Phil Prendergast By Rebecca Hogan (6 th Class) & Megan Kiely (5 th Class)

1. Phil Prendergast By Rebecca Hogan (6th Class) & Megan Kiely (5th Class)

2. Phil Prendergast Phil was born on September 20th 1959. Phil was born in County Kilkenny. She was a member of Clonmel Borough Council and South Tipperary County Council from 1999 to 2007, where she was elected orignally as a member of the workers and Unemployed Action Group. The E.U has a massive impact on the way in which people work, on equal pay for equal work, on pension provisions and the right to move within Europe to look for work. Phil Prendergast has been MEP for Ireland South since 2011, which has given her a brillant opportunity to see the incredible and complex work of the E.U on a daily basis. In parliament, Phil sits with the progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats which has developed progressive and worthwhile policies that she believed in and which allowed her to represent Labour ideals at European level. Phil says 'Ireland is in the midst of a crisis'. Today, more than 600,000 Irish adults are at the risk of poverty and personal dept is crippling familes. Phil said that we need to give people a chance. Now is the time to protect social services. Phil uses her position as MEP in Europe to promote these values. On April 2011, she was selected as the replacement for MEP Alan Kelly who was elected to Dáil Eireann at the 2011 election for Tipperary.