New Tree Strategy

The Green Party Dún Laoghaire has called for

an ambitious tree-planting programme for the
County in its submission to the Council’s draft
Tree Strategy.

Ciarán Cuffe TD News

Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire
Trees are a valuable part of our environment,
promoting biodiversity and improving our
quality of life. They also play a crucial role in
our efforts against climate change.
We want to see the Council protect our existing Autumn 2010
tree stock and ensure that when trees must be
removed, local residents are given adequate
notice and an explanation. www.CiaranCuffe.ie
We want to see Tree Preservation Orders placed
on important trees and have identified ones in

Vision for Dún Laoghaire Old Conna and Monkstown.

www www.CiaranCuffe.ie/Trees
Minister’s Update Communities Put First in
New Planning Act
Last March I was honoured to represent the
Dún Laoghaire is a town with much going for it. It has beautiful natural amenities and a rich people of the Dún Laoghaire constituency
heritage that can be seen in our Harbour and architecture. However, over the years some
problems have developed, including a decline in retail activity and the absence of a real town Organic Week when I was appointed a junior Minister.
I have responsibilities in the areas of
centre.
National Organic Week takes place this year planning, sustainable transport and
In July, I held a public meeting to start a discussion on how we can improve the town of Dún
from 13-19 September. The purpose is to raise horticulture. I see my role as joining
Laoghaire and nearly two hundred residents and local business owners came to share their
ideas. An Action Plan created as a result of this meeting aims to revitalise the town culturally, awareness of the benefits of organic produce the dots on sustainability to ensure our
socially and economically. It includes measures to combat the high vacancy rate for retail and increase the frequency of consumption of communities are better planned, better
units in the town (currently at 20%), a review of parking charges and the creation of a strong locally produced organic food. connected and that more food is locally
identity to help market the town. sourced and supports Irish jobs.
Given the challenges posed by climate change
In the next month or two, I will be convening a working group of interested parties to decide The Green Party’s primary focus in
and the increasingly limited availability of oil,
how this vision can be made a reality. I’d love to hear from you if you would like to be involved. Government is fixing the economy and
we have to make our food production systems
www www.VisionforDL.ie getting people back to work. We’re doing
more resilient. Organic farming methods
this through our jobs strategy, by sorting
are resilient being free of artificial inputs,
Competition! Win a Water Butt!
out the public finances, ensuring we have
chemicals, and GM technology. Organic week
a functioning banking system and by
Water Butts are a great way to conserve water. They collect rainwater which you can then provides the ideal opportunity to cook and improving our competitiveness.
use to water your plants, wash your car or even fill up your cistern. taste local in-season organic produce.
Elsewhere in this newsletter I have gone
To be in with a chance to win a Water Butt (worth €60) just answer the following question: Cavistons in Sandycove and the Organic
into more details about our jobs plan and
On average, how much water does a Dublin resident use per day? Supermarket in Blackrock are running tasting what my colleagues in Government are
A) 1 litre B) 150 litres C) 15,000 litres session throughout the week. For a full list of doing to enable job creation in the green
Email your name, address and the correct answer to Ciaran@CiaranCuffe.ie events visit my website: economy.
(postal entries also accepted to 96 Patrick St, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin) Closing Date: 18th October 2010 www www.CiaranCuffe.ie/Organic-Week
For more information on conserving water www.TapTips.ie Our recovery must be based on the solid View of Howth from Dún Laoghaire
foundations of sound public finances and
Dublin Bus Route a functioning banking system. We have a In June, I had the privilege to bring new laws before the Dáil that will radically change our
Green Party TD clear plan to tackle both. The decisions to planning system and put an end to the kind of reckless development that contributed to the
for Dún Laoghaire Changes correct the economy are extremely difficult property bubble and current economic difficulties.
and
Minister for Sustainable Transport, Dublin Bus has announced changes to some but very necessary. At the heart of the Planning & Development (Amendment) Act 2010 is the idea that the
Planning and Horticulture of their bus services in Dún Laoghaire. These The scale of the damage done by the greed interests of communities should come before those of property developers and landowners.
96 Patrick Street changes are part of an overhaul of the entire of a minority of bankers and the failure of From now on, an evidence-based “core strategy” will be required for every development plan.
Dún Laoghaire Dublin Bus network to create a simpler, more regulators to do their jobs is shocking and It must show how the plan’s policies and objectives are consistent with national policy. This
Tel 01 284 6060 direct, and more reliable service. Crucially, the Green Party in Government has had to will ensure excess zoning doesn’t take place and adequate infrastructure and services are in
email Ciaran@CiaranCuffe.ie timetabling will be improved so that times take drastic action to ensure our economic place before development.
Web www.CiaranCuffe.ie between buses will be evenly spaced and buses sovereignty. It should make Ministerial intervention unnecessary but when it is, he or she can now consult
will arrive promptly. I wasn’t elected to shirk responsibility and with the local authority and the public first. It will no longer be possible to make last minute
Look for me on
The main change will occur on the 46A route, the Green Party will continue to do the changes to development plans and avoid public scrutiny. The Council’s recent attempt to
right thing to ensure this doesn’t happen rezone land for commercial use in The Park, Carrickmines and Minister Gormley’s intervention
Get Active! Name which will now travel along Kill Avenue, while
a new 63 route services Monkstown Farm again. to prevent such an inappropriate rezoning shows why these powers are necessary.

Fill in the form and and the 4/4a will be extended to Monkstown The Planning Act also contains measures to allow levies be placed on large projects to ensure
Address
send it back to us at Avenue. that schools and broadband are provided, improves the enforcement system and makes it
96 Patrick Street Dún easier to provide community gardens and allotments.
These decisions are based on customer research
Laoghaire. and feedback, detailed analysis of travel data &
www www.CiaranCuffe.ie/PlanningBill
We meet each month in passenger tracking and an independent review
Dún Laoghaire. Phone Mobile of Dublin Bus.
Check Ciarán’s website
for details. Email
www www.CiaranCuffe.ie/
Dublin-Bus-Network-Review

Win a Water Butt!  See Back Page for details
Páipear Athchúrsáilte. 0612
Creating and Protecting Jobs Clean Bike Scheme Success

Creating new jobs, protecting existing jobs and helping those We have increased training support to over 160,000 places
that are unemployed get back to work are key features of the
jobs plan being implemented by the Green Party in Government.
in 2010, to help jobseekers improve their skills and learn new
ones. This increase includes 23,000 community employment
scheme places, 2,000 workplace graduate placements and 9,000
The green-tech sector is a real growth area of the economy and extra Fás training places. Below, I’ve included links to sites with
one we can become world leaders in. Over 16,000 jobs have useful information for job seekers and those looking for training
been created in the green economy since the Green Party entered opportunities.
Government. This is not a notional figure of projected jobs. These
are announced jobs that are being delivered on the ground. The policies the Green Party are pursuing are designed to
There are in green and ‘cleantech’ sectors like renewable energy, encourage people to switch to less polluting ways of doing
waste processing, green IT and energy efficiency. things. And they support low-carbon, green businesses that are
creating tens of thousands of jobs.
Using just the example of insulation, four years ago about
3,000 houses per year were being upgraded to become energy
efficient. This year, under Green Minister Eamon Ryan, we will Employment and Training
retrofit more than 50,000 through home energy schemes. Some
5,000 contractors are working at it and 600 householders are Web www.Fas.ie
contacting the Sustainable Energy Authority every day to enquire Web www.GreenEconomy.ie
about how they can benefit. Web www.GreenJobs.ie
Web www.Inou.ie
However, not everyone can get a job in this field which is why Web www.Jobs.ie
we’ve put in supports to protect existing jobs and to help those
Web www.Loadzajobs.ie
who have lost their jobs retrain and get back into the workforce.
Web www.Monster.ie
Web www.Qualifax.ie
With the Enterprise Subsidy scheme, the Government is
investing more than €130 million to maintain 80,000 jobs. More Web www.RecruitIreland.com
than 7,500 jobs were supported last year with the Enterprise Web www.Skillnets.ie
Stabilisation Fund.
Green
Energy
The Green Party in Government is
working to make Ireland a world
leader in renewable energy. At
present, we spend almost €€6 billion
a year on importing fossil fuels.
Investing in renewable energy provides
energy security and reduces our
Renewable targets met
carbon emissions. The Cycle to Work scheme has been a huge
We are now set to exceed our renewable energy targets of 40% of all energy coming from success since the Green Party introduced it
renewables by 2020. On 5 April 2010 we reached an all-time record for wind generation back in early 2009. Nearly half of all bikes sold
on the system with a maximum figure of 1120 MW (that much wind can power 93,000 in participating shops are now sold through
this scheme.
households at peak demand).
The scheme encourages employees to cycle to
We also want to make it easier for people to warm their homes and reduce heating
bills. Green energy schemes now provide free insulation for pensioners and low-income work by purchasing a discounted bike through
households, while private homeowners can avail of grants for the installation of renewable their employer. Shop owners have reported that
energy systems and different types of insulation. the scheme is helping to support employment.
I’m pictured above with the owner of a new
Now, we’re making it even easier to retrofit your home. My colleague, Minister Eamon business in Monkstown, 2wheels.ie.
Ryan has announced a programme to retrofit one million homes, businesses and public
buildings by 2016. One aspect of this will be a ‘save as you pay’ scheme to help finance your If you haven’t availed of the Cycle to Work
home’s energy retrofit. This means you benefit immediately from reduced heating bills, and scheme yet, find our more on:
only pay for the improvements over time. www.BikeScheme.ie
www www.CiaranCuffe.ie/EnergyGrants

Delivering on Debt Relief Brown Bin Rollout

New measures to help those in debt
At the Green Party’s insistence in the Renewed Programme
for Government, the Expert Group on Mortgage Arrears and
Personal Debt was established last February to look at how State-
supported banks could help the 60,000 people in Ireland facing
difficulty paying their mortgages.
The interim report of the Group was published by the Central
Bank and Financial Regulator in early July, with the Government
deciding to implement its initial recommendations immediately.
It means:
• No penalty interest or arrears charges to apply;
• If you agree a deal with your bank (longer maturity, interest
only, payment holiday) you do not lose your tracker mortgage;
• All lenders must develop a Mortgage Arrears Resolution
Process (MARP) and a specialist unit in every lending institution
to deal with those in arrears;
The new measures represent a lifeline to struggling homeowners,
families and vulnerable people who, through no fault of their
own, are having difficulty with their mortgage payments.
The Green Party has been pivotal in the Government’s actions
on mortgage arrears and we will be working to ensure that the
other options included in the Programme for Government are
also progressed including:
• Reduced rates;
• Longer maturity dates;
• The rolling-up of outstanding interest;
• Banks taking equity in the house;
• Banks taking ownership and leasing back the property to the
resident with rent payments coming off the loan.
Last month, the waste
operator Panda took over Dún
Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Council’s waste collection
services.
Panda are now collecting
both the green and black bins
from households who were
Civil Partnerships On
previously Council customers the Way
and the handover appears to
have gone smoothly. Their The Civil Partnership Bill passed all stages in
service is free until the end of the Houses of the Oireachtas in July and is now
January 2011. When charges set to become law.
are introduced, they will be Civil Partnerships will be of tangible, practical
20% below what the Council benefit to gay and lesbian couples. They will
charged (this is fixed until at create rights and responsibilities for same sex
New waste service for Dun Laoghaire least 2014). couples in a loving relationship where before
they had little more protection than flatmates
Panda have also reassured me that they are honouring existing waiver agreements
living together.
that customers had with the Council. Panda are also accepting new applications
from low-income households for a waiver. If you are a pensioner or a social welfare Creating rights for Gay and Lesbian couples
recipient you should contact Panda directly to apply for one. was a key legislative priority for the Green Party
in Government and this Bill marks substantial,
To help reach government targets for diverting waste from landfill, Panda plan to purposeful progress on our equality agenda.
roll out a brown bin for all households from October. The brown bin will take all
Couples will be able to avail of Civil Partnerships
your food and garden waste and should significantly reduce the weight of your
black bin. following changes to the tax and social welfare
laws, to ensure equal treatment with spouses.
If you are having any problems with the new service, please don’t hesitate to call www www.CiaranCuffe.ie/CivilPartnership
me or contact Panda directly on 1850 626262, email DLRinfo@Panda.ie.