Homeless Figures Rise Dramatically

The recently announced new governmental strategy for tackling homelessness has met with bitter criticism from Deputy Eamon Gilmore, Labour party spokesperson on the environment. "Current figures show in the region of 5,000 homeless people in Dublin and County Dublin" said Eamon Gilmore. Continuing he said "the newly launched Government strategy in theory is excellent, however in practice it is not workable". With housing lists rising, in fact the Dun Laoghaire housing list alone has risen by 200 in the past six months, the Government's treatment of the housing and homeless crisis has come under fire on a number of fronts.

To take people off the streets and provide them with homes cannot be achieved without a radical new housing policy, and Eamon Gilmore believes the only way to do this is to bring land into use by taking it into public ownership. "The Minister has tried other approaches. His Government reduced Capital Gains Tax to give people an incentive to release land for housing but it hasn't worked. He knows there is a problem but he simply refuses to address it. Contrary to increasing the price of land as suggested by the Minister, the creation of public landbanks by increasing local authorities powers to compulsorily purchase land would eliminate the profiteering that is the key to increased house prices. The Minister has been in office for over three years now. He is presiding over the biggest housing crisis for thirty years. He has continually sought to deny the scale of that crisis. In so doing, he has allowed the situation deteriorate even further. It is time for action" he added.

"Homeless people fall into two categories" said Councillor Gilmore, "those who sleep rough and mainly live in hostels, and those who through family problems suddenly find themselves homeless. The £19 million the Government is allocating in their new strategy is not nearly enough to tackle the problem". The Labour Deputy then went on to voice his fears that a large proportion of this sum would be swallowed up in administration costs and consequently not have any real effect in solving the problem.

A number of politicians meantime have applauded the Government's actions hailing this new strategy as a radical change from the traditional 'business as usual' approach to this important issue. Policy to date has concentrated on building and refurbishing emergency hostel accommodation for people sleeping rough, this Strategy goes much further than this. Dublin has by far the largest concentration of homeless in the country. "The Government strategy of homelessness underlines this Government's commitment to addressing the issue through the introduction of newly founded arrangements said Deputy Marian Mc Gennis".

A Director for homeless services in the greater Dublin area will be appointed by Dublin Corporation. A new joint executive homeless services centre at one location will be established to manage and co-ordinate the delivery of all services by both statutory and voluntary agencies to the homeless in Dublin. "This service will have dedicated staffing support, located in the centre itself, from both Dublin Corporation and the Eastern Regional Health Authority, together with involvement of dedicated officials from both FAS and the Vocational Education Services with appropriate linkages to the Probation Services" continued Deputy Mc Gennis.

The ever lengthening housing lists, will result in even more homeless people on the streets of Dublin as house prices and rents in private sector accommodation continue to soar. The new housing list recently released by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council shows that the number of applicants has increased from 1,704 in October 1999 to 1,898 in May 2000. Most of the new applicants are families who would normally be able to buy a home of their own but who with prices spiralling out of control can now not afford to do so. Added to these figures will be the those seeking asylum in Ireland, those recognised as being homeless and therefore in need of housing, the struggling traveller accommodation situation, and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown is facing its worst housing crisis in history.

In an attempt to stem the tide of homelessness in Dublin the Government's new strategy includes an additional spend of £19 million in each of the next three years, the four Dublin authorities will prioritise the settlement of homeless persons on a planned basis over a three year period in the context of their Action Plan and the Action Plan for Dublin will prioritise the elimination of the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families other than for emergencies and only for very short term use of not more than one month.

The Government's new strategy is indeed a step in the right direction but to house people Eamon Gilmore points to the fact that the housing list in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown has been growing at an alarming rate. The Labour Spokesperson on Environment says that the housing situation is worsening in Dun Laoghaire. "The list has been growing steadily since the last general election and is now growing faster than the rate of which the Council is providing houses. This means that many applicants are slipping back on the list and are becoming increasingly frustrated at the length of time they have to wait for housing". He then went on to say "Government policies on housing have been an absolute failure. I am calling on the Government to implement a new Housing Building Programme to provide some hope for those who are waiting for housing on the waiting list".

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Manager asked to "Clarify Emergency Order Act"

Councillor Mairead Corrigan requested a detailed report on the particular circumstances/situations in which The Emergency Order Act would be invoked and asked "on how many occasions has the County Manager issued such an order".

In reply the Manager issued the following statement. "The 'Emergency Order Act' has been invoked in various situations". Recently an emergency order was issued to provide temporary accommodation for five traveller families on an area of land in Marley Park fronting onto College Road. This decision has caused a huge amount of controversy, anger and frustration in the local communities. This is a "blatant abuse of power to use a public park for housing purposes and a total abdication of responsibility to provide adequate housing for these families" said Joan Mc Cann, a resident of Ballinteer.

In reply to Councillor Corrigan's question the manager said "The City and County Management (Amendment) Act 1995 provides for the provision of prior information to members of a local authority, of Managers proposals. Section 2 (9) specifies inter alia 'nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall prevent the Manager from dealing forthwith with any situation which he considers is an emergency situation calling for immediate action without regard to those provisions'

The housing act 1988 amended this legislation and provides for the following insertion in Section 2 of following subsection, after subsection 9 'An emergency situation for the purposes of subsection (9) of this section shall be deemed to exist where, in the opinion of the Manager, the works concerned are urgent and necessary (having regard to personal health, public health and safety considerations) in order to provide a reasonable standard of accommodation for any person'. Quoting the relevant article and subsection, the manager, in relation to a proposed development then said that 'Article 130 (3) (b) of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations 1998 states that Part X will not apply to a proposed development if "the development is necessary for dealing forthwith with any situation which the Manager considers is an emergency situation calling for immediate action without regard for the provision of this Part'

In relation to housing matters, the Manager deemed an emergency situation to exist on one occasion in the past year...the order to move the five families into Marley Park.

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Town Renewal Bill excludes Dun Laoghaire

The Government's Town Renewal Bill is anti-Dublin said Eamon Gilmore, Labour party spokesperson on the Environment.

Under the Bill small towns with populations of between 500 and 6000 may apply for the Town Renewal Scheme for tax relief for redevelopment, effectively cutting out the three Dublin counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin.

Deputy Gilmore said "This Bill is anti-Dublin. Dublin towns such as Skerries, Newcastle and Stepaside should be able to apply for town renewal status. In addition urban towns such as Ballybrack, Dundrum, Stillorgan and Cornelscourt should be able to apply for the scheme. At present these suburban towns can only apply under the General Urban Renewal Scheme or under the Village Improvement Scheme. This means that they have to compete with larger areas and urban areas" he said.

At present the local community in Ballybrack has drawn up a renewal scheme for Ballybrack-a similar scheme has been drawn up for Cornelscourt. Schemes such as these should be enabled to apply for funding and tax designation under the Town Renewal Scheme, but the Government is preventing them from doing so by excluding Dublin from the Town Renewal Bill.

"I am now calling on the Minister for the Environment to either amend the Bill to include the Dublin counties or to introduce a separate Scheme for Renewal of Suburban Towns. I will be talbling an amendment to this effect when the Bill is considered by the Environment & Local Government Committee of the Dail" said Deputy Gilmore.

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LUAS 'go marach'

The never ending story of the beleaguered LUAS line is again in the news with Fine Gael spokesperson on traffic, Olivia Mitchell criticising the Government in respect of the Harcourt St line.

Saying she was totally outraged that the cabinet has still not reached a decision on this the T.D said " With every month's delay the cost of the project increases. As tenders were to be sought for both lines together, it now appears the Tallaght line will also be delayed due to this indecision. We have also reached the end of the time limit for exercising options on the tenders for trams, and their delivery too will be delayed and their cost increased."

"It is laughable that the cabinet sub-committee, set up specifically to fast track infrastructural projects is riven by division and unable to make a decision on a vital Dublin transport project. Unfortunately Dubliners don't see the joke as they sit fuming in traffic every day".

The Fine Gael Deputy also delivered a salvo to the Bacon Report for their criticism of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council's slow planning process saying "Give us public transport and we will give you houses. The threat by Government to designate the Stepaside area as a strategic development zone in order to fast track the house building process is not going to work" she said.

Continuing Councillor Mitchell said "But if the Government really wants to reduce delays in the planning process they should tackle the root causes of the objections which cause such delays. In my experience these are almost always to do with lack of supporting infrastructure and particularly inadequate roads and public transport. In Stepaside, as elsewhere, additional traffic congestion is precisely the fear of the majority of residents. Yet the Harcourt Street LUAS line has not been given the go-ahead by Cabinet and the construction of over 1,000 houses in the area resulted in an increase in the bus service on one bus only".

Olivia Mitchell then went on to say that she was acutely aware of the need to increase the supply of houses but public transport is critical to this area, a fact that has been recognised by both the Minister of the Environment and Bacon himself who have stated previously that higher densities will not work unless accompanied by public transport.

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Road officially opened by Cathaoirleach

A controversy that raged for over 15 years has finally culminated in the successful opening of the Whites Cross to Springfield section of the N11.

For years Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council were frustrated in their efforts to widen the N11 at this stretch by the Portuguese Embassy who refused to sell a small portion of land to the Irish Government and allow the motor way to proceed with expansion. In fact, so frustrated did Councillor Larry Butler become with the situation that he had posters printed with the caption 'Honk for more road'. His campaign to embarrass the Portuguese worked as motorists voiced their support by hitting their horn every time they passed the Embassy.

Finally negotiations were concluded and the formal opening of this stretch of motor way was a cause for celebration recently. Officiating at the ceremony An Cathaoirleach Larry Butler welcomed the assembled dignitaries saying "Roads are one of the great ways we leave our mark on the community, not only through their physical presence, but also through their contribution to the business and social life of the community. We are proud in the smallest County Council of the country to be playing such a big part in delivering the national road construction programme. The National Roads Authority is providing funds for the Council's ambitious roads programme.

The N11 improvement has been in progress since mid 70's when the first section leading out from Donnybrook Church was constructed. We are here today to celebrate the opening of the last section of the road. We have renewed a section first built as a dual carriageway before the Second World War at a time when the bulk of traffic was provided by horse drawn vehicles and bicycles. Today this section of the Bray road carries up to 6,000 vehicles per day as well as providing a Quality Bus Corridor, dedicated cycle-ways and footpaths. The size and speed of the heavy commercial vehicles could not have been envisaged in the 1930's."

Councillor Butler then went on to tell the assembled guests "I can't let the opportunity pass without mentioning my own role in the scheme and that of Mr Des Taylor. Des accepted the role of Honorary Consul in diplomatic negotiations for the acquisition of lands from the Portuguese Embassy over a protracted period. On the other hand, I took the direct approach and brought the campaign into the streets, or more correctly onto the footbridge, to bring the matter to a head. Between us we dislodged the roadblock so that the scheme got the go-ahead. In the execution of the scheme we got the highest level of co-operation from the residents of the Bray Road".

The Cathaoirleach then went on to thank His Excellency the Ambassador of Portugal, Mr de Valera and the Commercial attaché of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Mazuka for their help and co-operation in completing this project and he extended his thanks to Derek Brady the County Manager and Barry Casey the County Engineer.

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Communication problem at County Hall

A number of county councillors feel that a communication break-down means they are failing to do justice to the citizens of this borough.

Venting their frustration recently have been Councillor's Niamh Bhreathnach and Councillor Victor Boyhan. Said Councillor Bhreathnach 'County Hall is not responding to the challenges this modern age of communications demands. A glance at this month's agenda for the County Council meeting, reflects the frustration of elected Councillors who want to represent their constituents in a focused way". Echoing her frustration Councillor Boyhan told the Council at it's June meeting that he was particularly disappointed in the fact that he had put forward six motions for submission to the agenda, yet not one single motion had been taken on board.

In relation to the handling of complaints to the Council, Councillor Bhreathnach asked that "the Manager inform the Council what steps need to be taken to improve the communications systems between the public and Council outside working hours". She then went on to say that she had tabled a motion to discuss "the implications of meeting the challenges set down by Government in its recently announced Performance Management and Development System in the context of the Council's own Strategic Management Initiative"

Others have asked questions and tabled motions reflecting their frustration with County Hall. "The telephone system in place is a web of answering-machines that take a daily lunch break and close for the week-end. Departmental correspondence if acknowledged is rarely replied to in detail. Promised equipment to link Councillors to the information technology at County Hall has taken ten months to deliver and as yet has to be plugged in. The Public is frustrated. Information is power. The Powers-that-be-in County Hall seem reluctant to empower its own citizens" concluded the Labour Party Group Leader.

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9th Dun Laoghaire Song Contest

Sunday, 23^rd July, 2000
Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire

The L.E Aisling was a very appropriate ship on which to host the Press Reception to announce the twelve finalist in this year's Dun Laoghaire Song Contest.It was certainly a dream come true for the qualifiers chosen for this prestigious event.This Contest, now in it's ninth year, overshadow all other contests, either here or in the U.K by offering the most valuable prize fund.

The winner will receive 3,000 punts presented by I.M.R.O. and the first Active Waterford Crystal Trophy, in addition to 500 CDs of their song from Trend Studios.The runner-up receives, again a most attractive prize-1,000 punts from I.M.R.O. and a first Active Waterford Crystal Trophy, and this year for the first time, Trend Studios have generously agreed to sponsor 500 CDs of this song.

There are no losers in the final of this contest. All twelve qualifiers receive a cheque for 100 punts from Stena Line, along with a trip for a car and five passengers on the HSS ferry. Along with this range of prizes, they also receive a beautiful Waterford cut glass crystal vase from First Active. A.S.C.I. (Association of Songwriters and composer of Ireland) will present a special prize of the A.S.C.I. Trophy and a cheque for 100 punts for the song of their choice.

A major plus for the contestants in this contest is the level of publicity it generates. The print media have been most supportive and likewise other media. RTE Radio 1 with Larry Gogan as compere, will record the contest on the night and transmit it at a later date. Cabelink Channel will also record for broadcast on their television channel later in the year.

Further details from June Mc Donnell - Phone 280 5080 (H) 208 2398 (W)

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Johnstown pupils raise £1,080 for homeless children

The Rotary Club Project 'Hope and Homes for Children' recently got a cash boost from some 12year old students at Johnstown School. The pupils raised an impressive £1,080, which was presented to the President of Dun Laoghaire Rotary Club, Ken Murphy, by school Principal Phil Caulfield. The Rotary Club have already raised £1,200 through the sale of Millennium Roses for this project which provides homes, on a worldwide basis, for children made homeless through disasters such as war.