Latest news with #SOCIALDEMOCRATS
The Journal
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Gary Gannon launches legal action against Central Bank over approval of Israeli bonds
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TD Gary Gannon has launched legal proceedings against the Central Bank of Ireland over claims that investors in Israeli bonds could be legally complicit in genocide in Gaza. Lawyers for Gannon lodged legal papers against the Central Bank in Dublin this afternoon. The Dublin Central TD alleges that the Central Bank's failure to ban the marketing, distribution and sale of Israeli bonds exposes investors to risks that have not been disclosed to them. Israeli State Bonds have been advertised as a method to support the country's economy and, more recently, websites promoting the investments have emphasised their importance to Israel's military operations in Gaza. Some TDs, as a result, have dubbed the securities as 'Israeli war bonds'. Speaking today, Gannon said the case asks whether Ireland's financial regulatory system 'can remain silent'. 'The Taoiseach has said clearly in the Dáil that what's happening in Gaza is genocide. Arrest warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court. These are not distant issues – they raise urgent legal and moral questions for Ireland.' he said. 'These bonds are not neutral financial instruments. They are a funding pipeline for a military campaign that includes the bombardment and starvation of thousands of civilians. Letters, seen by the PA news agency, sent to Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhlouf in recent weeks by McGarr Solicitors, acting on behalf of Gannon, claim that these risks were not made known to investors in prospectuses for bonds, which had been approved by the Central Bank. The letter warns Makhlouf that the 'continued issuing and trading of those bonds gives rise to significant investor protection concerns, in light of the complicity of Israel in genocide in Gaza, and the use of the proceeds of the Israeli bonds to facilitate the same'. Today, @GaryGannonTD submitted his case against the Central Bank, which aims to end the facilitation of the sale of Israeli war bonds. The sale of these bonds goes against EU and international law. We need to ensure that "never again" means never again. — Social Democrats (@SocDems) July 24, 2025 It goes on to say that the Central Bank is empowered under EU law to prohibit the marketing, distribution or sale of the Israeli Bonds. 'We call upon it to do so,' the letter adds. There have been ongoing calls for the Central Bank to end its role in approving Israel Bonds for sale in the EU. Advertisement The bank is the designated authority in relation to the sale of Israel bonds in the EU, and has determined the securities meet the standards of the bloc's prospectus regulations. Israel bonds have been advertised as supporting the country's economy and, more recently, websites promoting the securities emphasise their role in supporting Israel's military operations in Gaza. Protesters and opposition parties have called for legislation that would give Ireland the power to refuse the sale of Israeli 'war bonds' over human rights concerns. They say the bonds are intended to fund the war in Gaza, while Ireland has an obligation under the Genocide Convention to use all means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide. Last month, the government rejected a joint-proposal from the opposition which called on the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds within the EU. The motion, put forward by the Social Democrats and supported by Sinn Féin, People Before Profit and the Labour Party, sought the reversal of a previous government decision to block a bill calling for the same measure in May . Gannon issued the letters to the bank about investor protection concerns relating to the bonds, as well as the use of the bonds to finance the war in Gaza at the end of last month. In response, the Central Bank, through its solicitors, said that there is 'no valid legal basis' to support Gannon's purported judicial review proceedings. They claimed that Gannon lacked the right or ability to bring the proceedings and that the bank is satisfied it does not meet the relevant criteria to exercise its powers under EU law. The letter also claims that judicial review proceedings would lead to court time being 'expended unnecessarily and substantial costs being incurred'. However, Gannon said the Central Bank has the power to stop the sale of the bonds. The judicial review was formally issued this afternoon. Gannon said the Central Bank has the power under Article 42 of EU Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation to prohibit the sale of bonds that pose serious investor protection risks. He asked: 'If financing a regime accused of genocide doesn't meet that threshold, what does?' With reporting from Press Association Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Dáil told government has ‘betrayed' students amid calls for clarification on college fees
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TD Jennifer Whitmore has told the Dáil that the government has 'betrayed' families and students amid calls for clarification on college fees. The student contribution fee has been temporarily reduced for the past three years as part of cost-of-living packages accompanying the budget. The fees had been €3,000 before being temporarily reduced to €2,000 euros. But last week, Higher Education Minister James Lawless said that a cost-of-living package will not form part of Budget 2026, meaning the temporary drop in the student contribution fee would 'reset' and revert back to €3,000 per academic year. 'All of us in any walk of life have to play the hands we're dealt,' Lawless told RTÉ on Sunday. Higher Education Minister James Lawless Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo He added: 'If I don't have a cost-of-living package. I can't do those kind of measures that were done last year.' Opposition politicians have been criticising the mooted increase and have repeatedly asked the Government to give clarity to parents ahead of the upcoming academic year. 'Bombshell' Speaking in the Dáil today during Leaders' Questions, Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said Lawless had 'dropped a bombshell' and called on the government to 'level with parents and students'. She added that Lawless's comments on 'playing the hands we're dealt' were 'utterly galling' and 'incredibly tone-deaf'. Whitmore also said that Lawless had 'actively stacked the deck' against students and families and 'essentially told them to suck it up'. She added that people 'believed promises in the Programme for Government to reduce student fees' and they have been 'betrayed'. 'They don't have this money down the back of a sofa. They'll have to scrimp and save and sacrifice to cover this increase, do you not understand that Minister?' Whitmore asked Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, who was taking Leaders' Questions. File image of Jennifer Whitmore Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Donohoe however hit out at Whitmore for saying the government had 'stacked the deck' against students. He added that supports are available and that over 140,000 students benefit from Free-Fees and that 60,000 students benefit from lower forms of student contribution fees. 'All of that is in place because of our desire to ensure supports are in place to help,' said Donohoe. He added that as the government works to move towards a 'normal budget', the government will also look at how progress can be made on the affordability and access to higher and further education. Donohoe also remarked that the student contribution fee would be 'outlined' in October's budget. Advertisement However, Whitmore said Donohoe was 'clearly not listening to what parents and students are saying'. 'They believed you when you said your government would continue to reduce student fees, it really couldn't be any simpler,' said Whitmore. 'Will parents be paying €2,000 in September, or €3,000?' Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Donohoe said he was providing a 'clear and honest answer' and that the government 'has to make decisions as part of our budget process so we can ensure that the changes that we make are affordable, sustainable, and can be built upon in the years ahead'. He added: 'We'll be in a position to give a clear answer to that when our budgetary work is done.' Government 'all over the place' Earlier, Donohoe had been pressed on the issue by Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy, who said the government was 'all over the place'. Carthy said he had 'one simple question, when students get their bill in September will they be paying €2,000 or €3,000?' However, Donohoe began by remarking that the question provided an opportunity to 'outline what the government is already doing'. He said half of students are supported through the SUSI grant (Student Universal Support Ireland) and that the threshold has been increased by 15% to ensure more students can avail of it. He added that the grant is now also available to students in part-time or hybrid education. Donohoe said the budgets put in place measures for students that 'we know is affordable and that we can build upon in the years ahead'. He added that there is a need to 'look at other measures' following the temporary reduction in student contribution fees. 'Your question may have been brief but the answer to it is longer, outlining the supports and the difference that we already make and we want to build upon,' said Donohoe. Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo However, Carthy said a line of minister have been 'unable to answer a simple question'. 'They don't want to hear what politicians are planning to do in the future, I'll ask you one more time, are fees going to be €2,000 or will they be higher? 'Come down from your ivory tower and answer that question.' Donohoe replied that 'it is exactly because this issue of life-defining for so any that the government already has supports in place that you will never acknowledge'. He added that the government is 'interested in solutions rather than soundbites' and that the answer is 'the same as the answer that has been given at any other points in recent years'. 'It's an issue that has to be decided budget-by-budget and this government wants to help in a permanent way and we will outline our answer to that serious question, as we will with many others, when the budget is complete.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
First-time buyers facing 'out of control' housing market like 'The Hunger Games', says TD
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TD Rory Hearne has likened the 'out of control' housing market to 'The Hunger Games' such is the fierce competition for homes. The Dublin North-West deputy said that first time buyers face 'absolutely unaffordable prices', further questioning the transparency of the costs around trying to buy a house. 'It's like the hunger games out there in terms of housing. I'm not using that in any facetious way. I'm saying this is the reality,' he told reporters. Hearne that there was an issue around the 'gazumping' of buyers when they are informed that they have been outbid, causing the price of a home to shoot up further. 'Queues for renting, queues to try and buy, people being outbid, and for housing the issue of gazumping is still going on,' Hearne said. 'There are real issues around the opaqueness in terms of housing purchasing, and it is those first time buyers, people trying to buy a home, who are suffering, who are being made to pay absolutely unaffordable prices. Advertisement He said this has reached a point where this is 'not unusual' and placed blame at the government which he said has 'not got to grips with' the system. Hearne, who penned a 2022 book about the housing crisis called Gaffs before he was elected to the Dáil, is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage which will have its first meeting today. First up on the agenda is local councils and their role in delivering housing. The City and County Managers Association – which represents local authority chiefs – will tell the Oireachtas Committee on Housing about the impediments that need addressing so councils can build more housing units. The group will outline while local authorities have delivered 24,000 social housing units since 2022, Government ambitions to increase this to 12,000 units per annum are 'simply not feasible without urgent structural support.' TDs will be told that there is a need for investment funding, coordinated servicing of land by state bodies and increased staffing for councils to help meet the 12,000 target. It is to hear that local authorities have delivered 24,000 social housing units since 2022, but that Government plans to increase this to 12,000 units per annum are 'simply not feasible without urgent structural support.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Social Democrats to table Bill to reduce voting age to 16
THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS will later table a Bill seeking to reduce the voting age in Ireland from 18 to 16. Soc Dems TD Aidan Farrelly is the party's spokesperson for children, equality and youth. He will introduce the Bill today and remarked: 'People aged 16 and 17 are as civically informed as their peers aged over 18, but are unjustly restricted when it comes to democratic participation. 'If one can work full time and pay taxes, it is only fair to afford that person with the formal opportunity to influence how these taxes are spent, locally and nationally.' He noted that reducing the voting age to 16 was one of the recommendations of the Convention on the Constitution in 2013-2014. Ahead of last June's local and European elections, Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne had called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 in time for polling day. A Bill sponsored by Byrne and fellow Fianna Fáil Senators Mary Fitzpatrick and Erin McGreehan which would lower the voting age to 16 for local and European elections is currently before the Seanad . Advertisement 'The last government was to consider reducing this change in time for the Local and European Elections in 2024, but failed to do so,' said Farrelly. He said the Bill he will table seeks to facilitate a reduction in the voting age in time for this year's Presidential Election. Farrelly also noted that 16-year-olds were able to vote in the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum and that 16-year-olds can vote in Welsh Parliament and local elections. 'Our youth should be able to participate in our democratic processes, the outcomes of which will affect their lives as much as anyone else's, and more than some,' said Farrelly. While he acknowledged that some 16 and 17-year-olds would not vote if able to do so, he noted that this is also the case for those aged over 18. 'We should focus on the many thousands who care about their communities and their society, who are as passionate about politics, public administration and civic duty as their older peers,' said Farrelly. 'The Reduction of Voting Age to Sixteen Years Bill 2025 is an opportunity to tell the 16 and 17-year-olds of Ireland that they and their voices are valued, that they're trusted, that their insight is needed for the future of this country.' This will be Farrelly's first Bill as a TD and he said that it is 'one of inherent importance to me as a citizen of Ireland, a youth worker, and a father'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Journal
TD suspended from Soc Dems over Israel-linked shares calls for Occupied Territories Bill 'now'
SUSPENDED SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TD Eoin Hayes has called for the Occupied Territories Bill to be enacted, claiming he is the only TD in this Dáil who made it a 'red line' issue in last year's general election. In a statement released this afternoon, the Dublin Bay South TD said he is 'deeply concerned' that the 'do-nothing' Government has not yet passed the Occupied Territories Bill and that it has had long enough to tease out any legal issues with the legislation. Today's statement from Hayes said that he believes 'he is the only member of the 34th Dáil to have made the Bill a red-line issue prior to the General Election'. Explainer: Why was newly elected Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes suspended just days into the job? He continued: 'It is incumbent upon all of us to do what we can to challenge injustice wherever we see it. 'The Occupied Territories Bill as written by Senator Frances Black and others is one of the best steps we can take to challenge the injustice and violence being wrought against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and in refugee and asylum populations across the world.' Hayes was suspended from the Social Democrats in December last year, less than two weeks after becoming a TD, after he misled reporters and party leadership in relation to shares he held in a software firm that supplies technology to the Israeli Defence Forces. The firm, Palantir, provides militaries, including the Israeli Defence Forces, with artificial intelligence models used in battlegrounds to help identify targets. Its software has been used by Israel to identify targets in Gaza. Advertisement On the day of his suspension, Hayes was repeatedly asked by reporters during a press conference at Leinster House when he sold his shares in the company and how much he sold them for. He repeatedly refused to give an answer on when exactly he sold them or for how much. Instead, when continuously pushed on the matter, Hayes told reporters that he sold the shares before he entered politics. 'As soon as I became aware that Israel had very close relationships with that company I divested,' Hayes told reporters. However, in a statement sent by the Social Democrats later that day, Hayes clarified that what he told reporters that morning was 'not true'. He went on to apologise and said that he actually sold his shares a month after he was elected as a councillor. He also revealed that he sold the shares for a pre-tax figure of €199,000. In February of this year, a review carried out by the national executive of the Social Democrats endorsed the decision to suspend Hayes 'indefinitely' from the parliamentary party. Earlier this month, despite Hayes identifying himself as an 'Independent TD' following his suspension, the party claimed he was still a Social Democrats TD for the purpose of Oireachtas Committees. Asked today if there is any further update on his status as a TD in the party, a spokesperson for the Social Democrats said there is not. The spokesperson said: 'The Social Democrats have consistently advocated for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill and call on the government to do so as a matter of urgency.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
