Wicklow County Council votes no confidence in Irish Water and to abolish water charges

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has expressed delight that a Sinn Fein motion tabled at Mondays special council meeting of the County Council was supported by the majority of Councillors present. The motion was a vote of no confidence in Irish Water and called for its abolishment, it further calls on the government to immediately reverse water charges and to stop the water metering process. 

Speaking after the special meeting that was called by Sinn Féin, councillor Brady said "The six Sinn Féin Councillors in Wicklow called the special meeting so that Councillors from all political parties and none could take a stand on the issue of water charges and Irish Water. The people of Wicklow and right across the State have spoken out loud and clear on this issue and their voices need to be listened too. We put forward a motion which we believed encompasses the concerns of the people of Wicklow and thankfully that motion passed by 23 votes to 6 and 3 Councillors not present".

"I had the privilege of proposing the motion which commended the people for organising and mobilizing on the issue and taking to the streets in their thousands, sending a message that couldn't be ignored. The motion also called on the government to reverse domestic water charges as it's an unfair and unjust double charge that people simply can't afford to pay. It will suck another €14million from the local economy in Wicklow, an economy that's already on its knees. The bottom line is water is a basic human right that we already pay for".

Cllr Brady continued "The people of Wicklow have no confidence in Irish Water and the motion adopted by the council is a vote of no confidence in them and calls on the Government to abolish the quango that is Irish Water. The motion further calls on the government to halt the roll out of water metering and that the €539m loan finance that was taken from the National Pension Reserve Fund be used in fixing the infrastructure that allows over 40% of all water be lost through leaking pipes".

"The final issue dealt with in the motion was a call to government to hold a constitutional referendum to retain public ownership of water services and infrastructure. This is a hugely important issue as I believe the government is currently laying the foundations of privatising the natural resource in the future".

Cllr Brady concluded "I'm delighted the motion was adopted by 23 votes to 6. However the fact that the 6 that voted against the motion are all Fine Gael Councillors show that the message hasn't hit home to them and they are ignoring the will of the citizens of Wicklow. However it is an important step in the right direction, the Sinn Féin motion is now the policy of Wicklow County Council and the four government TDs in the county need to listen to the voice of the people of Wicklow, also the County Council and this message needs to be delivered to the government in the Dáil. The people of Wicklow won't accept anything less than the total abolishment of water charges because they simply can't pay and won't pay the unjust tax". Ends


Full motion passed by Wicklow County Council by 23 votes to 6 with 3 not present


That Wicklow County Council calls on the Government to;


 - Listen to the widespread public anger that exists towards this Government and Irish Water by the Irish people, who are now rightly organising and mobilising in protest and opposition to these water charges through the Right2Water public campaign which includes activists, citizens, community groups, political parties and trade unions.

 - Immediately reverse domestic water charges which are an unfair and unjust double charge being forced on already struggling households.

- Stop the roll out of metering and redirect the €539m loan finance from the National Pension Reserve Fund towards fixing the massive leakage problems and interruption to supply.

- Hold a constitutional referendum to retain public ownership of water services and infrastructure. 

- Abolish Irish Water as it doesn't have the confidence of the Irish People or Wicklow County Council

Decision to turn cardiac arrest patients away from St.Vincents Hospital will impact most on Wicklow residents

Wicklow Sinn Féin councillor John Brady has expressed deep concern on plans to stop St.Vincents being designated as a Primary PCI centre. This means that all patients experiencing cardiac arrest will bypass St.Vincents hospital and go to the next Primary PCI centre in the Matter Hospital or St. James's.

Speaking after talking to concerned Wicklow First Responders Cllr Brady said "The news that St.Vincents will no longer deal with suspected Cardiac arrest cases is truly shocking. This means that patients being rushed from Wicklow will bypass two hospitals now, St.Columcilles and St.Vincents and travel at least another 15-20 minutes to the Matter Hospital".

Brady continued "Last November the 24hour A&E closed it's doors in St.Columcilles and all patients were sent onto St.Vincents. Sinn Féin the people of Wicklow and I campaigned tirelessly to save the A&E in St.Columcilles, however Fine Gael and Labour ultimately allowed the HSE close its doors. This move was disgracefully supported by all 5 Wicklow TDs. I predicted that St.Vincents wouldn't be able to cope with the additional patients and it's seems that less than 12 months later I've been proven right".

"This crazy decision for suspected cardiac arrest cases to bypass two hospitals will be most detrimental to the people of Wicklow, particularly to people in South Wicklow who are already at risk due to the additional travel time in getting to St.Vincents. Now for the doors of St.Vincents to be closed in their faces and to be told to continue onto the Matter or St.James's is an absolute disgrace. The promise of St.Vincents being a state of the art hospital, well able to cater for the additional patients from Wicklow has never materialised, people are still lying on trollies and now we have this which shows clearly the decision to close St.Columcillies was a political one aimed at saving money and not to deliver a better service".

Cllr Brady concluded "Haven spoken to a number of First Responders in Wicklow I know they have huge concerns about this decision and also with the lack of consultation. People have been effictively been told today, Friday 7th November from 4pm St.Vincents will no longer deal with cardiac arrests. Did Fine Gael and Labour think they could introduce this change now because everyone's focus was on water charges at this time, I'm afraid not. This is yet another lie and another broken promise from the government and it shows how little they think of the health and welfare of its citizens. I'm calling on Minister Harris and his fellow government TDs here in Wicklow to intervene to ensure this decision is reversed". Ends

Brady welcomes planned Enniskerry works

The Cathaoirleach of the Bray Municipal District John Brady has welcomed a commitment he has secured from the council to replace the footpaths in three housing estates in Enniskerry. The work will commence in the Millfield, Monastery Grove and Kilgarron Park estates in the new year. 

Welcoming the news the Sinn Féin councillor said "Unfortunately over the years Enniskerry has been the poor relation when it comes to the County Council. Following numerous requests and site visits, I'm delighted to have secured a commitment that the footpaths in Kilgarron Park, Millfield and Monastery Grove will be upgraded in the new year".

"Residents in these estates have been asking for the footpaths to be repaired for years, unfortunately the funding was never in place. With the creation of the new Bray Municipal District which takes in Enniskerry and Kilmacanogue. I seen it as critical that these areas would get their fair share when it came to funding for maintenance and upgrading work. I am aware that there are many other issues including housing maintenance in the area and I'm continuing to work on those".

Cllr Brady continued "The footpaths in these three estates are particularly bad and equates to a public hazard. They are the original paths which basically consist of a thin layer of Tarmac, this has worn away in many parts leaving large potholes in the paths. The council will also look at addressing problems with gullies at a number of locations in the estates".

Cllr Bray concluded "As Cathaoirleach  of the new Municipal District I feel it's important that both Enniskerry and Kilmacanogue feel part of the new district and that projects are advanced in both areas. In the new year I intended on holding a number of the District council meetings in those areas so the voices of residents living there can be heard".

Sinn Féin Councillors call special meeting of Wicklow County Council to discuss water charges

A special meeting of Wicklow County Council is to be held on Monday 10th November at 2pm to discuss the ongoing saga of Water Charges and Irish Water. The special meeting has been called by the six Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillors along with three independents.

Speaking after the meeting was called Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady said "We have called this special meeting of the council to discuss the issue of water charges and Irish Water. I believe it's important that politicians of all political parties and none listen to the will of the people of Wicklow who turned out in their thousands on Saturday last to protest against water charges".

“The huge turnout at the protests here in Wicklow that were organised by the Right2water campaign is a clear message to politicians to listen to the citizens who are saying that this tax is unfair and that far too many people cannot afford to pay for water charges".

Brady continued "The special meeting that we've called will give all Councillors a chance to stand with the people of Wicklow. It will also give Fianna Fáil members an opportunity to call on their leadership to change their stated policy of supporting water charges in principle".

“We have a situation here in Wicklow where a number of so called ‘Independents’ along with Fianna Fáil are in a council pact with Fine Gael, who along with Labour in government are implementing these policies, these Councillors must put the people before their own selfish political ends and withdraw their support from this pact unless water charges are scrapped" Continued Brady.

The Sinn Féin Councillor said "The people of County Wicklow have taken to the streets to say that they do not accept these unjust charges in practice or in principle. Sinn Féín have made an unambiguous commitment to scrap these unfair and inequitable charges if we are in government. On Monday next Wicklow politicians of all hues will be given the opportunity to stand with their constituents, or with the political parties who are implementing these punishing charges. The choice is theirs, but they should stand with the people who elected them." Ends

Irish Water request information on all Wicklow County Council Tenants

Wicklow Sinn Fein County Councillor John Brady has expressed concern at the news that was revelled at a council meeting on Monday that Irish Water have written to the council and all other local authorities, requesting access to all information on council tenants.

Speaking after the meeting Councillor Brady said "At Monday's council meeting it was brought to the attention of Councillors that Irish Water had written to all Local Authorities seeking access to information on all the councils tenants. I have deep concerns in relation to this request as both a public representative and also as a council tenant".

Brady continued "I have stated publicly that I won't be engaging with Irish Water or returning my registration pack giving my families details. So for the council to give my details or any other tenants details to Irish Water without their prior concent is totally wrong and in my opinion amounts to a breech of data protection".

"I have asked for the council to get a legal opinion on this issue and not to give any information to Irish Water until the council is informed what the legal basis for the request is".

Cllr Brady concluded "It's quite evident that people are simply refusing to engage with Irish Water or return the registration packs in the numbers that the government had hoped. The deadline has already been extended from the end of October to the end of November. However it appears they are now prepared to use any means possible to get information on householders and I believe that the council would be wrong to engage". Ends

Thousands take to the streets of Wicklow to oppose water charges

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has commended the thousands of Wicklow people who marched in the five Right2water protests that were held in the County on Saturday 1st November. He also said that the people have spoken and the four Government TDs in Wicklow must now listen to the fact that people can't and won't pay their water charges.

Speaking after marching and addressing the Bray rally Councillor Brady said "Saturday 1st November will go down in history as the day the people took a stand right across Ireland in their tens of thousands and told the Government that they are not representing them and that water charges must be abolished. In Wicklow over 12,000 people took to the streets and participated in the five different protests that were organised by the Right2water campaign. In Bray alone over 5,000 marched in one of the largest protests ever to be held in the town".

"The people in Wicklow and around the County have spoken with their feet and delivered a message to the four Wicklow Government TDs, Enda Kenny and Joan Burton that people can't and won't pay their unjust water charges. The tax will suck another €14.5million from the local economy in Wicklow, it's no wonder shops and businesses are struggling and continuing to close. We need to put money back in people's pockets to help grow and lift the economy".

Brady continued "I had the privalage of marching and addressing the rally in Bray where many elderly people said it was the largest rally they've ever seen in the town. Many other people said it was the first time they've ever marched or protested on any issue. People are empowered now and this is only the beginning of the campaign that will continue to grow until water charges are abolished".

"The Government must now stop the threats and listen to the people. The bottom line is people don't have the money to pay a second time for water. I know for many it's a choice of putting a meal on the table for their family of paying the water tax, so the decision has already been taken for them, they must provide for their family. I'm standing with the families who can't pay and I'm talking a stand not to pay the charges, I also ripped up my Irish Water registration pack in front of 5,000 people in Bray at the rally. I conscious of the implications of my actions and I'm not asking others to follow me but to make an informed decision. We have the Government on the ropes on this issue and together we must continue to build and keep the pressure on them until they are defeated". Ends

Cllr John Brady's speech at the Bray rally can be seen here.

http://youtu.be/7ujgHMUN2jA

Dublin Marathon 2014, most difficult challenge to date

Delighted have completed the 2014 Dublin Marathon. I done it to raise money to help a little girl Merryn Lacy who is battling cancer. It was my first marathon and i have to admit it was tough going. I managed to finish it in 3:59:20 which i was delighted with.