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Replies wednesday, 20.05.2009 |
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Social policy
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(...) Sean
My canvassers and I, have just come back from a two day campaign in Cavan-Monaghan. So, needless to say, I am delighted that you give me the honour of replying to your very relevant question. The major problem with the pace of modern day life is that social barriers are continually broken. This results in a breakdown of society. We now have daily murders.
Respect for life has been a precious grace within the Christian upbringing. (...) If we do not have respect for life from conception; then it opens the gates as to lots of argument as to when life should be valued e.g. should abortion be not allowed at 14 weeks or near full term; at what stage should we introduce euthanasia; should we kill children who are not fully formed; should we saddle our youth with massive debt early on in life in a way that they will be slaves for the rest of their live. Respect for life begins at conception. (...)
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Social policy
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(...) The cost of building and maintaining these facilities is low when compared to the cost of remedial activities later. I have spent enough time on the courts of the Mid-west to see the fruits and costs of social neglect. (...)
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Social policy
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(...) Thanks for your question. In July 2007, the EP agreed to the final stage of the controlled liberalisation of the postal service, a process which began 15 years ago. In particular, the Labour Party and our sister parties in the European Parliament insisted that the liberalisation deadline be pushed back from 2009 (as favoured by Member States´ Governments) to 2011, that the universal service, as provided by An Post, must include at least one delivery and collection five days a week for every citizen, on the need to maintain a well-functioning postal network with a sufficient number of access points in remote or sparsely populated areas, on the includion of working conditions in Member States´ authorisation procedures, and on the imposition of conditions on the supply of postal services for non-economic reasons, such as compliance with employment conditions and social security schemes laid down by law and/or by collective agreements. (...)
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Jobs
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(...) Thanks for your question. In July 2007, the EP agreed to the final stage of the controlled liberalisation of the postal service, a process which began 15 years ago. In particular, the Labour Party and our sister parties in the European Parliament insisted that the liberalisation deadline be pushed back from 2009 (as favoured by Member States´ Governments) to 2011, that the universal service, as provided by An Post, must include at least one delivery and collection five days a week for every citizen, on the need to maintain a well-functioning postal network with a sufficient number of access points in remote or sparsely populated areas, on the includion of working conditions in Member States´ authorisation procedures, and on the imposition of conditions on the supply of postal services for non-economic reasons, such as compliance with employment conditions and social security schemes laid down by law and/or by collective agreements. (...)
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Research and technology
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(...) Thank you for your message. Prior to the final adoption of the EU´s 7th Research and Development Framework (2007-13) in 2006, I received correspondence from Irish interests arguing for the inclusion of marine research and in our November 2006 vote on establishing a ´Framework for Community Action in the field of Marine Environmental Policy´, MEPs did insert the following amendments:
23) Account should also be taken of biodiversity and the potential for marine research associated with deep-water environments off the outermost regions and support should be given, under specific programmes, for the drawing-up of scientific studies with a view to the improved characterisation of deep-water ecosystems. (...)
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Culture
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(...) If elected MEP, I will be sitting with the Socialist Group (Party of European Socialists), which includes the Social Democrats from Sweden, Finland and Denmark, the Parti Socialiste from France, the SPD from Germany and other progressive parties from across Europe. Indeed, our European Party Leader at present is the former Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who is famous for introducing the ´flexicurity´ model in Denmark in the 1990s. (...)
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