Press Release - Looney Publishes Latest Expenses

Cllr Dermot Looney, a Labour Councillor on South Dublin County Council (SDCC), has welcomed the publication of Councillor expenses for the County for 2012.  Looney last year won a long campaign to secure the publication of all Cllr expenses and has welcomed the most recent figures for 2012. Looney's own expenses are amongst the lowest in the County for the fourth year in succession.

“I am again delighted that this important information has been made accessible to the public,” noted Looney. “Following my election in 2009, I campaigned to have this information made readily available online. The Council published the 2012 figures two weeks ago. They again show me to be one of the most prolific attendees at Council meetings and lowest expense claimants on the Council. Alon with my Labour colleagues and some other Cllrs I refuse, for example, to claim any expenses for Conferences at home or abroad."

"In the interests of accountability and transparency, I am again releasing a full list of my own remuneration and expenses, including all non-Council related expenses, since 2009. This list shows that I am, consistently, one of the lowest-claiming Cllrs on SDCC. As a member of County Dublin VEC and four of its subcommittees, I am entitled to claim a small expense for meetings lasting more than three hours. I have also included those details below.”

Cllr Dermot Looney – Remuneration and Expenses 2012
2012: Representational Payment €16,723.92;
Expenses €6,486.87; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €650.62; VEC Expenses €567.28; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €7,704.77

Cllr Dermot Looney – Remuneration and Expenses 2009-2011
2009 (June-Dec): Representational Payment €9,731.10;
Annual Allowance €3,587.47; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €300; VEC Expenses €283.64; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €4171.11

2010: Representational Payment €16,797.26;
Annual Allowance €6,306.65; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €829.35; VEC Expenses €810.40; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €7,946.40

2011: Representational Payment €16,723.92;
Expenses €6,486.87; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €985.72; VEC Expenses €769.88; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €8,242,47

Notes:
 
The “Representational Payment” is, in essence, a Councillor’s ‘salary;’ it is fixed at one-quarter of a Senator’s salary and is dependent on attendance at meetings. As it is subject to PAYE, PRSI, USC and other deductions, I receive approximately €8,000 per annum nett.

“Annual Allowance” refers to travel, subsistence and other expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of a Cllr. “Phone and Broadband” refers to the payments made for mobile phone and broadband usage. “VEC expenses” are €40.52 for every meeting of the VEC or its Subcommittees that incurs more than 3 hours work. Expenses do not apply to Community School boards or meetings which take less than 3 hours.

Full details of attendance and expenses for all SDCC Cllrs are available at http://www.sdcc.ie/the-council/council-meetings/s142-register

Press Release - Looney Welcomes Imminent Publication of Cllr Expenses

Cllr Dermot Looney, a Labour Party Councillor on South Dublin County Council (SDCC), has welcomed confirmation that all Councillor expenses are to be published online in the coming days. Cllr Looney has campaigned for the publication of the information since his election to SDCC in 2009.

Following a question on notice from Cllr Looney at June’s Council meeting, and a motion in his name passed at September’s meeting, Council officials have confirmed the imminent publication of all Councillor expenses and remuneration on the SDCC website. Councillors have been written to in the last week with a draft of the published list, and full publication is expected within the coming days. The details will be posted along with details of Councillors’ attendance at County Council meetings since 2009.

“I am delighted that this important information will be made accessible to the public,” noted Cllr Looney. “Several other County Councils already publish such data under Section 142(4)(g) of the 2001 Local Government Act. Some national newspapers also publish the raw data on an intermittent basis. However, the Council’s plan to publish fully-annotated expenses and remuneration online will give a fairer and more complete account of these expenses.”

“These statistics will show that, in general, Councillors receive a modest income and a level of expenses far below what is highlighted in some of the media. Myself and my Labour colleagues on SDCC refuse, for example, to claim any expenses for Conferences at home or abroad. In the interests of accountability and transparency, I am releasing a full list of my own remuneration and expenses, including all non-Council related expenses, since 2009. This list shows that I am, consistently, one of the lowest-claiming Cllrs on SDCC.”

“Some politicians milked the system for too long – and got away with it. Now it is important that we never let this happen again. Opening up the Council’s books and publishing this information will go some way in ensuring transparency and accountability at local level.”

ENDS

Cllr Dermot Looney – Remuneration and Expenses 2009-2011

2009 (June-Dec): Representational Payment €9,731.10;
Annual Allowance €3,587.47; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €300; VEC Expenses €283.64; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €4171.11

2010: Representational Payment €16,797.26;
Annual Allowance €6,306.65; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €829.35; VEC Expenses €810.40; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €7,946.40

2011: Representational Payment €16,723.92;
Expenses €6,486.87; Home Conferences €0; International Travel €0; Phone & Broadband €985.72; VEC Expenses €769.88; Other Expenses €0. Total Expenses: €8,242,47

Notes:
The “Representational Payment” is, in essence, a Councillor’s ‘salary;’ it is fixed at one-quarter of a Senator’s salary and is dependent on attendance at meetings. As it is subject to PAYE, PRSI, USC and other deductions, I receive approximately €7,900 per annum nett.

“Annual Allowance” refers to travel, subsistence and other expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of a Cllr. “Phone and Broadband” refers to the payments made for mobile phone and broadband usage. “VEC expenses” are €40.52 for every meeting of the VEC or its Subcommittees that incurs more than 3 hours work. Expenses do not apply to Community School boards or meetings which take less than 3 hours.

Press Release - Ghost estates still a problem in South Dublin, notes Looney

Cllr Dermot Looney, a Labour Party representative on South Dublin County Council, has said that the publication of the National Housing Development Survey this week highlights over 5,000 ghost houses and apartments in the county. The report shows that, like most counties, South Dublin has a significant problem with ghost estates that are in limbo and only partially completed.

“The report on ghost estates,” noted Looney, “is an indictment of the developer-led planning that blighted the Celtic Tiger era. The greed of developers and their friends in Fianna Fáil was allowed to flourish at the expense of good planning, affordable housing and sustainable communities.”

“Ghost estates have been characterised as a particular problem in small rural towns and in the so-called ‘commuter belt.’ However, there are issues particular to our situation in South Dublin. Here, unlike in other counties, it is clear that many of these uncompleted developments involve apartments, which make up approximately half of the units in the study.”

“This report found that there were 49 ghost estates in South Dublin encompassing some 9,425 units. Within these estates there are 2,953 units where construction has not even started yet. An additional 760 are still under construction while there are 1286 units completed but vacant.”

“Of the 119 areas set aside for open space in these estates, 45 were uncompleted. These add up to severe difficulties for residents of nearly 4,500 homes which are occupied in the partially-completed estates.”

“As well as the myriad issues regarding issues of good standards of living, estate completion and the creation of sustainable communities, the South Dublin area has a particular problem with management companies in apartment and other multi-unit developments. In particular, developers retain a controlling interest in many management companies but may not be contributing their management fee. This can create great difficulty for residents in getting vital work done in their estates. The issue of management companies is another failure of ‘light touch’ regulation in Ireland and regrettably the new legislation on management companies is not retrospective.”

Summary of the report including SDCC statistics is available at http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,24375,en.doc

Getting Our Priorities Right

The Progressive Alliance in control of South Dublin County Council, which consists of nine Labour and three Sinn Féin Councillors as well as non-party Cllr Guss O'Connell, unveiled our pledge on expenses on Monday.

We have agreed to forego all funding for external conferences - for which Councillors are entitled to up to €4500 per annum - and have instead earmarked that money for the provision of the first ever emergency homeless accommodation centre in South Dublin. If all 26 Councillors donated from this fund, over half a million euro could be raised for the centre. We have invited all Cllrs to sign the pledge to ensure that the real needs of the County are met in these awful times.

I am glad to say that as well as the 13 Councillors in the Alliance, two other Councillors have also signed the pledge; Cllr Gino Kenny (People Before Profit Alliance) and Cllr John Lahart (Fianna Fáil). I'd hope to be able to report that the other 11 Councillors have signed at some stage in the near future.

Pictured at the launch of the pledge are, from left, Cllrs Gino Kenny (PBPA), Guss O'Connell (Ind), Dermot Looney (Labour), Robert Dowds (Labour), Caitríona Jones (Labour), Deputy Mayor Paddy Cosgrave (Labour), Cathal King (SF), Matthew McDonagh (SF), Pamela Kearns (Labour), Eamon Tuffy (Labour) and Seán Crowe (SF). Signatories not pictured are Mayor Mick Duff (Labour), Cllr Marie Corr (Labour), Cllr Eamonn Maloney (Labour) and Cllr John Lahart (FF).

Sorry!

Sincere apologies for the lack of recent updates. It's been quite a busy summer of settling in on the Council, for what it's worth!

Part of the reason for the lack of updates is that we're looking to shift to a new platform for the blog. More news on that real soon!

For now, if I may be indulged...

One Month On - Cllr Dermot Looney

Well, firstly, it's been a while. A month since I last blogged - I keep putting it off. Hopefully this marks a return to more regular posts.

The big difference since June 5th is that I am now Cllr Dermot Looney. I'm deeply honoured to have been elected with an impressive 2329 first preference votes and to have received such an endorsement from the community I grew up in.

Count day was not as stressful as I thought with the tallies looking good for us from early on, although it took until after 1am for the Returning Officer to declare me the fourth elected of six. ElectionsIreland has count details although with a small caveat - the final count details are incorrect. The correct order on the final count was my colleague Cllr Pamela Kearns winning the third seat, me winning the fourth, Cllr Sean Crowe taking the fifth and FF's Cllr Eamonn Walsh taking the sixth.

I have already sent many thank you letters and mails to supporters and well-wishers but I am very late to say thanks to those of you who read this blog regularly. Having analysed the tallies and received contact from a number of voters we believe that a small but significant vote came to our campaign based on our activity online - and that comes from a vibrant, interactive mix across the various platforms.

The last month has been somewhat hectic with work and politics - hence the lack of blogging. Politically, much of the work has involved getting familiar with the Council and attending meetings. I am delighted that we have established, for the first time ever, a Left Alliance on South Dublin County Council with 9 Labour Councillors, 3 Sinn Féin Cllrs and Independent Cllr Guss O'Connell. The combined vision of this alliance aims for a fairer, more sustainable county and one of our first moves - to reallocate funds from external Conferences (perhaps unfairly known as the junket fund) to provision of the first emergency homeless accommodation in South Dublin - shows the kind of priorities we have.

More to follow in the days to come. The blog will change focus and I'm interested in hearing, by email or comment, what kind of site some of the readers would like to see from an elected Cllr.

Election Diary: Polling Day

Well it's been an awesome 14 months or so, but it had to come to an end sometime.

In six hours time, voters across Tallaght Central are going to the polls.

I am immensely proud of the campaign we have run. I have engaged dozens of young people in active politics, in what has been the most substantial youth-driven campaign in Ireland - in one of the largest LEA's. I have brought real Labour values and politics to thousands of residents in community campaigns and through our political messages. It is worthwhile and of itself to have put forward such a campaign, but its legacy will be stronger still with an electoral mandate tomorrow.

I am asking blog readers to do just 3 things.

1. Vote Dermot Looney #1 in Tallaght Central, and transfer to my Labour colleagues, then keep left against the government.

2. Please vote Proinsias de Rossa #1 for Europe and do likewise. If you are not living in Tallaght Central, please vote for your local Labour candidates to build the real alternative in Irish politics.

3. Choose the friends you have in Dublin 12, 6w and 24. Then text, email, call, tweet, or send messages on facebook or bebo to them asking them to vote Dermot Looney #1. Take those 5 minutes now to make the difference.

There were many events and moments on the canvass today which I would love to blog, but tiredness and the early start tomorrow mean they will have to wait. Hopefully, there may be some opportunities to post during the quiet times tomorrow. In the meantime keep your eye on www.irishelection.com - who tonight called our web campaign "ace" - for the latest news.

I'll leave you with this.

As a young child I was deeply touched and inspired by Nelson Mandela's long walk to freedom and the queues and queues of people in South Africa's first free election. Those votes were won by an incredible struggle against a racist apartheid regime that seemed untouchable. Our right to vote comes from equally noble and oft-bloody struggles, from the Suffragette movement and the campaign to extend the franchise to more than just men of property, to the independence movement in Ireland and the great democratic revolutions of trade unionism and the Land League. Building the future is most prominent in the politics I espouse, but remembering the past must provide the foundation. Be sure to vote - and use it well!

Extraordinary Response to McHugh's Campaign

Greenhills, be proud!

We have had an incredible response from people in Greenhills and the wider Dublin 12 area in South Dublin County to our petition on the derelict site of the old McHugh's Shopping Centre. We delivered just over 1,000 petitions door-to-door in Greenhills Estate, Greenpark, Limekiln and Temple Manor.

From those, over the last few days, we have had approximately:
175 signatures by standard post or delivered by hand;
150 online signatories at the PetitionOnline site;
40 people contacting us by email to sign the petition;
40 freepost envelopes from the last batch delivered.

When you consider the majority of people took the trouble either to buy a stamp and post a letter, or deliver it by hand to my door, or log on online and sign up or email our campaign, you can see the serious community response there has been to this stain on our community.

There, are, we believe, much more to come. We are confident that by the end of our campaign more than 500 local people will have signed the petition demanding action either by the developer, or, as we suspect, failing any action on his part, by the Council. I have, in all honesty, never met with such a positive reaction from local people to a political campaign - mostly because people knew about me from previous canvasses and leaflets, know my record and that of the Labour Party in the area, and knew we were genuine.

This campaign has hit the headlines in all local papers. The Southside People covered it on their front page - the first time our campaign has been covered in this way. We also had a substantial presence in the Tallaght Voice (see below) and the Tallaght Echo, and were also covered in at least one other local publication. For the first time in 5 years, it seemed, our efforts have brought this issue to the fore - making, quite literally, front page news.

Other parties standing for election in Greenhills have obviously been taken aback by the huge response to the campaign I have launched. Amongst them have been the Socialist Party, who organised, over the weekend, a public meeting on the issue. This was held with approximately 70-80 people in attendance in the Greenhills Community Centre tonight.

Various political figures attended and spoke - Cllrs Mick Murphy (SP), Colm Brophy (FG), Cáit Keane (PD - soon to be something else) and Pat Dunne - blogged about here before. Pat curiously announced his intention to run next year for the People Before Profit Alliance, a Socialist Workers' Party-dominated outfit which was vehemently opposed by the last similar alliance he was involved with, the Campaign for an Independent Left. A number of local residents and people who had worked at the centre spoke passionately about the loss of local services and the dereliction Greenhills is now faced with on a daily basis.

Sadly, the meeting, in my view, was not well-organised and poorly-chaired, although from my own experience of similar meetings both locally and nationally this is a common problem. It descended into farce at one stage with the Socialist Party chair and FG Councillor Brophy engaging in an unceremonious screaming match while baffled local residents - myself included - looked on.

The SP had no particular solutions or answers to the community's concerns, other than to hope really hard that the developers take on board our views and maybe, just maybe, they might tidy up the site - perhaps, bafflingly, by building a car park. Mick Murphy scoffed at our campaign for a Compulsory Purchase Order, claiming we were "chasing rainbows." Cllr Murphy, it should be noted, has previously called for a CPO on the site on more than one occasion, and has also called for a CPO on the site of the old petrol station at the end of the Greenhills Road in Tallaght Village.

Nor did other political figures seem to have any real targets or solutions. On the conservative side, Cllrs Brophy and Keane indicated that they wished only to pursue issues through contact with the developer - similar to Murphy - or on the Council committee.

The PBP candidate called for a meeting between the developer (McHugh), Louis Fitzgerald - the publican who owns the Traders Pub next door and who has expressed an interest in the site - and local political and community representatives. I would be happy to attend such a meeting but don't believe it is, in itself, an adequate community response.

Unlike Cllr Murphy and Candidate Dunne, I believe very firmly that there is both scope and possibility, with public action, for a CPO of the site, and for its appropriate development in the needs of the community. And having spoken to plenty of residents both at and after the meeting - many of whom came to us to sign the petition - I am convinced that this approach is best for Greenhills.

People often associate groups such as the SP and the PBP with 'hard left' positions, but in truth tonight's meeting showed a bankruptcy to their arguments that was nowhere near the left. There was plenty of talk of facing down developers and speculators but, faced with an existing and mass community campaign, rooted in Greenhills and its people, the best they could do was make a few suggestions - some of them random, others bizarre - in the hope of bringing pressure to bear on the developer involved.

Don't get me wrong. I prefer to work with others on the left and baulk at any sectarian abuse or critiques of other progressives. These are two fine candidates and will appear higher up my ballot than the variety of conservative candidates in Tallaght Central next June. But as a socialist who believes both in utilising both the parliamentary - in this case, on the local Council - and the extraparliamentary, and who believes in the maintenance and development of public space and the public sphere through local democracy, the attitudes of the other 'leftists' baffled me.

Fact is that the pressure has now been put on by the power of our campaign and that, given McHugh's continual failure to act over 5 1/2 years, this community response now needs to take aim at the Council. I believe the site to be derelict and to fall under the description of dereliction outlined in the 1990 Derelict Sites Act - and Council officials, who agreed with this analysis in 2006, will now be made realise the huge outpouring of community feeling to the site's dereliction and the need for its development.

Neither Cllr Murphy, who is based on the old Tallaght Area Committee, nor Candidate Dunne have access to the relevant Council meetings at the Terenure Rathfarnham Area Committee (TRAC). My Labour colleague, Cllr Eamonn Walsh, is continuing to push the issue and is raising it again at the next TRAC meeting on October 7th. Our experience to date has shown that committee work alone cannot achieve victory. But with a true community response, both in the future of the campaign and at the polls next June, progress is more than possible.

PS - If you haven't done so - don't forget to sign!

Press Release - Labour 's Looney calls for Freedom of South Dublin for Boxer Egan

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Labour's Looney calls for Freedom of South Dublin for Boxer Egan

Dermot Looney, a Labour Party candidate for next year's local elections to South Dublin County Council, has called for the County Council to recognise the achievements of local boxer Ken Egan by granting him the freedom of the county.

Looney (25), the youngest Labour candidate so far selected in Ireland, has urged local councillors to move quickly in granting Honorary Freedom of South County Dublin to the Clondalkin-based silver medallist.

The freedom of the county has only been awarded on five occasions in the Council's 15-year history. The previous recipients are Ingrid Betancourt, the Franco-Colombian politician, Olympian Michelle Smith and footballers Damien Duff, Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne.

Looney said; "There are two ways to honour Kenny Egan's magnificent achievement and the inspiration he has provided to local people, particularly youngsters. Firstly, it is entirely appropriate that the Council formally bestow its highest honour on a true Olympic hero."

"Labour Mayor Marie Corr has already noted that the Council will celebrate Ken's success in the near future. I am calling on councillors to go one step further and debate a motion to grant Honorary Freedom of the County at the next full Council meeting on September 8th."

"Secondly, the Council and country as a whole can honour Ken's achievements by showing a commitment to sports provision above and beyond the current level. It is shameful that the government have reduced the spend on the sports capital programme from €85 million in 2007 to just €50 million this year."

"The failure of the authorities to see sport as a serious instrument of social policy means that dozens of local clubs here in South Dublin, who provide such a wonderful community resource, will go on struggling to cope with expenses and other pressures. Long-term success will be reaped not only in terms of Olympic performance, but in the health of our people and communities," Looney concluded.