[Ciarán Cuffe]Ciarán's Local Manifesto By Area
Dún Laoghaire Manifesto
The Green Party sees proper development and sustainable employment as the key to the County’s future. Below we outline some of our green priorities for Dún Laoghaire and beyond over the next five years.
Booterstown | Blackrock | Dalkey | Deansgrange
Dún Laoghaire | Loughlinstown | Sandycove | Shankill
If re-elected as your TD for Dún Laoghaire, I will:
1. Promote green jobs in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown
The Green Party has already created thousands of green construction jobs with our home insulation scheme - which has also reduced your heating bills. Now we plan to secure even more jobs by investing in a huge national retrofit programme.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown is already a green-tech leader with companies like Solarprint, Salesforce cloud-computing and Airtricity in the Sandyford Business Park. The Green Party have championed these clean smart jobs in government, and we will continue to do so.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown has huge potential as a tourist destination. The Green Party want to bring cruise liners to our harbour, build new cycle and walkways along the Coast, develop food trails, and protect our green space and heritage. I will continue to work for a modest development of the Dún Laoghaire Baths.
Our ‘Green Star rating’ proposals for hotels and B&Bs will allow Dún Laoghaire become an eco-tourism capital.
2. Help small businesses and revive town centres
I founded the ‘Vision for Dún Laoghaire’ group to address the issue of vacant shop units in the town. I’ve supported viable, thriving town centres throughout the County by introducing planning laws that move the focus away from large out-of-town retail developments.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs are essential to Ireland’s recovery. The Green Party want to reduce commercial rates and we will test whether existing upward-only rent reviews are legal.
We intend properly funding local authorities through a smarter progressive local tax system that allows businesses to thrive. Our bankruptcy laws must be amended to allow new ideas turn into jobs - we want the current period of twelve years reduced to the more-flexible UK arrangements.
3. Deliver reliable, decent public transport
The Luas Green Line has been successfully extended to Cherrywood - we want to extend it to Bray, serving Loughlinstown Hospital and Shankill. Reform of Dublin Bus will provide a more reliable and frequent bus service with more direct bus routes and the introduction of real time passenger information. Integrated ticketing is on the way in 2011, now let’s ensure that our Dart, Luas and bus services are linked up to allow people move around the County with ease.
I want to see improved walking and cycle-ways in Dún Laoghaire, including constructing the Sandycove to Sutton Cycleway to improve access and provide a new transport link along the coastline. Dún Laoghaire would benefit from its own Dublin Bike scheme and I will work with the Council to make this happen. I’ve made sure that bikes are allowed on off-peak and weekend Darts - let’s broaden this to include the Luas.
Every child should be able to walk or cycle to school. I want to ensure that the Safe Routes to School programme is taught in every school in the County, and that the Council improve pedestrian crossings and cycle-lanes.
4. Put Education First
The Green Party has already introduced a free year of preschool for all children. We want to make childcare easier more convenient by providing tax incentives to extended family members who are also child-minders.
We have protected class sizes and we will continue to do so in the next government. Education is key to attracting jobs to Ireland.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown has a large student population and is home to many third level institutions. The Green Party ensured that third level fees did not happen and we will continue to fight for equal access to education for all.
5. Protect our green space, heritage and coastline
Dun Laoghaire’s green spaces and beautiful coastline provide our community with a valuable amenity which needs to be carefully protected. I will continue to fight to protect our unique built and natural heritage to enhance the quality of life for all of Dun Laoghaire’s residents and help sustain our important tourism industry.
Let's protect our coastline from inappropriate and high-rise development, preserve our green spaces and provide a new marine nature park at Scotsman’s Bay in Sandycove to protect the precious marine habitat.
I want to see the historic Carlisle Pier restored to the original 1890s Victorian railway building to provide a high quality covered public amenity space that could host an ice-rink in winter, Festival of World Cultures events in summer and occasional outdoor events and markets.
6. Promote healthy, safe communities
Every person deserves to be cared for in his or her community. We will continue to roll out Primary Health Care teams like the ones established in Dalkey, Glenageary, Sallynoggin and Shankill over the last few years. We are committed to properly funding mental health services.
We will develop a ‘healthy schools’ meals policy and continue to encourage food growing in schools through programmes like ‘The Incredible Edibles’ introduced by the Green Party in Government. We will promote allotments and community gardens to create strong and vibrant local communities. I will ensure that Dún Laoghaire leads the way in these initiatives.
Let’s create 'home zones' in residential areas to provide better traffic calming and allow children to play safely close to where they live.
7. Reform local government
Our fragmented local government is not delivering for local businesses or communities.
We need a new, efficient and responsive regional government structure which is properly funded and responsible for the planning of water, waste, retail, housing and transport services.
We’re proposing a directly elected Mayor for Metropolitan Dublin with a democratic mandate to make things happen over a five year period, instead of the current system of rotating mayors in each county who only hold office for a year.
- Work with the Friends of Booterstown Birdmarsh to protect and enhance this unique wildlife reserve
- Protect Blackrock Park from further unsuitable car-parking proposals
- Provide a community garden or allotments in part of Blackrock Park
- Support and expand the Blackrock Family Festival
- Restore the Maretimo Temple on the coast beside the railway line
- Proceed with plans for the Sandycove to Sutton cycleway and walking route along the coast, starting with a contra-flow cycle lane on Newtown Avenue
- Hold an architectural competition to redevelop the car park at Blackrock Station as a mixed-use development with parking, shops and apartments overlooking Dublin Bay
- Convert Blackrock Baths to a marine life sanctuary with a tea-shop, visitors centre and viewing platform
- Provide a Job Incubation Centre similar to the ‘Media Cube' at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design on Kill Avenue as home to start-up businesses in the creative arts and digital media. Let’s work with Forfás and the County Enterprise Board to put in place more locations where small business ideas can start up and grow
- Ensure that any new developments are in keeping with Dalkey’s Heritage Town Status
- Work with residents to allow further connections to the Dalkey Mains Drainage Scheme
- Consider providing Special Area of Conservation status to Dalkey Island, the Muglins and the adjacent waters
- Finalise the Local Area Plan for Deansgrange Village
- Extend the linear Park from Cabinteely Park along the Shanganagh River to the sea at Shankill
- Improve tree planting along Clonkeen Road
- Re-open Dún Laoghaire Baths for solar-heated summer water-sports with a children’s pool, coffee shop and sea-weed baths
- Ensure that a Festival of World Cultures takes place in 2011
- Build the new County Library overlooking the sea at Moran Park
- Prepare a Local Area Plan that allows the town to develop, but respects its heritage
- Develop marine and tourism jobs in around Dún Laoghaire Harbour
- Attract cruise liners to Dún Laoghaire to boost local tourism and jobs
- Restore the old Carlisle Pier Railway Building for events such as a Christmas fair, and summer festivals
- Improve the low-carbon ferry and rail travel services to and from the UK
- Build a modern swimming pool and gym at Loughlinstown Leisure Centre
- Provide an ‘urban forest’ on part of Kilbogget Park
- Provide a cycle route, walking route and proper signage to connect with the Bride’s Glen Luas Stop
- Provide a marine reserve for Scotman’s Bay to protect the breeding grounds of shellfish and develop eco-tourism
- Protect Sandycove Green from further car-parking at Newtownsmith
- Ensure bathing water quality is monitored and protected
- Demolish and redevelop the old Shopping Centre. We’re urging the County Manager to use his powers under the Derelict Sites Act to force the owners to rebuild or clear up the site
- Provide Park and Ride at the Bride’s Glen / Cherrywood Luas Stop in the short term
- Prepare plans for extending the Luas across the old bridge to Loughlinstown Hospital and on to Shankill and Bray
- Save the Shankill Green Belt and stop further rezoning of valuable agricultural land
Dún Laoghaire Green Party, February 2011
