John Gormley

 Mr. Gormley: I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate.  At a public meeting in Ringsend a number of weeks ago, I gave an undertaking on behalf of the Green Party that we would use our Private Members’ time to table a motion calling on the Government to reassess its decision to grant approval for a public private partnership for an incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula.  Our motion goes further than that.  It is a comprehensive motion which details the problems and difficulties with the Government’s approach to waste management and offers a number of solutions.  I convey my thanks and appreciation to residents groups in my constituency who have worked so hard on this issue and I express the hope that we will continue to work together on this campaign and bring it to a successful conclusion.  I also thank the Opposition parties that have signalled their intention to support the Green Party Private Members’ motion. (more…)

Mr. Gormley: Last Monday at a debate in Ranelagh about the nature of republicanism my constituency colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, told the audience that a republic was based on the rule of law. 
  

Mr. Durkan: He would know.
  

Mr. Gormley: If that is so then the United States which is also a republic has abandoned the rule of law and it has dispensed with the niceties of international treaties and tramped rough-shod over human rights legislation.  At the meeting the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform assured the audience that if there was any evidence at all that the United States was acting in bad faith the Irish Government would not be found wanting.  The evidence does exist despite what the previous speaker has said.  The evidence has been outlined by Amnesty International and we did have to wait on the Marty report.

(more…)

 Mr. Gormley: On a point of order, all the Deputies want is a copy of this legislation.
   An Ceann Comhairle: That is not a point of order.  The Taoiseach will respond to Deputy Rabbitte.
   Mr. Gormley: The Taoiseach should ensure we receive a copy of the legislation as a matter of urgency.
   The Taoiseach: I will discuss it with the Minister.  I am not sure that it will be taken on Thursday but I will ask that the Bill be circulated quickly.

John Gormley raised the issue of graffiti vandalism in the Dáil today. Below is the full text of his speech on the issue.

THE NEED FOR THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE TO INTRODUCE THE NECESSARY LEGISLATION AND PROGRAMMES TO DEAL WITH THE INCREASING PROBLEM OF GRAFFITI VANDALISM

A Cathaoirleach,

I would like to thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise the issue of graffiti vandalism, a problem which is becoming worse by the day in Dublin city and elsewhere. From previous Parliamentary Questions I have put down on this issue, it would appear that the Government does not have a coherent strategy to deal with this issue. Local authorities are only now becoming aware that there is a serious problem, but they simply do not have the resources or, indeed, the legislation to tackle it properly. (more…)

Deputy Gormley’s speech concerning graffiti vandalism and the Minister for Justice’s response.

 Mr. Gormley: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise the issue of graffiti vandalism, a problem which is becoming worse by the day in Dublin city and elsewhere.  From previous parliamentary questions I put down on this issue, it appears the Government does not have a coherent strategy to deal with this issue.  Local authorities are only now becoming aware that there is a serious problem.  However, they simply do not have the resources or legislation to tackle it properly. (more…)

 Mr. Gormley: This legislation has been introduced because the perception exists that many major planning proposals have been unnecessarily delayed.  The Bill is designed to fast track planning proposals.  It follows previous legislation from this Government to essentially dismantle people-centred planning.  We have had the introduction of fees for those who want to make planning submissions.  I know of many residents who make very sensible submissions on planning issues, who are now being charged for doing so.  It seems they are being charged illegally as the European Commission takes a different view and has asked the Government not to charge those fees for a submission. (more…)

Mr. Gormley: The Australian Greens do not have a good relationship with Prime Minister John Howard. My Australian colleague, Senator Bob Brown, has been one of his harshest critics. Mr. Howard is on the same side as George W. Bush on a plethora of international issues. Australia has not signed up to the Kyoto Protocol even though global warming is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Mr. Howard has been a supporter of the Iraq war and while he said during the campaign that no further troops would be allocated to Iraq, that promise was broken. He claimed, together with George Bush and Tony Blair, that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which of course turned out to be a lie.
This was not the first occasion where we saw Mr. Howard’s tenuous relationship with the truth. The famous “children overboard” story also turned out to be a lie, which was unscrupulously exploited during a campaign to make people fearful about what was perceived as an invasion by foreigners.
He also has a poor relationship with the gay community in Australia.
In November of last year, he tried to introduce the anti-terrorism Bill, again stoking fears, and a number of raids were made on houses throughout Melbourne and Sydney. As the Greens said on that occasion, this showed anti-terrorism legislation was not required because sufficient powers existed in any event to perform raids and so forth. Others have alluded to his total contempt for the trade union movement which has resulted in approximately 560,000 people demonstrating on Australia’s streets in protest against many of the legislative proposals Mr. Howard is introducing.
Mr. Howard is a neo-liberal who, I believe, is changing the world for the worse. I would certainly like the opportunity, as would my party leader, Deputy Sargent, to articulate some of our concerns to him. We will not get that opportunity but we will be happy to sit here and listen to what he has to say. However, as far as his politics are concerned, we in the Green Party are very critical of the man.

Mr. Gormley: I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to speak on this important issue which has been raised continually by my constituents.  I thank also the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Noel Ahern, for being present to take this Adjournment matter.
  The Minister of State will agree that our constituents have heard much about the tenant purchase scheme and have also been promised by the local authority and the Government that this issue would be dealt with quickly.  They have had promises also in regard to the continuing problem of anti-social behaviour.  My constituents would like answers to the many questions they have raised.  They would like clarity on these issues and, above all else, they would like some degree of certainty about their future. (more…)

 Mr. Gormley:  I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill.  We are taking it on the advice of the Attorney General and previously we relied on, as the Minister of State mentioned, the 1993 Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations under section 7 of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990.  It is time we revisited this area not only because of the revelation of conditions in Leas Cross, which opened our eyes and the eyes of many people to the terrible conditions in some of our nursing homes, to which I refer latter, but in the broader context of health care because it is clear that how we deal with our ageing population is crucial to the overall maintenance of our health service. (more…)

Mr. Gormley: I welcome the legislation and I hope that at some stage Bulgaria and Romania will join the European Union.  In 1979 I went to Germany for the first time in order to earn money.  I went there because, in the words of one Deputy, I believe Deputy Costello, Ireland was a basket case at that stage and it was possible to earn up to four times as much money in Germany.  Many Irish people had the same aspiration.  We went there and earned money.  I subsequently put myself through college with that money.  It was a very good experience. (more…)