New County Council out of hours call service is welcome-Brady

Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has welcomed the new out of hours call service that has been put in place by Wicklow County Council.

Teachta Brady said “I welcome the decision of Wicklow County Council to put in place an out of hours call service to deal with calls which are considered to be of an emergency nature and require immediate assistance outside of the normal office hours i.e. 9 am to 5.00 p.m. I have long called for this service to be rolled out across the County. A similar service has been effective in Bray for a number of years and is long overdue at a County level.”

“The out of hours service will operate between the hours of 5.00 p.m. and 9.00 a.m., Monday to Friday and all day Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays and the number is 01 2916117. The service is been piloted for a three month period and it will be then reviewed. This is an important service and it’s important that the new number is circulated as widely as possible. One of the biggest complaints I get from constituents is the inability to get hold of anyone within the council to deal with emergency situations outside business hours, so this initiative is a welcome one from the council.”

Teachta Brady concluded “There is a separate number for any issues relating to public water or sewage matters; the public are advised to call Irish Water directly on 1890 278278. For all other Council Services they will be directed to ring the Wicklow County Council out of hours emergency service at 01 2916117.”

Concern for 27,000 domestic electricity users due to faulty meters

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has called on the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment to address serious concerns following the issuing of 27,000 letters to domestic ESB customers State wide relating to the installation of faulty meters.

Teachta Brady said:

“It is believed that a batch of 27,000 meters were installed from 2007 onwards predominately, in apartment blocks right across the State. At this stage it is unknown how many of these meters are actually faulty but it is estimated that it could be over 10%.

“These meters are giving a faulty reading due to creeping where the reading is above the actual electricity consumption used. This is therefore, charging customers incorrectly, at a higher amount than they should be paying.

“The problem has only been identified in recent weeks and letters have been issued to households where the 27,000 meters have been installed.

“I have been in contact with ESB Networks who have confirmed that a hotline has been set up for concerned domestic users.

“With that, ESB Networks have confirmed that they will begin replacing the batch of 27,000 meters in January and it expected to take one year to complete this replacement project.

“There has been no agreement reached in relation to any adjustments, credits or repayments for customers who may have been over charged as a result of having a faulty meter.

“The Energy Regulator is aware of this and I would call on the Minister to ensure that a procedure for repayments is put in place as swiftly as possible.

“I would also urge the Minister to engage with the Energy Regulator to ensure that this process is dealt with and anyone who is out of pocket as a result of this incident are reimbursed as soon as possible.”

Brady welcomes Extension of Wicklow Mountains National Park

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has welcomed the State’s purchase of the almost 5,000 hectares of land in the Wicklow Mountains.
Teachta Brady said:

“Back in June of this year I called on the Government particularly, the Minister of State for Regional Economic Development Michael Ring to purchase this valuable site and therefore, expand Wicklow National Park.

“Wicklow National Park will now comprise of 22,000 hectares providing for additional development for amenities as well as conserving the site itself.

“It was also essential that this additional land would be held by the State and therefore, protected from being sold to a private entity for possible development.

“Wicklow National Park is not only the largest in the State but now, with this purchase, it has become one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

“With the extension of the National Park, investment must follow to ensure that we see the greatest benefit of these additional lands to further public amenities and to ensure that the tourism potential is realised.

“I commend the Minister for moving quickly to secure these lands without delay.”

Cynical political games fail renters in Wicklow - Brady

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady TD has accused Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil of ‘using struggling renters in a cynical political game’.

Teachta Brady said:

“Struggling renters desperately need relief from Government. The best way to achieve this is to link rent reviews to an index such as the CPI. This is not just Sinn Féin’s view. It was the view of the cross party Dáil Housing and Homeless Committee including its Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil members. It is also a position widely supported by tenancy advocacy organisations, homeless charities and housing policy experts.

“Instead of supporting hard pressed tenants Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are engaging is a cynical political game.

“Despite knowing the detail of Minister Coveney’s plan in advance of its launch Fianna Fáil are now desperately trying to distance themselves from it. They are not doing this out of any concern for struggling renters. They just want to get one over on Fine Gael.

“In the third quarter of this year we have seen a 10.6% increase in rents in County Wicklow with average rent in the County now standing at €1,108 and in some parts of the County it is as high as €1,600.

“Wicklow needs to be examined as a rent pressure zone given its proximity to Dublin being within the commuter belt. Any attempt to increase rents in Wicklow by 4% annually will be detrimental to people already struggling to pay their rent.

“Fine Gael’s ill-conceived rent plan will heap greater pressure on renters. It will also contribute to further levels of homelessness. They are motivated by a desire to get one over Fianna Fáil, not by a desire to address the causes of the rent crisis.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to stop playing games.

“By supporting Sinn Féin’s amendments to link rent reviews to the Consumer Price Index and give tenants real security of tenure Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had the opportunity to do the right thing by renters.”

Widespread use of unsecured email accounts used for official business by Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Ministers ‘unacceptable’ – Brady

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow and party spokesperson for Social Protection John Brady has expressed shock at the widespread use of private unsecured email addresses for official business by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and other Ministers.

Last week, Deputy Brady submitted a Parliamentary Question to all Ministers including, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, asking if they had used any private unsecured email accounts for official business, Deputy Brady received replies to these questions last night.

Teachta Brady said:

“Last month, there was widespread criticism of Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan for using a non-Garda email address to send and receive emails with sensitive information.

“However, what is just as concerning and serious is the fact that Minister for Justice & Equality and Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald has in fact, done the same in her own role.

“In reply to my question, the Tánaiste said that she had used a personal email address in her own role.

“This admission is shocking and extremely concerning given Frances Fitzgerald’s role as both Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality.

“The Taoiseach replied that he too, has used his private email account for official purposes and he put this down to so-called ‘operational reasons’.

“A number of other Ministers admitted to using private emails for official business of a ‘non-sensitive’ manner. Given that ‘non-sensitive’ is quite a loose term, this reply from Ministers Creed, Mitchell O’Connor, Humphreys, Bruton, and Harris is hardly convincing. What is seen as sensitive to one Minister could be seen very differently by another Minister.

“Many of the Ministers, in their replies, sought to include what could only be seen as an excuse when it comes to use of unsecured email addresses in that ‘there is currently no policy preventing members of Government using personal accounts’. This is simply unacceptable.

“No Minister should be using any private unsecured email accounts for any official business whatsoever. The fact that the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach feel they can do this is extremely concerning and I would call on them to make a public statement on this matter urgently.”

Rising Costs are wiping out Government’s Affordable Child Care initiative.

Speaking after the release of a Pobal report which showed Wicklow Child Care costs are the second highest in the country, Sinn Fein spokesperson for Social Protection and TD for Wicklow East Carlow said the report shows that government efforts are falling far short of what is required:

Teachta Brady said:

“This report shows that government policy is failing struggling families all over the country with average child care costs running at around 167 Euro per week. The highest is in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area however County Wicklow comes in second place at a massive 201 Euro. This, on top of massive hikes in car insurance which hit Wicklow commuters particularly hard, alongside the family home tax and spiralling rent increases indicates that while the government sings merry on a so-called recovery; families all over Wicklow are actually paying proportionately more now than they were during the height of Austerity just to get by.”

Teachta Brady went on to say that the government child care cost strategy has simply failed to take into account the rising costs of family life:

“In our pre-budget statement and in our manifesto we outlined clearly a suite of affordable measures which could be applied to help families cope with the cost of childcare. Any benefit that might have been gained for families through the government’s affordable childcare scheme is now essentially wiped out by rising costs everywhere else. Effectively families are worse off, with Wicklow families paying amongst the highest fees in the country. The government and Minister Catherine Zappone need to go back to the drawing board and come up with an affordable child care scheme that does what is says on the tin, we need to replace the current system which essentially benefits nobody.”

Setback distance for wind turbines from residential areas in Wicklow must be protected – John Brady TD

Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow/East Carlow John Brady has said that the actions of Minister Naughten to dismiss concerns surrounding wind turbines will have grave repercussions for the people of Wicklow.

Teachta Brady said:

“The newly adopted Wicklow County Development Plan 2016-2022 includes very clear and specific conditions to be adhered to when it comes to the erection of wind turbines in the County.

“One of these conditions set out by the Council is that wind turbines are not to be developed within 1km of residential areas. This condition was put in place as a response to the well-known concerns of locals throughout the county and therefore, as a means of protection for people’s homes.

“This protection was extremely valid and I welcomed this condition as being absolutely necessary.

“On Friday last, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Denis Naughten issued a Ministerial directive removing this condition from the County Development Plan.

“The fact that Minister Naughten has stepped in and gone over the heads of the Council Councillors while at the same time dismisses the legitimate concerns of the people is appalling.

“I will be contacting the Minister directly to voice my concerns on the removal of this condition and I will also be making a formal submission to the Planning Authority in this regard.

“I encourage members of the public to write a submission to the Planning Authority between December 14th and January 5th 2017 requesting that the condition regarding a setback distance of 1km from people’s homes is maintained in the County Development Plan.

“Wicklow will not become a dumping ground for big corporations to come in and set up wind turbines wherever they like. The concerns of people and indeed, their homes must be respected.”