{"id":288,"date":"2008-12-03T16:33:52","date_gmt":"2008-12-03T16:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/?p=288"},"modified":"2008-12-03T16:33:52","modified_gmt":"2008-12-03T16:33:52","slug":"a-long-eventful-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/","title":{"rendered":"A Long, Eventful Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a week it’s been!\u00a0 Government meltdown, F\u00c1S<\/a> in even more trouble, Labour rising in the polls (slowly but steadily!) and perhaps above all Eamon Gilmore’s Leaders address<\/a> to Party Conference – it was
\nstunning in impact and solid in content.\u00a0 A few digs at the Fianna F\u00e1il Government and their seemingly pointless Green Party poodles, but above all solid ideas: investment in education and new schools; a National Recycling Agency; an insulation programme for homes; and much more.
\nPembroke-Rathmines was well represented at the Conference, which, as well as having an excellent political content, was also good fun.\u00a0 It is always good to meet up with old colleagues from around the country.<\/p>\n

F\u00c1S<\/strong><\/p>\n

I participated in a couple of interviews on Today with Pat Kenny<\/a> and Newstalk<\/a> about the F\u00c1S situation as a former F\u00c1S Board member.\u00a0 To be honest, I think it highlights the need for real reform of State Boards<\/a> more than anything else.<\/p>\n

Contrary to most people, I believe the problem is that the Boards are not “political” enough.\u00a0 The practice of nominations who are certain to be accepted coming from the Social Partners decreases the notion of political responsibility and accountability.\u00a0 Bring back good old fashioned Able Political Appointees and then really hold the relevant Minister to account.<\/p>\n

Local Happenings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Locally, things have been quite active and I was delighted early in October to Chair the AGM of the Ranelagh Branch of the Labour Party, one of the most active and forward-thinking branches around.\u00a0 In Donnybrook,
\nwe reactivated the old Beech Hill Community Association with a new committee already hard at work – taking over from the Trojan efforts of previous Committees led by the late Sarah Duffy and the still very
\nactive Peter Smith and Joe Furlong.
\nThis month saw the AGM of the Sandymount and Merrion Residents Association and last night a meeting in relation to the Sandymount Village Design Statement plan.\u00a0 Both meetings were well attended and “lively”. The negative aspect of the new Boundaries was demonstrated at these meetings by the proliferation of\u00a0 Councillors and Council candidates all seeking to have their say – me included.<\/p>\n

Poolbeg Incinerator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday also saw the unwelcome decision by the EPA on the Poolbeg Incinerator.\u00a0 I have always believed that the Incinerator can only be stopped by political intervention and it really is up to Minister John Gormley<\/a> to direct Dublin City Officials not to proceed.<\/p>\n

The Christmas Tree<\/strong>
\nIn a rare bah humbug<\/em> mood, the Independent today noted<\/a> my questioning remarks about the “Electric Christmas Tree” in O’Connell Street. While it might look “stunning” at night, the price of \u20ac300,000 is also a bit “stunning”.<\/p>\n

For a real Christmas Tree with lights, singing and refreshments come to the car park opposite Kiely’s<\/a> next Monday at 7.00pm where, along with a special guest or two, I will be switching on the lights on behalf of the Lord Mayor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What a week it’s been!\u00a0 Government meltdown, F\u00c1S in even more trouble, Labour rising in the polls (slowly but steadily!) and perhaps above all Eamon Gilmore’s Leaders address to Party Conference – it was stunning in impact and solid in content.\u00a0 A few digs at the Fianna F\u00e1il Government and their seemingly pointless Green Party […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[294,290,34,303,288,302,282,156,128,287,129,292,301,297,191,305,133,139,289,291,130,304,277,102,296,281,293,158,299,94,298,300,295],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs","tag-beech-hill-community-association","tag-conference-2008","tag-donnybrook","tag-dublin-christmas-tree","tag-eamon-gilmore","tag-electric-christmas-tree","tag-epa","tag-fas","tag-fianna-fail","tag-government","tag-green-party","tag-insulation-programme","tag-irish-independent","tag-joe-furlong","tag-john-gormley","tag-kielys","tag-labour-party","tag-lord-mayor","tag-national-conference","tag-national-recycling-agency","tag-newstalk","tag-oconnell-street","tag-pat-kenny","tag-pembroke-rathmines","tag-peter-smith","tag-poolbeg-incinerator","tag-public-service-reform","tag-rte","tag-samra","tag-sandymount","tag-sandymount-and-merrion-residents-association","tag-sandymount-village-design-statement","tag-sarah-duffy"],"yoast_head":"\nA Long, Eventful Week - Councillor Dermot Lacey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Long, Eventful Week - Councillor Dermot Lacey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What a week it’s been!\u00a0 Government meltdown, F\u00c1S in even more trouble, Labour rising in the polls (slowly but steadily!) and perhaps above all Eamon Gilmore’s Leaders address to Party Conference – it was stunning in impact and solid in content.\u00a0 A few digs at the Fianna F\u00e1il Government and their seemingly pointless Green Party […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Councillor Dermot Lacey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100064479804399\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100064479804399\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-12-03T16:33:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dermot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LaceyDermot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LaceyDermot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dermot\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dermot\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/88143b54da5f5fd72bac76fe6d8272ce\"},\"headline\":\"A Long, Eventful Week\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-03T16:33:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/\"},\"wordCount\":495,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/88143b54da5f5fd72bac76fe6d8272ce\"},\"keywords\":[\"beech hill community association\",\"conference 2008\",\"donnybrook\",\"dublin christmas tree\",\"eamon gilmore\",\"electric christmas tree\",\"epa\",\"F\u00c1S\",\"fianna f\u00e1il\",\"government\",\"green party\",\"insulation programme\",\"irish independent\",\"joe furlong\",\"john gormley\",\"kiely's\",\"labour party\",\"lord mayor\",\"national conference\",\"national recycling agency\",\"newstalk\",\"o'connell street\",\"pat kenny\",\"pembroke-rathmines\",\"peter smith\",\"poolbeg incinerator\",\"public service reform\",\"RT\u00c9\",\"samra\",\"sandymount\",\"sandymount and merrion residents association\",\"sandymount village design statement\",\"sarah duffy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog Posts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/dermotlacey.ie\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-long-eventful-week\/\",\"name\":\"A Long, Eventful Week - 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My priorities Community support, housing delivery, local government reform and supporting the voluntary youth sector. My background Growing up in Donnybrook, where I still live, I was always in involved in community life particularly through my membership of Donnybrook Scout Group. I was co-opted to Dublin City Council in 1993 to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Ruairi Quinn as Minister for Enterprise and Employment. Since then I have been re-elected at each local elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 in varying parts of Dublin Bay South as the electoral areas changed. On the Council I have served as Chairperson of the Employment Committee, Finance Committee, Arts and Sports Committee, Housing Committee, Protocol Committee and the Council itself as Lord Mayor of Dublin. I have also served as Chairperson of the South East Area Committee. I was elected Leader of the Labour Group in 2011. I have served as Cathaoirleach of the Dublin Regional Authority, the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly and the Eastern and Midlands Regional Assembly. The only person to chair all three. I pioneered the 20% Social and Affordable Housing concept though the Dublin Docklands Development MasterPlan and have established a housing co-op in my own area and am a Board member of an Approved Housing Body. I was for ten years Chairperson of the South Dublin\/Wicklow Branch of the Irish Foster Care Association. Clubs and Committees Currently on Dublin City Council I Chair the South East Area Committee and the Housing Strategic Policy Committee. I am Board member of Donnybrook Community Employment and Sandymount Community Services, Donnybrook Community Playschool and numerous other local, community and Dublin wide organisations. I am member of the Board of Scouting Ireland, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board and the Royal Hospital Donnybrook Board. 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I have served as Cathaoirleach of the Dublin Regional Authority, the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly and the Eastern and Midlands Regional Assembly. The only person to chair all three. I pioneered the 20% Social and Affordable Housing concept though the Dublin Docklands Development MasterPlan and have established a housing co-op in my own area and am a Board member of an Approved Housing Body. I was for ten years Chairperson of the South Dublin\/Wicklow Branch of the Irish Foster Care Association. Clubs and Committees Currently on Dublin City Council I Chair the South East Area Committee and the Housing Strategic Policy Committee. I am Board member of Donnybrook Community Employment and Sandymount Community Services, Donnybrook Community Playschool and numerous other local, community and Dublin wide organisations. I am member of the Board of Scouting Ireland, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board and the Royal Hospital Donnybrook Board. 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