Longford-Westmeath Young Fine Gael

We will be hosting our Nominations meeting for the Young Fine Gael national executive on the 31st of January at 7pm via zoom.

We will be hosting our nominations meeting alongside the Meath branch.

If you are running for exec please email
[email protected] or message our page.

All YFG members are welcome so please contact us if you wish to attend!

We will be having our AGM this coming Thursday the 5th of May at 8pm via zoom. Anyone interested in getting involved is more than welcome to attend.

If you are interested please message us on Facebook or email us at [email protected] a zoom link will be circulated closer to the date.

Hope to see you there 😀

We will be hosting our first physical meeting in almost 2 years this Saturday at 7pm in the Newbury Hotel in Mullingar. All are welcome 🤗 If you have any questions please drop us a message or email [email protected] hope to see you there! 😊

Huge congratulations to Eileen on being elected Secretary-General of the Young European People’s Party!

The new Secretary-General of YEPP is our very own Eileen Lynch!

Eileen, who hails from Macroom, is a long-standing member of Young Fine Gael - having served on the National Executive. She was International Secretary of YFG For 3 years and was elected Vice President of YEPP in 2017.

We’re beyond proud of our friend - and look forward to supporting her in this well deserved new role.

Young Fine Gael

We would like to wish the very best of luck to YFG’s Eileen Lynch who is running for the position of Secretary General of the Youth of the European People's Party at the YEPP Congress in Athens, Greece. Young Fine Gael are looking forward to attending and supporting Eileen.

Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael were delighted to march in the Parade for Respect and Loyalty today with Veteran groups and the families of the Defence Forces, calling on the Government to address the problems in pay and conditions that the Defence Forces currently face.

The Defence Force is at crisis point. It’s time for full pay restoration. It’s time to show our Defence Forces the respect and loyalty they deserve. It’s time to Pay Our Troops.

TheJournal.ie

Great piece on the campaign written by YFG Dublin Regional Officer Eoin Scarlett.

"A DF recruit in training earns just €14,188 a year, while a starting private earns just €27,310 a year including all allowances. This then increases at a very moderate rate to €33,785 after six years’ service."

What do you think of Defence Forces' pay?

Young Fine Gael

As part of our campaign, YFG has written to every member of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party. We asked that they recognise the seriousness of this issue and lobby the Minister for Finance to introduce full pay restoration for all Defence Forces personnel in the upcoming budget.

Sign the petition now : https://www.change.org/p/the-irish-government-full-pay-restoration-for-all-defence-forces-personnel-to-pre-2008-levels

Young Fine Gael

On this day, 69 years ago, the Republic of Ireland Act came into force, and the Irish Republic was born. We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way left to go!

Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael welcomes the news announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed this morning that the Chinese market is to be opened to Irish beef.

Agricultural exports to China have grown nearly five-fold in less than ten years and this development presents an exciting opportunity for the agricultural sector to continue this impressive growth. In being the first European country to gain access for beef to the expanding Chinese market, Irish farmers and meat factories have also received a clear international endorsement of the fact that they produce to the highest possible standards.

We also believe that the export of beef to the single largest food market in the world will help the agricultural sector to offset the many negative impacts of Brexit; impacts that our agricultural sector is uniquely exposed to.

Longford-Westmeath Young Fine Gael held our National Executive nominations meeting on Saturday 17th of February in the Longford Arms Hotel. We nominated the following people:

President: Rebecca Gregan
Francis McNamara
Killian Foley-Walsh

Vice-President: Ian Fahey

National Panel: Daniel Lynch
Daniel Burke
Art O'Mahony
Jimmie Byrne

Leinster RO: Mourad Mejdi

Young Fine Gael

Many thanks to Deputy Alan Farrell for helping us launch our campaign earlier this week.
Young Fine Gael is calling for the introduction a 25 cent levy on the cost of all disposable, non-compostable cups in order to discourage their use in favour of sustainable, re-usable ones. With more than 2 million disposable cups thrown out in Ireland each and everyday, the proceeds from this measure would be invested in waste disposal and recycling infrastructure.
It’s a small measure with big potential benefits for our environment, so make sure to get on board with our campaign and

Young Fine Gael

In light of weekend speculation in some media over the possibility of a governance deal being struck between Fine Gael and Sinn Féin after a future general election, we in Young Fine Gael are re-stating our belief that Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are incompatible as Government partners.

President of Young Fine Gael, Marian O'Donnell, commented,

"Young Fine Gael will under no circumstances back moves by any member of our senior party to go into Government with Sinn Fein. They have proven time and time again that they are not capable of being a Party of governance, but only a Party of opposition."

"Sinn Féin's history is one of attacking and undermining the Irish state, a state that Fine Gael has dedicated itself to building up since Independence and which the Party defended against the attacks of Sinn Féin and its affiliates during the Troubles."

"They have refused to work towards restoring power-sharing in Stormont and they have refused to take their seats in Westminster at this crucial stage in Irish-British relations when the people of Northern Ireland most need to be heard and represented. They are neither able nor willing to be a party of government in Northern Ireland and we should only expect the same if they are to be in Government in the South."

"This is compounded by the revelations of recent weeks, months, and indeed years detailing the entrenched culture of bullying and cover-up within Sinn Féin, a culture that doesn't even put its own members ahead of its agenda and which has caused it to haemorrhage public representatives in recent times."

"This is not the sort of party that Fine Gael should do business with, or whose access to Government Fine Gael should facilitate. To that end, we are heartened by the strong and stated opposition of the vast majority of our parliamentary party and membership to any such arrangement."

Young Fine Gael

We were delighed to launch our campaign with Deputy Noel Rock and Senator Neale Richmond earlier today!
With , we're promoting active citizenship by encouraging people to get on the Register of Electors so they can vote in the multitude of referendums and possible elections that we'll see in 2018, no matter which way they intend to vote. We also want to hear why you think it's a good idea to use your right to vote via the 7 Good Reasons hashtag.
So if you are currently or will be 18 before February 2018, make sure to get yourself on the register!

Young Fine Gael

The Register for Electors contains the names, addresses, polling stations and category of every registered voter in Ireland. To be eligible to vote in 2018, you must be aged at least 18 on 15th February 2018, which is the same day that the new Register will come into force.

The deadline to register or amend your details is Saturday, 25th November 2017. Visit WWW.CHECKTHEREGISTER.IE to ensure that you are registered. You can also register or amend your details by visiting the same website.

2018 could potentially see the largest number of voting opportunities that Ireland has ever seen. At least 4 referenda are due to be held next year – as well as the possibilities of a General and Presidential Election. To ensure that your vote counts in any of these campaigns, sign up to vote today!

Registering your details on the Register of Electors does not require an affiliation to a political party, or a definite view on a referendum issue. Young Fine Gael is a Pro-Vote party – we want to make sure that you have your voices heard, regardless of your political stance.

Check out on Facebook & Twitter over the next 7 days to find out more reasons why you should register to vote today!

Peter Burke TD

Due to status red weather alert, please avoid all unnecessary journeys from tonight. Gardai have warned that there should be no cycling and no time spent outdoors where possible from early tomorrow morning.

ALL schools, universities and childcare facilities will be closed and Department of Social Protection appointments, non urgent outpatient HSE appointments and driving tests cancelled.

Bus Eireann services from 5am to 2pm have been suspended. Please take care of yourselves and check in with neighbours where possible before the storm hits.

ESB outages: 1850 372 999
Westmeath County Council and out of hours number: 044 9332000
Longford County Council out of hours:1850 211525
Longford County Council: 043 3343300

Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael offer a qualified welcome for Budget 2018.

Young Fine Gael welcomes aspects of Budget 2018, but also holds strong reservations about elements of the tax and spending plans announced by Minister Paschal Donohoe in the Dáil today.

We recognise the positive moves made in the area of housing policy, with a commitment of €1.83bn to be put into the construction of 3800 new social housing units nationwide next year, as well as the increase in the vacant site tax, both of which measures will ease the ongoing housing shortage being experienced around the country. We welcome the pledge of €2.5 million to support the Gaeltacht and the advancement of the Irish language. We are also glad to see the introduction of a VAT refund scheme for the costs incurred by charities, though wonder why this cannot also be done for Automated External Defibrillators.

However, we are disappointed that significant increases to all types of social welfare payments will come at the expense of minimal tax cuts for income tax payers, as well as the introduction of a stealth tax on sugary drinks. In this, we see the unwelcome influence of a discredited Fianna Fáil economic model of spending it if we have it—present in this Budget by virtue of the Confidence and Supply agreement existing between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

President of Young Fine Gael, Marian O'Donnell, commented that, "Budget 2018 is a mixed bag. There are positives in the form of commitments to spending on climate change and the construction of social housing, as well as increases in the budgets for departments like Health, Education, and Defence. However, Young Fine Gael had lobbied strongly for meaningful tax cuts on behalf of workers and particularly young workers who sacrificed the most during the economic crisis. To safeguard our future and the future of young people, we feel this should have been prioritised over social welfare increases, which, to Young Fine Gael, do not represent an equitable spread of the benefits of a booming economy across the board."

Young Fine Gael made a detailed Budget submission directly to the Minister for Finance which can be viewed online. If you're between the ages of 15 and 35, have an interest in politics and want to meet similarly interested young people, check out yfg.ie/joining-yfg for information on how to sign up today.

Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael is sorry to learn of the death of former Fine Gael Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave this evening.
Cosgrave was a pivotal figure in the Ireland of the difficult 1970's who secured law and order in the Republic against those who attempted to undermine it, and was especially pivotal in the Sunningdale Agreement, which paved the way for eventual peace in Northern Ireland through the Good Friday Agreement.
We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones at this sad time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Young Fine Gael

It was great for our National Executive to meet with Minister Paschal Donohoe this evening to present our Pre-Budget Submission in advance of next week's Budget 2018, which follows weeks of advocacy by YFG on behalf of young Ireland in the run up to the Budget. The Minister was very receptive to the ideas we presented which are based on YFG policy that has been created over the last number of years, and we are grateful to him for taking the time to meet with us. We anticipate the prioritisation of young people in the Budget next Tuesday.
A copy of our Submission has been sent to each Fine Gael member of the Government, and can viewed here

https://www.scribd.com/mobile/document/357697853/YFG-PreBudgetSubmission-2018-1

Young Fine Gael

1977 saw Garret FitzGerald found Young Fine Gael as the autonomous youth wing of Fine Gael, designed to be the Conscience of the Party; the same year as the release of the first instalment of what would become one of the biggest movie franchises in history.
In this 40th anniversary year of our founding, and following the election of new Party Leader Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach, Young Fine Gael takes A New Hope as our slogan for the coming college recruitment season. Make sure to check out our recruitment stalls at the various freshers' fairs around the country in the coming weeks, and may the Force be with you!

Longford-Westmeath Young Fine Gael's cover photo

Longford-Westmeath Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael

Today we presented our pre-Budget 2018 submission to The Chair of the Oireachtas Budgetary Oversight Committee, Josepha Madigan TD. Focusing on key issues faced by students and young professionals, the document contains 57 proposals across 8 topics including housing, health, education and welfare reform and includes proposals to increase the amount of student accommodation, to support young entrepreneurs, to improve mental health services, and to introduce equal maternity and paternity leave.

Some of the key items proposed in the document are:
• An increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit for the Self Employed
• The introduction of equal parental leave, whereby parents can divide the total parental leave time between them
• The provision of youth mental health services in primary healthcare centres
• Increased resources and promotion for the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme
• Use of the Strategic Investment Fund to increase the amount of purpose built student accommodation
• The establishment of a fund to support young farmers, financed by the European Investment bank
• The abolition of VAT on defibrillators
• The introduction of a refundable levy on bottles and cans to promote recycling.

We hope Minister Donohue will take our proposals on board as deliberations over Budget 2018 continue, and we'd like to thank Deputy Madigan for meeting with us and receiving our Budget 2018 submission today.

The submission can be viewed in its entirety here:
https://www.scribd.com/mobile/document/357697853/YFG-PreBudgetSubmission-2018-1

Young Fine Gael

We met with Minister for Health Simon Harris today and presented him with our Health priorities document. During the meeting, we pushed our support for PrEP in particular, in view of the growth of HIV in Ireland. The document was well received, and huge thanks to the Minister for meeting with us!

Young Fine Gael

Young Fine Gael is calling on the Government to do all that it can to make PrEP widely available in Ireland by means of subsidisation of the cost of the medicine. HIV diagnoses have rapidly increased here in recent years with 513 new detections in 2016 alone—the highest annual number on record.
In light of this increase, and the ability of PrEP to arrest it, YFG is calling on the Government to subsidise the cost of PrEP in order to make it an affordable method in combatting the spread of HIV.

Young Fine Gael set up Longford-Westmeath branch

Some coverage of our first meeting

http://www.longfordleader.ie/news/home/259365/young-fine-gael-set-up-longford-westmeath-branch.html

longfordleader.ie A Young Fine Gael branch was established to cover both Longford and Westmeath in the Newbury Hotel last Thursday evening July 6. The meeting was organised by the national executive council of YFG in conjunction with local Deputy Peter Burke, Senator Gabrielle McFadden and election nominee Cll...

Founding meeting