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UK PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has announced her much-anticipated “plan B” on Brexit, after her original deal was roundly defeated last week.
May said she plans to return to Brussels to discuss changes to the deal she agreed with EU leaders last month, despite an overwhelming rejection of the draft text by MPs last week.
“I believe we can make progress” on the so-called Irish backstop, she told parliament, adding that she would be consulting with MPs about possible changes and “then take the conclusions of those discussions back to the EU”.
Addressing the House of Commons, she said after last week’s vote it became “clear the government’s approach had to change”.
The UK prime minister ruled out holding a second referendum, as it would create a concerning precedent.
May added that it could “damage social cohesion by undermining faith in our democracy”.
She said everyone had to work together to find a solution, adding that there is widespread concerns around Britain leaving the EU with no deal.
“The right way to rule out no-deal is for this House to approve a deal with the European Union,” she said.
The other way to rule out a no-deal would be to revoke Article 50, but she ruled this out as it would go against the referendum result.
No reopening of Good Friday Agreement
On reports that the Good Friday Agreement might be reopened, she said she wanted to be absolutely clear that she will not reopen the Belfast Agreement. She said this was never considered.
Addressing the issue of the controversial backstop, she said there is a fear the UK could be “trapped” in the backstop.
She promised to hold further conversations on this issue, and will then take the feedback from these talks back to the EU.
May said will now meet with the DUP, members of the opposition, trade unions, and members of civil society so as to be more “open and inclusive”.
In her speech today, May said she will scrap fees for EU citizens who want to stay in Britain.
Having listened to concerns from members and organisations, she confirmed that when the new scheme is rolled out the British government “will waive the application fee so that there is no financial barrier for any EU nationals who wish to stay and anyone who has or will apply during the pilot fee will have their fee reimbursed”.
While May hopes to win over Tory Brexiteer MPs and the DUP, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said nothing had changed and said the prime minister had offered nothing new.
Britain will leave the European Union on March 29 without any new arrangements in place unless MPs can agree to an alternative or modified plan that the bloc can also accept.
London and Brussels have spent the best part of two years working on May’s agreement, but MPs in parliament’s lower House of Commons comprehensively rejected it last week.
DUP and SDLP response
Following Theresa May’s statement, the DUP’s Westminster Leader Nigel Dodds MP said:
“We welcome the commitment by the Prime Minister to rule out an extension to Article 50, the waiving of the £65 fee for EU nationals residing in the United Kingdom and the recognition that the necessary legal changes to the withdrawal agreement must be secured from Brussels.
In recent days, we have had good engagement with the Prime Minister. It is encouraging to see that the core issues which led to the House rejecting the withdrawal agreement are being focused upon in a really serious manner.
But he focused on the sticking point of the backstop, saying: “We want to see a consensus in the House of Commons around a deal which works for every part of the United Kingdom but also the European Union and our neighbours in the Republic of Ireland. The backstop is the problem and that is where the focus must lie.”
Meanwhile, SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MLA hit out at May following her statement, saying her commitment to the Good Friday Agreement was “superficial”.
He said that “it is not possible to fluff the backstop” and urged politicians in the North of Ireland to “yield power” to stop the Brexit chaos as “London panders to the DUP against Northern Ireland’s interests.”
Eastwood commented:
“It is crystal clear that the British Government’s commitment to the Good Friday Agreement is superficial. Theresa May can’t have it both ways. She cannot drag Northern Ireland out of the EU without agreeing the Backstop and expect to avoid a hard border. We have been through this time and time again – but Theresa May either doesn’t get it or doesn’t care. However the SDLP, the EU and the Irish Government are clear that the Backstop is non-negotiable.”
Despite people in Northern Ireland widely supporting the backstop, the British Government continues to shamelessly pander to the DUP against the interests of people here.
He said that the statement today “proves only one point – that the British State is in chaos”.
Boxed into a corner, the Prime Minister is running out of time and running out of options; clinging to the DUP to help her hold onto power – despite the fact the DUP do not represent our interests nor the views of the majority of people in the North.
“We have reached a critical point and with that politicians here cannot simply point the finger,” said Eastwood.
“Sinn Féin, despite being gifted power to sit in Westminster, have abdicated their responsibilities. They have let the DUP take back control and silence the voice of Irish nationalism. Politicians now need to yield the power given to them to stop this Brexit chaos, that’s both in Westminster and in Stormont. Time is up and compromising our peace and our freedoms on this island is not an option. The SDLP want to go back to Stormont, we want Irish voices fighting against the DUP and Tories.”
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Bottom line is young people shouldn’t be cut money because of the lack of opportunities in this country. I’m 26 (thank god). I’m educated and I have worked professionally for over 4 years. I found myself unemployed this year. I am also married and have two kids. My point is.. Just because you may be under the age of 26 does not mean your young with no responsibilities and can afford to take these cuts.
i and i think the majority of people agree wholeheartedly with you lisa,but do you think that these cuts will push lawabiding young people into criminality imo the lame ducks john lonergans heart bleeds for wouldnt know how to live normal lives because of a lifetime of criminality suplemented by handouts.
I think it depends on the support networks surrounding people and their personal circumstances. Somebody with kids and nobody they could turn to if things were tough would probably be more likely to offend particularly in more disadvantaged area’s.
@ Shaun Sweeney. Have been to one of John Lonergan’s talks before. A very intelligent man who possible given his work experience knows a lot more about the causes of criminality then anyone in government or posting on the journal in fairness. Maybe if the crime rates do go up in 2014 we might keep what he said in mind.
i havent been to any of john lonergans talks,but have seen first hand how his refusal to counteract the flow of drugs into mountjoy turned the place into a warzone for staff and prisoners and if i may say without being slanderous may have created as many new junkies as any drug epidemic on the streets.im not questioning john intelligence but many of the people he is trying to help are lifelong criminals rather than young people trying to get off the dole as soon as possible
Shaun is it the case that we just give up on people that are life time criminals. Do we just dispose of them to suit your thinking. I don’t want to live in your type society. You want vulnerable & uneducated people punished but are quite happy with the real criminals in power. The banks & the state have done more damage to me than any drug dealer or criminal. I know I am not alone in that situation. They have destroyed more families than drugs. Wake up stop being a slaved.
@mjhint i havent made any reference to vulnerable or uneducated people being punished you simply plucked that out of the air.but let me applaud you on your false name,keyboard warrior crusade to right the wrongs of our stae a real middle class boy turned rebel.so what happened did daddys buisness go bust in the bust,were you thrown out of blackrock for dabbling in drugs sure look its none of my buisness you keep up the keyboard crusade
No mine did & my daddy’s is still going. I on the other hand am a separate entity to daddy & I do my own business without support from anyone including daddy. It’s just I like it that way. Judging by your tone I’m correct in my view of your version of society. I come from a working class background of which I’m proud of. I see people everywhere in trouble & the elite & those that support it such as yourself carry on regardless. I’m sorting my situation & I have it in hand & expect to restart my business soon. I think I will be ok & will return to some sort of normal situation soon. Unlike you though I am concerned for the future of my children & my fellow Irishmen & women. It’s people like you that have led Ireland down a deadend with no way back.
yaaawn zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,oops excuse me.and who exactly are people like me,people who dont hide behind fake profiles,people who dont pretend to care about drug addicts and criminals, at least i have the balls to admit i dont care about these people unlike your firm stand on the journal.i defy you to show us your real working class profile or are you going to continue as an armchair crusader
Shaun your a cynic. Well done. A life well lived. I’m not hiding I’m here.
a cynic maybe a hypocrite no.
No just a fascist! And I am working class!
fair play to ya mic i would have felt it was beneath me to label him a facist
Because of a lifetime, (a very short lifetime) of being neglected in society, Fine Gael are the Irish version of the ‘Tea Party’.
The ‘Crime Family Syndrome’ should have been realised two decades ago, the state bred them, fed them and now jails them and can’t rehabilitate them, or educate them.
Let’s take to the streets and let this dodgy government know we ain’t taking it any more,it’s Long over due.
The state bred them and fed them and now can do nothing with them… CORRECT…. You see when you have people who don’t take responsibility for anything they do or say you have a problem…. When I think back to the children ombudsman / woman who thought it would be a better idea to move the juveniles from Pats to Wheatfield prison because they would have more room to play. I thought what an idiot. She has not got a clue what she is talking about.. Wonder how much we are paying for this PC crap… Responsibility should be the name of the game.. You are here because of you.. To the parents of these young offenders they are in there because of you.. If a young person is out there trying to better themselves then all the stops should be pulled out for them.. In this country we reward bad.. What about the young couple struggling with a couple of kids to pay for everything? They should be helped not the parents who opt out and think we should all pay cause I’m entitled to it.. To the career social welfare people who have never worked your on your own. To the bond holders you took the gamble you LOST.. To the TDs you promised this you didn’t deliver you are Sacked..
Top marks Citizen Keen…Well put.
Before the recession there were tens of thousands of people on the dole. People who never got off their backsides even in a time of full employment. Why aren’t these long termers being tackled first?
Instead of discriminating on young people who simply lack job opportunities.
Like many policies in this budget, Its a cynical measure by a sneaky government intended to not piss off large groups of people and avoid mass protest. It’s actually nothing to do with doing what’s fairest. It’s about protecting government.
In other news the personal security budget for TDs and ministers has been doubled!
He makes a very valid point imo.
Why?
Yes Gemma I’d be interested also
Im not saying they will, im saying i agree it could happen. Desperation can make good people do stupid things. Also how is any person under 26 supposed to live on 100 a week. Although my brother is 22 gets 100 a week to live on from his dad and thats to pay for bus fare for college and whatever else he wants. It doesnt include his clothes or food etc so Im referring to the peoplle that have to pay for their own food and clothes and upkeep. And no I dont think all of them will, do I think with the changes its possible, yes.
You dont have to be too bright to know that people with no money have to steal to feed them
Crime has become more attractive in the recession, you can make a nice sum from drug dealing which essentially is a business. I can see how tempting that would be to a young broke person who has nothing to loose. Not many apprenterships around now for those who don’t fit in with the Irish education system. I’m not saying all young people but some will choose that path that might not of if we’d of had job opportunities.
So if I don’t have something I steal, more than likely from somebody who has little enough themselves. Interesting morality.
Ha Brendan welcome to the real world, theft, one of the oldest professions I believe.
I didn’t realise that our jails were empty during the “celtic tiger” years, when jobs were plentiful???!!!!….
We have to run this country like anyone would run a business. If it’s making a loss, there has to be changes otherwise the business will close. Right now we are paying out more than we’re taking in so people are going to have to start understanding this. The government are trying to balance the books by cuts but with little job growth. I say we bring in entrepreneurs to run the country, not ex school teachers who’s job it is to teach children how to be employees, not employers.
@Dmc Oh My god did you get that str8 from The Labour Party website
Business exists to make money there are no school teachers running country who is running it is foreign bankers. So if you want to save money you look were is massive waste and overpayment. The government is the parasite here. When you here of councils talk about their income county managers on €250,000. What do they do? Make? Sell? Exactly nothing. When Joan burton looks for benefit fraud start with gilmores wife
Anthony, going by your pic I guess you like biblical themes. I have a pic of John Paul 2 who is holding his hand up the same way:) No disrespect but I guess thats why you don’t like labour party and their communist roots. Kinda clashes with organised religion. Thoses days are gone Thank God!
@Dmc you couldn’t be more wrong but it’s funny
As for my hatered for The Labour Party its because they are a bunch of lo lifes no other reason
Your right .but start at the top with the people who caused it
‘Run this country like a business’ – and therein lies the philosophy that led to the commodification of housing, the bubble the crash and the crises.
So Gilmore rather than sitting at home watching Flat screen TV’s they might be out steeling them.
The Labour Party have little faith in our youth. What have the labour youth said about slashing their social welfare payments ????
Give us more money or we will rob you? Thats extortion.
No, it’s called desperation and hunger.
Well the government are doing it all the time
Feck sake, a single person cant feed themselves for 100 a week now? Ludicrous idiotic comments.
I agree Steven. Just another excuse for skummers to be skummers.
Just as an experiment, cut his bloated pension down to the standard oap and see if he goes out robbing
A bleeding heart if I ever saw one. The prison service is well shot of him,
Here here Hank!
didnt get your name !is it hank or wank?
i can see its definately hank and his point is valid,unlike yours frank
Is it frank or wank? See!! I can do that too!!
Hank I work in mountjoy and I have to agree with you 100% the man was , is , and more than likely will always be a muppet .
is he another one on a big pension and going around giving talks ect an getting more money for this. ??
4 teachers average age 62 decide from the comfort of salaries of 3000 euro per week that young people who had nothing to do with the economic crisis in our country should pay the most for the mistakes of adults in our society. I am mid fifties and so ashamed of the society that this government are creating. It’s worse greed than the Celtic tiger produced. And who are not accepting austerity and rejecting Haddington rd agreement. Yes teachers.. Who is caring for society and our young certainly not the 4 teachers Kenny,Gilmore,Noonan and Howlin. They bring shame to themselves to their profession and to our society and country.
There will definitely be more young thieves, drug dealers and rent boys because of these cuts, just wait and see !
You think the cuts will turn otherwise law abiding youth to crime? I doubt it. But I do think those addicted to drugs will commit more crimes to make up for the government income they have now lost.
There will definitely be more young people committing crimes because of the cuts , people between the ages of 18 and 24 will only be getting 100 euro thats only enough for rent, food and electricity , they need money for other things as well like going out on the weekend for a few drinks and that
100 Euro per week is only enough for rent and food. Nothing else. The average electricity bill per person is roughly 15 per week. Telephone expenses (to keep in contact for emergency and job prospecting purposes) is roughly 5-10 per week. Internet access to allow for job hunting is another 5-10 per week. Clothing, replacing things such as kettles, dishes, etc. I know a few people on 100 per week. They spend a lot of the week in soup kitchens and eating at friends’ houses. If they didn’t have support networks I can imagine they’d turn to theft. Stealing is better than dying any day.
Are they not entitled to rent supplement?
Not necessarily. Some may be, but I have seen plenty refused. It seems to me, and this is only anecdotal, that those who get rent supplement are the same long-term spongers, and those that don’t are the very ones who need it but want to work
Someone living on 100 quid a week will get rent supplement.
My niece and her boyfriend sit on their arse doing nothing while picking up nearly 400 euro a week between them. She lives in my sisters for free and has no bills, no mortgage etc. He comes from a family who’s father hasn’t worked a day in his life too. We hoped that her dole would be cut to give her some reason to do something. She has had numerous chances with college and has no excuse. It’s pure laziness. It’s more cuts that we need as we still have the most generous welfare system in Europe.
Your sister should kick them out. They are abusing the system. Honest, hard working people tend not to apply for the full range of benefits (because they typically feel embarrassed to do so), so cutting rates will only really penalise those that need it. Those that don’t, or that abuse the system will simply find a way around it. We need to attack and weed out the abusers, not punish those in need of supports.
I see your point but isn’t fair to punish all due to the actions of a few. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to live with parents. As for the high social welfare.. The cost of living in this country is also high. Also you seem to be forgetting the biggest issue, the jobs aren’t there. The majority of young people want to work but can’t and they are being penalised for it. Training isn’t an option for everyone either. Many are already trained but the jobs just don’t exist.
He’s been thrown out of his house but my sister is too soft and let’s them stay there. She’s 23 and has dropped out of 3 courses. I hoped they would stop her dole on the last one.
It’s all well and good saying not every young person is like them but in my experience it’s a large majority that are. Not many have been employed for 4 years and lost a job or are married with kids. Large estates full of kids who never worked a day in their lives and never contributed tax or PRSI but claim dole as a right. Cost of living is a poor excuse as they live with parents. Get less than half of that in the UK and nothing in the US.
This guy has made name for himself for no reason at all. He’s the Irish verson of the kardashians. Why would anyone care what jumped up pen pusher thinks?
Agreed Charlie. Prisoners in Mountjoy ran wild when he was in charge. Now he is gone it is being run as a prison should. John Lonergan keeping himself in the media so he can get another huge grant for a documentary only bleeding heart liberals watch. He gave a speech to parents in Belvedere – he was brutal. John you should be in the circus, you’re a CLOWN.
The sick the old and the young all go first to the gas chamber ,the rich need not apply
Many excellent points made here and it’s great to see people giving their point of view in an intelligent and respectful way. I really enjoy reading the comments section of the Journal but it can be ridiculous when people start insulting each other. In relation to the article I would be more comfortable with social welfare payments if the recipients had to do something to earn it…for example they could ensure that their children go to school, attend parent teacher meetings, do community service etc be an asset to society in some way and this should be across the board, all ages. Why not get people to earn it, this may even result in more self respect.
There is a case going to high court in the uk about a person who was forced to give up their voluntary job in the field they were trained in to work in poundland or they would be cut their benefits, there is a fine line between being an active member of the community and slave/forced labour! We need to think hard on that one!!
I don’t think any decent young person who has been brought up to respect other people’s property etc will resort to crime. As usual it will be up to parents to help them out. When will the government realise the jobs are not there. Most young people want to work and have money for their car and holiday and have social life.
And as for the personal attacks in the comments here. Shame on ye. Address the issues. Think of the kids who have not had opportunity in our society, think of the fact there are no jobs for people with degrees and training and education. And this government want to punish thes people for the mistakes of adults. Play the ball here and not the man. John Lonergan seems a decent man I don’t always agree with what he might think or say but debate the issues please
If they comit crimes lock them up, taking €25 euro off them won’t make any difference, a low life is a low life.
I don’t think someone who commits a crime to feed or house themselves is a lowlife
Some very good points ….
Descent people don’t rob or mug
lonergan should look into his past and ask himself what did he do for drug addicts and mental health prisoners in his care in the nineties……………..F###kall !!! LIp service!!!
Well he did preside over a period where ease of access to illegal drugs inside Mountjoy was the stuff of legend, while he was busy telling anyone who would listen that the prisoners under his control were just misunderstood.
An enormous amount of long-term harm was done during his tenure.
Lonergan is a bleeding heart clown, I wouldn’t pay attention to anything the ass hat says.
That’s they problem with universal benefit payments. The cuts made affect each person dispropiately. Until someone in the department of finances drafts plans for means testing, this will continue. Young people out of college looking for jobs and extra training should be accommodated as they are making the effort. I do have a problem with someone who left school and who didn’t go to further education, training or do a trade receiving the same level of benefits as those stated earlier. Universal payments benefit these people.
Not really.. people will turn to crime to help support the drug habit they picked up while locked away the problem was never addressed and the governors solution …. Give them all methadone and then give them more methadone . Way to go governor . You have a lot to answer for
So true its a certain da crime rate wil go up how do they expect sum1 2 live on 95 euro its unreal dere wil b more homeless cuz dey wont b able 2 pay rent let da goverment live on 95 euro DONT TINK SO
I’d vote for john. Pity we can’t.
A lot of parents are not in a position to help out this cut for people under 26 is discrimination by the time enda is finished with us the age will be 30 ffs
Is it time to re-think Ireland’s approach to failed drug policy?
Join us at UCC Drug Awareness and Reform Society http://www.facebook.com/uccdar
and NUIG Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.facebook.com/nuigssdp
Are you interested in starting a chapter in your society?
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