Economy | Dominick Donnelly

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Cllr. Donnelly congratulates Tesco workers in Douglas, as their strike is over

Published May 1, 2009 Douglas , Economy , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

1^st May 2009

At direct talks between Tesco management and the Mandate union in the Labour Relations Commission yesterday evening, agreement was reached on the transfer of staff from the old shop to the new Tesco Extra shop in Douglas. The Green Party’s candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council and for Passage West Town Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, congratulated all sides in bringing the dispute to a speedy resolution. It just remains for Tesco and Mandate to go back to the LRC next Thursday to sign off on the agreement.

“The long-standing workers at Tesco in Douglas are delighted that they can now transfer to the new shop with all their terms and conditions intact. This is all they wanted all along, and why Tesco was trying to bully them in to accepting lesser terms and conditions, when Tesco is highly profitable, is a symptom of a corporate greed culture which must be challenged, whenever it rears its ugly head,” Cllr. Donnelly said.

“The workers were absolutely delighted with the support they received from the people and businesses of the Douglas area, without whom this result would not have been possible. This dispute was a classic case of people power – when people stand together to fight for what they believe to be right, anything can be achieved,” Cllr. Donnelly added.

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes news that strike at Tesco Douglas is suspended

Published April 30, 2009 Douglas , Economy , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

30^th April 2009 – 6:30 am

After one day of their strike action at Tesco Douglas, members of the Mandate trade union have suspended their strike, to allow Mandate and Tesco enter talks at the Labour Relations Commission later today, without preconditions. Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Douglas area, has welcomed this suspension of the strike.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “It is wonderful news that the strike has been suspended, and that the parties are going to try to resolve the dispute at the Labour Relations Commission later today. Today is the last day of business for the old Tesco shop in Douglas. The staff are delighted to be able to go back to work today, and hope that the negotiations at the LRC have a successful outcome.”

Cllr. Donnelly welcomes news that Tesco will be meeting with their Douglas workers tonight

Published April 29, 2009 Douglas , Economy , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

29^th April 2009 – 8pm

After the first day of their strike action at Tesco Douglas, members of the Mandate trade union have been invited to emergency talks this evening to try to resolve the dispute. Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Douglas area, has welcomed this move from Tesco.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “I do not understand why Tesco did not try to talk properly to their workers before now, instead of bullying them. The strike notice was served to them a week ago. However I welcome that they now seem to want to negotiate, and I hope there is a satisfactory outcome to their negotiations tonight, and that this needless dispute can be resolved quickly. If not their long-standing employees in Douglas are technically out of a job as of tomorrow (Thursday) evening.”

“The level of support for the strike was amazing in Douglas today. The workers were overwhelmed with the support they received, with many individuals and local businesses giving them gifts, and showing them tremendous support. It was surely this level of support from the general public, and the business community around Douglas, that has brought Tesco to their senses,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Tesco workers in Douglas will not give in to bullying, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 29, 2009 Douglas , Economy , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

29^th April 2009

Following the start of their official strike this morning at the Tesco store in Douglas, members of the Mandate union have shown their unity and it is clear that they are not going to give in to the bullying tactics of their employer. Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Douglas area, who has been supporting the workers for the past fortnight in their dispute, joined them this morning as they started their picket.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “The way Tesco has been treating their long standing employees in Douglas is nothing short of inhumane. They have shown a complete disregard for any kind of human decency. However from talking to the employees as they started their strike this morning, it is abundantly clear that they will not be bowed by the bullying tactics of Tesco, and will stand up and fight for their rights. All they are asking is for their jobs to continue with the same terms and conditions they have enjoyed for all their time working for Tesco in Douglas (formerly Quinnsworth), some of them for over thirty years.”

“I urge the public to support the Tesco workers by not passing the picket lines, and to avoid spending any money in any Tesco stores. This is the only way Tesco will be forced to be reasonable. It is now clear that Tesco intend to try to remove the working conditions enjoyed by all their long standing employees right around the country, and that they are using Douglas as a test case. We, the public, have the power to stop this happening, as the only language Tesco understand is money, so it is quite simple – don’t spend any money in Tesco until they treat their employees reasonably,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Additional Information: The official strike (by members of the Mandate trade union) started this morning (Wednesday) at the old Tesco store in Douglas. They will be joined from tomorrow by their SIPTU colleagues. The old shop closes tomorrow (Thursday) evening, and Tesco intend to open their new Tesco Extra store on Friday morning (1^st May).

Public should support the striking workers in Tesco Douglas, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 28, 2009 Douglas , Economy , Tesco Douglas Leave a Comment

28^th April 2009

Following the ongoing appalling way in which the management of Tesco Douglas have been treating their long-standing workers over the transfer to the new store later this week, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, the Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council for the Douglas area, will be joining the workers on the picket line when the strike starts tomorrow morning.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “I feel compelled to join the Tesco workers on the picket line in Douglas tomorrow morning, due to the appalling way they have been treated by Tesco management. Tesco seem to be just driven by pure naked greed, and they really don’t seem to care either about their workers or their conditions. They want to just use the excuse of the recession to tear up existing contracts so as to improve their own enormous profits.”

“I urge the public to support the Tesco workers by not passing the picket lines, and to avoid spending any money in any Tesco stores. This is the only way Tesco will be forced to be reasonable. It seems that if Tesco get away with this appalling behaviour in Douglas, they will do the same thing in other shops around the country,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Minister Ryan visits DePuy in Ringaskiddy to see their energy initiatives

Published April 21, 2009 Cork Harbour , Economy , Energy , Ringaskiddy 1 Comment

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Minister Eamon Ryan and Senator Dan Boyle with senior managment at DePuy, Ringaskiddy

During his visit to Cork on Friday 17th April, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, visited the DePuy plant in Loughbeg, Ringaskiddy, to see their energy inititiatives first hand. The picture above shows, from left to right, John Lynch (Plant Manager DePuy), James Winters (Engineering Manager DePuy), Dan Donovan (Technical Services Team Leader DePuy), Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Minister Eamon Ryan, Senator Dan Boyle and the Cork hurler Donal Og Cusack, who is leading DePuy’s energy initiative. In the background is the test mast which DePuy are currently using to get test readings in advance of submitting a planning application for a wind turbine.

As part of the visit, Minister Ryan was given an excellent presentation by Donal Og Cusack, as the leader of DePuy’s energy initiative, and Plant Manager John Lynch, in which they outlined the very serious way in which DePuy are taking energy issues. For many years DePuy have been reducing their energy needs while increasing their output, and this has led them to very substantial financial savings. Donal Og Cusack described how DePuy has trained its employees to take energy issues as seriously as they take safety issues. He also described how over half of the electricity they buy is from renewable sources, and how they are looking at different ways of generating their own electricity on site. As a start on this, DePuy have come together with four other large plants in Ringaskiddy, and the five companies will be submitting planning applications later in the year to install wind turbines on the Ringaskiddy peninsula. DePuy are also installing a woodchip boiler, which will be up and running later this year. They are also exploring the potential of such technologies as geothermal and wave power.

Cllr. Dominick Donnelly, Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, who accompanied Minister Ryan on his visit, said: “It is wonderful to see a company such as DePuy is taking energy issues so seriously. DePuy continue to grow their business, and are currently employing about 700 people, with an extension currently under construction. DePuy are a model to other businesses as to how taking energy issues seriously leads to substantial savings on the company’s bottom line.”

Thousands of green jobs to be created by ESB

Published April 16, 2009 Economy , Energy Leave a Comment

16^th April 2009

Announcement proves that going green will save money and the economy says Cllr. Donnelly

Local Green Party member of Passage West Town Council and candidate for Cork County Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly has welcomed today’s announcement by the ESB that up to 6,000 jobs and training opportunities are to be created through green projects and initiatives. The ESB confirmed that 3,700 jobs will be created in the areas of wind energy, smart networks and smart metering, electric vehicles, construction and energy servicing.

Cllr. Donnelly said: “Going green saves money and creates jobs. Today’s announcement is proof of this. As an island nation we can use our vast wind and wave resources to power our homes and our cars. In order to do this, we need to install and upgrade our electricity network in a smart way – and this is where many of the jobs announced by the ESB will come from.”

“The Green Party in Government has taken Irish energy in a new direction. Our initiatives such as smart meters, smart networks, electric cars, renewable energy, green technology and home insulation are bearing fruit. Now we must look at how these jobs can be created and sustained at a local level,” continued Cllr. Donnelly.

Specific projects resulting in the creation of new jobs include:

The roll-out of Smart Metering and the implementation of ESB’s Smart Networks Strategy which will lead to 1,500 jobs by 2013.

Novus Modus (ESB’s new energy technology fund) has committed to a five year programme of investment in clean energy and energy efficiency (350 jobs). The fund has just invested €2.5 million in the Cork-based company, Nualight, which is creating up to 60 additional jobs locally.

Electric vehicles (600 jobs) including the roll-out of the infrastructure to allow electric vehicles to be recharged.

Working with Sustainable Energy Ireland, ESB will offer free home-energy efficiency surveys to 25,000 householders and subsequent support to allow them implement necessary measures.

In order to alleviate the current severe shortage of electrical engineers, ESB will finance 50 apprentices each year for the next four years to allow them to achieve a third level engineering degree.

In addition, ESB will sustain a further 1300 jobs outside the company through ongoing investment programmes in the company’s power generation and networks infrastructure. The company will recruit 250 engineers and 50 other professionals and train 800 apprentices over the next five years, including 400 FAS apprentices who recently lost their jobs and will now be able to complete their craft training, paid for by ESB.

Cllr. Donnelly concluded: “There’s no denying that times are tough, but with proper planning and investment, we can help kickstart the economy, get people off our doles queues and sustain our energy future, while helping the environment too.”

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.

We can all help our economy recover, says Cllr. Donnelly

Published April 15, 2009 Economy Leave a Comment

23^rd February 2009

How we spend our money can have a positive effect

Commenting on the recent turmoil in our economic situation, Green Party candidate for Cork County Council and Passage West Town Council in the local elections, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly said: “With all the doom and gloom around about the economy, it is hard for us to see what effect we can all have on the economy. However we can all have a positive effect by spending our money wisely. The biggest weekly expenditure most of us have is on groceries. What food we buy and where we buy it can have a huge effect. We should be buying Irish made food in Irish owned shops who pay their taxes to the Irish Government.”

Cllr. Donnelly continued: “I illustrate what I mean with two simple examples. Ten or fifteen years ago there was one main Irish brand of crisps, with a few smaller competitors. Then a large company from outside Ireland came into the Irish market with huge celebrity endorsed marketing campaigns, and took a significant share of the Irish crisp market. The result of this was that at least one Irish crisp factory closed, and the number employed in the Irish crisp industry reduced significantly. If we had continued buying the Irish made crisps, this would not have happened. We eat a lot of crisps, but we should make sure they are Irish crisps. Another example of buying non-Irish product is yoghurts. In any supermarket or grocery shop, there are huge numbers of different brands of yoghurt on the shelves. Most of these are Irish, but many are not. The only reason people buy the non-Irish brands is a matter of lifestyle choice. Is this a good enough reason not to be supporting the Irish dairy industry, and supporting jobs in the Irish dairy industry? The same arguments can be applied across most product ranges sold in grocery shops and supermarkets.”

“We can all make a difference and create jobs and wealth in the Irish economy by thinking a bit more carefully about what products we buy with our hard earned money, and also in what shops we buy them. We should be buying Irish made goods as locally as possible, in Irish owned shops, and we should stop our hard earned money flowing out of the Irish economy, as much as we possibly can. If we all do this, it will make a huge difference.” Cllr. Donnelly concluded.

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