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O’ROURKE DEMANDS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR HOMECARE

Frank O’Rourke TD has pressed the Government for additional resources to be provided for Home Care Packages for the Kildare region, a region falling behind other areas in terms of the number of packages needed.

Frank commented, “Winter can be a very difficult time for older people and their families. It’s also a period when hospitals are under pressure. As I established earlier in 2018, the Kildare Wicklow region has a significantly higher waiting list for Home care packages than other area. In June, we had 724 people on the waiting list, which proportionally was much higher than other areas.”

“It makes little sense to delay giving home care supports to people that need them and have been approved by the HSE to get them. It goes against the Government’s stated aim of ensuring people can continue living in their home if they so choose to do so. It is also leading to unnecessary overcrowding in our hospitals. There are many older people in hospitals that are ready to be discharged but are unable to return home as the necessary home care supports have not been put in place.” Continue reading “O’ROURKE DEMANDS ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR HOMECARE”

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O’ROURKE URGES THE OPENING UP OF THE MORTGAGE MARKET

Frank O’Rourke TD has called for increased action to open up the Irish mortgage market to ensure that Ireland enjoys the same mortgage rates as other EU countries.

Frank commented, “Ireland mortgage rates are entirely unjustifiable and the banks must be tackled to ensure that fairer mortgage rates are available to Irish home owners. Irish mortgages are double that of the average in the EU, 3.3% as opposed to EU average of about 1.7%.”

“An Irish mortgage holder, with a 30 year term of €250,000, is paying €1085 per month. This is around €188 per month, equivalent to €2,200 per year or €68,000 over the lifetime of the mortgage, more than they would be paying in the average Euro area country.”

“This massive differential is impacting negatively on the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of individuals and families around our country and depriving local economy of much needed stimulus.” Continue reading “O’ROURKE URGES THE OPENING UP OF THE MORTGAGE MARKET”

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O’ROURKE SLAMS LOSS OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST

Frank O’Rourke TD has said it is wholly unfair that children in need of psychology services in North Kildare have been left high and dry by a failure of the HSE to secure replacement consultants to cover gaps in services and maternity cover.


Deputy O’Rourke was commenting after securing new information from the HSE that shows that the towns of Celbridge, Clane and Maynooth are once again without the services of a child psychologist.

“For the past period, the towns of Clane, Celbridge and Maynooth have been without a child psychologist. Last July, one was appointed to serve Clane and Celbridge leaving Maynooth without one.”

“However, in recent days I have learned that the recently appointed psychologist has now gone on maternity leave. This wouldn’t be an issue if the HSE had prepared the ground and sought a replacement to ensure that there was no break in service.”

“We are now back to square one with no child psychology service for these three large, and growing towns.

“The HSE must secure the services of locum psychologists to ensure that waiting lists do not begin to grow. Longer term, two full-time permanent psychologists are needed to cover this area.”

“I have written to the Minister for Health seeking an update on plans for interim replacements. We need an urgent response from the HSE to allay the fears and worries of parents,” concluded O’Rourke.

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O’ROURKE WELCOMES PROGRESS ON MAYNOOTH BUS ORBITAL ROUTE

Frank O’Rourke TD has welcomed news from the National Transport Authority that it will examine the feasibility of providing an Orbital Bus Route linking Ardclough, Straffan and Maynooth.

The NTA confirmed the study following representations made by Deputy O’Rourke.

Frank commented, “I received confirmation from the NTA that it will examine the potential of providing an Orbital Bus Route linking Ardclough, Straffan and Maynooth. This Orbital Route would provide residents in Ardclough and Straffan with a link to a regular bus and rail public transport service, a connection to the Maynooth Business Park, and a link to NUI Maynooth, opening up this area to the Rent-a-Room Scheme for student accommodation.”

“I am meeting Dublin Bus with the aim of improving the unacceptable service on Route 67 and 67X at the moment. Many bus commuters have made contact with me to highlight the poor service in recent times and we need to address this issue as well.”

 

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O’ROURKE WELCOMES AN POST ENTRY INTO MORTGAGE MARKET

Fianna Fáil Deputy Spokesperson on Finance, Frank O’Rourke TD has welcomed An Post’s announcement that it intends to enter the Irish mortgage market in 2019.

Deputy O’Rourke has repeated calls for increased competition in the mortgage market as Irish mortgage holders are paying significantly more than other EU mortgage holders.

He commented, “For some time now, the Irish mortgage market has been badly in need of a major shake-up. The average standard variable rate for a mortgage in Ireland is currently around 3.2%. This is nearly 1.4% higher than the average Eurozone rate, which stands at 1.8%. This is what makes the statement from An Post so significant.”

“This means that a borrower with a mortgage of €200,000 is paying €250 per month more than they would be paying in the average Euro area country.” Continue reading “O’ROURKE WELCOMES AN POST ENTRY INTO MORTGAGE MARKET”