy

� Research and Innovation Centres

Creating jobs is the best route to growth and the fight against poverty. To date:

� 58,000 jobs were created in 2013.

� 1,200 on average are being created per week.

� Unemployment has reduced from 15.1% in 2012 to 12.8% to the 3rd quarter of 2013.

� Over €500 million pro-jobs measures planned for 2014.

� There has been a 6% increase in the number of skilled positions available year on year.

� 1,007 new jobs due to JobsPlus alone.

� 20,200 education, training, work and apprentice places ringfenced for young people.

� €2.5m invested in 2014 in funding young entrepeneurs e.g. Micro Finance Ireland.

New

Jobs

Cre

ated

0

12,000

2011

Jobs Increases in 2013

2012 2013

24,000

36,000

48,000

60,000

MASSIVE BOOST OF 58,000 JOBS IN 2013

PROTECTING EDUCATIONCLASS SIZES PROTECTED – 1,400 NEW TEACHERS IN 2014Education has always been a core priority for the Labour Party, and for the third year in a row, there have been no increases in classsizes in the budget. The standard pupil-teacher ratio in both primary and post-primary schools has been protected. The €1.3 billionprovided each year to support children with special needs has also been protected for 2014.

We will be recruiting an additional 1,400 teachers to our schools next year – two-thirds as mainstream teachers, and one-third asresource teachers to support children with special needs. This brings the total number of new teachers recruited in our schools to2,800.

REDUCING THE COST OFGOING TO SCHOOL� BOOK RENTAL SCHEME - €5 million will be

provided for each of the next 3 years to invest inbook rental schemes in every primary school inIreland. These schemes can save parents as much as80% of the cost of school books.

� SCHOOL UNIFORMS – Any school which has aschool uniform policy, or is considering introducingone, will now ask parents if they want a uniform atall. If they do, they will be asked whether or not theywant uniforms in standard colours which areavailable in all retail stores. This will give parentscontrol over the cost of uniforms.

INVESTING IN SCHOOLS� SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME – Since taking office, the

Government’s School Building programme has seen 2,700 newclassrooms built, for over 66,000 children, at a cost of €600m. The2014 building programme will continue this momentum, with afurther €400m to be spent upgrading our schools.

� BROADBAND – All second level schools will have access to high-speed broadband, at no cost to them, by September 2014.

� LITERACY & NUMERACY – A further €9m will be invested inliteracy and numeracy programmes.

In November, I spoke on the Finance Bill 2013 raising the issue ofthe single parent tax credit, home renovation scheme and theplight of people paying Management Fees. For my full speech,please see my Youtube channel or check my facebook accountBrendanRyanTD

Brendan with Rian Cartcath, Ardgillan Community School Balbriggan, who took a"Highly commended" in the junior Maths and Physics Section in this year's BTYoung Scientist Exhibition

HARD PRESSED FAMILIES TO GET FREE GP CAREFOR CHILDREN AGED 5 & UNDERIn the Budget, Labour secured funding of €37 million for the first rollout of free GP care to

children aged 5 or under. This is a commitment we made to help hard-pressed familiescope in uncertain times. Fingal has over 9000 children aged 5 and under, themost of any local authority in the country.

Over time it will be rolled out to the entire population. No parent should haveto prioritise bills when a child needs medical care. This is one of the first stepsto a universal health insurance system that is focused on need, not income.

Collective

bargaining

rights will be

enshrined in

legislation

Protecting

Social

Welfare

payments

HOME RENOVATIONINCENTIVE Tax relief of 13.5% willbe available for familieswho invest in theirhomes in 2014 and2015 following a proposalby the Labour Party. TheHome Renovation Initiative is designed toincentivise renovations and increase demandfor small construction jobs. The relief will begiven as a tax credit over two years onspending of €5,000 up to a max of €30,000and must take place in your principal privateresidence.

The scheme will only apply to registeredbuilders with a tax clearance certificate, tohelp tackle the shadow economy.

In October, Brendan hosted a conference on the Youth Guarantee and YouthUnemployment by Emer Costello MEP in the Carnegie Court Hotel, Swords. This wasthe latest event Brendan has hosted on the employment crisis.

Pictured with Brendan, Emer Costello MEP, Cllr Peadar O'Kelly,Duncan Smith Local Area Representative Swords and transitionyear students from Loreto College Swords.

POSITIVE SIGNS OF RECOVERYLabour worked hard to restore our finances and encourage job creation. Our economy isrecovering and there are significant signs of progress:

58,000 €100m3.9%

7% risereCord €10bn

€500m

irish food & drinks exports

inCrease in

to China

warmer homes

in tourism numbers40% to €3.64bn

Created

on speCifiC housing needs

inCrease

� Deficit 4.8% in 2014

� €177bn Exports at record levels

� 6.8% increase in Excise intake

� €6.4bn ear-marked for new StrategicInvestment Fund

� 5.2% increase in VAT figures intake

� 89% have paid property tax, yielding €235m

� €2 billion in commercial property transactions completed in 2013

� €3.75bn bonds sold and bond yields dropped to 3.27%, lowest in 8years

in 2013Jobs

exports

€57m for

6% inCrease

€134m inCrease

€1.4 billion inCrease in revenue

in tourist spending

in Corporation tax 2013

wealthtaxes

gnp

A living Wage -this is theminimum aworker wouldneed to live withdecency

0612

Your Labour Team in Dublin FingalSWORDS WARD Cllr. Gerry McGuire Cllr. Tom Kelleher Tel: 087 2381980 Tel: 087 2837165

BALBRIGGAN Cllr. Ciaran Byrne Cllr. Ken FarrellWARD Tel: 087 2273060 Tel: 087 7551927

HOWTH/ Cllr. Judy Dunne MALAHIDE WARD Tel: 087 6178557

BALBRIGGAN Cllr. Monica Harford Cllr. Peadar O’Kelly TOWN COUNCIL Tel: 8411287 Tel: 087 7448251

Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2

Phone: 01 618 3421 Fax: 01 618 4584

Email: bren.ryan@oireachtas.ie

Web: www.brendan-ryan.ie

www.labour.ie/BrendanRyan

Follow me on Twitter: @BrendanRyanTD

YouTube: Brendan Ryan

CONSTITUENCY ADVICE CENTRESMalahide:Mondays, 11.00am in St. Sylvester’s GAA Clubhouse, Church Road

Donabate:Thursdays, 5.30pm in St. Patrick’s Parish Hall

Rush:Thursdays, 7pm in Rush Community Centre, Main Street

Lusk:Thursdays, 8pm in The Carnegie Library, The Green

Swords:Fridays, 5.30pm in Swords Day Centre, Chapel Lane

Balbriggan:Saturday, 11.00am in The Combined Clubs Community Centre

Skerries:Saturday, 12.00pm in The Carnegie Library, Strand Street

OTHER AREAS BY APPOINTMENT 618 3421

CONTACT BRENDAN:

JACK O'CONNOR: “IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAKING NOISEAND MAKING A DIFFERENCE”The Head of the country's largest union Jack O'Connor defended the role of the Labour Party in Government and called for unity on theLeft. The SIPTU President made these comments when addressing the Labour Party Conference on the 30 November 2013 in a speechentitled "The Legacy of the Lockout". O'Connor said in his speech: "We know that this Party would now be immensely more popular if ithad chosen to stand aside leaving the levers of power completely in the hands of the Centre Right. But the price of that popularity wouldhave been paid by working people and by those in our society who depend most on public services. 

We insist on the right to aspire to a better, fairer future - but we cannot afford the luxury of standing aside and failing to influence theagenda on behalf of working people simply in order to preserve electoral popularity. At the end of the day, it comes down to the distinctionbetween making noise and making a difference.

The full text of Jack's speech can be found at www.siptu.ie/media/speeches/fullstory_17775_en.html

Brendan at the 1913 Lockout exhibition in

the National Library. The year

was full of great events and exhibitions; th

e re-enactment of Bloody

Sunday in Dublin on the 31 August and the

1913 Tapestry on show in

Collin’s Barracks are two stand-out memories for Brendan from

this past

year.

Last year we celebrated the centenary of the 1913 Dublin

Lockout. The anniversary was an opportunity to celebrate the

progress made by the Labour movement over the past century

and to acknowledge the many areas in which we need to keep

fighting and achieving progress towards an equal and fair society.

In this spirit, Labour are pushing to introduce the right for

collective bargaining to be made law. This is a commitment in the

Programme for Government and we are pushing for its

implementation.

Duncan Smith, Local Area RepSwords, presenting a plaque toPadraig Yeates of the 1913Lockout Committeeacknowledging his work inkeeping the spirit of 1913 alive.This award was presented on the100th anniversary of the SwordsRiots on the 8th of October2013. Over the course of theyear Padraig gave public talks inDonabate, Skerries and Swordson the Lockout which werefascinating and very wellattended.

Emer Costello MEP01 874 6109

emer.costello@europarl.europa.eu

Brendan, Jack O’Connor (SIPTU), Joe Daly and his wife May, Paddy Moran(SITPU). Joe Daly was honoured for 70 year’s service to the Trade Unionmovement, first as a member of the ITGWU and then as a member of SIPTU.