Brendan Ryan, Labour TD for Dublin North, spoke in the Dáil on Tuesday evening voicing concern over the Keane Report on Mortgage Arrears. Speaking to the House, Ryan raised concerns over the limitations placed on the Working Groups processes from the outset and raised potential problems for the recommended Mortgage-to-Rent scheme.

Ryan, "My primary concern is that the Government will implement the Keane Report's recommendations without rigorously examining the key proposals. Given the scale of the mortgage crisis, which let us remember is a human crisis and in many cases a family crisis, I find this Report lacks enough rigorous analysis to make adequate recommendations to solve the mortgage arrears crisis."

Ryan continued "I was disappointed to find out that the Working Group only met eight times and that some key data, including the number of mortgages on the verge of going into arrears, was not available to the Group. I also raised concerns about the proposed Mortgage-to-Rent scheme. I'm concerned about the capacity of Local Authorities to cope with the potential for thousands of extra properties falling under their remits for repairs and maintenance etc. In my constituency, Fingal County Council is pinned to its collar. At the end of this month we will see the regrettable end to Fingal County Council's bin service due to lack of funding and resources. Now the Keane Report recommends the potential handing over of properties in mortgage arrears to local authorities. This has the potential to cause major problems:

Ryan elaborated, "This past week we have seen residents of the Priory Hall Apartment complex in Donaghmede have to evacuate their homes due to critical safety concerns in the building's construction. There are estates in North Dublin afflicted with Pyrite and I know of many families living in Pyrite affected homes, currently in mortgage arrears too. Will the Local Authorities be able to repair and maintain these homes should the mortgage holder fall into a Mortgage-to-Rent scheme? The Government needs to be mindful of these potential issues when deciding on its policy in this area."

Ryan concluded "While welcoming the Report as an important stepping stone, and commending the work done, the people of Ireland put us into this house to push further to dig deeper and to work harder on finding the right course of action in this most important of issues."

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Labour Party TD for Dublin North Brendan Ryan has praised the submission by the Pyrite Action Group to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and Gaeltacht on 11 October 2011.
Ryan "I have sat on many Committees in my time as Senator and now TD but seldom have I witnessed a more engaging and well-presented submission such as that which came from the Pyrite Action Group on Tuesday. Whilst the Government has announced the setting up of a Working Group to tackle the Pyrite crisis in recent weeks, it was timely that the Pyrite Action Group presented the human cost of the Pyrite issue to members of both the Dáil and Seanad."

Ryan continued "The group also set out its goals and expectations primary amongst them the desire to have their pyrite-affected homes to be fully repaired and certified 'pyrite-free'. This is the goal which needs to be achieved and it must be the goal of the Government's working group too. I welcomed the opportunity to meet and speak with the Pyrite Action Group in Leinster House and I will continue to work with them in the weeks and months ahead on this most serious of issues."

In a Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education last week, Brendan Ryan, Labour Party TD for Dublin North, asked the Department of Social Protection what efforts have been taken to address the question of non-Irish nationals coming into the country on short trips to collect social welfare payments.
Deputy Ryan spoke to the Committee and congratulated the Department for its efforts to deal with fraud and how in this time of economic crisis, we must make the best use of resources that are available for genuine cases. Speaking to the issue of non-Irish nationals coming into Ireland to claim benefits Deputy Ryan said:
"I raised this issue with the Department in July on foot of a person who came to me who works in the airport and knows what is going on. At the time of the ash cloud the Department suggested there was no evidence of a reduction in claims. This may have been a comfort to the Department. However since then somebody else who works in the airport came to me and had similar stories about non-Irish nationals coming into the country at the end of the month to make claims and leaving (the country) quickly"

Ryan continued "The airlines, the DAA and others working on behalf of other State organisations, such as passport control, have information. There is a real opportunity to address the issue and disprove or get to the bottom of it".
Officials from the Department of Social Protection responded to Deputy Ryan through saying "There is a problem with some people flying into Ireland to claim social welfare benefits. We are addressing this through variance residence checks." The Department did state that "Departmental Inspectors do not have specific powers at ports and airports to conduct checks" and "it would require legislation to grant such powers." The Department did inform Deputy Ryan that it is actively pursuing a change in legislation in this area.

Ryan "I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the Tidy Towns committees and activists throughout Fingal who achieved so much in the recent Tidy Towns awards presented in Dublin City University today. Skerries, Malahide, Donabate and Balbriggan all received awards from the Tidy Towns Committee."

Ryan "Congratulations to Skerries which was awarded the Regional Prize for Dublin. This is a wonderful achievement and thoroughly deserved by the Skerries Tidy Towns Committee which also received a national award worth an extra €1000 to mark their achievements."

Ryan continued "Congratulations should also be passed to the Donabate Tidy Towns Committee for gaining a Highly Commended Award for sustainable development. Malahide continued its strong performance in Tidy Towns competitions with a gold medal award of its own in the G Category. Lusk Tidy Towns Committee was commended for their efforts in the past year. It has been a very good year for Fingal in the Tidy Towns competition and I congratulate all the committee members and volunteers who dedicate so much time and energy to making the towns of Fingal such pleasant places to live in and visit."

An article on the Irish Times by Frank McDonald (Aug 12, 2011) cited "well-placed sources" in declaring that Metro North is going to be "deferred" on the basis that it cannot be funded in the current climate.

Ryan "It seems certain commentators are tripping over themselves to declare the Metro North project dead in the water. This is both frustrating and not very constructive to a national debate on transport infrastructure. In the past number of weeks I have met a number of partners involved in Metro North including the Railway Procurement Agency and the Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar. The situation remains the same now as it has done for the past number of months insofar as we are awaiting the results of the comprehensive spending review before a decision will be made on Metro North."

Ryan continued "The results of the comprehensive spending review are not yet known and as such the immediate future of Metro North is uncertain. However it is vital that Metro North is kept on the table. As I have said before, Metro North is the only show in town which can meet the deficit in transport infrastructure for the M1 corridor."

Brendan Ryan TD "In response to my representations regarding the opening of a comprehensive local social welfare office in Swords, the Office of Public Works has informed me of the following:

- A suitable location for the office has been identified near the Garda station
in Swords

- The main lease terms and conditions have been agreed and final letting and pre-letting arrangements are being prepared for completion with the landlord in question.

- An exact programme for construction will be agreed with the developer on the signing of these contracts.

Ryan says "It is vital Swords is facilitated with a comprehensive social welfare office as soon as possible. We are facing a similar problem in Balbriggan as that community is also waiting for a comprehensive social welfare office. The OPW has informed me that they are still seeking suitable locations for such an office in Balbriggan. I will maintain my pressure on the OPW and the Department of Social Protection to deliver offices for both Swords and Balbriggan as soon as possible.

Brendan Ryan TD has called for any discussion on Metro North to include the full scope of the project and not just focus on the airport link.
Ryan says "I agree that we need a rail link between the airport and Dublin city centre however the point must be made that there is a far greater deficit in the transport infrastructure of North Dublin than merely no rail link to the airport. The population of Swords is over 43,000 people and is currently without a rail link to the city centre. Ballymun, Dublin City University (with a student population over 11,000) and the future National Children's Hospital will all be serviced by Metro North."
Ryan continues "The results of the comprehensive spending review are not yet known and as such the immediate future of Metro North is uncertain. However it is vital that Metro North is kept on the table. As I have said before, Metro North is the only show in town which can meet the deficit in transport infrastructure for the M1 corridor, including the airport. As far as I am concerned a rail link-up between Clongriffin Dart station and the Airport, should be taken off the table. If the Clongriffin link up goes ahead, then Metro North would be a non-runner for decades, if not forever. If Metro North is deemed too expensive given the current economic climate then we must not replace it with an inferior short term option such as the Clongriffin link up, which would have a long term detrimental effect on the transport infrastructure of North Dublin.
Ryan states "For too long Ireland's transport policy has been blighted by short term vision. Metro North has been designed to cope with the population increases projected for the North Dublin region. It is for this reason above all others that it must be kept on the table"

Ryan stated "I have received a number of representations from constituents in recent months regarding possible end dates for existing tenant purchase arrangements. I called for a meeting with Minister of State for Housing Willie Penrose to clarify the issue."
Ryan said "I was informed that the existing tenant purchase arrangements will be wound down in 2012 to be replaced by a new scheme for existing local authority housing. Although Minister Penrose could not give exact details of the revised scheme at this stage he did state the new scheme would be more up to date and be a more equitable purchase model. Minister Penrose said it was never the intention that the option for existing local authority tenants to buy their homes be discontinued."
Ryan concluded "This should come as some relieve to worried tenants who feared they would be excluded from any changes to tenant purchase schemes".

Brendan Ryan TD (Labour Party) has welcomed the move by Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn to allow the BA course in All Hallows College being attended by 55 ex SR Technics workers, to be included under the student grants scheme.
Ryan said "I am pleased to say that the Minister for Education and Skills has prescribed the full-time BA (Hons) course in Personal and Professional Development in All Hallows College as an approved course for the purposes of the student grants scheme. This is the result of continued pressure and lobbying by myself and fellow Labour Party TDs on behalf of the ex-workers from SR Technics. We placed a number of possibilities to the Minister for helping the students once the EU Globalisation Fund ends in September. One such option was to include the BA in Personal and Professional Development within the student grants scheme"
Ryan continued "In practical terms this means that students currently undertaking the course on a full-time basis can apply to have their eligibility for a student grant assessed. Student grants are means tested and applicants must also satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme relating to age, nationality, residency and progression."
Qualifying students may receive a maintenance grant and have their fees or student contribution paid on their behalf by the State. Students already in receipt of the Back to Education Allowance or VTOS Allowance do not qualify for the maintenance element of the student grant. However, subject to satisfying the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme, such students may have their fees or student contribution charge paid on their behalf. To have eligibility for a student grant assessed, students must apply to the local authority in the area in which they normally live.
Ryan said "I will continue to work with the ex-workers from SR Technics to ensure they are made aware of the scheme now available to them and to give them every possible help in finishing their further education."

Deputy Brendan Ryan (Labour Party) has broadly welcomed the plans unveiled by Minister for Public Transport Alan Kelly to introduce over 40 Real Time Passenger Information Units in the Fingal Area, with a great deal of these units planned for Dublin North.
Ryan "I am pleased to see the planned roll out of Real Time Passenger Information Units for Dublin North. I have been impressed with these units in Dublin City Centre in recent months and I have spoken with the Minister about the need for such units in Dublin North. Given the size of our region and the distance some buses need to travel between towns, these RTPI units are especially needed in Dublin North."
Ryan stated "Although I am broadly pleased with the plans unveiled by the Minister, I do feel there are a number of gaps in the plans. I feel that Strand Street in Skerries and the train station in Lusk/Rush are two prime locations which would benefit from RTPI units. I will be writing to the Minister to ask that these two locations are added to the list already put forward by his Department."