Dessie Ellis TD and candidate Cllr Cathleen Carney Boud have launched their election campaign in Dublin North West. Sinn Féin Vice President Mary Lou McDonald launched the campaign at the Maples Hotel in Drumcondra, calling on all supporters to work to elect Ellis and Carney Boud, who are “the finest candidates a constituency could hope for”.

Both election candidates spoke of their experiences working for the people of Dublin North West to deliver, both at Dáil and city council level. Carney Boud told a packed room that Sinn Féin is ready to be the change desperately needed by so many people nationwide.

“The time has come for change. We need a new type of politics with transparency, credibility and integrity at its core. I believe through anger, people of this country have mobilised as we have seen with the Right 2 Water campaign. This ignites fear in the Establishment as they clamour to discredit any alternative to their socially destructive policies.”

Dessie Ellis spoke of the chaos created by Fine Gael and Labour, compounded with ever growing inequality:

“Electing myself and Cllr Cathleen Carney to the Dáil will send a clear message that Dublin North West does not accept austerity and inequality. It would be a historic success that would go a long way to securing a progressive government for the people of Ireland. It would be a major step to create a government in line with the Right 2 Change principles that would abolish Irish Water and invest in providing for the needs of ordinary people building 100,000 social and affordable homes by 2030 and working to establish free universal healthcare.”

Ellis and Carney Boud discussed Sinn Féin’s policy alternatives which would deliver much needed public services, including 100,000 social and affordable homes by 2030 and working to establish free universal healthcare. All which would be delivered through progressive taxation.

“We as a people, as a country, must look to the vision that was set out in the proclamation. A vision of equality that seeks to cherish all of the children of the nation equally.” said Carney Boud.

“This vision has faded away through years of domination by incompetent, corrupt and careerist politicians who strive to protect only the rich”.

Below is an update from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland regarding their progress in 2015. Relevant information about SEAI’s grants and programmes can be found below. More information is avaibale on their website

2015 was an excellent year for the Better Energy Programme with 22,000 homeowners making their homes more energy efficientwith the support of SEAI. To date the organisation has helped upgrade over 335,000 homes nationwide.

Better Energy Homes Programme
In 2015, grants awarded as part of the Better Energy Homes Programme increased sharply to 44%. In total 12,300 homes were granted funds to upgrade their homes. This is an increase of 23% over 2014.

In 2016 SEAI intend to support 13,700 homeowners in undertaking energy efficiency upgrades to their homes. Their strategy will focus on three arguments:

• Making your home warmer and more comfortable
• Cutting your heating bills by up to 50% and
• Increasing the value of your home.

Better Energy Warmer Homes Programme
In 2015 this scheme which is free to Homeowners delivered services to 6,867 homes. This free service is delivered to the most vulnerable citizens in our society. Applications for this scheme continue to rise and will be met with an increased budget for 2016. Delivery times have significantly reduced from 9 months in 2014 to less than 6 months in 2015. Further information is available HERE.

Better Energy Communities Programme
This Programme delivers energy savings through partnerships between homeowners, County Councils, private sector businesses, educational institutions, other community groups and energy suppliers. In 2015 33 of successful projects received over €15M in support from SEAI and upgrade works were delivered throughout Ireland, achieving over 60 gigawatt hours of savings. Further information on SEAI’s 2016 programme is available HERE.

Building Energy Rating (BER) Programme:
The number of BERs published since its introduction in 2007 has successfully reached over 600,000 BERs and provides a valuable database of energy performance for homes in Ireland. For further information please refer to: www.seai.ie/ber.  Click here for most recent CSO publication including information on BER by county.

Accelerated Capital Allowance Programme:
This is a programme for business owners. The Accelerated Capital Allowance programme is a tax incentive to encourage business of all sizes to invest in energy saving technology. For further information please refer to www.seai.ie/aca.

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Spring Board now taking course applications for 2016, further information available here