My address to the Tom Johnson Summer School

"In order to grow the party we need to move beyond the "comfort zone" of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Wicklow and Wexford.  We are forever doomed to be a 20 seat party if we don't reach into new constituencies and breadth life into old ones.

 

We dream of another "Spring Tide" of 33 seats when we should be aiming even higher to a day when we are the main party of government.

 

A dream of 33 seats is to sell ourselves short, to ourselves, our own membership and to the country.  As long as we are content to solidify our base we condemn ourselves to the doldrums."

 

The above is an extract from my address to the Tom Johnson Summer School in the Menlo Hotel, Galway last weekend.  I shall have the full address published up here with some photos very shortly.

 

I really enjoyed the school and the debates and discussions were very interesting.  I look forward to building on the links I made at the school and will continue my campaign for more party resources and attention here in the west of Ireland.

 

I am also pleased that Galway East Councillor Colm Keaveney has rejoined the party as of today.  I have already called and welcomed him back to the fold.  Colm, like me, believes passionately in the development of the west of Ireland as fertile ground for the party to grow.

 

Recycling charges are twisted says Martin

Councillor Keith Martin has described the decision by Mayo County Council to charge for recycling at the Derrinumera and Rathroeen amenity centres as "twisted".

 

Cllr Martin says "the logic behind the charge is twisted as the policy locally and nationally is that the polluter pays; not the recycler!

 

Last week director of services Seamus Granahan revealed the proposed charges during a meeting of the environmental policy and emergency services strategic policy committee of Mayo County Council.  The Chairperson of the environment strategic policy committee is Westport's Cllr Margaret Adams.

 

An example of the charges which may be put into effect are €2 per car and €5 per van. A council official explained that a two-tier system might come into effect where glass and can recycling banks would remain outside the centre and would be free of charge

 

The director of services said that the money accumulated from this fee would be invested into the construction of other centres and that the charge should be "imposed with immediate effect".

 

Currently, members of the public using Rathroeen and Derrinumera civic sites are only charged for bags of refuse going to landfill.

 

Cllr Martin says "I am opposed to such charges which will punish those who are doing their bit for the environment. I think it will end up damaging the great progress that has been made in domestic waste recycling in Mayo. Charging for recycling is another stealth tax.   The public should be rewarded for recycling not charged more money.

 

"Mayo County Council charges private individuals and waste contractors for dumping waste at these centres and it is from these charges that the cost of these centres should be met.

 

"I am taking this issue up with Mr Granahan and with Cllr Margaret Adams and the rest of her committee.  I think it is appalling that there has been no opposition to this plan from the committee.  I am writing to all the members and officials this week.  I am also urging the public to contact their local councillors and tell them to block the charges. 

 

"I am also urgently calling on Cllr Adams, as head of the committee responsible, to come out and join me in opposing these charges.  In the meantime I will not rule out public protests on the issue.

 

"These charges are the thin end of the wedge and once introduced there will be no limit to how much the council can and will increase them in coming years."

 

Cllr Martin concluded that he will be bringing a motion before Westport Town Council calling for the revocation of the charges at the July meeting of the council.

 

"The polluter should pay; the recycler should not, it's a simple as that.  The cost of living is now sky high and we have councillors and officials introducing another stealth tax on hard pressed families.  It's a disgrace!"

 

086 0691182           098 25747

Labour examine delay on Gold Mining Decision

Cllr Keith Martin has asked Labour's Spokesperson on Natural Resources, Liz McManus TD, to investigate the delay in a decision concerning Gold Mining in the vicinity of Croagh Patrick by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan TD.

 

Cllr Martin, who is strongly opposed to any effort to re-open gold mining in the area, says that it is time for the Minister to make his decision on a prospecting licence.  The closing date for submissions on the licence expired almost six months ago.

 

The proposal to mine the area is being opposed by Mayo Environmental Group and Westport Tourism Organisation, while, at the request of Cllr Martin, Westport Town Council has called for the prospective area to be protected from mining.

 

Cllr Martin says "It is time for Minister Ryan to come out with his decision.  Is he going to allow the environs of Croagh Patrick and a Special Area of Conservation to destroyed in the pursuit of gold or is he going to act in the best interest of the people of Mayo, the Mayo Tourism industry and the sensitive environment of Mayo and protect the area from these speculators?"

 

Keith Martin, 086 0691182, 098 25747.

Boundary Changes in Westport

Cllr Keith Martin, the Labour Party's candidate for the Westport Electoral Area, says he is shocked at the decision of the Electoral Area Boundary Committee to remove Newport East and its 1,021 citizens from the Westport Electoral Area and include them in the Belmullet area. Cllr Martin says the area is being transfered from Westport to ensure that Belmullet keeps its four seats on Mayo County Council.

Cllr Martin says "There has always been a strong connection between the townlands of Newport and Westport and to see Newport East sliced off into the administration of the Belmullet Electoral Area makes no sense in my opinion. The Westport Electoral area still includes Glenhest but geographically it is very distorted with the removal of Newport East.

"It would have made more sense to have a greater trade off between the Belmullet and Ballina Electoral Areas which are closer to each other than to move Newport East into Belmullet."

The review was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday June 17th as part of the national Independent review of the boundaries for next year's local elections. The review committees, which were established in January by the Minister for the Environment, were both chaired by Niall Callan, a former Secretary General of the Department.

"I am shocked at such a large chunk of the Westport Electoral Area with close connections to Westport can just be cut off to accommodate the retention of Belmullet's four seats. It makes no sense to distort the Westport Electoral Area and remove Newport East" concluded the Labour councillor.

086 0691182

Call for allotments for Westport

Cllr Keith Martin has called for the provision of allotments under the new Town Plan.  The Labour councillor has made a submission that Westport Town Council acquire agricultural land for the purpose of providing allotments to citizens of the town to allow them to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers.

According to Cllr Martin "This would allow citizens to develop sustainable and local foods for their own consumption and allow for food security and the combating of climate change through greater self-sufficiency.  Allotments are also a logical response to recent food price inflation."

The Office International du Coin de Terre et des Jardins Familiaux (OICTJF), a Luxembourg-based organization representing three million European allotment gardeners since 1926, says allotments allow a better quality of urban life through the reduction of noise, the binding of dust, the establishment of open green spaces in densely populated areas and provide meaningful leisure activity and the personal experience of sowing, growing, cultivating and harvesting healthy vegetables amidst high-rise buildings and the urban jungle.

Other benefits according to the OICTJF are
for children and adolescents a place to play, communicate and to discover nature and its wonders;
for working people relaxation from the stress of work;
for the unemployed the feeling of being useful and not excluded as well as a supply of fresh vegetables at minimum cost;
for immigrant families a possibility of communication and better integration in their host country;
for disabled persons a place enabling them to participate in social life, to establish contacts and overcome loneliness;
for senior citizens a place of communication with persons having the same interests as well as an opportunity of self-fulfillment during the period of retirement.

Cllr Martin says the necessary lands can be acquired from landowners but if necessary the council has the power to compulsorily purchase land for allotments under the Acquisition of Land (Allotments) Act, 1926.

Fingal County Council currently offer allotments measuring one tenth of an acre, for domestic use only for €19.00 p.a.  Other councils offering allotments include South Dublin County Council, Galway City Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

 

According to Cllr Martin "allotments would be ideal in Westport because of the large number of flats and apartments without any gardens and the number of houses with tiny gardens would mean that there is a large number of people who would welcome the opportunity to grow their own vegetables.

 

"But allotments are about so much more than growing your own food or flowers, allotments are also about exercise, teaching children about growth and nature, social interaction with neighbours and getting out of the apartment and having your own small bit of outdoor space on the ground.

 

"We should also provide, as part to the allotments project, an area for a community garden along the lines of the very successful one on the Golf Course Road.  Community gardens allow groups and communities to work as a team on a large garden and share the proceeds of that work as well as to enjoy the camaraderie and social aspect of building a community garden.  Community gardening is a well established movement worldwide and it is gaining popularity in Ireland with other community gardens in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

 

"I will be working on Westport Town Council to promote this proposal and I will fight to ensure that provision is made in our new Town Plan for allotments and a community garden."

 

Lisbon

Lisbon, the Waterloo of the EU?

Is the Lisbon Treaty the straw that broke the EU's back.  Was Nice II the high-water mark of Ireland's enthusiasm for the EU project?

I was not shocked by the high no vote in Mayo as I had encountered the electorate and had an idea that Mayo would vote NO.  I was told by dozens of voters that they would be voting NO but I did expect it to be passed nationally.

That's democracy for you and it is back to the drawing board for the EU.  YES OR NO I think we are all glad that's it is all over and we can go back to enjoying the sunshine and focusing on our own problems with our economy, health service, fuel prices, unemployment, tax shortfalls etc etc etc!

Barbeque invite for Labour supporters!

POST Lisbon Barbeque at my house at 4pm.

 

Bring a bottle.

 

No NO Voters!

 

See you then