Labour Party Cllr Dermot Looney has said Fianna Fáil are to blame for a 31% increase in bin charges in South Dublin County Council. Looney was commenting in the wake of yesterday’s (July 12th) decision by the County Manager to proceed with the bin charge increase despite Councillors passing a motion proposed by Looney against the hike.
Looney’s motion against the rise in bin charges, which won support from all Cllrs other than the three Fianna Fáil members present, noted the VAT charge of 13.5% and Minister Gormley’s increased landfill levy as part of the reason for the increase. In a speech on the motion, Looney also noted the decision by Fianna Fáil in Government in 2003 via the so-called “Protection of the Environment Act” to take away powers on waste charges from elected Councillors and give them to unelected County Managers.
“Fianna Fáil’s latest assault on local residents comes in the form of another jumped-up stealth tax,” said Looney, “and despite all the guff we heard at Monday’s Council meeting, they are squarely to blame for the increase.”
“Fianna Fáil attempts to blame Labour or any other party for the increase are beyond hypocrisy. Fianna Fáil decided in 2003 to take away powers from Councillors to impose and decide the level of charges and hand them to the County Manager. The Government are imposing 13.5% VAT on the charges by transposing an EU directive which benefits private waste conglomerates at the expense of ordinary people. Fianna Fáil and the Greens support year-on-year increases in Minister Gormley’s landfill levy, which has doubled since 2006 at a cost of millions to South Dublin.”
“Moreover, Minister Gormley and the FF/Green Government continue to give the two fingers to South Dublin by crediting the residents in our county with the lowest Local Government Fund allocation in Ireland. The chronic shortfall in support from central government has led to the further stretching of Council finances.”
“It is regrettable that the County Manager over-rode the decision of the people’s representatives on the Council – but let’s not forget who is to blame for this lack of democracy,” said Looney.
Charges for the standard black bin and newly-introduced brown bin will increase by almost a third from August 1st. Charges for black bins, currently at €8 per lift, will rise to €10.50, while the charge for brown bins, which deal with food and garden waste, is set to rise from €4 per lift to €5.25. Looney has said that the announcement could mean an extra €100 per year burden on local families as well as a further economic and environmental cost to the area because of increased fly-tipping and dumping.
ENDS
Motion below
Motion Pursuant to Headed Item 12; Proposed Cllr Dermot Looney
We the elected members of South Dublin County Council oppose and condemn the decision by the Fianna Fáil/Green Government to impose VAT on the bin collection charge. Furthermore we condemn the increase of the Landfill Tax which has led to this proposed hike in the household bin charge. We call on the Manager not to increase bin charges.
Showing posts with label council motion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label council motion. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Press Release: Looney urges no deal with Veolia on SDCC over Israeli involvement
Cllr. Dermot Looney, a Labour party representative on South Dublin County Council, is demanding that the Council refuse to deal with French multinational company Veolia given their role in building an illegal light rail system in East Jerusalem. Looney is bringing a motion to tomorrow’s (July 12th) full Council meeting to highlight the construction of a light rail system linking Israel to illegal settlements in East Jerusalem, and the involvement of Veolia, who run the LUAS service in Dublin as well as waste and water services across the world.
Looney’s motion comes on foot of similar motions passing in Dublin City Council, Galway City Council, Sligo County Council, Donegal County Council and Castlebar Town Council, and has the full support of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. A similar motion will also be brought to Fingal County Council tomorrow by Labour Councillor Patrick Nulty.
“Veolia’s involvement in this project is utterly illegal and immoral,” stated Looney “and I am asking South Dublin Councillors to join forces in demanding that the County Manager does not sign any contracts with Veolia.”
“Ireland has a long record of international solidarity, including the historic role of Irish people in opposing apartheid in South Africa through boycotts and other actions. I believe that the representatives of a quarter of a million citizens in South Dublin are right to demand an ethical procurement policy which will rule out Veolia until such time as they disinvest from this illegal light rail system,” said Looney.
John Dorman, Divestment Officer with the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said that "the IPSC fully supports Cllr. Looney's motion, and strongly encourages all councillors in South Dublin County Council to vote in favour of it. They will be following in the proud footsteps of their colleagues in councils in Dublin, Galway and Sligo who have also adopted similar motions saying 'no' to a company that collaborates with the Israeli.state's theft of Palestinian land. Furthermore, the IPSC encourages all Irish town, city and county councils to pass such motions."
ENDS
Text of motion is as follows;
MOTION 10 – CLLR DERMOT LOONEY
“That this Council, in light of the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people, recognises (1) that Veolia is a leading partner in the consortium contracted to build a light railway system linking Israel to illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, (2) that the Irish government and the U.N does not recognise Israel’s annexation and occupation of East Jerusalem and have repeatedly stated their views that the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank contravene international law and (3) that Veolia’s involvement in the project is in contravention of the UN’s stated demand that Israeli settlement activities and occupation should not be supported, and calls on the County Manager not to sign any new or renew any existing contracts with Veolia.”
Looney’s motion comes on foot of similar motions passing in Dublin City Council, Galway City Council, Sligo County Council, Donegal County Council and Castlebar Town Council, and has the full support of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. A similar motion will also be brought to Fingal County Council tomorrow by Labour Councillor Patrick Nulty.
“Veolia’s involvement in this project is utterly illegal and immoral,” stated Looney “and I am asking South Dublin Councillors to join forces in demanding that the County Manager does not sign any contracts with Veolia.”
“Ireland has a long record of international solidarity, including the historic role of Irish people in opposing apartheid in South Africa through boycotts and other actions. I believe that the representatives of a quarter of a million citizens in South Dublin are right to demand an ethical procurement policy which will rule out Veolia until such time as they disinvest from this illegal light rail system,” said Looney.
John Dorman, Divestment Officer with the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said that "the IPSC fully supports Cllr. Looney's motion, and strongly encourages all councillors in South Dublin County Council to vote in favour of it. They will be following in the proud footsteps of their colleagues in councils in Dublin, Galway and Sligo who have also adopted similar motions saying 'no' to a company that collaborates with the Israeli.state's theft of Palestinian land. Furthermore, the IPSC encourages all Irish town, city and county councils to pass such motions."
ENDS
Text of motion is as follows;
MOTION 10 – CLLR DERMOT LOONEY
“That this Council, in light of the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people, recognises (1) that Veolia is a leading partner in the consortium contracted to build a light railway system linking Israel to illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, (2) that the Irish government and the U.N does not recognise Israel’s annexation and occupation of East Jerusalem and have repeatedly stated their views that the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank contravene international law and (3) that Veolia’s involvement in the project is in contravention of the UN’s stated demand that Israeli settlement activities and occupation should not be supported, and calls on the County Manager not to sign any new or renew any existing contracts with Veolia.”
Monday, 10 May 2010
Speech Proposing Review of Derelict Sites Legislation
Here is the speech I gave on my motion on Derelict Sites at today's Council meeting. The motion was unanimously agreed by the members of the Council. I'll be sure to update this blog with any reply from Minister Gormley.
Motion 4: Cllr Dermot Looney
"That this Council, in light of existing derelict sites in the county, including the McHugh's Site in Greenhills, and the likelihood of further sites in the coming months and years, notes that existing legislation, including the 1990 Derelict Sites Act, fails to empower local authorities and communities in appropriately resolving the dereliction and neglect caused by these eyesores. This Council calls on the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government to conduct a review of the relevant legislation and practice in the area and, on the basis of such a review, to introduce changes to redress the balance between the interest of developers and those of local communities."
The purpose of this motion is to set in place an historic review of the legislation governing derelict sites in this county and across Ireland. It is timely given the likely onset of dereliction across the grey swathes of NAMAland. But it is equally relevant to the extant eyesores which already pollute our area.
The citizens we represent are entitled to have their communities protected within, by and through the public sphere. That notion of a public sphere was under constant attack throughout the so-called boom. Developers and their developments, no matter how unsuitable or impracticable, were lauded in the name of progress.
Those of us who dared to question the landgrabs, the gazumpers, the get-rich-quick overdevelopment and the greedy hanging on to sites in the hope of further price inflation, were accused of begrudgery and drudgery. Now, as the bubble lies burst on so many of their properties, they’re the ones being bailed out by their Government friends, and as those developers retreat into comfortable obscurity, or scarper out of Ireland altogether, the ghost estates and other kips left behind continue to haunt our communities.
The existing legislation and practice have failed, and failed miserably, to protect the communities we represent. The legislation is out-of-date – as well as the 20 year old Derelict Sites Act, much of the role of our councils relies on a Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act from 1964. The legislation is overly-complicated – the myriad processes remain a mystery to communities after years of involvement in seeking cleanups and repairs. And the legislation is clearly pro-developer and anti-community.
The 1990 Derelict Sites Act tells us that “It shall be the duty of a local authority to take all reasonable steps (including the exercise of any appropriate statutory powers) to ensure that any land situate in their functional area does not become or continue to be a derelict site.”
Regarding the McHugh’s site in Greenhills I refer to in the motion, many of these steps and powers have been taken. But rather than a neighbourhood centre providing services to our community, or even a cleaned-up patch of open space, we are left with the neglect, the eyesore, the dumping and the rats. Up ‘til recently we also suffered vast scrawls of graffiti, an unsecured entrance, so-called antisocial behaviour within the site and the danger of bonfires at Hallowe’en. This Council called, as part of the statutory powers spoken of, for the provision of a brick wall at the site. Instead, the developer threw up a few sheets of MDF hoarding in a job that would make a cowboy builder blush.
The long, drawn-out process taken against McHughs and its sister derelict site less than a mile away at the Burmah Garage in Wellington, and the drip-drip of action and inaction, have led to almost 20 years of dereliction on these sites alone. There is no more damning evidence of the failure of derelict sites legislation than the failure to deal with those who own those sites. As Seán McHugh sits in the Spanish sun, the communities left without a neighbourhood centre, a Post Office for old age pensions or a pharmacy for medicines stay behind as victims of pro-developer legislation.
Motion 4: Cllr Dermot Looney
"That this Council, in light of existing derelict sites in the county, including the McHugh's Site in Greenhills, and the likelihood of further sites in the coming months and years, notes that existing legislation, including the 1990 Derelict Sites Act, fails to empower local authorities and communities in appropriately resolving the dereliction and neglect caused by these eyesores. This Council calls on the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government to conduct a review of the relevant legislation and practice in the area and, on the basis of such a review, to introduce changes to redress the balance between the interest of developers and those of local communities."
The purpose of this motion is to set in place an historic review of the legislation governing derelict sites in this county and across Ireland. It is timely given the likely onset of dereliction across the grey swathes of NAMAland. But it is equally relevant to the extant eyesores which already pollute our area.
The citizens we represent are entitled to have their communities protected within, by and through the public sphere. That notion of a public sphere was under constant attack throughout the so-called boom. Developers and their developments, no matter how unsuitable or impracticable, were lauded in the name of progress.
Those of us who dared to question the landgrabs, the gazumpers, the get-rich-quick overdevelopment and the greedy hanging on to sites in the hope of further price inflation, were accused of begrudgery and drudgery. Now, as the bubble lies burst on so many of their properties, they’re the ones being bailed out by their Government friends, and as those developers retreat into comfortable obscurity, or scarper out of Ireland altogether, the ghost estates and other kips left behind continue to haunt our communities.
The existing legislation and practice have failed, and failed miserably, to protect the communities we represent. The legislation is out-of-date – as well as the 20 year old Derelict Sites Act, much of the role of our councils relies on a Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act from 1964. The legislation is overly-complicated – the myriad processes remain a mystery to communities after years of involvement in seeking cleanups and repairs. And the legislation is clearly pro-developer and anti-community.
The 1990 Derelict Sites Act tells us that “It shall be the duty of a local authority to take all reasonable steps (including the exercise of any appropriate statutory powers) to ensure that any land situate in their functional area does not become or continue to be a derelict site.”
Regarding the McHugh’s site in Greenhills I refer to in the motion, many of these steps and powers have been taken. But rather than a neighbourhood centre providing services to our community, or even a cleaned-up patch of open space, we are left with the neglect, the eyesore, the dumping and the rats. Up ‘til recently we also suffered vast scrawls of graffiti, an unsecured entrance, so-called antisocial behaviour within the site and the danger of bonfires at Hallowe’en. This Council called, as part of the statutory powers spoken of, for the provision of a brick wall at the site. Instead, the developer threw up a few sheets of MDF hoarding in a job that would make a cowboy builder blush.
The long, drawn-out process taken against McHughs and its sister derelict site less than a mile away at the Burmah Garage in Wellington, and the drip-drip of action and inaction, have led to almost 20 years of dereliction on these sites alone. There is no more damning evidence of the failure of derelict sites legislation than the failure to deal with those who own those sites. As Seán McHugh sits in the Spanish sun, the communities left without a neighbourhood centre, a Post Office for old age pensions or a pharmacy for medicines stay behind as victims of pro-developer legislation.
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