Fine Gael criticized for littering the Garden County

Sinn Féin councillor John Brady has sharply criticized Fine Gael for
leaving a litter trail though Wicklow. The Sinn Féin councillor has
said he has been inundated with complaints from people who seen the
Fine Gael people removing their referendum posters and then throwing
the cable ties that had been on the posters on the ground and leaving
them behind.

Speaking after returning from Greystones where residents showed him
the litter trail councillor John Brady said "I am truly shocked that
any political party could have such a total disregard for a community
or a county as what i have witnessed by Fine Gael over the weekend. I
met with concerned residents in Greystones on Saturday after they had
witnessed people who had been removing the Fine Gael referendum
posters throw the cable ties on the ground behind them. This was not
an isolated incident as it happened at every pole they removed a
poster from. I had also a number of calls from residents on the
Southern Cross in Bray who had also witnessed the Fine Gael people
littering in the same manner"

Cllr Brady continued "This litter trail was left behind by the Fine
Gael people on Friday when they removed the posters in Bray before
travelling over Windgates and into Greystones. All along cable ties
that have been cut from the poles by the Fine Gael people have been
left behind thrown on the ground. This is a serious incident in my
opinion, particularly when you think that the Minister for the
Environment is Phil Hogan, a member of Fine Gael. These stupid actions
undo all the great work that is carried out by all the tidy towns
groups and puts the towns at risk of dropping points in the National
Tidy Towns awards when the judging takes place this month"

Cllr Brady concluded "I have contacted Wicklow Fine Gael TD Simon
Harris and reported the issue to him. He has said that the posters had
been erected centrally and that he would have the issue looked into. I
have also reported the issue to Wicklow County Council. If the
littering that was carried out by Fine Gael is not investigated
properly and cleaned up i will have no hesitation in ensuring the
issue is followed up accordingly. Littering is a serious blight on our
landscape and needs to be tackled. All political parties need to be
part of the solution and not the problem"

Sinn Fein representatives express concerns about stability of The Bray Coastal Protection Scheme

Sinn Féin councillor John Brady and the party representative for the
Bray seafront area Melanie McAuley have called on The Minister for
Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD to immediately have
a survey carried out on the Bray coastal protection scheme. The Bray
project was of the most controversial coastal protection schemes to
have been carried out in Wicklow in recent years. The controversial
project is at risk of literally getting washed away and becoming
ineffective.

Sinn Féin councillor John Brady said "The Bray project was of the most
controversial coastal protection schemes to have been carried out in
Wicklow in recent years, Work on the coastal protection scheme began
in 1998, and was completed in 2001 at a cost of £2.5 million. Numerous
residents from the seafront area have been in contact with both myself
and my party colleague Melanie McAuley about the Bray coastal
protection scheme, they have been voicing their concerns on how
unstable it has become over the last eleven years.  It is estimated
that hundreds of tonnes of stone has been washed away leaving the Bray
seafront area vulnerable and the overall protection scheme at risk of
getting totally undermined. The erosion has also made the foreshore on
Bray beach unsafe for walkers and for bathers"

Melanie McAuley the Sinn Féin representative for the seafront area
said "The controversial project which divided the town is now at
serious risk of being totally undermined. The scheme which was
implemented on Bray seafront was chosen because it was deemed to be
the most economical and effective way of protecting the esplanade. The
project seen a rock breakwater southwards from the harbour wall, a
rock groyne eastward from a point on the esplanade near the aquarium
and to build a shingle beach in their lee. Over 250,000 cubic meters
of shingle from the Codling Bank was then deposited on the foreshore.
Hundreds of tonnes of shingle has now been eroded and in some places
the coastal protection has been reduced by over 100meters"

Cllr Brady went onto say "The project was supposed to have been
monitored and replenished over the last 11 years but this simply has
not happened. This has left the projects viability in question leaving
the seafront at risk of flooding and also putting the promenade at
risk. The erosion has also left the foreshore unstable and a public
safety issue. I am calling on the council and the Minister for
Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney to immediately carry
out a survey on the overall project."

Councillors from Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Wicklow vote to Criminalise Householders for Non Payment of Household Charge

Sinn Féin county councillors John Brady and John Snell have expressed
deep disappointment that a motion they had tabled at Wicklow county
council opposing the unfair Household charge was rejected at Tuesdays
council meeting by 14 votes to 4. The councillors have said the vote
in Wicklow county council now clears the way to criminalise the 53.1%
of households in Wicklow who have refused to pay the new stealth tax.

Sinn Féin councillor John Brady who proposed the motion stated "We are
disappointed the the Sinn Féin motion was defeated at the council
meeting on Tuesday, however we are not surprised. We tabled the motion
on March 2nd and great attempts were made to keep the motion off the
agenda so it would not even be debated in the first place. The motion
called on the council to oppose the Household charge and instruct the
council officials not criminalise or initiate legal proceedings
against people for their inability to pay the tax. After a lengthy
debate the motion was defeated by 14 votes to 4, there was 3
abstentions and 3 councillors not present"

Cllr Snell stated "The vote in Wicklow now gives the council officials
a free hand to take whatever action they feel is necessary to get the
Household charge from Wicklow residents who have not complied with the
new stealth tax, this includes legal proceedings and court action. I
am particularly disappointed at members of the Labour party in Wicklow
who with great fan-fair in December said they were voting against the
councils budget because of the household charge, however at the
council meeting they were given an opportunity to take a stand on the
issue and to reject the charge and to protect the people who have been
unable to pay the €100 stealth tax. Instead the Labour party ran for
cover, Cllr Jimmy O'Shaughnessy left the chamber before the debate
started, Cllr Tom Fortune sat on the fence and abstained, whilst Conal
Kavanagh and John Byrne voted against the motion"

Cllr Brady went onto say "Unsurprisingly councillors from Fianna Fáil
and Fine Gael also voted against the Sinn Féin motion. The bottom line
is people in Wicklow like all other counties simply cant afford the
€100 stealth tax, people are struggling to put food on the table and
pay the bills and trying to get blood from stones simply doesn't work.
The introduction of the tax is simply the thin end of the wedge and
once registered payments for households will simply increase on an
annual basis.  The majority of Wicklow residents made the right
decision to refuse to comply with the governments policy of austerity
and they have taken a stand against the new tax and refused to pay.
The rejection of the motion now clears the way for the potential
criminalisation of thousands of Wicklow residents and the blame lies
on the shoulders of the Labour Party, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in
Wicklow"

Cllr Brady concluded "The vote in Wicklow just goes to show how out of
touch the so called public representatives are in Wicklow with the
people on the ground having to live with the policies of austerity
from the government. Sinn Féin will continue to fight against the tax
and will try introduce a bill in Leinster House in June to to repeal
the charge. The bill, entitled Local Government (Household Charge)
(Repeal) Bill 2012, aims to repeal the household charge and allow the
Department to reimburse those households that have already paid it.
Sinn Féin will be tabling the bill during private members’ time in
June, this will give all TDs including Government ones an opportunity
to stand with the ordinary people of Wicklow and around the State who
are struggling to survive let alone pay the unfair and unjust
household tax" Ends



The full Sinn Féin motion reads

Wicklow county council strongly opposes the Household charge and we
call on the Government to immediately scrap it. It is very evident
that the massive non payment of the Household tax by Wicklow residents
who simply cant afford this additional unfair tax, will add to the
huge shortfall in the €160 million in funding which the Government had
expected from this tax. We  therefore call on the Government to look
at an alternative way of funding local authorities.
We also instruct Wicklow county council not to criminalise or initiate
legal proceedings against people for their inability to pay or their
non compliance with the unfair and unjust Household tax.

This is what the residents of Wicklow think of the Governments policy of Stealth Taxes, cuts to public services and the Austerity Treaty. It is painted near the Glen of the Downs in Wicklow overlooking the N11, on a wall now famous for expressing political views. 

Government Parties in Wicklow Running Scared of Treaty Debate

Wicklow Sinn Féin councillor John Brady has today accused Labour and
Fine Gael TDs and councillors in Wicklow of “running scared of a
public debate on the Austerity Treaty.” The comments come after they
where turned down an invitation to publicly debate the Treaty with
speakers from the No side including Sinn Féin and representatives from
the ULA.

Brady said “Following the announcement of a referendum on the
Austerity Treaty Anne Ferris of Labour and the three Fine Gael TDs in
Wicklow were contacted inviting them to debate the treaty at a public
meeting in Bray on the 8th May. Labour MEP Nessa Childers along with
Fine Gael and Labour councillors where also invited to participate in
the debate, unfortunately not one of them excepted the invitation.  A
public debate of this kind would give the general public the
opportunity to hear both sides of the argument"

Brady continued “Clearly the Labour Party and Fine Gael are running
scared of a public debate on the Austerity Treaty. The Austerity
Treaty will impose up to €6bn of additional austerity post 2015. This
means more cuts to health and education services and more taxes and
charges on low and middle income families. It is any wonder that
Deputies Anne Ferris, Andrew Doyle, Simon Harris and Billy Timmins are
reluctant to share a platform on this issue as doing so would require
them to justify these additional cuts. We had hoped to have three from
the No side and three from the Yes side, we had no problems getting
speakers from the No side and Wicklow TD Stephen Donnelly had agreed
to represent the views of the government on the Yes side and try argue
for austerity"

“The Austerity Treaty is being supported Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna
Fail. However there is growing opposition to it in Ireland and across
the EU.

“Jack O’Connor the President of SIPTU, and a Labour Party member has
described the Treaty as, ‘the worst imaginable response to the
challenge of recession and stagnation’ that ‘will have a far reaching
effect on people’s lives across the EU by reducing pension provision,
cutting public services, eroding people’s rights at work and driving
down the cost of labour. Labour MEPs voted against much of the content
of this Treaty when it came before the European Parliament last
September, with former Dublin Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa saying the
measures would, ““…kill growth, destroy jobs and derail economic
recovery.”

“And in France and Germany the labour party’s there do not support the
Treaty in its current form.

Cllr Brady concluded "Given all of this there is little surprise that
representatives from both the Labour Party and Fine Gael want to avoid
a public debate at which they would have to explain how more cuts and
higher taxes would lead us out of recession and create jobs. If this
strategy of cutting Billions from the economy worked we would be out
of this mess, the bottom line is Austerity does not work. We need to
stimulate the economy and invest in jobs, but unfortunately the
government would rather do it Frankfurt's way than standing up for the
Irish people and doing it Ireland's way"

"Sinn Féin will organise public meetings across Wicklow in the coming
weeks and the invitation to the Wicklow TDs, MEPs and councillors
remains open. Hopefully they will have the courage of their
convictions to debate the contents of the Treaty and its implications
for people in Wicklow"

Protest organised to welcome Dublin Bus to Bray Town Council on Tuesday 1st May

Sinn Féin and members of the campaign to save the 84 and 45 Dublin Bus
routes are to hold a protest outside the meeting of Bray Town Council
on Tuesday 1st May at 7pm. The protest is timed to coincide with a
presentation from Dublin Bus representatives outlining the cuts to the
public transport service in North Wicklow. Sinn Féin councillor John
Brady has described the cuts as a slashing of the service dressed up
as an improvement.

Speaking ahead of the protest Cllr Brady said "I am very disappointed
that after the massive pressure that has been exerted on Dublin Bus
they have simply gone ahead and decided to implement the cuts to the
45 and 84 routes. They have dressed the cuts up to look like the new
layout will lead to an improved service for people in North Wicklow,
however the cuts will hit the public transport users hard and will
simply act as a deterrent and force people away from using public
transport. The only purpose of the representatives of Dublin Bus
coming to Bray Town Council is to lay out the nature of the cuts which
have been signed off on, it is certainly not to consult Bray Town
Council"

Cllr Brady went onto say "The cuts which were announced on the 12th
April by Ray Coyne who is the Project Manager of Dublin Bus will see
the 45 and 84 routes amalgamated and the new service will run from
Newcastle/Kilcoole to Blackrock. The result of this is there will be a
huge reduction in buses from Wicklow linking us to the city centre,
anyone looking to do so will have to transfer over to the 145, it also
means vital services such as the National maternity Hospital in Holles
St. or St. Vincents Hospital have no direct Bus and this will
have a big impact on people reliant on public transport to get medical
treatment and it will get worse if the cuts to the A&E in
Loughlinstown go ahead"

Cllr Brady continued "Students in UCD will also be badly hit. The 84
which had been a hourly service from Kilcoole to UCD will now end and
the amalgamated 84/45 route will terminate in Blackrock. Dublin Bus
are saying they are going to increase the 84x by 33%, even this will
go nowhere near replacing the service of the 84, this is going to see
a huge reduction in the service to Belfield. The 45a in Bray will be
given a new route from Oldcourt to Dún Laoghaire, this means the
entire Killarney Rd area will have no link to Bray DART station, again
a huge disincentive for people using public transport"

"I had hoped that Dublin Bus might finally deliver a service for North
Wicklow that people wanted and might use in larger numbers. Sinn Féin
and the public of North Wicklow had put a huge amount of pressure on
Dublin Bus, we had presented them with a petition containing thousands
of signatures calling on them not to implement these drastic cuts and
to ensure that the network was fit for purpose and that point was hit
home with the public protest we had organised to meet them at the
Council meeting in Greystones. Rather than taking on-board any of the
views, proposals or concerns of the public, what Dublin Bus have done
is the complete opposite, they have cut the service to shreds and have
dressed it up as a positive move. Students, Hospital users, commuters
and ordinary members of the public who want to use public transport
are the real people who loose out here. This application is being
assessed by the National Transport Authority and i am urging Labour TD
Alan Kelly who is Minister of State, at the Department of Transport,
Tourism & Sport to intervene to stop the licence being issued. I also
calling on Wicklow's 5 TD to use their influence in Leinster House to
save our public transport service in North Wicklow"

Brady concluded "The protest on Tuesday 1st May will be the last
chance people have to get their message across to Dublin Bus as the
cuts to the routes will go ahead in the near future. I encourage as
many people as possible to show up to the protest which will be
starting at 7pm outside Bray Town Hall on Tuesday next"

Wicklow Sinn Féin hold successful launch of of the No Campaign to the Austerity Treaty

Wicklow Sinn Féin successfully launched their campaign for a No vote
in the forthcoming EU Fiscal Compact Treaty. The launch was held in
the Royal Hotel Bray and Sinn Féin outlined the nature of the campaign
they intend on running over the next five weeks. The launch was
chaired by Wicklow Town Sinn Féin councillor Gary O'Reilly and
addressed by Sinn Fein councillors Rossa Murray, John Snell and John
Brady along with the Sinn Féin representative for West Wicklow Gerry
O'Neill.

Speaking at the launch Cllr Gary O'Reilly welcomed people and thanked
them for attending and warned that if this treaty is accepted by the
Irish people it will mean more taxes like the household charge, the
septic tank tax and water charges. “The EU Fiscal Compact Treaty, or
the Austerity Treaty as it should be known, seeks to permanently
institutionalise austerity in this state. The treaty sets out to make
the cuts and taxes that have caused such misery and stagnation legally
binding and an integral part of our constitution. It sets out to tie
the hands of future governments and future generations of Irish men
and women, leaving them to live their whole lives under the dark
clouds of permanent austerity. It fair to say if this treaty gets
through, we ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Bray Town councillor Rossa Murray stated "Its important that people
understand what austerity is. Austerity is the hurt and pain thats
been inflicted on the Irish people over the last number of years,
austerity is the closure of hospitals, less teachers and increased
class sizes and new stealth taxes such as the household charge and
water taxes. It is quite clear Austerity doesn’t work. We’ve had six
austerity budgets. The deficit has grown not reduced. Half a million
citizens are unemployed. Working people and lower and middle income
families are bearing the brunt of the government’s decisions.”

Gerry O'Neill who is the Sinn Féin representative for West Wicklow
asserted that proponents of the treaty were coming from a “a
Thatcherite and Reaganite right-wing conservative ideological
position. If Ireland ratified the treaty, it would see the executive
hand over powers to unelected officials and bureaucrats in the EU
Commission and allowing them to run this State, and to police fiscal
as well as monetary matters.”

Wicklow County councillor for Wicklow East John Snell continued "Its
important that people defend the limited freedoms we currently enjoy
and try reclaim our economic sovereignty, citizens must firstly ensure
they are registered to vote and they can do that by checking the
website  www.checktheregister.ie and fill out the necessary forms if
they are not registered and secondly make such they exercise their
democratic right and come out on May 31st and vote No to the Austerity
Treaty."

The Wicklow Sinn Féin spokesperson for the No campaign John Brady
summed up by giving details of the campaign the party intend on
running over the next five weeks "Sinn Féin intend on running a
positive campaign over the next 5 weeks. The choice for the people of
Wicklow is between austerity and economic stimulus and growth. The
choice is between us handing over powers to unelected officials and
bureaucrats in the European Commission and in the European Court of
Justice and allowing them to run this state, and to police fiscal as
well as monetary matters. Or we can vote No to this and assert the
right of citizens to elect or sack our governments; and for citizens
to have democratic authority over those who govern us. Sinn Féin will
run a high profile campaign in Wicklow and intend on holding public
meeting across the county to inform people why the treaty is bad for
Ireland and for citizens in Wicklow. We will endeavour to knock and
canvass every house in the county and distribute thousands of pieces
of literature as well as an extensive postering campaign.

Brady concluded "I encourage people to inform themselves on the treaty
and to take and active role in the campaign to regain our sovereignty,
our campaign is open to anyone who wants to stand up for Ireland and
defend this generation and subsequent generations against austerity.
If people want to get involved they can contact myself or any Sinn
Féin representative in Wicklow."