George, Deirdre, Willie and Trevor

What a fortnight! 


There's been quite a few losers in all of this and some winners as well. Dan had a good week last week, as did Vincent P Martin and Gary Fitzgerald. The rest of us? No, we didn't cover ourselves in glory, but that's the benefit of hindsight.


George Lee's departure from politics a fortnight ago took most of us by suprise. He strikes me as decent guy who found life in Leinster House a lot more difficult than it appears from afar. Change can takes a long time to happen, and involves compromise and lenghty discussions. I got some flack over describing a meeting of the sub-Committee on Dáil Reform of the Committee on Procedures and Privileges as being similar to watching paint dry, but change happens slowly when all sides seek consensus on an issue. The end result of that particular process will probably result in a legislature that sits longer and spends more time both legislating and dealing with topical issues, but the road to that destination is long and winding.


George wanted to move quickly, and in the media results have to happen for a 6 or a 9 o'clock deadline, and I'm sure he found that frustrating. You've also got to have a good working relationship with your colleagues, and that's always a challenge. There's a mad mix of ego and idealism in politics, and collegiality is often crucial in getting the right result. I had a few brief chats with George over the last few months. We discussed kids and the challenge of a work-life balance, and he struck me as a decent individual. I can only imagine that it was difficulty to come into a party where most members of the front bench have three or four Dáil terms behind them, and where the existing TDs already have clearly delineated roles.


Deirdre de Burca's departure has been a real loss. She's been a great campaigner for the Green Party and did great work in exposing planning and waste management peculiarities in County Wicklow. She grew up just down the road from me in Cabinteely, and I suspect that the campaigns against the rezoning of Cherrywood led by her neighbour Michael Smith in the early 1990's informed her own politicisation. Michael has gone on to edit the Village Magazine, and is providing a lively and informed commentary on contemporary Ireland. She attended some of the World Social Forums and was enthused by the discussion of alternative economic systems. I feel that she found Government challenging, and particularly the tough decisions over the bank guarantees and the setting up of the National Assets Management Agency. She loves the stimulation of European policy and decision-making and gave much of her time to the Forum on Europe, campaigning for a yes vote in the Lisbon Referenda, and catching up with the latest developments in Brussels. As a result of this she wasn't the most frequent attendee at our weekly parliamentary party meetings, and she missed out on a lot of the discussions last autumn around the renegotiation of the Programme for Government. I was surprised that she lobbied for a position in Brussels, but that's water under the bridge now. 


I'm also taken aback by the thrust of her most recent email regarding the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA). We all receive tens of thousands of emails every year, and in my experience I would either raise an issue of concern at our weekly parliamentary party meetings, or by writing directly to John or his senior staff. I tend not to cc John in emails that I've sent to someone else as he's even more swamped with information than the rest of us. In any case by the time that she wrote to him last August the concerns about the Docklands had already been well aired by Kathleen Barrington in the Sunday Business Post. I suspect that the DDDA won't come out of all of this as a paragon of corporate governance, but I am reassured that John Gormley has appointed Niamh Brennan as chair of the Authority.


 The irony in all of this is that the green critique of the Celtic Tiger years has been well and truly vindicated at this stage. We were critical of decisions made by previous governments, and the over-reliance on tax incentives, especially in the area of property development. That's why I'm heartened that Brian Cowen has Peter Clinch as his economic advisor. Peter co-authored 'After the Celtic Tiger' along with Frank Convery and Brendan Walsh, and it is heartening that he has the ear of our Taoiseach during these tough times. I suspect that there's not too many unexploded bombs in the DDDA, but if there is, I'm sure that John Gormley will take the right course of action. 


The Willy O'Dea resignation was messy. The Greens; Fianna Fáil; Willy O'Dea himself, no-one in government comes out of this well. Given that Pat Carey seems to have made the decision to run with the Motion of Confidence in the shower on Wednesday morning, we need to have much clearer lines of communication, and decision-making, and I'm glad to say that he's agreed to that. You might think that in a small Party we'd be in close contact with each other all the time, but the reality is that we're all stretched, trying to cover several portfolios at the same time. Sitting days are often a blur with opportunities to catch up with colleagues being limited to chance meetings in the corridors, text messages, or a hurried lunch in the Dáil canteen. One of the difficulties was that the text from Pat Carey's office regarding the Motion of Confidence only went to Dáil deputies and did not go to Senators, so Dan didn't realise that realise that matters would move as quickly as they did. It may come across as nit-picking, but voting against a Motion of No Confidence a week later would have been quite different from voting for a motion of Confidence on the day. Vincent P Martin's article on the Wednesday was excellent, but the Limerick Leader failed to exonerate Willy O'Dea, and both the tape, his interview and the Dáil debate failed to do the Minister any favours.

Meanwhile life goes on in Leinster House. I'm meeting some rail freight users at 11, a trip out to see Eirgrid's control room at 12, and the Dáil week kicks off at 2.30. 

The pic? That's the unfinished Anglo-Irish Bank headquarters in Dublin Docklands, and someone fishing in the foreground. Maybe we should keep it just the way it is, as a monument to the excesses of the Tiger years.

UPDATE 8.45pm
Turned out not to be a normal day after all. I'm still in shock at the news of Trevor's resignation as a Junior Minister. He is one of the most selfless decent people that I have met in public life. It seemed like half of Leinster House where saying to themselves "there but for the grace of God go I" when they heard the news.


As John Gormley noted earlier this evening Trevor "acted promptly and without any self interest. That is totally in keeping with his approach to politics and the contribution he has made across the past four decades."

I couldn't agree more.

Flooding, planning and climate change

Cold, wet and windy in Dún Laoghaire today.

That's the view looking out from the Coal Harbour in Dún Laoghaire on a blustery afternoon. At least we're fortunate enough not to be flooded, or have the roof blown off as has happened with the unfortunate residents in Carrickmines Manor on Glenamuck Road. Thankfully no-one appears to have been injured. Hazel Melbourne said she felt like she was in a scene from the Wizard of Oz when she saw the roof fly past her second floor apartment at 8.30am. according to the Irish Times website.

The floods in the south and west sound appalling. Our own home was flooded several years ago when our youngest was only a few weeks old and we had to escape over the back garden wall and pass the children to helpful Gardaí on higher ground. That brutal combination of damp, fear, destruction and uncertainty for all those affected by flooding can be soul-destroying. I'm glad to say that the Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea told me today that he's instructed the Army's Chief of Staff to ensure that troops will help with the initial household clean-up as well as the emergency works prior to, and during flooding.

The National Flood Hazard mapping website was set up after the floods back in 2002 and provides information about places that are at risk from flooding. The OPW's Flooding website also contains a lot of useful information, particularly on practical information if you're currently at risk (and have access to the web).

I'm still not convinced though that there's enough joined up thinking between planning authorities and the OPW. Minister John Gormley has brought forward the draft "Planning System and Flood Risk Management Guidelines", but the stable door had been left open long before.

There's been far too many images on the news in the last few days of recently built buildings under water. This week's floods may not be due to climate change according to Paul Cunningham's Tweet referencing UCD Professor of Meteorology Ray Bates. as the North Atlantic is apparently experiencing a cooling period. That doesn't take away the higher air temperatures that increased rainfall, though. Regardless of this week's weather, Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele's pointed out last night in his excellent EPA sponsored lecture in the Mansion House that the risk of extreme weather events is set to increase, and that's a good reason to do something about climate change. He is the Head of Climatology and Environmental Sciences, University Catholique de Louvain, and is also the vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, so he should know!

IFA President Padraig Walshe has been hitting out at Government spending millions of euro on flood defences, saying the money would be bettter spent on drainage. Actually, I'd feel that more money should be spent on encouraging 'soakage', rather than drainage as this can reduce the risk of flash flooding. More forestry can also absorb high rainfall before it sluices into rivers, and that's what Trevor Sargent is working on through the new Programme for Government. One thing is certain though: the unprecedented levels of development over the last decade resulted in more concrete, tarmacadam and other impermeable land surfaces, and that has contributed to the floods.

Good planning is an important tool that can be used to tackle the increased risk of flooding, and is an issue I've raised before. It's something that our Councillors in Bray -Ciaran O'Brian, Caroline Burrell and Deirdre de Burca used to challenge the rezoning of the flood plain in Bray beside the River Dargle when a combination of councillors from Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail voted to rezone the Bray Golf Course lands. Ciaran O'Brian is currently challenging the planning application on the rezoned lands at An Bord Pleanála.

Meanwhile Bill Nolan is worried about John Gormley's plans to place a windfall tax of 80% on rezoned lands. We see it as a way of implementing the recommendations of the Kenny Report on Building land some thirty-five years after its publication. Mr. Nolan writes that that implications for the banking, property and planning industry may be far reaching. So they should be. Phil HoganTD from Fine Gael speaking at a meeting of Carlow County Council's Strategic Policy Committee has described John's proposals as "social engineering at its worst" and went on state:"I am sure the Minister means well but it reminds me of Soviet dictators."

Phil, business as usual is not an option. The laissez-faire approach that the two major parties have espoused has contributed significantly to the poor quality of development and planning that has left thousands of families flooded over the last week.

The Green Party is working hard in government to raise the bar for planning and development, and to tackle climate change. No-one ever said it would be easy.

Walking in sunshine

Sixty hours until the polls open, more or less, and only mad dogs and candidates are braving the midday sun.

It's hot on the Dún Laoghaire Riviera, damn hot. Factor 50 all round this week, short-sleeved shirts, and 24 degrees in the shade. I'm avoiding the baseball cap though, as William Hague and George W. aren't exactly role models.

Broken windows, homelessness, dog dirt, selective mutism, the 45 bus. You see, and hear it all. One of the real challenges of politics is being able to absorb the extremes of views that you experience from one doorway to the next. Someone who works for Anglo-Irish tells me that he's taken to describing himself as a civil servant when people asks him what he does. Another is worried about noise from a partying neighbour.

These pix are from a few weeks ago when we had a whistle-stop tour with John Gormley and Deirdre de Burca through the Dún Laoghaire Dáil constituency. That's Cllr. Ruairí Holohan in the top photo, along with John Gormley walking on water in the middle of Dublin Bay. Deirdre de Burca, our candidate for Dublin is in the background. Karin Dubsky from Coastwatch Ireland had invited John out to Booterstown Strand to celebrate Biodiversity Day, and watch oyster spat being released.

John took a lift in Ruairí's electric Reva car to Blackrock where we chatted away to people on the Main Street before hopping on a DART to Dún Laoghaire to catch up with Cllr. Gene Feighery . We walked along Georges Street to Sandycove Glasthule, where I think we canvassed an unfortunate woman three times on the stretch of road between the Shopping Centre and the People Park. We kept passing her out and then dropping back. The good news was she started off promising us a number 3, and we got her to a number one on the basis that we'd stop tormenting her and get back on the DART, which is what we eventually did.

In Shankill we walked down to the end of Corbawn Lane to have a look at coastal erosion. The railway has had to be moved back twice in the course of the twentieth century to avoid being washed away, and yet there are still some councillors who want to rezone lands by the water's edge. Dubious rezonings have plagued Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council over the years. I was glad to see that Cllr. Tony Fox was refused a nomination from Fianna Fáil. Apparently he received money from Frank Dunlop, but I was saddened to see that he's put his name forward as an independent candidate. In Shankill our candidate is Cllr. Tom Kivlehan (pictured to my left). Tom has stood up to those who wish to rezone the lands beside Clontra House, on the water's edge.We had a mellow couple of hours listening to people's concerns as people came and went from the local Spar. The Ryan Report had just come out, and people were absorbing the horror that it documents. Perhaps some sort of Truth and Reconciliation Commission is needed to fully address the contents of the Report.


Finally a couple of recommendations: Claire Wheeler is running for the Greens in Dublin's South Inner City ward, and has a long track record in providing for communities. She's an engineer by background, and called for a clean and sparkling Dublin Bay long before many others supported the cause. I'd say give your second preference to Mannix Flynn, not for his awesome poster, but for his wealth of experience, as well as his artistic and literary integrity.

In the North Inner City, David Geary is our candidate. Dave lives in Stonybatter, and works in wind energy. I'm hoping people will give their second preference to Patrick Maphoso, who I almost persuaded to run for the Greens five years ago. It's not that often that you can someone with a strong track record with the ANC a vote!

Ups and downs on the campaign trail

"Hey Mister"
-"Just a second"
I'm at the top of a ladder, half-way up a pole trying to feed one plastic poster-tie into another on Deirdre de Burca's poster. Finally it catches and I pull it tight.
"Mister"
-"I'll be with you in a second!"
I thread the plastic tie through the lower part of the poster. Once you've locked the poster-tie in, it can resist gale force winds, if done correctly. I clamp the end of plastic tie between my teeth and pull hard. Not exactly ideal from a health and safety perspective, but it does the job. Finally, I finish securing the poster, and climb down the ladder.
-"Mister"
"Yes?
-"Mister, your poster is upside-down.
"@#*%~!"
I walk back to the car, and take out a kitchen knife reserved for these occasions. It's started to rain again, the kind of rain we've had for the last two weeks - first one or two drops, then a downpour. Back up the ladder, knife in my mouth doing a fair impersonation of Captain Jack Sparrow getting ready to repel boarders. I'm at the top of the ladder, and spend a few minutes trying to ease the poster ties apart with the tip of the knife so that I can re-use the ties. Eventually I give up and attempt to sever the tie to release the poster. As I cut through the plastic there's a loud bang and a bright yellow flash. The knife falls and I slide down the ladder faster than a sailor in one of those World War Two films just after the torpedo hits the ship. Unlike our candidate Martin Hogan a few weeks ago, I'm still in one piece. I look back up the lamp post and as I do there's another flash and a puff of smoke from the electrical junction box half-way up the pole.
"Hey Mister"
-"Yeh"
"That's deadly, it is, can you do it again?"
It's time to move on, and find a safer lamppost for Deirdre de Burca's poster.

-

That photo shows Cllr. Gene Feighery and Cllr. Ruairí Holohan on the stump on the Blackrock Bypass last Friday. They're giving out Hazel tree nuts and saplings as part of Ruairí's 'Brown Envelope' campaign. It's brought a smile to people's faces, and is the kind of soft sell that works well as part of wider campaign. Ruairí also has a good pitch at the doors:

"Look, I'm not going to talk about the recession, I can talk to you about Home Energy Grants, or the Gardening course that we're running in Blackrock.

It seems to be working well, by all accounts. He also told our monthly Green Party meeting in Dún Laoghaire that he's been dropping apple pies in to every convent in his ward with 'Green Party' written on the plate, and then drops by to collect the plate a few days later, and tries to persuade them to use their land for allotments.

Cllr. Gene Feighery, represents Dún Laoghaire, and has been pointing out that the Greens are good on planning. Gene was a founder member of CRSOS (the Combined Residents to Save Open Space) an NGO that campaigned to prevent the rezoning of the Dún Laoghaire Golf Club lands. It may well be that this green lung within Dún Laoghaire won't be developed in the short term, but it is important that a Local Area Plan is drawn up to guide development in the town. She's often seen in her electric car around the town.

Tom Kivlehan is our councillor for Shankill and Ballybrack. He dragged me up to Sandyford Luas stop a few weeks ago to take a photo beside a Luas so that we could photoshop 'Sandyford' out of the sign and substitute 'Shankill'. When the Luas gets to Cherrywood early next year, Tom will be clearing the scrub off the old Harcourt Street line to make sure it gets to Shankill and Bray a few years later. On a more practical note, he succeeded in getting the Council to shift their electricity supply to a renewable supplier.

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It may be a European and Local Election, but it is clear that many are thinking about national issues as they consider how to cast their vote in two weeks time. Few people disagree that John Gormley and Eamon Ryan are doing good work in their respective ministries. Tough decisions are being taken to ensure Ireland weathers the worldwide economic storm. Already it seems clear that the recovery is green. New jobs are being created in energy, in construction, in transport and in agriculture. Many of these are in areas of the sustainability sector that didn't exist a few years ago, or have a green hue to their complexion. One thing is sure though, the economy that was too dependent on laissez-faire construction and SUV car sales has changed, and the new green collar jobs will shape Ireland's future.

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Thanks to all you new media people for dropping in to the Oireachtas last week. My relatively tidy office that some of you saw last week has again disintegrated into squalor. I think both John Gormley, Deirdre de Burca and Damian Connon enjoyed the opportunity to talk candidly about their work. Thanks Dharragh Boyle, Mark Coughlan, Damian Mulley, Gav Reilly, Thaedydal and others for coming along. You all seem to have enjoyed your experience of the madness that constitutes the Houses of the Oireachtas.