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LAST UPDATE | 9 Aug 2020
THE PRESIDENT, The Taoiseach and the leader of the Labour party have lead tributes to former Labour Party Secretary General, TD and MEP Brendan Halligan has died aged 84.
The veteran politician had been battling an illness.
Halligan was an economist before becoming involved in politics in 1967 and played a key role in revival of the Labour Party.
He served as General Secretary of the party until 1980 and was TD for Dublin South West from 1976-1977. He also served as an MEP from 1983 to 1984.
Halligan later served as Chair of Bord na Móna and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and more recently as the President of the Institute International and European Affairs (IIEA), which he also founded.
Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins said that the news of the death of Brendan Halligan will have been received “with great sadness by all those with an interest in politics, economics and social justice, and particularly by his colleagues in the Labour Party”.
He brought to the Labour Party an emphasis on policy, an interest which he would hold for all of his life.
Higgins served in Seanad Éireann with Halligan during the 1970s, but said that it was perhaps during his time as an MEP “that his interest in matters European flourished”.
The President said that “he bore his illness with great courage and patience”.
“Sabina and I send our sincere condolences to his family, and to all those who will have been deeply affected by his passing.”
Labour Leader Alan Kelly said that Halligan was “a proud Labour man who I enjoyed speaking with until very recently about the future of our party”.
Brendan was a fascinating man with a formidable intellect and he was a leading light in the Labour Party who articulated the political vision for the party for more than a decade.
He was key in formulating the leadership strategy of Brendan Corish which culminated in Corish delivering his landmark 1967 A New Republic Speech.
Kelly also called Halligan an “unrivalled political organiser”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that Halligan was a man “who gave his life to politics and the public service with a deep commitment to the institutions of the State”.
“Brendan was a European citizen who believed in the values of the European Union.
“He succeeded in facilitating a wide range of view on European and global issues. He succeeded in bringing many distinguished figures to Ireland. May he rest in peace.”
Ruairí Quinn, IIEA chairperson said of Halligan: “Brendan’s contribution to fostering greater understanding of European issues in Irish public life was second to none.
“For over six decades, serving as a Senator, TD and MEP, he sought to enhance public discourse on Ireland’s European identity.
A convinced European, he profoundly believed that Ireland’s interests, and those of its people, were best served at the heart of Europe. It was this belief that led to his vision for an international and European affairs think tank in Ireland, and the founding of the IIEA in 1990.
“We remain as committed as ever today to fulfilling his vision to generate public debate in Ireland on European issues and international affairs.”
- with reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha
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The problem is simple this Government are not interested in SMEs, they want he multinationals in here sell Ireland on the Slave market. University Graduates working for 20K a year, need I say more.
This Government have pulled the plug on the middle class and are sucking the life out of the people by selling off Irish Water to the Multinationals. To add insult to injury they really believe that the people living in this country are so stupid that we will swallow this.
Sounds like a quango to me
You have to pay ordinary workers à décent wage in order to stimulate demand and then Sme’s flourish. You cant have it both ways
Loan threshold is too low at €25k given the effort involved, loop of being rejected by bank definitely off putting. Should be reviewed earlier than October if not working
Why not link this fund to the mentor scheme or a product development fund in association with 3rd level institutions ?
So sme’s and startups get the support and guidance they need so the spend can be quantified and monitored.
Or Use the fund to build or convert empty warehouses into enterprise centres with retired business people installed to advise,not council workers
No need top link it to 3rd level institutions. What we need is a scheme exactly like the US SBIR funding designed to foster new innovation. It has been hugely successful. The EU attempted to emulated it, but because they don’t understand the first thing about innovation they completely screwed up the implementation.
Innovators don’t need mentorship and advice. If they’re involved in innovation in the first place they are by definition are in unknown territory. They need untied financial support to get their ideas to a point where the uncertainty can be quantified and venture capitalists can step in.
Because most of the people with the brains and drive to start small businesses have left the country, perhaps?
Maybe it’s because even if they support an SME, the regular person on the street can’t afford to buy anything in it cause the government are still taking all our money in taxes!!!
Exactly…SME owners don’t need to apply to a quango for loans.
What they do need is a domestic economy containing a confident working and middle class unburdened by excessive taxation and debt to sell their products and services to
@ Niall H
They are not a quango, they used to be called First Step and were an angel investment company up until 2012.
I used them on 2 occasions to get started up and expand my company in the height of recession and were a pleasure to deal with.
I think the problem is that when people hear there’s 9 mil in funds available, they assume they HAVE to use it. Ultimately, it still has to be a viable business to lend to in the company’s eyes..
I agree 25k max loan is a little on the low end, but when every bank laughs at your application because you have no track record, then 25k turns out to be a lot, you learn to use it wisely.
Cool, just thought it sounded like one the way so little of the funding was being used and then the stepping down of people at the top etc. wonder how much the pension is for working with this quango that’s not a quango as you say?
Maybe the fact that pure useless Richard Bruton is the jobs minister has something to do with it.
Mr Spoof ‘that’s not measurable’ Bruton has presided over the exploitation of Irish workers to the extent that they have little or no disposable income because of low wages, massive taxes, high costs.
But Bruton is OK on e200,000 plus expenses plus massive pension plus stupid slap my face grin !
Lack of commercially viable SMEs is a big factor.
Just because you set up a company making turf scented candles or online nappy recycling, doesn’t mean any lender should just give you money to be seen to do so. The business has to have a potential future. A large contingent of the SME’s who complain they can’t get credit is for sound reason.
I am starting a business at the moment. They do want to support something that fits into Ireland international pitch if its a domestic business.
It also needs to be a good idea, well researched with a plan that is credible. They also need the relevant entrepreneur to be credible as an individual.
Look at Dragon’s den – while it is entertainment rather than real TV, the entrepreneurial businesspeople stand out from those with ideas that may have nowhere to go.
It’s because the only thing the government is efficient at organising is more ways to tax the people. Nothing else matters to them.
Crazy scheme that is not applicable to small business in the real world and is full of needless costs in the application process. They need some input from people actually running small businesses to come up with something that will offer help to those who fall foul of the banks’ blanket quiet policies on lending. Micro businesses or self employed will not get bank loans especially if in manufacturing. They will be told to not bother applying. That means they have to pay accountants to produce accounts and all the other requirements to be officially turned down. That costs. As usual with all these schemes the accountants are the only ones who gain anything from it. If people have a great product and big order book but cannot access cashflow loans then they will go North or to England where they are welcomed. I’ve witnessed that and the lost jobs. It’s all pure incompetence by those people who design these schemes. When small businesses and self employed have just paid all their tax to save bondholders and keep the banks in business and their employees in jobs, watching such great potential leave the country with no plans to come back sickens me. It’s treason.
New SMEs don’t need a loan – they need equity investment and that’s why this scheme doesn’t work. It would be easy to design something if there was a will and a little imagination.
Why isn’t this government support for SMEs working?
Because FG.
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