Councillor Lucinda Creighton and Paddy McCartan of Fine Gael recently held a very well attended coffee morning in the Mount Herbert Hotel. Councillor Creighton is anxious to create a rapport between herself and those who voted her into the Dublin City Council. The coffee morning was one such event she has planned to keep in touch with the local community.

Labour calls for two extra public holidays
Labour Party Councillor for Pembroke Cllr Dermot Lacey has called for two additional public holidays to be added to the calendar given that Ireland currently lags well behind the rest of the European Union in the number of such holidays during the year.

Cllr Lacey said, “Ireland currently has just nine statutory days-off per year. This ranks among the lowest in Europe, with only England and the Netherlands having less. Even those working across the border in the North benefit from a greater number of holidays.

“The last new holiday to be introduced was when Labour was in Government in 1993, when Ruairí Quinn made May Day a public holiday. This is now a basic matter of bringing Ireland up to the international norm, and we should not have to wait for a change of Government before these new holidays are introduced.”

New website for City of Dublin Youth Service
Chris Andrews Welcomes Launch of City of Dublin Youth Service Board Website www.cdysb.ie. “CDYSB has been one of the principal organisations at the heart of Dublin’s Youth Services for many years. The current youth services provided by the Board are indeed extensive and can be accessed by a range of different methods. The new website is a way for anyone to find information on their programmes and activities.”

“Increased funding amounting to €47 million in 2006 is testament to the Government’s commitment to youth work. The funding will provide for the continued development of Youth Work Services and Programmes and will facilitate the further roll-out of the Youth Work Act, 2001 and the National Youth Work Development Plan,” said Chris Andrews.

Threats to Close Dartmouth Square are Bully-Boy Tactics
The valuable city park located at Dartmouth Square, Dublin 6, is once again under threat, as the company Marble & Granite Tiles Ltd has threatened to close the park. Councillor Lucinda Creighton is demanding that Dublin City Council prevent the closure and keep this unique park open for the use of residents.

“If the park closes, pending a decision on the compulsory purchase of the site, Dubliners may well be deprived of this fantastic amenity for more than two years. An appeal to An Bord Pleanala, in addition to any judicial review proceedings, could easily take that long. It is impossible to see any benefit for the developer in closing the park. It will merely inconvenience and disadvantage residents. It is a blatant attempt to bully the City Council and the Councillors into forgoing the CPO application. I for one, will not succumb to such a self-serving agenda,” she said.

Senator Mary White speaks out against the Incinerator
Senator Mary White has spoken out at the news that Dublin City Councillors have voted to ban trucks from the city centre from next year. “Truck movements must be kept to a minimum in urban and residential areas, and the decision by Dublin City Council to ban them reinforces my belief that there should be no incinerator at Poolbeg. It is absurd that politicians can take a brave decision like this one day, and then expect the people of Ringsend to accept a massive increase in truck movements to an incinerator the next.”

“To send an extra 400 trucks per day onto this road would be asking for trouble, and I want it known that I will not sit idly by and let this happen. Residents of Poolbeg have accepted large developments in the past, but this particular proposal poses a danger to the children and the families of the area. The women at the head of the Combined Residents Against the Incinerator (CRAI) group are absolutely fantastic, and their activism demonstrates clearly the power and value of a woman’s perspective in politics. We need more women in the Dáil.”

Failure to meet housing targets
Labour Party Councillor and former Lord Mayor of Dublin, Dermot Lacey has accused Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats of failing to meet almost all of the targets they set for themselves in the housing sector. Cllr Lacey was speaking following the publication of new housing statistics by Minister of State Noel Ahern.

Cllr Lacey commented, “Hardly a week passes without another statement from Minister Ahern boasting of the Government’s so-called achievements on housing. But these are of little consolation to the 44,000 families who remain on local authority housing lists and to the tens of thousands of families who find that they simply cannot afford to buy a house for themselves.”

€1.6m funding for local Parks
Cllr. Kevin Humphreys welcomes this funding, which will be spent in the coming year for improving the local Park in Dublin South East.

Ringsend Park: Upgrade children’s playground, construction of three tennis courts and an all-weather football pitch. Hebert Park: City Council in partnership with St. Conleth’s Secondary School will develop an artificial grass all-weather pitch and renovate the changing rooms. Works will also be carried out in Shelly Banks, Palmerston Park and Ranelagh Gardens.

“Local parks are an important part of the community and need continued investment of both time and money for the local residents to enjoy these amenities. The Labour Party on Dublin City Council is committed to the development of city parks,” said Kevin Humphreys.

Sinn Féin’s Dublin South East Representative, Councillor Daithí Doolan, also welcomes the announcement. “I am delighted at the City Council’s announcement to make this money available.”

Decision for New Clamping Company in Dublin Vindicated
The move to replace the clamping company Control Plus with a new company (Park Rite Ltd) last year has proven to be a wise decision, according to Cllr. Lucinda Creighton, a member of Dublin City Council’s Traffic and Transport Committee.

Energy Strategy For Dublin
“With 89 per cent of Ireland’s energy needs being imported, it is time for the Dublin Managers to develop an energy strategy for Dublin. Our reliance on imported fuels is putting Ireland’s economy more at-risk than any other European country. The Labour Party’s vision on the Council is to turn Dublin into a world leader in the use of renewable energy,” said Cllr. Kevin Humphreys

“It is up to Dublin City Council to lead the way with better designed public buildings, improved planning by-laws to encourage the construction of energy sustainable buildings with zero emissions and a more fuel-efficient transport fleet.”