John Gormley

Green Party Chairman launches campaign in Dublin South East

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD today launched his general election campaign in Dublin South East with a plea to party activists and voters to ensure that Fianna Fáil and the PDs are ousted from government.

“I know from speaking to delegates at our Convention last weekend that they want Fianna Fáil and the PDs out of government,” said Deputy Gormley. “There is an unquenchable thirst for change in the party.

“Bertie Ahern can’t quite decide whether he’s St Paul or St Augustine. Last year we had his Pauline conversion to socialism, but when it comes to the environment it’s a case of ‘make me green, but not yet Lord’.

“All his plans for the future are in the future. Yes, he’s going to tax SUVs – but after the election. He’s going to introduce smart metering – after the election. At least Bertie now knows what smart metering is. He has the lingo now. He can just about talk the talk. But where’s the action?

“At the last election Fianna Fáil said they had a lot done, but more to do. In relation to the environment they have nothing done and a hell of a lot to do. Look at Dick Roche’s attitude to the higher insulation standards agreed by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council. Look at the poor recycling facilities in Dublin South East. Then there’s the problem of the sewage treatment plant, the litter in the canal and the proposed incinerator, which Minister McDowell falsely claimed had collapsed. Look at the failure to deal with graffiti and the poor bus services.”

– Tánaiste’s rushed laws may have omitted to criminalise the soliciting of minors

Reacting to news that laws prohibiting the solicitation of minors for sex may have been repealed as a result of fast-tracked legislation introduced last year, Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley said: “In the Dáil I previously referred to Minister McDowell as a binge legislator. He is somebody who piles up the legislation then rushes through it. Like all binges this can only end in a sorry mess.

“The mess in this case is the ill-thought-out Criminal Law Sexual Offences Bill that was fast-tracked through the Dáil last summer. These emergency laws apparently forgot to criminalise the soliciting, or ‘grooming’, of a minor for sexual purposes. In these times with stories about internet grooming and child abuse so alarmingly frequent, such an omission would be a national scandal.

“McDowell’s knee-jerk and populist approach to law-making is unsustainable and one of the main reasons why the country so badly needs a change of government.

“The Tánaiste is now living off his notoriety and nothing more. This latest example of incompetence will persuade even more people that he is unfit for government.”

John Gormley’s speech to the Green Party convention has been posted on YouTube. Because of the 10-minute limit on video clips on YouTube, it has been split into two 7-minute sections.

Part 1:

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Dublin City Council has decided to grant permission to the revised plans for development at Sandymount Castle Park. As you may know, I joined residents in objecting to this development, primarily for reasons of traffic and pedestrian safety.

There are a number of conditions attached to this decision, and you can dowload a copy of the full decision from the link below:

Dublin City Council decision on planning application at Sandymount Castle Park (TIFF format)

Dublin City Council has decided to grant permission for the demolition of ‘Dunluce’, 21 Anglesea Road, to be replaced with a 5/6 storey apartment building, comprising 36 apartments.

There are a number of conditions attached to this decision, and a copy of the full decision can be downloaded from the link below.

Dublin City Council decision on planning application at 21 Anglesea Road (TIFF format)

John Gormley TD gave his Cathaoirleach’s address to the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas National Convention in Galway on Saturday 24th February 2006.

Listen to an audio recording of the speech.

The full text of the speech is available below. (more…)

Below are edited extracts from the debate on the proposed Poolbeg incinerator in the Dáil on Thursday February 22nd. The full debate is available on the Oireachtas web site.

Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the Government’s position on incineration and, in particular, the proposed incinerator for the Poolbeg peninsula; the status of the procurement process; if, in his view, Dublin City Council can proceed with the incinerator, which up until now has been supported by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (more…)

– Not the first time electioneering PDs have predicted incinerator’s demise

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD has called on the Tánaiste Michael McDowell to clarify the source of his claim that the plans for an incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin have been abandoned. The Tánaiste’s comments in today’s Evening Herald have caused considerable confusion as Dublin City Council maintains that the project remains on track.

Deputy Gormley said: “Michael McDowell owes it to the local community to clarify where he is getting the information that allows him to confidently announce the collapse of this project, even though as far as Dublin City Council is concerned it’s all systems go,” said Deputy Gormley.

“It’s worth remembering that this is not the first time that the PDs have predicted the demise of the incinerator. In May 2005 Cllr Wendy Hederman released a statement entitled ‘City Council Blocks Incinerator’, and in July 2005 Michael McDowell told the Southside People newspaper that the incinerator would not go ahead ‘as planned.’

“It is irresponsible of Michael McDowell to give local people false hope. He needs to be challenged immediately by the media to back up his statements. His latest statement is a panic reaction to voter hostility on this issue in the forthcoming election.”

– McDowell’s ‘victory for local democracy’ statement is utterly hypocritical

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD welcomed the collapse of the Government’s plans today to build a massive incinerator in Poolbeg in Dublin. The TD for Dublin South East, who has opposed the incinerator since the outset, said the Government parties had tried to force through the project against the wishes of the local community.

“This is great news for local residents who have campaigned vigorously, alongside the Green Party, on this issue. On two occasions the Green Party has used its private members time in Dáil Éireann to force a vote on the hugely unwelcome incinerator. On both occasions the PDs and Fianna Fail voted down our motions, which would have prevented this project from going ahead.

“We hope now that the proposal is dead in the water, and that it will not be resurrected after the election. Opinion polls in the area have indicated very clearly that the Government parties are suffering as a result of their support for the proposed incinerator.

“One has to ask the question, as to how this information was leaked to Michael McDowell, the Tánaiste. It was, after all, McDowell who stated that the current proposal would not be taken under fast-track legislation but rather under the existing legislation. Enquires from this office showed that no official representation had been made on this matter, but was rather pursued on a nod and a wink basis.

“Our genuine fear is that this politically sensitive issue will be shelved very conveniently until after the election and then fast-tracked. The Green Party will continue to be vigilant on this issue,” concluded Deputy Gormley.

“From information just received, it would now appear that neither Bord Pleanála nor Dublin City Council were in the loop in relation to this decision. The fact that Minister McDowell has made this announcement would suggest that this is a Government decision which, under the circumstances, must be viewed with a degree of scepticism.

“Michael McDowell’s statement that this is a victory for local democracy is utterly hypocritical, given that this Government removed from councillors the power to make a waste management plan for Dublin city. Again we repeat our concern that this is motivated by political considerations and poor opinion poll ratings in Dublin South East for Government parties and in particular the Tánaiste, and that a U-Turn on the issue is possible after the election, if the PDs and Fianna Fail get back in.

Fluoridation
The PDs voted down the motion to ban fluoridation. It’s difficult to understand how a liberal party, whose apparent philosophy is based on the notion that the individual has a right to make choices about his or her life, could countenance the idea of mass medication. It’s disappointing. Well done, anyway, to Councillor Paul Mitchell for putting the motion.

Auction politics
This election is in danger of becoming a runaway train. Each party is trying to outbid the other in a most irresponsible way. I remember the 1977 Fianna Fáil election manifesto, with its list of irresistible goodies for the electorate, which gained Jack Lynch a huge overall majority. I also remember the subsequent bleak years of the 1980s with its dole queues and immigration. I only hope that some voters will appreciate that auction politics is bad for the country.