13 | May | 2009 | Dominick Donnelly

Archive for May 13th, 2009

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes Minister Gormley’s initiative, which will help create thousands of jobs in the Irish recycling industry

Published May 13, 2009 Economy , Environment , Incineration , Waste Leave a Comment

13^th May 2009

Minister for Environment launches new Market Development Plan to create jobs from waste currently exported

Mr John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government today launched an innovative €13 million Market Development Programme to develop new markets and help create new Irish jobs by transforming waste into new sustainable products. Targeting entrepreneurs, third level institutions, manufacturers and waste organisations, over the next five years, the Market Development Programme will identify and help develop markets for a variety of waste streams including plastics, paper, metals, organics, glass and wood. Entrepreneurs interested in creating new businesses from waste can get further information at www.mdg.ie.

Green Party member of Passage West Town Council, and candidate for Cork County Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, who co-authored the Green Party’s waste policy and who is very involved with CHASE in fighting the Ringaskiddy incinerators, said: “I welcome this initiative from Minister Gormley, which will help create a proper recycling industry in Ireland. In the past recycling in Ireland was only seen as the segregation of waste into different waste streams. Most of this was then exported to be reprocessed into something useful somewhere else. However a proper recycling industry in Ireland, where we treat our waste as a valuable resource, will create literally thousands of jobs and will be a huge boost to the Irish economy. This announcement from Minister Gormley is a first step along that road, where waste is no longer a problem, but is a valuable resource.”

Cllr. Donnelly continued: “I used to own and run the first green shop in Ireland, All That’s Green in Kinsale, where I used to import and sell many products made from recycled materials, such as stationery and plastics. Almost none of these recycled products came from Ireland. It struck me then how we should be treating all waste as a valuable resource, and turning it back into products which we can sell. The days of burying waste in a hole in the ground, or even worse, burning it in an incinerator, are thankfully coming to an end, and this Market Development Programme is very much part of the way forward.”

“I welcome this as the start of a new dawn in Ireland. I have been advocating for many years that we must not treat waste as a problem, but rather see it as a resource for recycling and reuse. This is the start of a whole new industry for Ireland, and I encourage all entrepreneurs to get involved,” concluded Cllr. Donnelly.

Cllr. Donnelly urges last minute voters to get on the register

Published May 13, 2009 Local Elections Leave a Comment

13^th May 2009

Local Green Party candidate Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has urged voters to get on the supplementary register before it closes this Friday, 15^th May. The supplementary register will allow those eligible to vote in the upcoming local, European and bye-elections if they are not currently included on the electoral register.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “Every vote counts, so it’s crucial that those eligible get on the register and exercise their democratic right to vote. As a secondary school teacher, I know that there are many students who have recently turned 18, but are not yet registered to vote. If they want to use their vote for the first time, they must get registered in the next few days. To get on the supplementary register, you must get a registration form stamped by the Gardai and submit it to Cork County Council by 5pm this Friday.

“If you come from another EU country, as long as you’re not voting back home you can vote in the European elections. If you’re from outside the EU you can vote in the local elections. I’d urge everyone to look at the Citizen’s Information Service website, http://www.citizensinformation.ie to get the full details on how to make sure that their voice is heard. You can get application forms from there or on http://www.registertovote.ie. If you’re not sure if you are registered to vote you can access the register on http://www.checktheregister.ie before you submit an application,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Cllr Donnelly concluded: “The Green Party wants every voter to get the opportunity to choose who will represent them locally and in Europe.”

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes Green Party Leader’s clampdown on rogue builders

Published May 13, 2009 Environment , Housing , Local Government Leave a Comment

13^th May 2009

-Developers who leave housing estates unfinished to be targeted

Green Party candidate Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has welcomed moves by Environment Minister and Green Party Leader John Gormley to clamp down on rogue builders who leave housing estates and apartment blocks unfinished.

For the first time, Councils will be able to share information on bad builders and apply it to planning decisions, ensuring that those with a history of unfinished projects will be unable to get planning permission for their next project.

Green candidate Dominick Donnelly who is running for election to Cork County Council and Passage West Town Council said: “The issue of unfinished estates, with poor roads, neglected green areas and lack of lighting has been coming up on the doors again and again. Many of the housing estates built during the boom were never properly finished, leaving those who paid high prices for their houses to put up with neglected and in some cases, dangerous roads, footpaths and green areas.”

The clampdown initiated by Minister Gormley will result in a national system to share information between Councils, who can track a developer or builder’s previous record. Currently, local authorities cannot take a developer’s track record into account when considering planning permission, allowing rogue developers to reoffend.

“These welcome moves will encourage developers to finish off roads and footpaths and to finish garden landscaping, if they want to get permission for their next project,” concluded Cllr. Donnelly.

The new planning laws will come into effect under the Planning bill 2009, which is currently being finalised by Minster Gormley.

Cllr. Donnelly calls for directly elected mayor for County Cork

Published May 13, 2009 Local Elections , Local Government , National Issues , Transport Leave a Comment

13 May 2009

Cork County Council should follow Dublin’s lead and elect a powerful mayor

Green Party county council candidate and former Mayor of Passage West, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has said that people in County Cork would benefit from a powerful directly elected mayor with powers to direct transport, planning and other local services.

Following the announcement by Minister for Local Government John Gormley that Dubliners will be voting for a mayor with a range of new powers next summer, Cllr. Donnelly said: “Our county deserves a mayor with real powers, elected by the people – and answerable to them. We would benefit from an elected mayor that could better steer policies to create jobs and improve local services in our area. I hope that Dublin is just a starting point for powerful mayors and I encourage people to support my campaign for a directly elected mayor for County Cork.”

“The green paper on local government reform, published by Minister Gormley last April, was in favour of directly elected mayors in cities and counties. It also recommended that the democratic policy making function of local government would be strengthened by giving important powers of initiation – budgets, development plans etc, to the mayor. I hope that the forthcoming white paper which is due to be published soon will support this recommendation and I ask people to give me their support so I can convince John Gormley that County Cork needs a directly elected mayor,” concluded Cllr. Donnelly.

Links:

More details on Minister Gormley’s announcement can be found at: http://www.greenparty.ie/en/news/latest_news/elected_mayor_for_dublin_next_summer

The government’s green paper on local government reform can be accessed at: http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/LocalGovernmentReform/