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O’Rourke – Government has failed to tackle High Insurance costs

Insurance costs in Ireland remain stubbornly high as the Government last week published its most recent report from the Cost of Insurance Working Group. Deputy O’Rourke has called on the Government to give greater priority to reducing the cost of insurance.

“My concern is that the elevated motor insurance costs that we now have, will become the norm. Since being elected, I have persistently raised the unacceptable rise in the cost of motor insurance. I pressed the Government to partner with other EU countries to fight the rising costs, and to-date we have received a deafening silence.”

“The National Claims Information Database is one of the key recommendation of the working groups report. The legislation to establish the database was supposed to be enacted by the end of 2017. Now it seems it will not be even introduced until the second half of 2018 and that time-frame is far from certain.”
Continue reading “O’Rourke – Government has failed to tackle High Insurance costs”

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Frank O’Rourke welcomes announcement of 44 SNA posts for Kildare

Local Fianna Fail TD, Frank O’Rourke has welcomed the additional 44 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts to be appointed this year in Kildare, as part of 800 additional special needs assistants nationally. Deputy O’Rourke has campaigned for increased resources for special needs education over the last number of years.

“44 new Special Needs Assistants will be appointed this year to Kildare schools. This brings the total number of SNA posts in Kildare to 629 for the academic year 2018/2019. This is welcome news and it was an issue that I raised coming up to Budget 2018.”

“We must ensure that children with special educational needs are fully supported so that pupils can participate fully in our schools.”
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Frank O’Rourke – Collaborate with other EU members to reduce Car Insurance

Local Fianna Fail TD, Frank O’Rourke, has called on the Government to step up its efforts to tackle the high motor insurance premiums in Ireland, by working in collaboration with other EU countries on the issue.

“We are now more than a year after the publication of the Cost of Insurance Working Group Report and the progress to-date on the cost of motor insurance is to say the very least, very modest.”

“The Government recently followed my proposal and is now working with Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria on reducing the cost of medicines. I proposed this approach last year to assist in reducing the cost of motor insurance and I am now calling on the Government again, to work with other EU countries to reduce the cost of insurance. Having a co-ordinated approach with other countries against the powerful insurance companies will, in my view, pay dividends.” Continue reading “Frank O’Rourke – Collaborate with other EU members to reduce Car Insurance”

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European Single Market needed for Mortgages – O’Rourke

Frank O’Rourke TD has called on the Government to press for the formation of a European Single Market for mortgages, as Ireland’s mortgage rates continue to be significantly higher than the average EU mortgage rate.

“The average standard variable rate for a mortgage in Ireland is currently 3.26%. This is nearly 1.5% higher than the average Eurozone rate which stands at 1.83%.  In my view the Government have let down Irish customers as recent reports indicate that Irish first-time buyers will pay up to €61,641 more in interest costs over the lifetime of their mortgages than anywhere else in Europe.”

“For example, an Irish borrower with a mortgage of €200,000 is paying around €250 per month more than they would be paying in the average Euro area country,” stated Deputy O’Rourke. Continue reading “European Single Market needed for Mortgages – O’Rourke”

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Coleman delighted with new bollards outside Scoil Na Mainistreach

Cllr Michael Coleman has said he is “delighted” to see safety bollards installed this week outside Scoil na Mainistreach. This is a project that Cllr Coleman and Deputy O’Rourke have worked to deliver on after the issue of safety was raised with them by concerned parents.

“Deputy O’Rourke and I are committed to ensuring school safety is of paramount importance in the community and the installation of these bollards is another positive step forward.”, said Cllr Coleman.

“Other successful school safety projects that we have delivered include signage and flashing lights being placed adjacent to Scoil Mochua and rebuilding an accessible footpath outside Primrose Hill National School. Thanks to the parents and schools for continuing to bring school safety issues to our attention and to our KCC local area engineer and his team for their continued support in keeping our schools safe”