Closure of Garda Stations in Hollywood and Donard saves just €8,000 per annum while costing communities their security - Cllr John Brady

Closure of Garda Stations in Hollywood and Donard saves just €8,000 per annum while costing communities their security - Cllr John Brady


Sinn Féin General Election candidate Cllr John Brady has issued a stinging criticism of the Fine Gael and Labour Party government for jeopardising the safety of communities in West Wicklow in order to save a measly €8,000 per annum.

Garda stations in Hollywood and Donard were closed by the government in 2013. A response to a Parliamentary Question, submitted by Sinn Féin Justice Spokesperson Padráig MacLochlainn, now shows that the state only saved €4,000 per annum from the closure of each station.

Councillor Brady said;

“Figures from earlier this year, for the Baltinglass District where the two Garda stations were closed, show there was an increase of 50% in aggravated burglaries and a 41% increase in theft/unauthorised taking of vehicles since the closures. This has resulted in people living in rural Wicklow feeling more isolated and vulnerable. It is incredible such a state of vulnerability has been created in order to save a measly €8,000 per annum.

“It is clear that misguided decisions to close Garda stations in order to make small savings to the exchequer merely increase the opportunity for criminal activity and add to the uncertainty and fear that the citizens in this state are already experiencing under seven years of austerity.

“Minister Fitzgerald has also stated that objective the of closures wasn't cost savings but to allow for the ‘more efficient and effective deployment of resources’. It is very difficult to reconcile that justification with the fact that the closure these Garda Stations left people in our towns and village feeling far from safe. Many communities feel extremely vulnerable given the rise in crime in rural Ireland.

How can this be the outcome if the government is claiming that it is using policing resources more effectively and efficiently?

“The people of this constituency deserve first class public services. This means a fully resourced policing service and it means keeping our Garda stations open.

“We need to get Garda numbers back over the 14,000. That must be a priority in the forthcoming budget.”


QUESTION NO: 654

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald)

by Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 22nd September, 2015.

* To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total savings to her Department resulting from the closure of Garda stations from 2011 to 2015..


- Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

REPLY.

The formulation of proposals in relation to the opening and closing of Garda stations is a matter, in the first instance, for the Garda Commissioner in the context of annual policing plans, as provided for in section 22 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The Garda District and Station Rationalisation Programme was implemented in An Garda Síochána during 2012 and 2013. The primary objective of the programme was to identify opportunities to introduce strategic reforms to enhance service delivery, increase efficiency and streamline practices within the organisation. In its review of the Garda Station Network that informed the rationalisation programme, Garda management concluded in relation to certain stations that Garda resources could be better deployed and more effectively used on the front line if those stations no longer had to be staffed and maintained. In reaching these conclusions, Garda management reviewed all aspects of An Garda Síochána's policing model, including the deployment of personnel, the utilisation of modern technologies and the overall operation of Garda stations.

The Garda authorities advise me that policing services in all areas continue to be provided as required through the revised structures. In addition, the centralisation of services will facilitate the introduction of enhanced patrolling systems that will be operational and intelligence led. This patrol system will ensure that a high visibility and community oriented policing service continues to be delivered throughout the country and will yield the following benefits:

Increased Garda visibility and patrol hours

Increased mobility and flexibility within an area resulting in an improved policing service to the public

Enhanced co-ordination of Garda activity resulting in a greater visibility and presence in the communities

More effective use of limited resources across a wider area

Continued Garda presence in communities

An Garda Síochána is committed to providing the best possible policing service to the people of Ireland within the resources available. An Garda Síochána regularly reviews and assesses the capabilities and the deployment of Garda resources to provide a policing service that meets the needs of the community.

The ability of the organisation to contribute to Public Safety. Public Service and Community Protection remains the foremost consideration of An Garda Síochána.

The estimated savings on utilities and maintenance as a result of the closure of each station building is approximately €4,000 per annum. The closure of 139 Garda Stations has resulted in an estimated total saving to the state of €556,000 per annum. However, as I have stated, the key objective involved when closing Garda stations was to promote the more efficient and effective deployment of resources rather than to secure modest cash savings.

Empty Dáil Seats an Insult to the People of Wicklow/East Carlow

Speaking in response to revelations that Wicklow TDs are failing to attend Dail sittings for crucial votes; Sinn Fein Councillor and candidate in the upcoming general election John Brady has hit out at what he sees as a shocking disregard for Wicklow/East Carlow constituents.

“Billy Timmins of Renua and Labour’s Anne Ferris should hang their heads in shame. At a time when the country has been struggling to cope with the tragedy of Fine Gael and Labours Austerity, resulting in soaring housing lists, chaos in hospital corridors and heart-breaking homelessness; it seems our Wicklow TDs are either bored with their jobs or so out of touch with reality, they are incapable of appreciating their privileged position. What other employer would tolerate such a brass demonstration of contempt from their employees? Billy Timmins has the worst attendance of the Wicklow TD’s, he has missed 81.1% of the votes in the Dáil this year. The second biggest offender is Labour’s Anne Ferris, who has missed 70.9% of all votes.”

Councillor Brady continued by pointing out how these TD’s are paid employees of the Irish people and are not giving value for money:
“It is now generally accepted that the Country is in the grip of a health, homeless and housing crisis which has reached ‘National Emergency’ status. The indifference shown by our local representatives is nothing short of stunning. Dail TD’s are paid tens of thousands of Euros in basic pay and expenses, far in excess of what most people could ever dream of earning. Despite this our local Wicklow representatives don’t even have the courtesy to show up to work and do the job the people have elected them to do.”

Councillor Brady concluded by saying “Since 2011 Anne Ferris has received € 569,623.57 in pay and expenses. The Labour TD was recently involved in controversy after claiming an additional €16,000 a year for travelling ‘the long way to the Dáil’, despite her massive pay and expenses she has missed 70.9% of the votes in the Dáil this year. Meanwhile Renua TD Billy Timmins has received €542,460.50 since 2011, yet missed a staggering 81.1% of the votes. I think the electorate are justified in asking what exactly are these TDs doing in the Dáil if they are not participating in important Dáil debates and votes.”

Brady urges Councillors to support campaign to develop a Skate Park in Bray

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has called on Bray Municipal District Councillors to support the campaign to get a Skate Park in Bray and commit to identifying a site so it can be constructed as swiftly as possible, to meet the needs of the large numbers of Skaters in the locality.

Speaking on the campaign, Councillor Brady said “There are huge numbers of Skaters in the Bray area and they have come together under the banner of the Bray Skaters Association with the sole purpose of getting a skate park developed in Bray. I’ve been working closely with the group and fully support the campaign. We have identified a funding source and we now need the support of the Bray Municipal District councillors to identify and agree a site so the project can move forward.”

“Following my request a delegation from the skaters is due to address the next council meeting in Bray. I hope that the other councillors in the Bray District also pledge their support to this campaign and commit themselves to identifying a site for the new Skate Park. There are a number of successful Skate Parks across the County and Bray is the largest urban area that hasn’t got one.”

Brady concluded “There is a huge demand for a Skate Park; unfortunately the skaters are constantly getting moved by council staff and Gardaí from locations that they meet to skate. Young people don’t all have the same interests, so it’s important that there are choices for them to ensure that they have some positive activity to engage in. Recently a skate jam was held on Bray seafront and up to 60 skaters took part, this highlighted the scale of the demand for a skate park in the town. In the past skaters in Bray had been given false hope, this time with the support of all councillors we can turn this into a reality.”

Decision to increase Property Tax in Wicklow by 15% will hit struggling families

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor and General Election candidate John Brady has stated that the decision to increase the Property Tax rate in Wicklow by 15% will hit low and middle income families across Wicklow hardest and impact detrimentally on the economy of Wicklow. Assurances were given by the Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly that Wicklow was one of six local Authorities that could cut the tax by the maximum of 15% without it impacting on local core services.

Speaking after the meeting the Sinn Féin Councillor said “The Labour Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has given assurances that Wicklow was one of six local authorities that could cut the Local Property Tax by the full 15% which is allowed under the legislation without it impacting on local core services. Having received those assurances, Sinn Féin put forward a proposal to maintain the cut of 15% that had been agreed by the majority of the council last year. Unfortunately the Sinn Féin proposal was defeated by 22 votes to 8, with 2 councillors abstaining. A Fine Gael proposal to increase last year’s property tax rate by 15% was unfortunately supported by Fianna Fáil and a large number of Independents.”

Councillor Brady went onto explain the impact that the decision to increase the tax will have on families across Wicklow “The unfortunate decision to increase the Property Tax in Wicklow will hit struggling low and middle income families right across Wicklow, and potentially push them closer to homelessness. There were 120 house repossessions listed for Wicklow Circuit Court before the summer recess and a further 255 active bills for repossession. This increase in the unjust Property Tax will push many other families in debit, mortgage arrears and compound the financial difficulties they are experiencing.”

“The vast majority of people in Wicklow aren’t witnessing any recovery. The decision by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Independent pact to increase the tax by 15% will suck a further €2,493,096 from the Wicklow economy which is still on its knees due to government cuts and increased taxes. Over €30 billion was taken out of the Irish economy by the austerity policies of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail over the last 8 years.”

The Sinn Fein Councillor concluded “The Government duped the people on the Local Property Tax. The purpose of Local Property Tax is not about the funding of local services. The reality is that the local property tax is a tax that was created to aid the process of diverting finances from central government away from the funding of locals councils to the supporting of toxic banks. Sinn Féin remains opposed to this tax which is proving a complicated, regressive and insufficient way of funding our local democracies. Last year the majority of councillors in Wicklow supported a Sinn Féin motion opposing the Property Tax and called on the Government to provide adequate funding to council to provide critical services. Even though the majority of councillors in Wicklow appear to be speaking out of both sides of their mouth on the tax, Sinn Féin in government will abolish the property tax.”

Homeless Crises is now a National Emergency and a National Disgrace

Speaking in response to comments made by the President of Focus Ireland, Sr Stanislaus Kennedy; the Sinn Fein candidate for Wicklow/East Carlow in the upcoming general election Councillor John Brady has said it is time for government to accelerate plans to build social housing.

“The situation is spiralling out of control in front of our very eyes. The numbers of homeless or those imminently at risk including families and children has rocketed over the last three years. According to Focus Ireland the number of people registering for help has increased from 8,000 in 2012 to 11,500 last year. By June of this year they registered 8,000 people in trouble meaning by the end of 2015 the situation could possibly become unmanageable”

Councillor Brady went on to say that the issue of providing social housing units has been ignored by successive governments:
“ We had years of Fianna Fail governments during the Celtic Tiger squandering public money with not a penny invested in social housing, over the last four years we have had a Fine Gael Labour coalition enforcing an austerity agenda pushing more and more people onto the housing waiting lists and rendering many families homeless and helpless. Ironically, rather than invest in housing this government have instead preferred to spend millions of tax payer’s money housing people in unsuitable accommodation including expensive hotel rooms. As a result the situation has become a national emergency. According to Sir Stanislaus Speaking on RTE radio last week, Focus Ireland warned this government as far back as 2012 that the crisis was rapidly deepening, but it is clear the government paid little attention to the warning.”

Councillor Brady pointed out some harsh consequences as a result of government inaction:
“The numbers of people who are now affected by homelessness is not just a national emergency, it is a national disgrace. The numbers represent real people and we should be careful that we do not allow the statistics to render us unfeeling. Parents are distraught, children are suffering and an entire cohort of our population are crushed under the weight of despair and self-loathing. There needs to be an immediate freeze on rents and an increase in rent supplement if we are to stop the numbers rising further.”

Councillor Brady pointed out that back in 2014 Sinn Fein published a plan that would have kicked started a serious attempt to deal with the issue:
“At that time we asked for an immediate injection of one billion euro to be made available to address the issue. Instead the government in the subsequent budget decided to reduce the tax burden on the wealthiest by half a million Euro. Sinn Fein also believes that Local authorities should be given the tools whereby they can raise the finances necessary to provide adequate social housing in their respective areas. Moreover, the number of houses made available as social housing units by private developers should be increased. The government should immediately release funding as a matter of urgency, they managed to find a way to waste almost one Billion Euro on Irish Water but they cannot seem to find the cash to provide homes for its citizens. As Sr Stanislaus has pointed out ‘Government policies are causing people to be homeless’. It is way past time that government listened to appeals from organisations who have worked tirelessly for decades helping homeless people in this country such as Focus Ireland. Despite the upcoming election, it is not too late to start listening now.”

Wicklow Councillors are being blackmailed by the Government not to cut the Local Property Tax by 15%

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor and General Election candidate John Brady has labelled the Local Property Tax as undemocratic and a Government tool being used to further starve local authorities of critical core funding which is needed to carry out essential functions. Wicklow County Council is to meet on Monday 28th September to set the Local Property Tax Rate for 2016. Under the legislation Local Authorities may vary the basic rate of the Local Property Tax within its own area by a maximum of 15%.

Speaking ahead of the council meeting Councillor Brady said “Wicklow County Council will meet on Monday 28th September to set the Property Tax rate for 2016. However figures that have been produced show that the level of funding available to the council will be substantially down on previous years and that the General Purpose Grant from the government of €6.8m is far too low and is not sufficient to cover the council’s core services. As a result council officials are being left having to rely on the 15% discretionary funding in the LPT to try fund core services”.

Cllr Brady continued “In the coming year the council will need and extra €1.6m just to maintain its current level of services. Already officials are asking councillors not to reduce the LPT by the 15% as it’s needed to maintain services. Sinn Féin have opposed the Property Tax from the outset, we have said that if we receive a mandate after the next election to form a new government we will abolish the unfair tax. Under the legislation Local Authorities may vary the basic rate of the Local Property Tax within its own area by a maximum of 15%. This means that Wicklow County Council can either increase or decrease the rate of the Local Property Tax in Co Wicklow in 2016 by 15% of the 2014 rate. Prior to the local elections Wicklow Sinn Féin committed to reducing the tax by the full 15% allowed”.

Councillor Brady further explains where the funding problem is “The main problem is the gross under funding of Wicklow County Council by the Government. Wicklow only receives €6.8m government funding from the General Purpose Grant. This is in contrast to the €17.5m received by Mayo in 2015 or the €22.7m Donegal got, not only are we the poor relations here, we also have to hand over 20% of all Property Tax money collected in Wicklow to an equalisation fund to help other counties. At a council meeting this week I proposed that the 5 Wicklow TDs be contacted and asked to attend a meeting with the councillors to discuss the under funding of the council and to make the case for Wicklow at a national level, for additional government funding from the General Purpose Grant. The populations of Wicklow and Mayo are similar, however there’s a massive difference is government funding levels. We have 3 Government TDs in Wicklow, why are they so silent on the under funding of Wicklow? And why aren’t they making a business case for Wicklow to have the grant increased?”

Brady was critical of the lack of consultation with the public in setting the rate for 2016; he called the process totally undemocratic “The Property Tax legislation provides for public consultation in setting the annual rate for the LPT. Unfortunately the council merely carried out a box ticking exercise by sticking an ad in the back of one of the local papers at the height of the summer holidays. Unsurprisingly the council only received two submissions, 1 in favour of cutting the rate by 15% and 1 looking to retain it without any reductions. Public representatives weren’t even informed that the consultation process was being held. I believe the failure to carry out a meaningful consultation process is fundamentally undemocratic, carried out by senior council officials who don’t want the public demanding the full 15% reduction”.

The Sinn Féin Councillor concluded “The people of Wicklow and across the state have been sold a pup with the Property Tax; they were promised properly funded local authorities with beautiful parks, playgrounds and many, many other greatly enhanced services due to the additional taxes going to fund them. Unfortunately what we have here in Wicklow is a council struggling to balance its books, and a council that is trying to force the hand of its councillors into not reducing the LPT by 15% because it needs it to pay for core services. I for one will not be blackmailed; I gave a commitment to the electorate to cut the LPT by the full 15%. If there is a cut to core services it’s because of the governments under funding of Wicklow County Council and not a decision to cut discretionary funding in an attempt to put some money back into the pockets of hard hit families that have been squeezed by Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil over the last 8 years”.

Outrage as Bus Eireann plans to cut bus stops at Barndarrig, Jack Whites and the Beehive

Wicklow Sinn Féin General Election candidate John Brady and Arklow District Councillor Mary McDonald have expressed serious concerns about the future of the Bus Eireann service that stops at Lil Doyles, the Beehive and Jack Whites. These stops were discontinued in December 2012 after Bus Eireann revised its timetable, however after a campaign by locals the stops were reinstated in 2013. Service users have now been informed again that from 27 September the stops will only be served by one stop in each direction every day.

Speaking on the impact to the local communities Councillor Brady said “I have been contacted by many service users from the Barndarrig, Brittas Bay area’s who are incensed that their public transport is again facing the chop. Rural public services have been decimated over the last few years and locals have had to fight hard to retain the vital Bus Eireann service they have. Bus Eireann has again dealt a blow to the communities around Lil Doyles, the Beehive and Jack Whites that rely on the service to get to Arklow, Wexford or into Dublin by moving to cut their service”.

Sinn Féin Arklow District Councillor Mary McDonald said “There is real anger again in the community by the fact that no public consultation has taken place. Bus Eireann is aware of the anger that was generated in 2012 when they first attempted to remove the service. Public pressure forced them into a u turn then and the anger that exists now must be channeled into a focused campaign to retain the service”.

Cllr Brady concluded “Having one pick up in the morning at these stops and one drop off in the evening services no purpose. This will impact detrimentally on the many people who rely on this critical service. It’s simply not feasible or practical for the communities that live in these areas to have to make their way into Arklow or Wicklow Town to be able to access public transport. Sinn Féin have contacted Bus Eireann and demanded that these stops would be retained, we have also organised a petition for the community to sign and let their views be know”