Eamon Gilmore's local newsletter

Eamon Gilmore TD Labour Party Leader Representing the people of Dun Laoghaire Summer 2010

JOBS THE PRIORITY

… says Gilmore as almost 8,000 people unemployed in Dún Laoghaire The Live Register figures for June 2010 as published by the Central Statistics Office show that the unemployment figures for Dun Laoghaire for the month of June has risen to 7,963. In June 2009 the figure was 7,309 which means that in one year alone, over 650 people lost their job in this constituency.

We have now had twelve months in succession where the Live Register figures have been in excess of 400,000 yet it is evident that unemployment remains very low on this Government’s list of political priorities.

■ A Graduate & Apprentice Programme which would guarantee relevant work-based training and an opportunity to obtain new qualifications for all young people out of work.

Every job that is lost ends up costing the Exchequer €20,000 in terms of additional social welfare payments and tax foregone. It is time that this Government started treating unemployment with the seriousness it deserves.

■ A Strategic Investment Bank which could use €2 billion less than 10% of the total, from the National Pension Reserve Fund to support commercial investments of up €20 billion in critical infrastructure projects and innovative start-ups and SME

“As job losses continue to mount, it comes as little surprise that income tax receipts are falling further behind budget day forecasts. Income tax was 5.8% or €304 million below profile for the first six months of this year. Without growing the economy and creating jobs, tax revenues will remain subdued and our debt repayment capacity will be undermined. Ireland needs a balanced recovery strategy with a jobs plan front and centre” said Eamon Gilmore TD. The Labour Party has proposed a series of job creation initiatives including: ■ An SME Working Capital Guarantee Scheme which would ensure that viable small and family businesses can get the loans they need.

Eamon Gilmore TD said that “Labour’s objectives in Government will be: JOBS: getting people working again. Not only is it anathema to the Labour Party to see people deprived of the opportunity to earn a living wage, and to provide for themselves and their families, but any strategy to fix the public finances that ignores jobs is doomed to failure”.

The Labour Party has made the argument for jobs, because unless you have a strategy that puts people back to work, fixing the public finances and sorting out the banks will be to no avail.

The Labour Party’s goals are clear – JOBS, REFORM AND FAIRNESS.

Read Labour’s policies on www.labour.ie/policy EAMON GILMORE TD Labour Party Leader

T: 6183566 F: 618 4574 E: eamon.gilmore@oir.ie

ADVICE CENTRE Every Monday from 9.30 am (except Bank Holidays) Park House, Library Road, Dun Laoghaire

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ONE IRELAND: jobs, reform, fairness ‘BRAND’ – PROMOTING POSITIVE CHANGE FOR DÚN LAOGHAIRE TOWN ‘Brand’ is a new project being run by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council which aims to identify and build on the key elements which make Dún Laoghaire a sustainable, vibrant and an attractive place town to live in for now and into the future.

‘Brand’ is a 3 year project which is being funded by money from the European Regional Development Fund and is being supported by the partner towns of Athy, Hollyhead and Rhyl in North Wales. Through consultation with local residents and stakeholders, the ‘Brand’ project team will develop a set of ideas that can be fed into an action plan for the ‘re-branding’ of Dún Laoghaire.

Some of the goals of the project are to: ■

Improve community well being

■ Improve the overall reputation of Dún Laoghaire Town

■

Promote Dún Laoghaire Town as a place in which to do business, invest, visit and live

■

Help change any poor/limited perception of Dún Laoghaire Town.

If you have any questions on the project, contact Elaine Carroll, Project Officer on tel. 2054317 / 087 745 5433 or by email: elainecarroll@dlrcoco.ie.

CLEAR NEED FOR NATIONAL “R ENT- TO -B UY ” SCHEME With well over 1,100 vacant residential properties languishing on local authority books, it is clear that we need a national rentto-buy scheme so that people who need a home can get one.

There is a pilot rent-to-buy scheme in place, but it is now time that it was rolled out on a national basis. Such a scheme would need to be implemented in an innovative and structured way, backed up by hard data on property values and house prices.

In that regard, Labour’s Spokesperson on Housing, CIARÁN LYNCH TD, has called for a database of house prices on a number of occasions, particularly in light of the fact that it was promised by Fianna Fáil and the Greens in the revised Programme for Government.

There are three factors that are still acting as a deterrent to would-be house buyers.

First there is still massive uncertainty and lack of job security in many sectors of the economy. Then there is the well-founded belief that property prices are still on the way down. Finally, statistics would indicate that it is cheaper to rent than to buy, particularly when the depreciation of property value is taken into account.

Since housing Minister Michael Finneran conceded earlier this year, that there is in excess of 3,000 unsold affordable homes, Labour has been calling for the introduction of a rent to buy scheme. The Minister has come around to this view, but only to the extent of introducing a pilot scheme. More needs to be done and the scheme should be rolled out on a national basis.

The house-price database is a key aspect of Labour’s proposals that will ensure that the sale price of the property, at the end of the rental period will deliver genuine value for money for owner-occupiers participating in the rent-to-buy scheme.

CLLR LETTIE MCCARTHY IS ELECTED AS THE NEW CATHAOIRLEACH OF DÚN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL CLLR MCCARTHY has been the Labour Party’s representative for the Glencullen / Sandyford Ward since her election to the Council in 2004.

Speaking at the Council’s AGM, the newly elected Cathaoirleach stated “I firmly believe in Local Government but in order for it to work better we need the engagement of the general public. There is an onus on all of us to accept the responsibility of ensuring that it is our Council rather than the Council and as the political head of the Council I will make every effort to progress better communication between all of us. I am looking forward to working in partnership with my Elected Colleagues and the Council Management and Staff.”

ONE IRELAND: jobs, reform, fairness LABOUR ACTIVE ON THE DEANSGRANGE LOCAL AREA PLAN The ‘Deansgrange Local Area Plan 2010 – 2020’ was last month adopted by County Councillors but only after a number of amendments to the plan had been debated and agreed upon. Proposals in the original plan for mews housing at the back of Clonkeen Road were removed from the plan as were proposals to build a second entrance into Deansgrange Business Park.

Labour COUNCILLORS NIAMH BHREATHNACH and STEPHEN FITZPATRICK met with many of the local residents groups and stakeholders in an effort to listen to their views on the draft plan. The two Councillors were also to the fore in tabling amendments to the plan and arguing the case for various changes to the plan on behalf of the residents of Deansgrange. A web cast of the adjourned June meeting where the Deansgrange Local Area Plan was debated can be viewed at http://www.dlrcoco.public-i.tv/site/

LABOUR PARTY COUNCILLORS CHALLENGE COUNTY MANAGER’S DECISION TO CEASE THE COUNCIL’S REFUSE COLLECTION SERVICE In May Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Councillors were called to a meeting by Owen Keegan, County Manager of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, when he announced that the Council were to outsource the Council’s Waste Collection Service from the 1st of July. The decision was opposed by the Labour Party on the basis that such a strategic decision should have been decided by the elected representatives, who act as the County Council’s Board of Management, and not by the management of the Council.

In response to the County Manager’s decision the Labour Party tabled a Section 140 motion (strongest power available to County Councillors) to direct the County Manager to “cancel the decision to terminate the Council’s domestic waste collection service by direct labour, to undertake a review of the operation of that service, to present the results of that review to the elected members for consideration, and to continue the service pending any decision that the elected members may take on foot of the review”.

This motion was defeated by 15 votes to 10 at the July meeting of the County Council.

However Labour COUNCILLOR DENIS O’CALLAGHAN has signalled that he plans to pursue this matter further.

Useful Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Contact Numbers Control of Dogs Section: Litter Management Section: Litter Free Phone Section: Parking: Water Services: Higher Education Grants: Register of Electors:

01 2054771 01 205 4817 or environ@dlrcoco.ie 1800 403 503 205 4884 205 4800 205 4826 205 4880

Public Anger with Road Works on Lower George’s Street, Dún Laoghaire Last month Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council decided to remove the cobble sets from Lower Georges Street and to replace them with a macadam surface.

The Council undertook this work because many of the cobbles were being damaged by road traffic since the reopening of the street to private cars. The rationale for reintroducing cars onto George’s Street Lower was to provide improved direct access to Dún Laoghaire town by private cars in an effort to improve retail trade in the area in general and particularly in the shopping area west of Bloomfields. Council management have said that the cobble sets will be reused by the Council in another scheme.

CHANGE CAN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT YO U !

DOING NOTHING to hold this government to account is NO LONGER AN OPTION. THE LABOUR PARTY is offering a real alternative to the failed policies of Fianna Fáil and the Greens.

Contact Eamon Gilmore TD to get involved e: eamon.gilmore@oir.ie

t: 618 3566

f: 618 4574

ONE IRELAND: jobs, reform, fairness BRINGING DUN LAOGHAIRE ISSUES TO THE DÁIL Parliamentary Question, 1st June. 2010, Eamon Gilmore, TD “To ask the Minister for Transport the reason an application for a licence for ‘The Patton Flyer’ bus service was not granted; the further reason the licence was granted to a different provider; and if he will make a statement on the matter.”

Noel Dempsey in response (Minister, Department of Transport) “My Department made an offer in January 2009 for the grant of a licence in respect of the bus service to which the Deputy refers, which sought to operate between Dalkey and Dublin Airport. That service is known as “The Patton Flyer”. That offer did not include certain stops sought by the applicants in respect of their proposed service, as these stops were already being served by a previously licensed bus service being operated by Aircoach that connects the locations in question with Dublin Airport.

The Patton Flyer operators lodged an appeal in February 2009 against the terms of the offer made by my Department and also sought to add additional stops to the proposed service. The appeal was considered and a licence offer was made in May 2009, which again excluded those stops which conflicted with the licensed Aircoach service.

The Patton Flyer operators wrote to the Department on 19 June 2009 rejecting the licence offer.

When the Patton Flyer operators rejected the licence offer the Department moved, in accordance with licensing guidelines, to consider the next application it had on hand, from Aircoach, for a Dalkey-Dublin Airport service.

A new application was submitted in relation to the Patton Flyer service in December 2009, which is currently, in accordance with licensing guidelines, under consideration in my Department.”

Summer of Fun for Dún Laoghaire Harbour CLLR JANE DILLON BYRNE, in her capacity as a Dún Laoghaire Harbour Board Director, was on hand to help launch the new Dún Laoghaire East Pier Train.

The new initiative is part of a number of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company summer attractions including boat tours of the Dublin Bay area and ‘c-cycles’ which will be operating in the harbour.

Cllr Dillon Byrne says that in addition to the new train “Teddy’s Ice cream will soon be serving tea, coffee and their delicious ice cream cones from the historic East Pier Battery which will re-open to the public over the summer”.

An Bord Pleanála have refused planning permission for a phone mast on the grounds of TEK Football club. Residents of St. Fintans had campaigned vigorously to oppose the mast with the advice and support of CLLR. NIAMH BHREATHNACH. ‘The Metals – From Dalkey to Dún Laoghaire’ is a new book written by Rob Goodbody and published by DLRCC. DEPUTY EAMON GILMORE says that the publication is a vital historical record of the Metals and a timely piece of work considering the Council’s plans to upgrade the surface, signage, crossings and drainage of the Metals walk way later this year.

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has approved a grant of €15,000 as part of the Business Improvement Grant Scheme to market Dún Laoghaire Harbour and Town as a destination for passing cruise ships. Dún Laoghaire Chamber has said that initial response from cruise ship companies has been positive and it is hoped that the first cruise ships will arrive in Dún Laoghaire in 2012.

CLLR CARRIE SMYTH has welcomed the decision by DLR County Council to give the green light to a new public swimming pool at Loughlinstown Leisure Centre..

On the 30th of June Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council wrote to County Councillors informing them that a number of issues had arisen, regarding the redevelopment of the Dún Laoghaire Baths, which need to be clarified with the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.

Proposals for the redevelopment of the Dún Laoghaire Baths will not be presented to the Council until the September meeting at the earliest. The Council have apologised for any inconvenience caused.

– Working with Eamon Gilmore TD

Cllr. Denis O’Callaghan

Cllr. Carrie Smyth

Cllr. Niamh Bhreathnach Cllr. Stephen Fitzpatrick

Cllr. Jane Dillon Byrne

49 Rathsallagh Park, Shankill, Co. Dublin.

P: 086 278 5609 E: denisoc@cllr.dlrcoco.ie

3 Bayview Drive, Killiney, Co. Dublin.

P: 086 383 5051 E: carriesmyth@cllr.dlrcoco.ie

12 Anglesea Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.

P: 086 607 8193 E: nbhreathna@cllr.dlrcoco.ie

Silchester House, Silchester Road, Glenageary, Co. Dublin.

P: 086 607 8150

Derrymore, Coliemore Road, Dalkey, Co. Dublin.

P: 086 781 4519 E: sfitzpatrick@cllr.dlrcoco.ie

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