Search Results for 'Simon Harris'

Years of simmering discontent about how central government funds the city council reached boiling point this week, when councillors roasted Galway’s TDs and senators for failing to champion the regional capital’s local authority.

The Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers, presented the second Budget of the coalition Government on Tuesday.

Retailers and staff in Galway have joined a national campaign calling on Government to cut employers’ PRSI in Budget 2027 in order to save retail jobs, as Retail Excellence Ireland (REI), the largest representative body for the retail industry in Ireland, launched its ‘Cut PRSI, Keep Jobs’ campaign at locations across the country.

Infrastructure, housing and investment were just some of the issues discussed by the Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council Andrew Reddington and An Tánaiste Simon Harris, in a high level meeting in Government Buildings recently.

Unpaid invoices totalling almost €2.3 million remain unpaid by owners of 48 derelict properties across Galway city so far this year.

Local Fine Gael Councillor Eileen Mannion has backed Tánaiste Simon Harris’s call for stronger action on derelict properties, saying tackling dereliction is essential if Ireland is to address its housing shortage.

Sinn Féin TD for Galway East, Louis O’Hara, has expressed concern at Government plans to limit the new Derelict Property Tax to population centres of 4,000 or more. O’Hara said that this would have the effect of excluding thousands of derelict properties from this new tax, such as the former Shannon Oaks Hotel in Portumna.

A positive decision on the expansion of Galway Port would mark a new era for the facility and city, a Fine Gael Senator said.

Cllr Thomas Welby, Independent candidate for the upcoming Bye-Election, has identified the delivery of a College of Future in Galway as having the ability to be pivotal in transforming the Further Education and Training landscape for the region.

The government’s long awaited maritime security strategy was published yesterday, including aspirations for a west coast naval installation.