If there is a silver lining in the cloud of the economic downturn in Dublin 4, it could well be that, at long last, we will realise that the relentless pursuit of profit doesn’t work and isn’t economically sustainable.

That’s the view of Jim O’Callaghan, right, a Fianna Fáil local election candidate in the Pembroke Rathmines Ward.

“Dublin 4 has been exposed to a lot of physical change over the past 5 years,” he notes. “A lot of development took place and was proposed because of the potential financial return rather than what was best for the area.

That has now come to a shuddering halt. The lesson we must learn is that, in future, development must only be permitted if it protects or advances the best interests of our communities– whether it be through the protection of green spaces and the village character of areas such as Sandymount and Donnybrook, or the building of worthwhile public housing. That is more important than looking after the interests of developers.”

Given the changed economic circumstances, O’Callaghan believes that the voters in Dublin 4 will want the new City Council to ensure that their money is spent in a more cost-effective manner. “Local Elections are mainly about local issues, people are concerned about the quality of the service they get from Dublin City Council,” he explains. “This year the Council has a budget of over €900million. People want to see that money spent carefully and appropriately on providing local services.”

O’Callaghan, who practises as a Senior Counsel, has a long association with Dublin 4. Educated in Gonzaga College in nearby Ranelagh, big Jim played rugby for University College Dublin, Wanderers and Leinster. Married to Julie Liston, he is 41 years of age and lives in the area with their son, Luke.

One of the biggest issues at the doorsteps of Dublin 4 is the proposed and halted development of the Jurys Hotel site in Ballsbridge. “It’s an initiative that I opposed,” he states. “I have to emphasise that I am not against high-rise development per se but the idea of it being allowed in an established residential area is ludicrous. I opposed it because it was excessively large for the area in question. It is a residential area and is not suited to that sort of development. I welcome the decision of An Bord Pleanála and I hope that no similar application is made for that site in the future.”

Even though the elections in June will be local in flavour, O’Callaghan says that it is inevitable that the national issues will spill over on to the campaign agenda. “I think it’s impossible that they won’t play a part,” he says. “In fact, they should play a part. The country is going through a very turbulent time and this is affecting everyone, particularly since the option of emigrating to secure employment is not available.”

A potent mix of greed and commercial recklessness are the primary culprits for the perilous state of the national finances, he believes. “In Ireland, the downturn was caused by a dangerous combination of greedy developers and reckless bankers. The government also made mistakes by letting the economy become too dependent upon the property sector. When properties in Dublin 4 were being sold for more than properties in Manhattan, it should have been apparent that we were in the midst of a property bubble.”

It’s not a good time for a Fianna Fáil candidate to be looking for votes. While Jim accepts that his party did not handle things as well as it should have done, he believes he can deliver results for voters in Dublin 4 if elected to the City Council.

“Well, I live in the electoral area so I therefore know the issues affecting people in the area. Having run in the last General Election and having got 3,200 votes. I am committed to politics and am not in it for the short term. I think I can provide effective representation to the people of this area if I get elected to Dublin City Council.”