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Fianna Fáil Party Leader, Micheál Martin and Brendan Smith attending the launc
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Feb 21, 2012
Cavan-Monaghan TD Brendan Smith has said the latest mortgage arrears statistics published by the Central Bank underline once again the lack of any decisive Government strategy for dealing with the growing crisis.
Deputy Smith said: “According to the official figures, almost one-in-seven mortgage-holders are now in some level of difficulty. In truth, the actual picture is even worse. The Central Bank does not publish the number of mortgages in arrears of less than 90 days. However we know that some 46,634 mortgages were in arrears of less than 90 days at the end of June 2011. Therefore, the actual number of mortgages experiencing some level of distress is likely to be closer to one in five.
“The Keane report on mortgage arrears was presented to the Government on 28 September 2011. That’s nearly 5 months ago and despite repeated promises, the Government has refused to lay out its overall strategy for dealing with the mortgage crisis in this country.
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Feb 20, 2012
Even basic material on how decision made is being withheld
The Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has refused to release any information on the decision to withdraw DEIS posts following an FOI request from Fianna Fáil.
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education Brendan Smith has questioned the decision. He commented, "It is unacceptable that the Department of Education will not release even basic briefing material provided to the Minister in relation to his decision to withdraw 428 DEIS posts. On Thursday, schools and families from all over the country will converge on Dáil Éireann to demand that the Minister reverse the cuts. They have a right to see the information relied on by the Minister in making the decision in the first place.
Feb 15, 2012
Cavan-Monaghan Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith has raised again with the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, the concerns of many communities throughout the country following the reductions in the Community Employment, Training and Materials Grant announced in the recent Budget.
The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton stated in Dáil Éireann in reply to a Parliamentary Question raised by Brendan Smith that her Department commenced a review of the financial resources of individual schemes and that this review is scheduled to be completed by the end of March.
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