Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour; Fantasy Coalition Scenarios, It's the elections, stupid

If the current government runs full term as Enda Kenny has declared it will, we are potentially eight months away from the next the general election, but listening to the commentary emanating from some members of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour; the public would be forgiven for thinking the election is imminent.

Commenting on some of the remarks being made, Sinn Fein candidate for Wicklow in the upcoming election Councillor John Brady said;
“The traditional parties of government have tied themselves into knots devising imaginary coalitions with chaotic commentary and contradictory positions. The missing element in all of the gossip and conjecture of course is the electorate. After decades of swapping power between themselves, they seem to have forgotten an inconvenient fact; the people are the final arbiters, they will decide who will form the next government, not self -obsessed politicians”.

Councillor Brady also referred to the level of confusion and poor communication clearly affecting the other major parties; ”Labour TD Alex White suggested that an electoral pact between Fine Gael and Labour could offer the best chance the coalition would have of returning to government. However, Mr White failed to share his views in advance with his party colleagues who quickly distanced themselves from the idea, suggesting a transfer arrangement or a statement of aims prior to the election might do the trick”.

Councillor Brady continued; “On the other side of the house Fianna Fail are in a shambles. Front benchers such as Eamonn O Cuiv and others have stated they might be prepared to do a deal that saw Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein share power, yet their party leader has ruled out such a scenario. In fact Michael Martin has already ruled out coalition with both Fine Gael and Sinn Fein, but now he suggests his party could support a minority Fine Gael led government on a case by case basis – so much for stable government. However, Fianna Fail TD Michael McGrath has recently stated that he envisages Fianna Fail could form a coalition as a junior partner but he does not come out and say exactly who with. TD Niall Collins on the other hand says Fianna Fail could not share power with Sinn Fein as we would ‘destroy the economy’. It is odd that he fails to see the Irony in this statement given his party were almost wiped out in the last election for doing just that – destroying the economy”.

Councillor Brady also responded directly to comments made by Fine Gael Wicklow TD Simon Harris; “According to Simon Harris, Sinn Fein in power would be a disaster for the country and has somehow managed to conjure up the notion that a vote for Fianna Fail is actually a vote for Sinn Fein. In this TD’s fantasy coalition arrangement apparently Sinn Fein will waste the benefits of the so-called hard won economic recovery. Many people might ask if Fine Gael’s policy of throwing away hundreds of millions of taxpayer’s money on the discredited Irish Water aberration constitutes waste, or is this failed entity a model of frugal responsibility”.

In respect to Simon Harris’ most recent comments on Gerry Adams, Councillor Brady points out what some might see as arch hypocrisy; “Simon Harris has been recently reported as saying the country is not ready for ‘terrorist Gerry Adams in cabinet’, this sort of comment is typical of Fine Gael desperate tactics as they try to cope with the fallout from an electorate anxious to punish them at the polls. What is most striking is how Harris fails to see the hypocrisy of his claims when set against the backdrop of his own ‘enjoyment’ in the commemoration of O’Donovan Rossa recently at the Pearse Museum in Rathfarnham. Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa was the architect of the first ever bombing campaign on English cities launched by Irish Republicans”.

Councillor Brady continued; “Central to Simon Harris’ argument is that Sinn Fein should not be let next or near the levers of power. This in itself is peculiar given statements by former Green party leaders Trevor Sargent and John Gormley who disclosed that Fine Gael had approached them to ‘sound out’ if Sinn Fein would support a Fine Gael led coalition after the 2007 General Election”.

Regardless of the comments, Councillor Brady is very clear as to what is driving such comments;
“The reality in all of this is pretty simple. Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour are so used to bouncing power around between themselves, they are willing to say anything to try and fool the electorate. Their confusing statements and abject failure to communicate within their respective internal party structures suggests an air of desperation has gripped the traditional parties of power”.

Councillor Brady finishes with a clear message to Simon Harris and Fine Gael; “The Irish people deserve better and have little time to be listening to self- interested politicians fumble around in the dark of their own incompetence. Simon Harris and his government should expend their energies on serving an electorate who are more concerned with back to school expenses, over- crowded hospitals, housing shortages, water bills, property taxes and rural decimation. If Simon Harris put as much effort into reviving the fortunes of his Wicklow constituents as he does attacking Sinn Fein (and fantasising about coalition scenarios) we would see an end to the rural decline occurring in his own back yard. We would see boarded up business premises in towns re-open, we would see a concerted effort to tackle the housing crisis, we would see improved transport links, we might even see a return of some of the half a million young people his party forced to emigrate in desperation over the last few years. Harris and his colleagues can fantasize all they like about future coalition possibilities but the suffering on the ground amongst the people who have borne the brunt of Fine Gael and Labour’s austerity catastrophe is real and debilitating. All parties will stand before the electorate next year and it is the people who will decide the formation of the next government. If they give Sinn Fein a mandate to form a government; that’s exactly what we will do; in-line with our policy objectives and election manifesto we will deliver a fair recovery to the benefit of all. There will be no U-turns and no broken promises. Simon Harris needs to wake up and take stock of the damage his government have done is his own constituency rather than engaging in self- obsessed and useless meanderings on where he might be after the next election and who he fantasises might be a good terrorist or a bad terrorist. The people will decide his fate, the sooner he realises this the better”. Ends

Safety to be improved on Dargle Flood Protection scheme after locals raise concerns

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has welcomed a commitment given by the Council that the Slang area along the river Dargle is to be cleaned up and new safety fencing erected. Work on the Dargle flood protection scheme is ongoing in the area; however local residents have voiced concerns regarding safety and the condition of the area.

Speaking after meeting with local residents Councillor Brady said “Essential flood protection works are ongoing along the Dargle and work is expected to continue until late 2016. Local residents have voiced serious concerns regarding safety and the condition of the Slang area which is a key gateway into Bray. Children have been seen playing on site and the security fencing is regularly fallen on the ground, blocking footpaths and leaving the site completely open”.

“I welcome the commitment that has been given that Irish Fencing is the remove the existing Herras fencing and replace it with a stronger fence. Remedial works will also take place and overgrown vegetation will also be removed”.

Cllr Brady concluded “Great progress is being made on the Dargle Flood Protection scheme, its important however that local residents can live in a clean, safe environment. I welcome the news that this work is to carried out. I would also appeal to children not to enter the Slang area as it is a construction site with heavy machinery in use”.

Brady welcomes granting of planning permission by Wicklow County Council for Colaiste Raithin and St. Philomena's Primary School.

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has welcomed a decision by Wicklow County Council to grant planning permission to St. Philomena’s Primary School and Colaiste Raithin in Bray for new schools on the Old Bray Golf Club lands. The application for a 450 pupil two story Post Primary School for Colaiste Raithin and a 24 classroom for
St. Philomena’s Primary School along with a PE hall, playing courts, playing pitch and car parking was granted by the council after the application was lodged in February.

Welcoming the news Councillor Brady said “This is fantastic news for the two schools that have been campaigning for new schools for many years now. Permission has been granted, subject to 25 planning conditions. The schools have been included in Bundle 5 of the Schools Public Private Partnership (PPP) for funding and it’s hoped that the schools will be completed in late 2016, early 2017”.

“This is a major hurdle to get over, there had been a slight set back when Dún Laoghaire turned down an application relating to access to the schools from the Dublin Road, its hoped that this can be resolved as quickly as possible”.

Cllr Brady concluded “These are excellent schools that deserve to have first class schools. I want to pay tribute to the teachers and management in both schools and to the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB), in particular to Kevin Lewis, Chief Operations Officer with KWETB. Hopefully the commencement of the construction works on the schools can happen as quickly as possible”.

Wicklow Homeless Crisis Escalating – 18% increase since start of year

Wicklow Sinn Féin Councillor John Brady has said that the homeless crisis is in Wicklow is escalating out of control and the same focus needs to be given to Wicklow as Dublin has got prior to Christmas following the terrible death of Jonathan Corrie. This year to date there has been an 18% increase in homelessness in Wicklow, compared to the overall figure for 2014.

Cllr Brady said “The homeless crisis in Wicklow is escalating to a level never seen before and immediate action needs to be taken by the Minister with responsibility Alan Kelly. Since the start of 2015 we have seen an 18% increase in the number of homeless households so far this year in comparison to all of 2014. To date 107 families have presented as homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, this is made up of 152 adults and 204 children. Separately 74 adults have presented as homeless in Wicklow.”

The Sinn Féin Councillor went on to say “There is no let-up in the number of individuals and families presenting as homeless. Difficulties with rent supplement, rising rent costs and rising house repossessions are driving the homeless crisis. The council is aware that there are another 66 families who have been given their notice to quit by their landlords. Unfortunately this is no surprise to me. Every day I am getting more and more calls from desperate people, particularly parents of young families who have been forced into emergency accommodation or trying to get emergency accommodation and see no way out. They are often people who are working or had been working recently or people on Rent Supplement who are barred from work. They have lost their rented home because rent levels have simply become too high to pay and still be able to feed and clothe their children.”

“The ongoing lack of investment in social housing means that the long term housing solutions are simply not available. The Government also need to deal with the rents crisis through rent controls and the mortgage crisis through substantive changes to the insolvency legislation.”
“We have heard a lot of tough talk from housing Minister Alan Kelly. What people need now, especially those families languishing on the homeless list, is action. I’m calling on the Minister to step up to the mark here in Wicklow, meet with all stakeholders and tackle this escalating problem” concluded Councillor Brady.

Make sure your Registered to Vote

Important information: The County Council has field workers going around to houses at the moment updating the Register of Electors. It's important that if your not in when they call to follow any instructions on the leaflets they may put through your letter box, if not you could be removed from the register and be unable to vote in the upcoming General Elections. Believe me I will need every vote I can get as I only missed out on becoming a TD for Wicklow by 112 votes the last time.

To verify whether or not you are registered to vote you may inspect the Register of Electors at your Local Authority Offices, Garda Stations, Post Offices and Libraries.
You can check the register here:
http://www.wicklow.ie/eReg?CID=16&uiLang=en-GB

The necessary forms to get registered can be found here:
http://www.wicklow.ie/forms-register-electors

The Government has failed to win the support of the people for the introduction of the water tax as 57% fail to pay bill

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor and General Election Candidate John Brady has claimed that the low numbers of people who have paid their water charges proves that threats to attach the charge to people’s homes and earnings is clearly not working. He was responding to the release of figures which show that just 43% of those billed have paid.

Speaking after the figures were released by Irish Water and the Government Councillor Brady said “As the Government continue to push through the new Civil Debt (2015) Bill that would allow Irish Water to take court proceedings in order to make attachments and to dip into people’s wages and social welfare payments. It was clearly hoped that that would induce a large number of people to pay the bills they had received.”

“That threat has failed, and many people do not regard the legislative changes as sufficient to force them to comply. It is also the case that more and more people are of the belief that the next general election will lead to the defeat of the government, the abolition of water charges, and a restructuring of the water services to repair the damage done by Irish Water.”

Cllr Brady continued “"Fine Gael and the Labour Party must finally acknowledge that the Government’s efforts to bribe, coerce and intimidate families into complying with the Water Tax have failed, and that they now need to go back to the drawing board and to scrap this charge."

“The way the Government has introduced the Water Tax and is pushing through punitive legislation to take the money from people’s pockets contrasts starkly with how this Government has dealt with elites who have taken advantage of tax avoidance schemes. It is a vicious attack on people with low and middle incomes.”

The Sinn Féin Councillor concluded “The Government has failed to win the support of the people for the introduction of the water tax. And they’ve done this against a back drop of endless austerity where they and their cronies have stuck their hands in the pockets of working people. 57% of those due to pay have not paid and will not pay. More of them cannot pay, I’m proud to stand with the 57% who have not paid and I won’t pay. I’m also proud to be a member of the Right2Water group and I look forward to the next National mobilisation in Dublin on the 29th August.”

Staffing levels in Wicklow County Council having a detrimental impact on services

Sinn Féin County Councillor and General Election candidate John Brady has expressed serious concerns regarding staffing levels in Wicklow County Council. He expressed the concerns due to a reduction of opening hours of public libraries in Greystones and Bray and the fact that the council office in Arklow had to stay closed to the public last week due to staff levels. Bray also has no Litter Warden and only one traffic warden due to retirements and the positions remains unfilled.

Cllr Brady said “I believe the staffing levels of the Local Authorities in Wicklow have reached an all time low and its now having a serious impact on the level of service to the public. Last week the Municipal District office in Arklow remained closed due to a shortage of staff. The public libraries in Ballywaltrim and Greystones are facing cuts to their opening hours and the Local study Service in Ballywaltrim library is to remain closed until October. Bray also has no Litter Warden as a result of a retirement and only one Traffic Warden”.

“The Public Service recruitment embargo which was introduced by Fianna Fáil has left local authorities staffing levels at a dangerous low. People have had Property Taxes stopped from them under the pretense of it going to provide local services. The bottom line is these services simply can’t be provided to the public who need them. There is no Litter Warden in Bray, which is crazy for the third largest town in Ireland and risks setting back all the excellent work that has been done in recent years. The council offices in Arklow had to close due to staffing levels and now at a time when libraries are needed the most the opening hours have to be reduced. It’s also taking months for housing representations by councillors in Bray to be responded to” continued Brady.

He went onto say “We have people on Job Bridge and other schemes now being employed by Fine Gael and Labour to carry out much of the outdoor work that the council outdoor staff had done before the embargo was introduced. Last year the Government announced an end to the embargo in a targeted way. Is this further depletion of local authority services is what the government consider a targeted way?”

Brady concluded “Fine Gael and Labour need to ensure the filling of critical staffing positions are filled as swiftly as possible so we don’t see any further impacts to the level of service the councils provide the public. The council staff do an excellent job in a very difficult working environment due to the cuts imposed over the last number of years. The public have been forced to pay a property tax on the basis that it funds local authorities and they demand the public services they were told would be provided”.