Category Archives: Social & Economic

Government intervention needed to cut petrol prices

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Fianna Fáil’s Naas Area Representative, James Lawless, has urged the government to act now without further delay and tackle the escalating cost of petrol which is crippling families and businesses across the country.

“The price of fuel again reaches record highs this week as families return to school and the weekly round trip of school-run, children’s activities and all that goes with family life. Families have told me they can no longer afford even those standard activities trying to run a regular family car on current fuel prices” stated James.

“The government have sat on their hands and allowed the situation escalate to crisis point. For every litre of petrol sold almost a euro of that is taken in by the government in taxes. Meanwhile they have twice rejected Fianna Fáil proposals to make even modest cuts to the price of fuel in both April and again in August of this year when Fianna Fáil tabled legislation before Leinster House to reduce fuel excise duties” James explained.

“But government policy is counter productive; fuel tax revenues actually fell this year for the second year running as motorists are being hammered again and just cannot take any more; disposable incomes are disappearing out the exhaust pipe with knock on effects for the whole wider economy as everyone suffers from less to go round”.

“The exorbitant cost of fuel is hitting every single household in the country and is discouraging tourists from travelling through Ireland not to mention the direct cost hitting every business. You don’t even need to take my word for it: As Conor Faughnan of the AA said last week ‘The motorist is being used and abused by the government’”.

“If Fine Gael and Labour could just put aside party politics and accept the Fianna Fáil proposals, the Government could take a simple step that would immediately reduce the price of petrol at the pumps. I am calling for immediate action before the situation escalates any further than it has already” concluded James.

Rabbitte abortion intervention “unhelpful and intolerant”

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Speaking in the wake of Pat Rabbitte’s call for the church to play no part in the abortion debate, James Lawless, Fianna Fáil’s Naas Area Representative, has said the Minister’s intervention is untimely, intolerant and unhelpful.

“Thankfully we live in a society premised on free speech” said James. “It is the right of any individual or group to make their views known and to engage in public discourse” claimed James. “These rights are fundamental in democratic society in fact they are protected by the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights” according to James.

 

“Minister Rabbitte appears to believe the right to speak only applies to those that agree with him. This kind of faux-liberalism which preaches respect but actually shows no tolerance is completely out of place in a Minister of government. Thankfully we are past the days of shouting anyone down or dictating who does and who does not have the right to speak” continued James. “Let’s respect all views and welcome them to what is sure to be a contentious debate. Civic society and the church have every right to be involved in these debates and the wider a viewpoint is heard the better in my view. Minister Rabbitte would do well to practice some tolerance himself” concluded James.

Pricing, planning and other railway problem children

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In the wake of the emergency subvention of €36 million announced for CIE, Fianna Fáil’s local area representative for Naas, James Lawless, has criticised Irish Rail management and said they need to innovate to succeed in today’s climate.

Ireland's Railways need strategic thinking fast

“I’ve always been a fan of public transport” explained James, who is also a spokesperson for the Naas and Sallins Rail User Group. “I use the train to Dublin almost every working day and when it’s done right there is no better way to travel” according to James.

“But you sometimes wonder what commercial acumen, if any, do Irish Rail apply to their operation or whether they employ any strategic considerations. We’ve been told their revenue is under pressure because the numbers are dropping and that rings true. But they must realise the prices they are charging are causing that drop-off as well. It’s not so bad on a commuter ticket but they are simply not competitive for day trippers or casual users. Compared with the bus or even taking the car, their fares are far steeper” claimed James.

“Their pricing structures are still rooted on the old tram lines from the beginning of the last century” explained James. “That’s apparently why it costs a couple of euro to travel from Hazelhatch or Maynooth but an extra tenner to travel one stop further onto Sallins. It’s not justifiable today. Also most businesses including hotels and airlines discount seats approaching departure as better a full house on half fare than an empty one at the same cost. The train is going anyway, surely half a loaf would be better than no bread” claimed James.

“Another example is the service quality on certain routes. The Wexford ‘commuter’ line takes two hours by train on a distance no longer than Portlaoise or Drogheda which take an hour. This is on a now primary commuter corridor and also what is a popular Summer base from which so many travel to the capital daily”.

“The ongoing fiasco regarding shelters at Sallins station also makes you wonder. It’s literally hard to see where the shelters will actually fit when they are hopefully installed. They will have to dismantle newly erected structures to make room. It beggars belief that they could spend all that money and end up with almost a worse station than they started with” concluded James.

Mick Wallace and the Companies Acts

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Back blogging again after a few months of enforced absence during a period of political, home, work and academic pressures. Sharing some thoughts on Mick Wallace today and his escapades.

In brief I believe the recent revelations about Independent TD Mick Wallace leave more questions open than answered and add up to a litany of violations of company law which could strip away his corporate protection.

The headline breach is of under-declared tax, itself a criminal offence, but that is only one of many violations which may arise from the financial dealings of Wallace’s firm. It appears to me that Wallace’s claim to position himself apart from company affairs may not stand up to closer legal scrutiny.

Rightly people are focusing on the headline breach of the tax evasion. Whilst this is massively serious there are numerous other company law breaches which flow from his actions. Under the Companies Acts Deputy Wallace could be held liable at least for reckless trading, fraudulent trading and failure to keep proper books of account. Both criminal and civil consequences can result and most significantly the separation between the company and Mr. Wallace the individual then breaks down. Basically he loses the claim to separate legal personailty once certain improper actions are proven which on the facts of this case mirror Re PSK Construction where an almost exactly similar scenario saw separation stripped away.

If any one of his many creditors, including the revenue, moved a motion to wind up the company as it would be entitled to do if it cannot pay its debts then it is quite likely the corporate legal separation would be removed and Mr. Wallace would become personally liable for the company debts were any of the above charges were to be found against him. There are also incredibly obvious breaches such as being apparently a single director company which is clearly prohibited under company law. You would wonder who, if anyone, was advising him of his legal responsibilities or did he choose to ignore such advice if received.

UPDATE – A report in today’s press suggests Mr. Wallace sold his vineyard to his brother recently as part satisfaction of a debt. Again if I was in the shoes of the liquidator I would be looking at whether this was a “fraudulent preference” where one creditor is preferred over another, the intention being to deny other creditors access to the same limited resources. Given the preference / disposition was to a connected person (family member) this transaction could be undone in the event of a liquidation. – UPDATE ENDS

Of course we all want businesses to succeed rather than fail and for jobs to be saved. But breaking the law is never the right option. For a company in his circumstances one obvious alternative would have been examinership which could have saved jobs and the company by restructuring the debts, working with the courts rather than against them. I would strongly urge anyone in this position to consult with a legal or financial advisor instead of embarking on an illegal path, no matter what the motivation. Jobs and companies can be saved in other, more proper and permanent ways and without resorting to illegality.

In terms of the wider political implications, the public rightly demand a higher standard from politicians today and the same standard has to apply across the board. All politicians have a duty to earn and restore the public trust and all citizens must be equal before the law. No excuse is ever good enough for defrauding the tax payer. I am well aware my own party has had issues in the past and is taking serious measures to address them. I had no hesitation in doing what was necessary at my first ever meeting of the national executive in the aftermath of Mahon. I believe my own generation of politicians has no truck with excuses from any person, in any party, in any position. It is a basic political entitlement that those who ask the public trust should earn it and be clearly able to demonstrate why.

More Greeks and Marbles

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Just some very quick thoughts on matters European. Firstly the news from the summit yesterday is good, the interest rate cut is undoubtedly welcome and the longer repayment period will make cash flow and annual budgeting easier in the meantime.

It does mean we are paying back more interest in the longer term but again I think that’s a price worth paying for more day to day flexibility. Also with presumed inflation the capital amount to be repaid should be less in real terms by redemption date.

Really the Greek difficulty was Ireland’s opportunity. Ireland, along with Portugal and possibly Spain, got lucky in terms of the wider European events conspiring to mean an overall solution had to be brokered. In the early days the thinking from Europe seemed to have been to “make an example” out of Ireland however as the solution was rolled out across further countries and as the Euro was coming under increased pressure, eventually something had to give. It seems Greece itself will be permitted a degree of default but that it will be strictly ring-fenced to that jurisdiction. Not convinced this will work, neither is Shane Ross.

A good break for Ireland though. Of course the interest rate cut only applies to one element of the bailout, the EFSF proportion, for all their malignment, the IMF rate was always more hospitable (c. 3%) and then there is EU / ECB funding, the latter through the backdoor into the Irish banks (which is partly what forced the bailout to be formalised in the first place) and other arrangements. I understand the bilateral agreements with UK and other countries (Sweden?) have yet to be drawn down, so the rate on those may not have been finalised yet. So the interest rate cut is only one part of a much wider pie, including many lenders and many different rates, but still a welcome development all the same. Not a panacea but sure we’ll take a Parthenon while it’s going spare.