Over the past three years, we have seen an erosion of community based projects in the Dublin Mid West area.
It has been death by a thousand cuts in the last four budgets. These projects and services they provide make communities thrive and are vital when people need them and need to fall back on them for all kind of social and personnel reasons.
Over the last twenty five years community based projects gave people a sense of belonging and cohesiveness, now that very sentiment is been eroded by the savage cutbacks in the community sector. I stand shoulder to shoulder with Community Projects because they are the lifeblood of any community.
Gino has campaigned for the reinstatement of cutbacks against Community development projects in the Clondalkin area.
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The Anti Household Charge Campaign in Clondalkin has begun it's door to door canvassing of the locality.
The campaign promised at all its public meetings in January that it would go door to door canvassing to make people aware of the campaign and get householders to join the campaign both locally and nationally. There has been four public meetings to date with over 250 people in attendance.
Convenor of the Anti Household Charge Campaign in Clondalkin Cllr Gino Kenny said:
" The door to door canvassing has been extremely positive so far. After the initial public meetings we decided that we would go door to door to make people aware of the campaign. The vast majority of people we met are simply not paying the 100 Euro annual charge. The over riding sentiment from people is that they are not paying it because they know it wont be Euro 100 next year. This sentiment will bare itself out after the government's 31 March deadline to register. People understand that the charge is deeply unfair and amounts to a Poll Tax which Maggie Thatcher introduced in Britain. Throughout the country were meetings have been held it has lit the flame of a mass non payment campaign. I think the Government have misjudged the anger out there against this stealth tax"
This Coming Saturday at SDCC Civic offices in Clondalkin at 12PM the Campaign against the Household and Water Taxes in Clondalkin will be organising local protests to keep up the Non Registration campaign before St Patrick's Day. So far only 7% of householders nationally have paid the charge.
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Local Public Transport - Our Service is a Public Service
Good local Public transport is essential for any community.
Over the last two years Dublin Bus have engaged in trying to cut bus services in this locality.
In 2009, we helped the reinstatement of the 210 bus service that services South West Clondalkin.
We are now opposing the new wave of cutbacks by Dublin Bus in the Rathcoole/ Saggart/ Clondalkin area. This will done by a series of meetings and untimely the power of people power.
This is our service. This is a Public Service.
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Land and Horses
I has campaigned for land for horse owners in the locality, so horse owners can keep their horses and stable their horses in the Clondalkin area. I think this is a vital facility that is needed in the Clondalkin area.
Many young people in the Clondalkin area love horses with a passion, but why haven't they a place to stable horses in their locality rather than haven't to stable their horses elsewhere? I feel very strongly about this, because with so much free land in the Clondakin area especially around the Grand Canal, this could and would be a great Pro Social Project for all ages.
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Social housing - Not the privatisation of Social Housing
The biggest issue that I have to deal with in my time as a Councillor is people seeking a home of their own. People have to wait years to be offered a house by the Council. Families want to call their house a home, they ultimately do not want to be housed in a private dwelling which they can never call their own.
Unfortunately the Government and Council have stopped any major social housing development, instead the privatisation of social housing has taken over the provision of social need. Hundreds of Millions in rent subsidies are giving out each year to private landlords. This is madness!!
If the Council engages in the building of more good quality social housing, not only would it create jobs for the construction sector, but people on the Housing list could have a home of their own. |
