Employees need a Minister who’s up to the challenge, not one preparing the ground for failure

The Tánaiste’s response to the emerging threat to jobs at Cadbury is grossly inadequate. She is preparing to be out-thought and out-manoeuvred. Read the full story

I welcome the Minister for the Environment’s approval of a Special protection order for Dublin Bay and the rejection of Dublin Port’s appeal. In future any development which could harm the bay will be restricted. This includes any work which is likely to destroy, significantly alter, damage or interfere with the ecology of the bay. Development plans must have the consent of the Minister for the Environment, including any plans for:

Reclaiming or infilling
Altering watercourses or wetlands including altering the flow of water of deepening the channel

The new SPO gives the Minister for the Environment the power to prevent Dublin Port’s current plan to infill 52 acres of Dublin Bay.

This certainly represents a major initiative in public policy and I hope that An Bord Pleanála will take note of this new protection in accessing the plan by Dublin port to fill in 52 acres. I have opposed the ports move because:

• It conflicts with Government Policy (including the new Protection Order on the Bay)
• It has not properly considered the alternatives
• It risks aggravating flooding problems
• It pre-empts broader evaluation of the best future for the Bay

The port has recently published a new report by Indecon in an attempt to bolster their position. This report seeks to discredit the idea of removing the entire port from Dublin but offers little to justify the expansion plan.

The SPO covers the area between the River Liffey and Dun Laoghaire, the estuary of the River Tolka to the north of the Liffey, and the Booterstown Marsh.

The site was designated because it is home to of international importance for the light bellied brent goose, a colony of Common tern, and it is of national importance to nine other waterfowl species.

An Bord Pleanala’s oral hearings into the 52 acre infill will resume later this month.

It has come as a bomb shell for many older people that Dublin City Council will not accept applications for the Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant Scheme and the Housing Aid for Older People for the remainder of the year.

This decision was taken by Senior Management at the Council because they already have commitments that use up their €12.5 Million Budget. However, it abruptly pulls the mat out from under a lot of vulnerable people in our community. People realise funding is limited in a recession, but rather than refuse all applications, the council should preserve the scheme for priority cases.

For example, Applications should still be accepted from those who are unable to leave hospital till alterations are made to their homes, and these should be fast tracked. This decision will undoubtedly cause further worry to many patients and their families. It is a lot cheaper for the state to pay out disability grants for home improvement, than to have to pay for a bed in an acute hospital, which has an opportunity cost of €1,000 per day.

The problem of delayed discharge of patients to their homes or to convalescent facilities is already a serious problem for the Northside Hospitals, with up to 1 in 5 beds being occupied by patients ready for discharge.

Note:

The €12.5 million has already been allocated for the applications received so far by Dublin City Council; therefore no new applications will be accepted. The total budget for Dublin City Council is €928.76 Million.

According to the Council, an increase in applications and grants available has caused the money to be used up.