Bobby Aylward - Fianna Fail TD for Carlow / Kilkenny^{Your Vote - Your Voice}

Bobby Aylward says Fianna Fail is the only Party which is offering Stamp Duty reforms which provide certainty and stability for the property market and give a priority to first-time buyers.

“The choice facing the people is now abundantly clear. Fianna Fail’s proposals mean that any first-time buyer can sign a housing contract knowing that the relief will be delivered”, Fianna Fail candidate in Carlow – Kilkenny, Bobby Aylward said.

Bobby Aylward also pointed out that Fianna Fail’s proposals deliver benefits to those who bought houses in the last seven years and they ensure that cuts in tax rates do not impact on the benefit people get from current reliefs.

“Fianna Fail will implement a three-pronged approach. We are committed to abolishing Stamp Duty for first-time buyers and we will make it retrospective to 30 April last. In addition, we will increase the ceiling of mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers from E 8,000 to E 10,000 for single people and from E 16,000 to E 20,000 for couples or widowed people. This will be backdated seven years and will apply to all first-time buyers who bought a house from 2000 onwards. This will be done in Budget 2008. As income taxes are reduced, we will keep the rate for mortgage interest at 20% for all home owners”, Bobby Aylward confirmed.

“Our approach is good for certainty, it is good for affordability, it is good for society, and it is good for the economy as a whole. These changes will help young people and families to purchase their first home, it will help them to meet the repayments and it will ensure that the mortgage interest burden does not rise as a result of future income tax changes. And these measures will not destabilise the market”, Bobby Aylward concluded.

ENDS.

5 May, 2007

STATEMENT BY BOBBY AYLWARD, FIANNA FAIL CANDIDATE, CARLOW-KILKENNY.

Commencing his General Election Campaign today, Bobby Aylward, Fianna Fail candidate in Carlow-Kilkenny, said he is delighted the waiting is finally over and that he is looking forward to a vigorous campaign where the sham policies of other Parties will be dismantled and exposed.

“It’s unusual to wake up to a campaign proper on a Sunday morning but all our systems are in place and we’re out of the traps already. This is effectively a 26-day campaign; it will be arduous but it will be fought vigorously and fairly. I do not underestimate the challenge before me, not least in meeting every single voter between now and May 24. It will be physically-exacting but I’m more than ready and looking forward to the the fray”, Bobby Aylward said.

He continued: “This is a critical election and the electorate knows that perfectly well. I don’t believe anyone wants to see the fruits of our hard labours squandered. Fianna Fail is a known quantity and it stands proudly on its record of extraordinary achievement over the past 10 years. We are asking the Irish people to place their trust in Fianna Fail again. They know that we mean business and that we can deliver. They know that our objective is to keep our vibrant economy on the right track and to consolidate our efforts of the past decade”.

“In the coming weeks, we will be exposing the daft and unsustainable policy proposals from other Parties. We will dismantle each and every syllable and we will demonstrate to the Irish people that it is quite simply nonsense to change horses mid-stream. We have too much to loose if we hand over to a disparate group with no track record. That would be a retrograde step and would spell stagnation for all us”.

“My message to the people of Carlow-Kilkenny is simple – ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’! We are enjoying levels of unprecedented progress and prosperity. Fianna Fail has provided the recipe for good government and for sound economic management. This country has made momentous advances in the past 10 years as a direct result of prudent fiscal management, tax reform, strategic investment and a wide range of enlightened social policy measures which were implemented by Fianna Fail. We simply cannot afford to throw all that away. We cannot take the risk of handing over the management of our nation and our economy to a rag-bag Coalition. Fianna Fail has the determination and the proven experience to continue the solid work it has started and I am confident that the Irish people will be practical and wise and will recognise that fact”, Bobby Aylward concluded.

ENDS.

29 April, 2007