Cllr Dollard supports Community Employment Supervisor Pension Claim

'It is important to recognise the contribution of CE scheme supervisors'

Cllr Maria Dollard asked Kilkenny County Council to support Community Employment Scheme Supervisors in their claim to have access to pensions in line with the 2008 Labour Court recommendation. She was supported by Cllr Joe Malone who seconded the motion.

“I feel it is important to recognise the contribution of CE scheme supervisors to the communities they work with Maria says and they are 12 years waiting for this wrong to be put right. I am very grateful for the support of my Council colleagues in calling for the Government to engage with the Supervisors’ representatives and to resolve this issue once and for all.”

Since the recent Council meeting, an official request has been sent to the Departments of the Taoiseach and Rural and Community Affairs. “I look forward to the response” says Maria, “I am hopeful that there is renewed wind in the sails of this 3 party Government to address this.”

“We have a Labour Court for the purposes of ensuring workers’ rights are protected and it is nothing short of scandalous that these workers have been ignored like this for so long. I worked as an adult education teacher, with various disadvantaged groups, for over 20 years in VECs and ETBs and I learned one valuable lesson; if you work with disadvantaged groups, you can expect to be a disadvantaged employee. We need to stop this now and apply employment law and its protections to every worker in the country.” Says Maria.

“I am delighted that my fellow councillors chose to support this motion and send a clear message to government that Kilkenny County Council Members support fairness, justice and equality for all workers in this state.”

Maria followed a move by Cllr Andrea Dalton who brought a similar motion to Carlow County Council last month ”I feel that as both Councils and the cross party representation, express support for CE Supervisors and Assistants, it sends a strong message to our constituency TDs and I will be writing to each one of them asking them for their support in bringing this to a conclusion”

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Legislation to Cap Excess Profits for Energy Companies

By Maria Dollard • September 4, 2023

New bill to combat high electricity costs welcomed by Kilkenny Councillor by Liam Kelly O’Rourke Kilkenny People 01 Sep 2023 4:48 PM Kilkenny Green Party Councillor, Maria Dollard, has welcomed the publication of the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill. The Bill provides a cap on the market revenues genered by non-gas generators in the wholesale electricity market between December 2022 to June 2023. The estimated proceeds from the cap on market revenues are in the range €80 million to €150 million and these will now be retained and used in the electricity sector to provide financial supports to households and businesses affected by high energy prices. Cllr Dollard, commented: "This is good news for Kilkenny consumers who will see the money collected ring fenced to be returned to consumers who have been paying way too much for electricity for a long time now. We need to support those on the lowest incomes. There’s no doubt some people are being hit harder than others and without access to good insulation, bills can be very high for some, especially older people and people with reduced mobility." Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, claimed the move would 'ease the impact of high energy prices on electricity consumers' and stated he intends to bring this Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas when the Dáil resumes after the summer recess. https://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local-news/1287190/new-bill-to-combat-high-electricity-costs-welcomed-by-kilkenny-councillor.html