15 | April | 2009 | Dominick Donnelly

Archive for April 15th, 2009

Tesco’s attitude to its workers in Douglas is atrocious, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 15, 2009 Douglas , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

15^th April 2009

Following a meeting this afternoon between representatives of the Mandate trade union and Tesco management in Douglas, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, has strongly criticised Tesco for the approach they are taking with their existing workforce in Douglas. Tesco want all their existing workforce in Douglas to sign up to new terms and conditions, and for their existing work contracts to be nullified, when they move over to the new Tesco Extra shop at the end of this month, and they showed no willingness to change their attitude at today’s meeting.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “Tesco are treating their existing employees with disdain, and are trying to bully them into accepting lesser terms and conditions of employment. There is absolutely no need for this, as all that is happening is that Tesco’s are moving into a new larger store, adjacent to the existing store. However because the new store will be a Tesco Extra, instead of an ordinary Tesco, the management are trying to use this as an excuse to lessen the terms and conditions of its existing employees.”

“The employees who are members of Mandate have informed me that they are having a meeting next Monday, at which they will decide what course of action to take. They are feeling completely betrayed and bullied by their employer, and have no intention to take this lying down. Many of these employees have been with Tesco since they first came to Ireland in 1996, and were with Quinnsworth before that, and are disgusted at how they are now being treated. All they want is to continue working for Tesco under their existing contracts,” concluded Cllr. Donnelly.

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes anti litter and graffiti grant to Cork County Council

Published April 15, 2009 Environment , Litter Leave a Comment

14^th April 2009

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, has welcomed the announcement by Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and Mr. Michael Kitt, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, of the allocation of €1,070,000 in grants to local authorities for public education and awareness initiatives in relation to both litter and graffiti, with Cork County Council receiving €42,000 of that.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “Litter and graffiti are both major problems for all our communities, and these grants help the county council raise public awareness and promote anti-litter and anti-graffiti activity at local level. We must all work together to remove the scourge of litter and graffiti from our communities, which can make them very unattractive places to live. There is a particular focus of these grants on involving schools and young people and on voluntary initiatives carried out by community groups, which is to be welcomed, as the only way for them to be successful is to have the community fully involved.”

In announcing the grant allocations for 2009, Minister Gormley said, “Despite the economic slow down, it is important that we strive to maintain the sustained decrease we have seen in litter pollution levels across the country over the last ten years. While there has been a small decrease in the level of grants allocated this year, this in no way reflects any lack of commitment on the part of Government to the ongoing war against litter. The appearance of a community remains vital to both social and economic activity, and local authorities and community groups must strive to do more with less”.

Tesco Ireland must not be allowed treat its loyal employees this way, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 15, 2009 Douglas , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

11^th April 2009

Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has today slammed Tesco Ireland for issuing ultimatums to its employees in Douglas, Co. Cork, over the Easter weekend, when they are unable to consult either their union or their solicitors. .

Cllr. Donnelly said: “I have been approached by a number of employees of the Tesco store in Douglas Shopping Centre, who are extremely concerned about how they are being treated by their employer. A number of employees of Tesco in Douglas received letters on Good Friday, which were hand delivered to their homes, saying that they must sign up to new terms and conditions before Tuesday next, the 14^th April, or they will be made redundant. To give your employees such an ultimatum over the Easter weekend, when they are unable either to consult their union or to seek legal advice, is bullying behaviour of the highest order, and cannot be tolerated. The employees I spoke to today are literally petrified they are going to lose their jobs.”

“Tesco is about to move in to a new larger shop in Douglas as part of the redevelopment of Douglas Shopping Centre at the end of this month, and have been recruiting new staff for the new shop, and seem to be using this as an excuse to bully their existing employees into accepting new terms and conditions. The employees’ unions have been in negotiations with Tesco, and have instructed their members not to accept the new terms on offer from Tesco. Tesco basically want to tear up the existing employment contracts, and impose new inferior ones without going through a proper consultation process, and they are threatening redundancy for any employees who refuse to accept the new terms,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Cllr. Donnelly concluded: “I have a copy of the letter received by the employees on Friday, and to receive such a letter over the Easter weekend is extremely distressing for long standing loyal employees, to say the least. At the very least Tesco must enter into meaningful dialogue with its existing employees in Douglas, via their unions, and must apologise to its employees for treating them in this appalling way. Tesco Ireland has been an extremely profitable company for many years, and such behaviour is completely out of order.”

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes imminent return of ferry service between Cork and Swansea

Published April 15, 2009 Cork Harbour , Cork Swansea Ferry , Economy , Marine , Transport Leave a Comment

9^th April 2009

Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has welcomed the return of a ferry service between Cork and Swansea later in the year.

Cllr. Donnelly, who is an investor in the new co-operative set up to get the service going again, said: “This is wonderful news for the whole Cork region, and is a great example of people power at work. Everyone who came together and made this campaign a success is to be congratulated. I look forward to travelling with the Fastnetline, as the new company is now called, later in the year.”

“In years to come I am sure this ferry service will prove to be an essential part of the infrastructure for the Cork region, and beyond into the rest of Munster. With the airline industry heading in to an inevitable long term decline due the shortage and increasing price of aviation fuel, as well as serious concerns about its effect on global warming, there will be a substantial increase in the use of ferries for international travel in the years ahead. Cork, and the business and tourism sectors of the region, are now poised to reap the benefits of the reinstatement of this ferry service to the UK,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes that members of the Oireachtas will no longer get teaching salary as well

Published April 15, 2009 Education , National Issues Leave a Comment

8^th April 2009

Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has welcomed the removal in yesterday’s budget of the facility for teachers who were elected to either the Dail or Seanad retaining their teaching salary as well as their Oireachtas salary, and only having to pay a substitute, usually on a far lower salary.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “This was a ridiculous provision which should have been removed a long time ago. I spoke in support of a motion at the recent Green Party convention to remove this perk, and it is wonderful to see how the Green Party are influencing Government to be fairer, and for members of the Oireachtas not just to be feathering their own nests. This is just one example of many perks enjoyed by members of the Oireachtas which the general public hates, and which leads many people to have no faith in the political system, or in the motivations of politicians.”

“In order to restore the faith of the public in politics, and in politicians, all such perks must go, and the Green Party will continue to push forward with these reforms. At a time of crisis like this, the importance of politics is brought sharply into focus, but in order for us all to move out of this crisis together the public must have confidence that those making the decisions on their behalf are motivated solely by their desire to serve society, and that they are not motivated by any desire just to look after themselves,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Cllr. Donnelly concluded: “The Green Party is entirely committed to cleaning up Irish politics, in order to restore the faith of the Irish public in the political system, and to bring politicians closer to the people they are meant to be serving. This is just one small but important step along that road.”

Local election spending limits commence today

Published April 15, 2009 Local Elections Leave a Comment

7 April 2009

Local Green Party candidate Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has welcomed the introduction of Local Election spending limits announced by Green Party Leader and Minister for Local Government John Gormley. From today, each candidate must record the cost of everything they use in their campaign, including posters, leaflets, merchandise and advertising.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “It is in everybody’s interest that there should be clear and reasonable spending limits as this ensures a level playing field for all candidates and the most democratic outcome. In the competitive atmosphere at an election, parties and candidates can be drawn into a spiral of competitive spending which can serve no real purpose other than to run the risk of needless increased expenditure.”

For the Carrigaline area of Cork County Council a limit of €15,000 will apply. Spending amounts are calculated on a sliding scale based on population, with a top limit of €15,000 to apply in the most populated areas. Due to their different administrative responsibilities, a standard spending limit of €7,500 will apply to all 80 borough and town councils.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “I also welcome stricter controls on election posters. The time period during which candidates can exhibit election posters has now been clarified – Local and European election candidates can only erect posters from 6th May, which is 30 days before the polling date. All posters must be removed by 12 June.

“For those who are not registered to vote, there is still time,” said Cllr Donnelly. “You can apply for entry in the Supplement to the register of electors by filling out a form available from City and County Councils, from Garda Stations, Libraries, Post Offices and on-line at www.checktheregister.ie. The final date for the receipt of completed supplement application forms by City and County Councils is Monday 18th May 2009.”

Minister John Gormley has made an order appointing Friday 5 June 2009 as the Local Election polling day. Stations will open between 7am and 10pm.

Cllr. Donnelly saddened to hear of death of Cllr. Jim Murphy

Published April 15, 2009 Monkstown , Passage West Leave a Comment

29 March 2009

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council is saddened to hear of the death earlier today of his Town Council colleague Cllr. Jim Murphy. Cllr. Donnelly said: “Jim was a huge asset to the community in Monkstown and Passage West, and he will be sorely missed. He always served the people with decency and integrity on the town council. During his year as mayor a few short years ago he set a new standard for what it means to be Mayor of Passage West, and I doubt anyone will exceed the amount of sheer hard work he put into that year on behalf of the whole community. My sympathies go to his wife Olive, their children and the wider Murphy family. May he rest in peace.”

Get Ireland Growing: Cllr. Donnelly urges residents to take part in food campaign

Published April 15, 2009 Food , National Issues Leave a Comment

29 March 2009

More home grown food is one recipe that can take Ireland forward

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline area of Cork County Council has urged residents to take part in Get Ireland Growing, a campaign to encourage food growing at home and in the community. Cllr. Donnelly is calling on anyone interested in learning more about food growing or setting up a community garden or allotment scheme to contact him.

Cllr Donnelly said: “Over the last number of years Irish people have got increasingly interested in good food, cooking, and in living green lifestyles and there is huge interest in people wanting to grow their own food. If you have your own garden it’s easy to start growing, but if not, you may be interested in getting involved in a community garden or allotment scheme.

“Get Ireland Growing aims to get as many people as possible to start growing food and vegetables in allotments, community gardens, window boxes and their own back gardens. Growing your own food saves money, gets people out and about, can improve public health and cuts carbon emissions and food miles. It could also help enhance the community spirit.

Cllr. Donnelly said if residents in the community were interested in setting up an allotment or community garden in they should contact him to discuss setting up a local group. “I would also be interested in speaking to landowners or who may have suitable land for the scheme,” he said.

More information about the Green Party’s campaign can be found at www.getgrowing.ie.

Cllr. Donnelly encourages people to take part in Earth Hour

Published April 15, 2009 Environment Leave a Comment

28^th March 2009

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council, is encouraging people to take part in Earth Hour on Saturday evening from 8:30 to 9:30 by switching off all lights.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “This is an excellent way for us all to sit back and contemplate that we have only got one planet to live on, and we better start looking after her better. By switching off all our lights for just one hour, in solidarity with people all over the world, it will hopefully lead us all to have more respect for Mother Earth and all she gives us.”

Ban Noisy Car Exhausts via NCT Test, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 15, 2009 National Issues , Noise , Transport 1 Comment

27^th March 09

Green Party calls for ban on noisy cars with modified exhausts.

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council, has welcomed proposals by the Road Safety Authority to tackle noise pollution from cars with modified exhausts.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “I’ve have been contacted by many residents suffering sleepless nights because of boy racers in noisy cars on residential roads in the early hours of the morning. Residents have to endure the loud grating sound of roaring exhausts while the dangerous drivers make donut rings on the roads.”

Fitting modified exhausts and silencer equipment is now illegal and the new NCT test is proposed to check car exhaust noise levels in order to ensure acceptable noise levels are not exceeded.

Under proposals released by the Road Safety Authority, a suggestion has been put forward to check car exhaust noise levels during the NCT. The RSA states: The nuisance caused by excessive noise from vehicle exhausts is regularly the subject of complaints received by the RSA. A new test is proposed at NCT whereby sound levels will be checked in order to ensure acceptable sound levels are not exceeded.

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