Deputy Lucinda Creighton: I believe the legislation, especially in light of its source, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to be a sham. I do not wish to personalise this but the introduction of a Bill such as this is simply pathetic emanating as it does from a Deputy who spent all of his time in opposition criticising and highlighting the democratic deficit at local government level, lamenting the progressive centralisation of power with Fianna Fáil Ministers and pleading for a meaningful devolved form of local government. It speaks volumes about the ineptitude of the Green Party in Government and its inability to influence any sort of meaningful change in terms of local government, in particular, planning.

This Bill flies in the face of subsidiarity. The word “subsidiarity” came up a lot in recent campaigns on European referenda. The word itself does not mean much to people, but it does mean a great deal in terms of its practical application. Read the rest of this entry »

Today in the Dáil Lucinda challenged Brian Cowen to face up to the effect that upward-only rent reviews are having on businesses around the country. Although the recent Land and Conveyancing Act introduces a proviso for fair rent in new leases, this has no effect on commercial leases signed before that legislation was enacted.

Lucinda therefore raised the matter with the Taoiseach and got an agreement from him to look at the issue again:

Deputy Lucinda Creighton: The recently enacted Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 provided for a change to the upward-only rent reviews that were in place until that time. The Taoiseach is well aware that the legislation is not retrospective due to legal advice which I believe came from the Attorney General.

A letter in today’s The Irish Times by Professor David Gwynn Morgan, who is one of the foremost constitutional lawyers in the country, questions that legal advice. He says it is not unconstitutional to retrospectively address the issue of upward-only rent reviews.

The Taoiseach will be aware that the Grafton Street Tenants’ Association met yesterday morning and it is pleading with the Government to address this issue. The new legislation does nothing for people who find themselves in difficulty right now.

There has been no opportunity to address this issue as it was left out of the recent legislation. This is a very important issue for traders who are struggling to stay in existence and to keep people in employment. I would like to see some action from the Government on the matter.

The Taoiseach: The question of rents and arbitration is being examined. The Government takes its advice on all matters from the Attorney General but I will consider the correspondence.

As the Adoption Bill has been making its way through the legislative procedure, Fine Gael has been pushing the Government to include transitional arrangements for inter-country adoptions, so that those who have already been assessed for foreign adoption are not left in limbo.

Lucinda has had a number of meetings with couples affected by the changes in the adoption process, especially those who had hoped to adopt under bi-lateral agreements with Vietnam, Russia and Ethiopia who now find themselves left in limbo, and she fully supports them in the campaign for an equitable solution that recognises the long and arduous process they have been through in the hope of adopting.

The Health and Children Committee is presently processing the Committee Stage of the Adoption Bill 2009. Various amendments to the Bill including an amendment with regard to providing for transitional arrangements in respect of inter-country adoption have been tabled by Fine Gael.

In particular, Alan Shatter TD, Fine Gael Spokesperson on Children has proposed an amendment which would allow those already in the adoption system to continue with the process: Read the rest of this entry »

Latest Report from Dublin City Council – Friday 26th February

The water supply situation has been stabilised to the point where we are now in a position to lift all restrictions on supply with effect from this evening (Feb 26th).

The lifting of restrictions will result in a rise in demand. The level of increase will dictate whether it will be necessary to re-introduce restrictions in the coming days.

Essential maintenance work at the water treatment plants has commenced and will be ongoing for the next number of months. This should not impact on our ability to supply unless the level of demand rises further for whatever reason or problems arise at the plants. Read the rest of this entry »

Lucinda is campaigning for a solution to the ongoing issue of lack of primary school places in the Donnybrook area. She believes that the proposed redevelopment of the RTE Montrose site offers an opportunity to resolve the problem and she is working with all interested parties, including the local community, the Board of Management, the Department of Education and RTE to this end.

She is in the process of organising a meeting between the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keefe, the Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, TDs for the area from all parties, and the Board of Management of the school to get cross-party agreement on a solution. Read the rest of this entry »