John Gormley

An Bord Pleanála have announced that they will hold an oral hearing into the proposed redevelopment of Lansdowne Road Stadium on 11th December 2006. The hearing will take place from 10am to 5pm in the Gresham Hotel, and any member of the public may attend, although only those who have already made a submission to An Bord Pleanála on the case will be heard.

You can view my own submissions to Dublin City Council and to An Bord Pleanála on the proposed redevelopment of Lansdowne Road below. I will be attending the oral hearing and hope to expand on the issues raised in these submissions.

Submission to Dublin City Council on Lansdowne Road Stadium (15 February 2006)
Submission to An Bord Pleanála on Lansdowne Road Stadium (20 September 2006)

Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley has called for the proposed bridge over the River Dodder at Ringsend to only be built as part of a scheme to extend the Luas to Ringsend and Poolbeg. Dublin City Council has advertised for consultants to design a road bridge which would be restricted to public transport.

Deputy Gormley said: “Restricting traffic across this new bridge to public transport, cyclists and pedestrians is a positive move, but it does not go far enough. The only long-term public transport solution for this area is to link with the light rail network, and this bridge should only be put in place as part of such an extension. The Green Party has made proposals to the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) which would allow for the Luas extension to the Point Depot to be extended to the south side of the Liffey. (more…)

Following a meeting with the developer, Sean Dunne, this evening in the Berkeley Court to discuss his proposals for the development of this key site in the heart of Ballsbridge, Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley has raised a number of concerns. Mr Dunne is proposing a major mixed-use scheme incorporating residential, retail and office uses for the site of the Jury’s and Berkeley Court hotels. (more…)

Statement by Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley:

“The PD plan for a Manhattan-style skyline on the Poolbeg Peninsula is unrealistic. It ignores a number of crucial factors. (more…)

The smell was bad again this morning. I have not checked yet to see if Dublin City Council have it registered officially. I doubt it somehow.

The new website, floodmap.ie, launched by Tom Parlon looks interesting. On Morning Ireland he said people should not have built on the floodplains in the past 15 years. It’s a bit late for that now. He should have a chat with his Fianna Fáil partners and their developer patrons about that matter.

I had a meeting with Eamon Ryan and Ciarán Cuffe about our housing policy. We’re planning a launch soon.

Last Tuesday afternoon, the 10th of October, I took a trip down to the South Walk, past the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant. The smell was stomach churning. Luckily for Dublin City Council, there was a strong wind which dissipated the worst effects.

DCC still claim that they have solved the problem. This is untrue. Not only that, but their record of smells is completely inaccurate, as our comparison has revealed. How no-one has been sacked for this fiasco is beyond me.

Dublin City Council are currently drafting a Local Area Plan for Ballsbridge. They have invited submissions from the public in advance of drawing up the draft plan. I made a brief submission to this pre-draft stage, which you can read below.
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We managed to get in a substantial submission on the EIS for the Poolbeg incinerator today - ‘we’ because a lot of credit has to go to my assistant, Ryan Meade, who spent a considerable amount of time and energy on it. You can read it below.

It’s been a busy day between the submission and continuing fallout from the Bertie issue. Trevor’s going on Questions and Answers this evening and Eamon Ryan and I had a briefing session with him this afternoon to prepare him. Bertie could survive tomorrow but, realistically, for how long? I remember when Ray Burke came before the Dáil and gave a ‘full account’ of his activities. Afterwards he claimed a line had been drawn in the sand, and Mary Harney even expressed her full confidence in him. Well, we know what happened there. Bertie has been damaged undoubtedly, but the real losers are the PDs. Far from keeping an eye on the lads, they have become indistinguishable from them.

I hope that at the very least there will be renewed focus now on the way politics is funded in this country. Parties are still under an obligation to big business and wealthy individuals who sponsor parties and candidates. ‘No favours sought or given’ has become a meaningless cliché. The Green Party proposes putting stricter limits on donations, banning corporate donations, limiting spending between and at elections, having a register of lobbyists.

Today was the deadline for submissions to An Bord Pleanála on the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg. My submission was handed in together with two volumes of supporting documents. Click here to read the full submission in Rich Text Format (RTF).

I’m told that more than 3,000 people have objected to the proposed incinerator. Let’s hope that a combination of people power and unanswerable arguments against the incinerator will win out in the end.

An extract from the introduction to my submission is included below: (more…)

Below is the text of the decision today by An Bord Pleanála to uphold the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) placed on Dartmouth Square by Dublin City Council: (more…)