brian@socialistparty.net

One of our nearest Nuclear Plants Sellafield which lies 128 miles from Malahide - Howth will take 112 years to clean up at a cost of €92 billion euros according to a Westminster report released this week. As the site is still accepting orders of waste nuclear fuel from around the world the true cost and date may never be known.

Anti Nuclear campaigner Brian Greene who runs the ShutSellafield.com website says “The myth that Sellafield is a power plant is the biggest deception of all. The plant was first used in the race for the A-Bomb and now it is the world’s nuclear dumping ground taking shipments from all over the world via the Irish Sea.”

Brian Greene who is the Socialist Party candidate in next years local election for the Malahide - Howth area says “Having the worlds most used nuclear dump on our doorstep has always been worrying but the safety record at the plant has been getting worse. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the nuclear fire at Windscale, and now the plant & its decommissioning are being sold to for profit businesses in a privatisation programme. Safety is threatened by a squeeze on wages and a race to the bottom that sees the plants bosses attacking the workforce’s pay & conditions on an ongoing basis.”

“Nuclear power is being cited as a solution to peak oil & the speculated over priced oil situation. Nuclear power will not power a car. Until a satisfactory waste solution for radioactive material is found Nuclear Power is not the answer.” said Mr. Greene

I strongly support the actions taken by the FIF. Irish Fishermen must not be priced out of the sea by fuel taxes & costs nor cheap fish imports. Minister Brendan Smith TD and Minister of State Tony Killeen TD must act fast from Ireland’s perspective & secondly via the EU Maritime Affairs Commissioner & the wider European perspective, too many factors have grouped together on the livelihoods of fishermen & their families, and with out further delay action is demanded on this issue. Brian Greene 04/06/2008 (Howth Harbour).

Federation of Irish Fishermen to Hold Demonstration at Dail Eireann
On Thursday 5th of June 2008, members of the the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) will hold a demonstration outside Leinster House in Kildare Street between 12 noon and 3 pm to highlight the effects that the current high fuel prices and cheap fish imports are having on the fishing industry.
The CEOs of the four main fish producing organisations will be available at this demonstration to give interviews.
Mr Michael Walsh, chairman FIF and CEO Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation, 087 2582842
Mr Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, CEO Irish Fish Producers Organisation, 087 6299522
Mr Gerard O’Flynn, CEO Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation 086 2360001
Mr Sean O’Donoghue, CEO Killybegs Fishermens Organisation. 087 4196535

During this demonstration fishing vessels will be tied up in all major fishing ports around the coast.

last night in Swords I chaired the no nonsense ‘no’ debate on Lisbon mp3 64kbits 90 minutes. Speakers Clare Daly Socialist Party & Patricia McKenna Green Party.

 sayno.ie [90:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

the PDF contains the April 17th proposal to councillors of the local area committee from Niall D Brennan & Associates.

today at about 4pm in Baldoyle the Coast Guard helicopter was circling the racecourse lands and building site. all 5 of us were in the garden looking up at it, we were not as close to it since the day we saw an aborted display in Killkee Harbour Co. Clare. But not as close as me old mate richie wilson who snapped a super series of photos recently when there was a fallen walker up on the hill of Howth.

if he never posts another blog post he’ll have better photos than I’ll ever have! nice one Richie. [image size html squashed - view image in new tab to see full size.]  See the martello above the men below the helicopter and the harbour beyond that.

PUBLIC MEETING MAY 27th 8pm mid sutton community centre

Back in 2003/4 the Socialist Party along with the residents of Sutton Park / Parkvale & Meadowbrook successfully reversed the Council’s attempts to rezone the lands known as Brickfields at the southern end of Seagrange Park for residential development.

However as we warned in our Newsletter earlier this year the developer is continuing to try and get development on this site currently designated as open space. This time under the guise of the government’s Affordable Housing Initiative.

Twice last year local councillors were briefed on proposals that included a development of over 165 apartments in 3 to 6 storey blocks, accessing through Parkvale and Meadowbrook. Yet at no stage did they bring this information to residents in the area!

In January they raised a few concerns about the development and asked that it would be revised. However as we warned, the revised plans were hardly different at all, with precious little changes made other than proposals that would supposedly deal with the flooding problem. The height and access and number of units remained unchanged. AND YET the councillors have asked the Affordable Housing Initiative to pursue the issue further.

This has gone on long enough. It is time that residents let the local councillors know that we will not stand for development on this open space. The Socialist Party locally & our councillors on Fingal County Council believe that the open space should be enhanced to allow full recreational use of the amenity.

To this end we have set up a public meeting for Tuesday May 27th 8pm in the community center in Bayside. Community Action can protect our open spaces. Please come along on the night and find out what’s going on before it’s too late.

Brian Greene - Socialist Party Representative Dublin North East.

BREAKING NEWS: Plans to redevelop Bayside Shopping Centre which was given planning permission by Fingal County Council has been overturned on appeal with An Bord Pleanala. Perhaps now would be a good time to insist that the presentation of the existing shopping area and the surface of the car park be properly maintained and not be left if a run down state. The old trick of letting developments run down to ware down the community will not work. Enforcement of such is a matter for Fingal County Council.

thanks bertie ahern & Fianna Fail.

“those buckets will come in handy for a whip around”

yesterday local councillors Cllr Healy Maher & Cosgrave supported the material contravention that gave way to development on the Edros site.

photo taken in march 2003 at a previous rezoning attempt at the site.

in November in the Irish Times cllr Healy having objected to the planning application said the following

Watch this Space

Opposition to apartments on amenity-zoned site in Howth

A proposal to grant planning permission for apartments on Howth’s largest amenity-zoned site would be a massive blow to the community, says Green Party Cllr David Healy.

Pierse Contracting is looking to build 64 apartments and a café in five blocks on the Edros site beside the Martello Tower in Howth, which was a community sports amenity until eight years ago.

Healy says the development would have a major visual impact on historical and amenity routes and locations in Howth, including views from Abbey Street, St Mary’s Abbey, Tower Hill, Balscadden Road, Ted Hayden’s field and East Pier, and would be out of keeping with the historic character of this important heritage area. Fingal County Council is proposing to use a material contravention procedure to allow a breach of the development plan which would require a three-quarters majority of the councillors to support it.

“There have been suggestions that the developer give money towards the development of amenities elsewhere in Howth. However, in the absence of concrete plans for such facilities, such as planning permission and capital funding arrangements, money itself carries no guarantee of results,” says Healy.

has planning permission and capital funding arrangements been granted? NO.

Howth needs a community centre. The new proposed site is 0.8 miles from the village, welcome as it is to the community it has not got the access that the open space site at edros had. I wish the groups that are working hard to site a new community centre in Howth every success in the future. It is a great pity the best amenity site in Howth will not be part of their plans. Edros site was gifted to the people of Howth but yesterday it was gifted to the developer to make tens of millions more now that the dev plan has been materially contravened and the site (he owns) is no longer to be used for open space / amenity.