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LAWLESS INTRODUCES SOCIAL MEDIA TRANSPARENCY BILL TO THE DAIL

James Lawless TD today introduced legislation to allow greater scrutiny of who is paying for advertising on Social Media Platforms

James said, “We are all aware of the substantial and increasing role of social media and online fora on our public discourse and in the political sphere. Yet the many rules and safeguards which have emerged in the traditional spaces, everything from disclosure of donations to campaign fund caps, to a requirement that all printed materials must carry a label saying who printed and published them. None of these checks are present in the online space as the legislation has not kept pace with technology.”

“I introduced my social media transparency bill in the chamber today. The bill applies only to 1) paid political advertising 2) deliberate usage of multiple fake accounts for political purposes (bots).” Continue reading “LAWLESS INTRODUCES SOCIAL MEDIA TRANSPARENCY BILL TO THE DAIL”

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LAWLESS URGES PROGRESS ON THE MAYNOOTH GAELCHOLAISTE

James Lawless TD has called on the Minister for Education to deliver a programme of implementation for the structure of the proposed Maynooth Gaelcholáiste and urging all stakeholders involved to work together to progress the project

The call comes following a motion by the Maynooth Old Carton Fianna Fáil Cumman supporting the delivery of the school was passed during the Education segment of the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis.

The motion was proposed by local Fianna Fáil members from Maynooth in attendance, including Cllr Naoise Ó’Cearúil and Colm Ó’Cearúil Continue reading “LAWLESS URGES PROGRESS ON THE MAYNOOTH GAELCHOLAISTE”

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LAWLESS SLAMS CLOSED HOSPITAL BEDS

At a time of major overcrowding crisis in our Emergency Departments, there are hundreds of hospital beds closed in the health service

James said, “In Naas General Hospital there are staff shortages reducing the capacity of inpatient hospital beds. 172 beds were lost to the health system for a variety of reasons. Worryingly 33% of the bed closures were as a direct result of staff shortages. In our own hospital in Naas there are currently two beds down due to staff shortages.”

“Despite a lot of hot air from successive Fine Gael Health Ministers, little or no progress has been made in stemming the flow of nursing and medical graduates out of the Irish health system, and even less progress made on attracting those professionals who emigrated from Ireland.” Continue reading “LAWLESS SLAMS CLOSED HOSPITAL BEDS”

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LAWLESS – NAAS CAN THRIVE

Last February I wrote a piece for the Leader outlining the challenges facing Naas as a retail town and highlighting some of the projects that were underway to address those

Six months on some of those projects are beginning to come good and it an apt time to update on where it is all at.

“Changing technology, habits and lifestyles mean people shop and live differently now than they used. With it now being possible to buy a pint of milk in a garage or order a pizza from your iPad, people no longer need to “go up the street” on a daily basis. This challenge faces many towns around Ireland and at a recent meeting I held with Retail Excellence Ireland shopping habits were summed up succinctly as “midweek convenience, weekend experience”. In other words that people will shop online or in bulk midweek but want to enjoy leisure and recreation at weekends. “ Continue reading “LAWLESS – NAAS CAN THRIVE”