The housing crisis has caused misery for countless people across our constituency. Many people feel trapped paying sky-high rents while unable to save up for a deposit to buy their own home. Others are living at home with family, without hope of getting a place of their own where they could have their own independence. Others feel forced to emigrate because they can’t picture a future here in Ireland. Others are in HAP properties in sub standard accommodation with the state paying huge sums to landlords. Currently there are 10,000 people homeless in Dublin with almost 4,000 children.

Everyone should have the right to a secure and affordable home. A change of government is needed to unravel and reverse decades of bad housing policy.  Sinn Féin has proposed a referendum to create a constitutional right to housing for all.

A Sinn Féin government will take a different approach to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We set out in our 2024 Alternative Budget that a Sinn Féin government will deliver greater investment, increase targets to match demand, cut out red tape which is resulting in delays of up to 2 years before a brick is laid, use new technology to build, speed up planning and introduce changes to tax code to incentivise building of affordable homes.

Sinn Fein would invest in, and develop neighbourhoods, rather than just throwing up apartment blocks. We would ensure there are adequate amenities and local services for everyone. We would increase funding for housing cooperatives, such as O Cualann housing, in the building of affordable housing across the city.

If elected, our team of Sinn Féin councillors will work hard on the council to tackle the housing crisis. We will work to deliver affordable purchase homes through Local Councils and Approved Housing Bodies at prices people can genuinely afford. Local councils and Approved Housing Bodies will deliver the new affordable homes on public land, in Sinn Féin’s plan for government.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

I hope the new planning bill currently going through the Oireachtas will help update our very slow planning system, which in turn will lead to building houses quicker. In my own area of Finglas and Ballymun, there are plans to build over 2,000 units but the council must be delivering quicker given the current crisis. All the tools are now there for local authorities with the Housing for All plan so the pressure is on to deliver. Less bureaucracy and more power to local authorities.

There’s so much that needs to be done to make sure that Dublin City Council hits its target of 12,000 new homes, but I’ll start with just two suggestions that will make a significant difference. 

Firstly, we need to ramp up the building of Cost Rental housing. It’s a relatively new form of tenure in Ireland, but it’s already starting to make a difference in making renting a more affordable option for people who don’t qualify for social housing, can’t afford to buy and can’t afford to rent in the private rental sector. The rent you pay is based on the development cost, not the market rent. This is self-financing, but offers cheaper, secure homes. With Cost Rental, rents are at least one quarter less than what you would pay to private landlords, making long term renting a better option, and making it easier for those who want to save to buy their own home. I’m proud that the Green Party kicked off Cost Rental and that, in the coming years, we will build over 2,000 new homes per year at more affordable rents, mostly in Dublin.

Secondly, we need to get a lot better at bringing vacant and derelict homes back into use. Many residents report houses in our communities that could, with a bit of work, be turned into suitable homes. This is something that myself and my Green Councillor colleagues have been fighting hard for over the last five years, and the Council has now started to get much more proactive. We want the Council to add all eligible buildings to the derelict sites register, buy these buildings and restore them into homes and, in some areas, shops. I’ll increase resources for the team in Dublin City Council who tax and purchase vacant and derelict homes, to bring them back into housing or community use.

I’ll also work alongside my colleagues to:

• Push the Council to develop more social and public housing on public lands and support the Land Development Agency and approved housing bodies to ramp up their work.
• Report illegal full-time AirBnBs, which deprive the city of much-needed homes.
• Rezone more suitable land for housing. We did this in the current council term with land in industrial estates and I think we should continue across the wider city.
• Develop a new plan to develop space above shops for housing - something Dublin hasn’t managed to get right in the past. I think a scheme where the Council takes a more direct role in terms of ownership or design could make it work, learning from some really innovative work in other places like Waterford.
• Aim more resources at city council apprenticeships in housing maintenance, so that council-owned vacant properties are turned around quicker. Some units sit idle for months or years. We need to step that up.
• Maintain good-quality standards for housing, particularly in terms of warmth and energy efficiency.

The housing crisis has caused misery for countless people across our constituency. Many people feel trapped paying sky-high rents while unable to save up for a deposit to buy their own home. Others are living at home with family, without hope of getting a place of their own where they could have their own independence. Others feel forced to emigrate because they can’t picture a future here in Ireland. Others are in HAP properties in sub standard accommodation with the state paying huge sums to landlords. Currently there are 10,000 people homeless in Dublin with almost 4,000 children.

Everyone should have the right to a secure and affordable home. A change of government is needed to unravel and reverse decades of bad housing policy.  Sinn Féin has proposed a referendum to create a constitutional right to housing for all.

A Sinn Féin government will take a different approach to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We set out in our 2024 Alternative Budget that a Sinn Féin government will deliver greater investment, increase targets to match demand, cut out red tape which is resulting in delays of up to 2 years before a brick is laid, use new technology to build, speed up planning and introduce changes to tax code to incentivise building of affordable homes.

Sinn Fein would invest in, and develop neighbourhoods, rather than just throwing up apartment blocks. We would ensure there are adequate amenities and local services for everyone. We would increase funding for housing cooperatives, such as O Cualann housing, in the building of affordable housing across the city.

If elected, our team of Sinn Féin councillors will work hard on the council to tackle the housing crisis. We will work to deliver affordable purchase homes through Local Councils and Approved Housing Bodies at prices people can genuinely afford. Local councils and Approved Housing Bodies will deliver the new affordable homes on public land, in Sinn Féin’s plan for government.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

A multifaceted approach is required to meet the urgent demand for more housing, particularly social and affordable options. First and foremost, increased density and development within Dublin's industrial estates are critical, but we must go further. Our planning system must be more transparent, allowing for the quick and efficient approval of housing projects.

Furthermore, we must ensure that new developments are supported by necessary infrastructure, such as childcare facilities and shops, in order to foster sustainable communities.

The housing crisis has caused misery for countless people across our constituency. Many people feel trapped paying sky-high rents while unable to save up for a deposit to buy their own home. Others are living at home with family, without hope of getting a place of their own where they could have their own independence. Others feel forced to emigrate because they can’t picture a future here in Ireland. Others are in HAP properties in sub standard accommodation with the state paying huge sums to landlords. Currently there are 10,000 people homeless in Dublin with almost 4,000 children.

Everyone should have the right to a secure and affordable home. A change of government is needed to unravel and reverse decades of bad housing policy.  Sinn Féin has proposed a referendum to create a constitutional right to housing for all.

A Sinn Féin government will take a different approach to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We set out in our 2024 Alternative Budget that a Sinn Féin government will deliver greater investment, increase targets to match demand, cut out red tape which is resulting in delays of up to 2 years before a brick is laid, use new technology to build, speed up planning and introduce changes to tax code to incentivise building of affordable homes.

Sinn Fein would invest in, and develop neighbourhoods, rather than just throwing up apartment blocks. We would ensure there are adequate amenities and local services for everyone. We would increase funding for housing cooperatives, such as O Cualann housing, in the building of affordable housing across the city.

If elected, our team of Sinn Féin councillors will work hard on the council to tackle the housing crisis. We will work to deliver affordable purchase homes through Local Councils and Approved Housing Bodies at prices people can genuinely afford. Local councils and Approved Housing Bodies will deliver the new affordable homes on public land, in Sinn Féin’s plan for government.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

I would advocate for the council to use its compulsory purchase order powers more often, especially for long term vacant buildings. There are simply far too many vacant buildings lying derelict for over 10-15 years and we need to use them and bring them into use.

We need to reduce the bureaucracy of building houses too. It should also be possible to speed up the planning process. It just takes too long to build houses. 

The state need to restart a proper housebuilding program on state lands through funding a state-owned building company. Public lands should not be sold or gifted to private developers and such developers who hoard land-banks should be either forced to build or relinquish their land-banks to the state or through compulsory purchase. 

The main issue that I get tackled on at the doors is the shortage of housing, especially public housing. It is heart breaking to listen to the stories of fellow citizens deprived of what is a basic human right, adequate and safe shelter.

There have been fewer catastrophic decisions taken by government in the last few decades than the practical abandonment of social housing as a policy. The State, that proudly built huge social housing projects in the 1930s, 60s and 80s; stopped building social housing in recent decades which has led to the current housing disaster.

My party and I endorse the recent Housing Commission Report castigating the dependence of the state on HAP and other private schemes.

It is essential that DCC prioritise social housing. I am delighted that there is a development of a few hundred mixed units planned for Ballymun beside LIDL but much more is needed.

DCC has nearly 10 times the vacancy of other local authorities in Dublin and this needs to be rectified. The current turnaround time from vacancy to letting of over 8 months is not acceptable and will be a priority of mine if elected.

Ballymun/Finglas is a mixed community with a large community of young families, university students and older citizens. It is important that Dublin City Council Housing Policy reflect this reality and provide the appropriate mix of residential units.

When considering how to get more housing built in the city it should be community-led, not developer-led. There is no point building lots of apartments and ending up with a concrete jungle. I am raising concerns over the plans for the Unidare site on the Jamestown Road as the high density development will have create huge problems locally.

New developments need to work for the community in Ballymun, Ballygall, Finglas, Glasnevin and Santry first and foremost. We need to prioritise housing for families and people who are living and working in the area those who are going to put roots down and help build community, as opposed to more short term, transient renters. We need to ensure that families can live and grow, that we can build lasting networks that support and look out for every member of the community. There is a very strong sense of community and characteristic spirit locally and if elected to Dublin City Council I intend to protect and support this. I will fight for the people in our community- not for the profit-driven developers.

As an Aontú candidate I support Aontú’s proposals at a legislative level to improve the housing situation. These are:

• To prioritise the building of social and affordable housing
• To end land bank speculation
• To incentivise long term rental agreements in rental properties
• To end tax advantages for predatory Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

There are two major obstacles to increasing the supply of social and affordable housing that the Council could address; Land/property hoarding and the absence of a council/state construction capacity.

To tackle land/property hoarding, DCC should proactively monitor and document vacant and derelict sites and buildings. The Vacant Site Levy should be enforced more proactively and new, escalating rates should be introduced for longer term vacancies. After a specified period, DCC should use compulsory purchase powers to acquire vacant sites/buildings.

To increase the supply of local authority housing, DCC and councillors should lobby government for funds to build up construction capacity in the council and to support the establishment of a state-owned construction company to work with local authorities and the LDA to deliver new homes. In the interim, DCC should cease the sale of public land to private developers and instead contract to build public housing on public land according to plans developed by the council, in-house to meet the needs of Dubliners.

To improve conditions with social housing we need to reverse the move towards privatisation in Dublin City Council. We need more Council workers focussed not only on maintaining the housing stock, but also in Roads, Parks and Waste Management, rather than private companies focussed on making profits. A major issue we find in our area is mould and dampness, and the Council are spending a fortune paying private companies to tackle it. We believe DCC workers would be cheaper for the tax payer and work to a very high quality.

Ireland’s housing is considered as the second least affordable in the world. The average cost of renting in Ireland is now €1,972 a month. In Dublin, this figure ranges from €1,500–€2,500 per month ranking Ireland as the fourth most expensive country to rent in Europe.

The latest Daft.ie report shows house prices continuing to spiral upwards. In the year to March, prices have jumped by 6.5%. The report also details average house prices in the main cities including Dublin at €437,125 – up 3.2%. The report noted a reduction in the number of homes available to buy in March, down 24% on the same period last year and down 40% on the pre-Covid average listings in 2019.

Sinn Féin would reduce and freeze spiralling rents. We have set a target of halving the council housing waiting list during one term of in office through our council-led building programme on public land, and we will clear the waiting list within a decade. These policies will increase the supply of affordable homes for average workers to purchase or rent at below current market rates.

Another major issue for renters in our area is the lack of security of tenure. Sinn Féin will legislate for tenancies of indefinite duration to provide renters with real security of tenure. These tenancies are the norm in many European countries and there is no reason not to have them here. We have pledged to remove RAS and HAP tenancies from the legal definition of council housing to reflect the temporary nature of these tenancies and the fact that tenants in these schemes do not have long-term security of tenure.

We also need to review the tax treatment of landlords to ensure equity of esteem among all categories of landlords and bring an end to tax breaks that provide no real return to the housing system.   Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Increased funding for retrofitting DCC’s existing housing stock. This will also help with climate action. I have contacted the private rented section on several occasions during my time as a Councillor and found that section to be quite efficient, so we need to ensure that they are properly resourced.

In our constituency over 15,500 people live in homes rented from Dublin City Council or a housing body. This is nearly 28% of the local population and one of the highest proportions in the country. In addition, nearly 8,000 people live in private rented accommodation, comprising nearly 14% of the population. The people who live in them need to be assured that their homes will be maintained and upgraded so that they can last, and serve not just current tenants, but generations to come.

Most of the social housing units were built several decades ago, when insulation standards were low or non-existent. We need to make these homes cosy, to insulate them to the highest modern standards and make it much cheaper for residents to heat them. Dublin City Council has started to roll out a new retrofit programme, but I believe this has to happen a lot faster, so that the social housing estates of Finglas and Ballymun are upgraded using a ‘whole estate’ approach, alongside their neighbours who own their own homes.

I will work with the Council to increase inspections of private rental properties to make sure they’re on the register and in compliance with regulations. I’ll also support changes in regulations on building standards of buy-to-rent apartments. Increasing the stock of Cost Rental homes will also force private landlords to reduce costs and increase value.

To improve conditions with social housing we need to reverse the move towards privatisation in Dublin City Council. We need more Council workers focussed not only on maintaining the housing stock, but also in Roads, Parks and Waste Management, rather than private companies focussed on making profits.

A major issue we find in our area is mould and dampness, and the Council are spending a fortune paying private companies to tackle it. We believe DCC workers would be cheaper for the tax payer and work to a very high quality.

Ireland’s housing is considered as the second least affordable in the world. The average cost of renting in Ireland is now €1,972 a month. In Dublin, this figure ranges from €1,500–€2,500 per month ranking Ireland as the fourth most expensive country to rent in Europe.

The latest Daft.ie report shows house prices continuing to spiral upwards. In the year to March, prices have jumped by 6.5%. The report also details average house prices in the main cities including Dublin at €437,125 – up 3.2%. The report noted a reduction in the number of homes available to buy in March, down 24% on the same period last year and down 40% on the pre-Covid average listings in 2019.

Sinn Féin would reduce and freeze spiralling rents. We have set a target of halving the council housing waiting list during one term of in office through our council-led building programme on public land, and we will clear the waiting list within a decade. These policies will increase the supply of affordable homes for average workers to purchase or rent at below current market rates.

Another major issue for renters in our area is the lack of security of tenure. Sinn Féin will legislate for tenancies of indefinite duration to provide renters with real security of tenure. These tenancies are the norm in many European countries and there is no reason not to have them here. We have pledged to remove RAS and HAP tenancies from the legal definition of council housing to reflect the temporary nature of these tenancies and the fact that tenants in these schemes do not have long-term security of tenure.

We also need to review the tax treatment of landlords to ensure equity of esteem among all categories of landlords and bring an end to tax breaks that provide no real return to the housing system.   Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Improving living conditions in social and private housing is critical. Regular inspections and maintenance of social housing are critical to maintaining standards. We must also support initiatives that improve building standards and insulation in existing homes. Furthermore, the council must actively address cases in which private rentals fail to follow regulations, providing assistance as needed.

To improve conditions with social housing we need to reverse the move towards privatisation in Dublin City Council. We need more Council workers focussed not only on maintaining the housing stock, but also in Roads, Parks and Waste Management, rather than private companies focussed on making profits. A major issue we find in our area is mould and dampness, and the Council are spending a fortune paying private companies to tackle it. We believe DCC workers would be cheaper for the tax payer and work to a very high quality.

Ireland’s housing is considered as the second least affordable in the world. The average cost of renting in Ireland is now €1,972 a month. In Dublin, this figure ranges from €1,500–€2,500 per month ranking Ireland as the fourth most expensive country to rent in Europe.

The latest Daft.ie report shows house prices continuing to spiral upwards. In the year to March, prices have jumped by 6.5%. The report also details average house prices in the main cities including Dublin at €437,125 – up 3.2%. The report noted a reduction in the number of homes available to buy in March, down 24% on the same period last year and down 40% on the pre-Covid average listings in 2019.

Sinn Féin would reduce and freeze spiralling rents. We have set a target of halving the council housing waiting list during one term of in office through our council-led building programme on public land, and we will clear the waiting list within a decade. These policies will increase the supply of affordable homes for average workers to purchase or rent at below current market rates.

Another major issue for renters in our area is the lack of security of tenure. Sinn Féin will legislate for tenancies of indefinite duration to provide renters with real security of tenure. These tenancies are the norm in many European countries and there is no reason not to have them here. We have pledged to remove RAS and HAP tenancies from the legal definition of council housing to reflect the temporary nature of these tenancies and the fact that tenants in these schemes do not have long-term security of tenure.

We also need to review the tax treatment of landlords to ensure equity of esteem among all categories of landlords and bring an end to tax breaks that provide no real return to the housing system.   Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

More needs to be used of our existing housing stock. Dublin City Council needs more financing for it to able for it to retrofit all existing social housing. Long delays on this need to be cut down too.

I would extend the eviction ban until more rental rights are enacted. Lots of people now are forced to uproot their lives for no reason whatsoever, which is extremely damaging for both the family, individuals and the community. ‘No fault’ evictions should be stopped as well as removing the grounds which allows a landlord to end a tenancy on the basis that they intend to sell the property within three months.

All rented accommodation needs to be of a proper and high standard, whether council owned or private. A system of inspection of HAP rented accommodation should be initiated as I have received several complaints of poor maintenance in such properties. Council properties need to be inspected regularly irrespective of any reported issues.  On receipt of a reported issue, an inspector or maintenance person should visit the property in a timely manner. 

Accountability is so important in order to maintain and improve conditions in existing housing. In the case of social housing, it is the local authority who acts as landlord and who is responsible for maintaining and repairing housing. If elected, I would encourage budgetary spending in the area of inspections of social housing, responding in a timely manner to complaints and in the maintenance and repair of social housing.

In the case of privately rented accommodation, landlords must ensure rented homes meet minimum standards. These are set out in the ‘Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019’. This is supposed to be enforced by Dublin City Council but according to my feedback from residents, they don’t seem to be carrying out enough inspections to hold landlords to account. If elected, I would encourage and vote in favour of more spending on enforcing minimum standards regulations.

I support the local branch of CATU (Community Action Tenants Union) a non-political tenants action association. It is important that tenants support each other to maximise their strength.

For social tenants across the City, there are huge issues with maintenance and repairs. These problems are a direct result of under-resourcing of council Housing Maintenance departments and outsourcing of maintenance to private contractors. In Ballymun-Finglas, we have run a petition campaign calling on Dublin City Council to hire more maintenance workers on a permanent contracted basis. DCC should look at opening up new trade apprenticeships to bolster this effort. This would create sustainable, well-paid employment and improve the capacity of the council to address maintenance requests.

Having a larger number of skilled maintenance workers would have the added benefit of speeding up turnover of “voids”, vacant properties owned by the council and in time, these maintenance workers could also begin work on retrofitting of council-owned homes to make them more energy efficient. If elected, I will pursue direct hiring of maintenance staff by bringing motions to the council and by pursuing the issue at relevant committees with People Before Profit Colleagues.

For Private tenants, the issues are more complex and require legislative changes at the national level – to introduce more stringent rent controls, a ban on “no-fault” evictions and harsher penalties for unscrupulous landlords. At the local level, I would push to expand DCC’s capacity to inspect buildings to ensure against overcrowding and breaches of other minimal standards for tenancies. I would push for restrictions on the use of AirBnB and other short-term letting platforms in the City and I would use my platform as a councillor to support tenants unions like CATU, which I am a member of myself, as a private renter.

Dublin can be a beautiful city to live in, work in or visit. However, a lot more can be done to ensure we have a clean environment, including clean streets. The Sinn Fein councillors on Dublin City Council have been campaigning to have bin services brought back into public ownership. The privatisation of waste collection has not worked. It has led to increased dumping and a general decline in cleanliness across the city. We also need more public waste services such as bins and recycling centres.

I think education is key so working with local schools in our area and showing the younger generation what needs to be done. We are also very lucky in that we have a number of Tidy Towns groups who do brilliant work. They should not be a substitute for the council but supported by the council and working with them they have an important part to play.

As councillors we would also support, and seek to increase, the employing of dog wardens to work in areas where we have a lot of dog poo as some people just allow their dogs to wander around.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

The long-awaited LGMA guidelines have been passed, which will allow local authorities to effectively use CCTV again to catch culprits. I think Councils could use technology better with the use of drones, number plate recognition etc. Dog Poo is a harder issue but there is no doubt that the city needs more dog wardens and litter wardens.

I’d get stuck in! In my role as Councillor, I’ve been working closely with Tidy Towns and Residents Groups in Ballymun, Finglas, Glasnevin and Santry to make two things happen: get the Council to focus its efforts on making our streets and roads cleaner, and support community efforts and restore the sense of pride in our local areas. There’s been a flourishing of these efforts, particularly since Covid.

I’ll work hard to build on this, getting more staff and other resources into ‘more road cleaning more often’, and for the emptying of public bins.

The work undertaken by Tidy Town and Residents groups is tremendous. It’s practical, physical work, cleaning up their neighbourhood and keeping it that way. It also helps neighbours get to know each other, building bonds within the community and a sense of pride of place. I’ll continue to work with our invaluable community groups and resident associations to build them, and to encourage more people to come together and form more groups within the area. I’ll redouble my efforts to link them in with the supports available from the Council staff to make sure that they follow up on the issues that the groups raise with me during their clean-ups.

We all own central Dublin, and I’ll also work with my Green Councillor colleagues on Dublin City Council to push for an increase in street cleaning staff for the city centre, going further than the increase that’s coming on stream very soon. It should make a big difference to how we feel when we visit the city centre, along with a greater Garda presence.

Within the Council we set up a working group to look at how to tackle dog poo. After meeting with Councillors from London and even examining ideas like DNA testing, I am convinced that the primary solution is simply additional street cleaning resources. Signage, fines, and enforcement are important, but we need to pay for more staff and keep cleaning.

In addition to the above, I will work with my colleagues and Council management to:

• Hire community wardens who could work on a variety of issues, including litter fines and prevention.
• Pedestrianise more parts of the city centre, removing the choking impact that car traffic has on many of our streets.
• Support the rollout of bag bins and shared bins to reduce the problems caused by unprotected bin bags being torn apart.
• Use recently enacted CCTV powers to catch dumpers in areas facing regular problems.
• Bring more nature and trees to concrete-heavy parts of the city.

And while it’s not a power that local government has, I would strongly support national policy that aims to reduce litter in the first place, such as policies to reduce disposable, single-use items which are the primary source of litter in our city.

Dublin can be a beautiful city to live in, work in or visit. However, a lot more can be done to ensure we have a clean environment, including clean streets. The Sinn Fein councillors on Dublin City Council have been campaigning to have bin services brought back into public ownership. The privatisation of waste collection has not worked. It has led to increased dumping and a general decline in cleanliness across the city. We also need more public waste services such as bins and recycling centres.

I think education is key so working with local schools in our area and showing the younger generation what needs to be done. We are also very lucky in that we have a number of Tidy Towns groups who do brilliant work. They should not be a substitute for the council but supported by the council and working with them they have an important part to play.

As councillors we would also support, and seek to increase, the employing of dog wardens to work in areas where we have a lot of dog poo as some people just allow their dogs to wander around.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

The cleanliness of our streets is an important concern for most residents. We need to establish more frequent cleaning schedules, which have been neglected for far too long. Increasing the number of bin collections and installing more public bins and dog waste disposal facilities in residential areas are critical steps. Furthermore, encouraging community engagement through initiatives such as tidy towns fosters collective responsibility for the environment.

Dublin can be a beautiful city to live in, work in or visit. However, a lot more can be done to ensure we have a clean environment, including clean streets. The Sinn Fein councillors on Dublin City Council have been campaigning to have bin services brought back into public ownership. The privatisation of waste collection has not worked. It has led to increased dumping and a general decline in cleanliness across the city. We also need more public waste services such as bins and recycling centres.

I think education is key so working with local schools in our area and showing the younger generation what needs to be done. We are also very lucky in that we have a number of Tidy Towns groups who do brilliant work. They should not be a substitute for the council but supported by the council and working with them they have an important part to play.

As councillors we would also support, and seek to increase, the employing of dog wardens to work in areas where we have a lot of dog poo as some people just allow their dogs to wander around.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

New bye laws are needed to strengthen the ability for fines to be levied through a zero tolerance approach. The current situation is that a litter warden needs to both see the dog disposing of it and the dog owner neglecting to dispose of it. I believe that, if local authorities were permitted to use CCTV to detect and fine dog-fouling offenders, it would act as a strong deterrent. There should be zones with intensive enforcement in them for streets with persistent fouling. Likewise, Labour Senator Mark Wall has done excellent work on seeing legislation passed allowing for councils to better use CCTV footage to identify repeat offenders of dumping - which costs local authorities 100 million every year on clean ups.

New bins need to be put where there are no bins currently. There are many long stretch of road in Ballymun-Finglas in which there are no bins which makes it difficult to dispose of waste. We also need more litter wardens.

Road sweepers (man with brush and barrow) are now non-existent but should be reintroduced for the suburbs in order to access and clean areas inaccessible to the bigger driven vehicles. Fallen leaves are a problem every year as they are left in roadways only to be washed down shores and cause blockages. 

Our environment has a large effect on how we feel about ourselves and our community. At a very basic level, more bins are needed in local housing estates especially dog waste bins. If elected I would demand more bins and that they be maintained to an acceptable standard.

Again, the sense of community is so important- in particular community spirit - having pride in your community and surroundings, working together to keep our area clean and pleasant for everyone. I encourage responsible pet ownership- people should clean it up their dog waste.

Enforcement and accountability comes into play here too- there are fines for dog fouling (ie, not cleaning up your dog’s mess) and if elected I would encourage a more regular inspection of public areas so that people who don’t clean up their dog’s mess are held to account.

DCC regularly remove street litter when I report it but do not seem to prosecute those responsible even in cases where there is personal correspondence addressed to the likely culprit as part of the waste. I will push for greater use of CCTV and prosecution.

I believe that DCC needs to review the decision to privatise waste collection. It has lead to a profitable private sector but with increased public costs to remove public littering.

At present, communities can organise a “Community Clean-Up” where volunteers come together to clean up an area and Dublin City Council provide the equipment needed and remove rubbish collected. If elected, I would ensure this type of endeavour is publicised and encouraged more by Dublin City Council.

The local Tidy Towns Committees do great work and need to be supported.

Standards in playgrounds and similar facilities need to be maintained so that they are clean and safe for children to use. Children are the future and we need to invest in maintaining playgrounds and facilities for them. This is a small ask of Dublin City Council and I would seek to enforce proper maintenance of these areas if elected.

Revive the PBP motion to bring domestic waste services back into council control. In addition to providing more reliable and affordable bin collection to Dubliners, free recycling centres and services should be expanded, more “amnesty days” and bulky goods collections should be organised and maintenance of the public realm should be taken back in-house, with no more reliance on outsourcing to private contractors.

At street level, public bins should be re-instated and new bins, including recycling bins should be introduced where they did not exist before. It is scandalous that the Council reduced the number of bins across Dublin City.

There are far too many vacant and derelict properties in our capital city, including in the Ballymun Finglas consituency. Many of these homes are lying idle for years. Some are being left to rot, becoming derelict and a further blight on our communities. Dublin city council needs to turn vacant properties around a lot quicker, some properties in our area are left vacant for months and this is not acceptable.

Sinn Féin would encourage local authorities to Compulsory Purchase, where practical, and return to use derelict properties alongside increased utilisation of the Buy and Renew scheme. We would also request monthly updates to increase the collection of the Derelict Sites Levy and to speed up the return of vacant social homes.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

I think the Croí Cónaithe vacancy grants and new taxes have helped. The voids list is published monthly by each LEA which is important to ensure that DCC stock is turned over as quickly as possible. We could examine the total gutting of houses when a tenant transfers, passes away or the council buys a property, surely there are elements that don’t have to be changed which would speed up how long they are vacant.

In our constituency, there are many people who desperately need housing and when they look around their own area, or more widely across the city, they see vacant homes and derelict buildings or sites and quite rightly feel aggrieved.

I’ve followed up on queries to speed up work on Council housing that sometimes takes far too long after it is vacated. While we have a system for dealing with derelict sites, where they’re put on a register and subjected to tax or compulsory purchase and eventually they get developed for housing, it seems to take forever. It is clear that the Council’s team who work on it are underpowered and under-resourced. If re-elected, I will push for greater staffing in the Vacant and Derelict Sites Unit, and seek a more legally aggressive approach to such sites.

The same applies to getting the space above shops to be used as housing. We’ve tried this for decades, but I think the Council needs to take a more aggressive approach to getting it done, such as doing the work itself, or providing a financial guarantee to get the work done.

There are other things we can do city-wide, including in the area of taxation. I support measures such as the Vacant Homes Tax and the Residential Zoned Land Tax. By incentivising developers to provide housing through these measures, we can stimulate the supply of much-needed accommodation in our city.

There are far too many vacant and derelict properties in our capital city, including in the Ballymun Finglas consituency. Many of these homes are lying idle for years. Some are being left to rot, becoming derelict and a further blight on our communities. Dublin city council needs to turn vacant properties around a lot quicker, some properties in our area are left vacant for months and this is not acceptable.

Sinn Féin would encourage local authorities to Compulsory Purchase, where practical, and return to use derelict properties alongside increased utilisation of the Buy and Renew scheme. We would also request monthly updates to increase the collection of the Derelict Sites Levy and to speed up the return of vacant social homes.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Vacancy and dereliction blight our communities and must be addressed proactively. Initiatives should focus on rehabilitating vacant and derelict properties, possibly through council intervention and offering them as social housing, or encouraging owners to rehabilitate their properties and participate in schemes such as the HAP programme.

There are far too many vacant and derelict properties in our capital city, including in the Ballymun Finglas consituency. Many of these homes are lying idle for years. Some are being left to rot, becoming derelict and a further blight on our communities. Dublin city council needs to turn vacant properties around a lot quicker, some properties in our area are left vacant for months and this is not acceptable.

Sinn Féin would encourage local authorities to Compulsory Purchase, where practical, and return to use derelict properties alongside increased utilisation of the Buy and Renew scheme. We would also request monthly updates to increase the collection of the Derelict Sites Levy and to speed up the return of vacant social homes.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

The government's plan to tackle vacancy and dereliction is simply not working. Vacancy and derelict houses make our streets less safe and make antisocial behaviour worse.It is worth noting that is costs a lot of money to bring a building into use after it has become derelict - so we need to keep buildings in use.

A key element is a proper audit and register of vacanct and derelict houses. Many of us know of derelict houses, but DCC are slow to react. A through inspection of houses assumed vacant means that the CPO process can be used to bring these properties back into use. The budget for compulsory purchase orders needs to be increased, as it is a key power in DCC’s hands and leads to an decrease in the number of derelict houses. 

An inventory of state-owned vacant properties is of upmost importance, no DCC property should remain boarded up or unoccupied for prolonged periods.  

Likewise; for privately owned but derelict properties, either a compulsory purchase order or an order to refurbish within a short timeframe should be initiated. 

Vacancy and dereliction are a blight on this area. Aontú policy on housing includes incentivising the use of vacant properties and holding local authorities to account when it comes to the refurbishment and re-letting of these properties. Currently it takes the council, on average, 8 months to refurbish and re-let a vacant property. A private sector rental property takes 3 weeks to refurbish and re-let! One of the core tenets of Aontú’s vision for government is accountability in government and across public bodies. If elected I intend to hold Dublin City Council to account on the turnaround of vacant properties.

Regarding derelict properties, Aontú seek an increased tax on homes that are empty for over 2 years without good reason and a grant to get them back into use. Aontú also seek the increased power to compulsory purchase order (CPO) derelict houses that are the source of anti-social behaviour.

I will be calling for a comprehensive audit to be carried out on vacant and derelict properties across Dublin City. It is a disgrace that there are so many empty homes when so many are in need of housing. The audit I propose follows from campaigning I have led in Ballymun-Finglas, highlighting derelict homes and vacant council-owned homes or “voids”.

A punitive tax should be applied to vacant privately-owned houses and sites, with the rate escalating with duration of vacancy, to encourage the owners to bring the property back into use or to sell. After a specified period, or where an owner can not be found, DCC should use its power to compulsory purchase and use these acquisitions for housing.

DCC should hire more maintenance workers to bring their properties back into use more quickly – this should happen on a strict timeline.

As a councillor I would also examine the possibility of retrofitting commercial and non-residential buildings for housing, as has been done by DCC in the Dublin Bay South Area recently. Capacity for these retrofits should be increased so that over-shop space, old churches and other buildings can be repurposed for the good of all Dubliners.

Communities deserve to feel safe and protected. But too many people in our capital city feel unsafe. Sinn Féin have outlined our proposals to invest in the Gardaí, so we can have more Gardaí on our streets protecting communities. We would introduce a public transport policing unit to ensure people can feel safe while using public transport.

We would get to grips with the recruitment and retention crisis in the Gardaí to end the huge numbers resigning. We also need to increase and support the Gardaí in working closer with communities. We need to increase funding for community policing as many communities have been abandoned to drug dealers and organised crime gangs.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

More Gardaí on the beat and the proper resourcing of community Gardaí. I read recently about plans to expand the force to 18,000, which I welcome, but these Gardaí should be put in our communities and be visible to make people feel safe. The administration burden for Gardaí also needs to be examined.

In short, we need to make policing work better and we need to invest in young people.

Although Councillors don’t have powers to direct the Gardai, I have used my position as Councillor to advocate strongly for a greater Garda presence in particular communities within my constituency and more widely across Dublin. It is unacceptable that many people feel unsafe going about their daily business, whether that be in their own housing estates, in parks, or on the streets of the city centre.

I have been an active member of the Joint Policing Committee of Dublin City Council for the last five years, and currently act as Deputy Chairperson on our local JPC. I work closely with the Gardai, bringing the concerns of residents and businesses to their attention directly. I’ve also brought people together on a few occasions, such as a special meeting I held with concerned residents, Dublin Cycling Campaign and Gardai on how we can work together to fight the scourge of bike theft, and a local public meeting with Community Gardai after a spate of break-ins. I will continue to push for greater resources, and particularly for a much more visible Garda presence on our streets, and look for more innovative ways that communities can help redesign their own neighbourhoods to make them safer. 

However, we won’t be able to make our streets safer just through policing. As a former youth leader, I am very aware of the risks that face young people throughout Dublin, and how their needs are not being adequately catered for. ‘Youth’ was one of my priority themes for my tenure as Lord Mayor of Dublin, and I want more attention paid to the causes of crime. We need to invest in youth work facilities and groups, and expand the Garda Youth Diversion Programme. We have a duty to provide young people with social outlets and activities to ensure that their lives aren’t lost to chaotic behaviour and crime, and to make sure they can develop and be safe in their own communities. I will continue to work hard for a more youth-friendly city. 

We can also make our communities ‘safer by design’. I will push for a ‘Women and Girl’s Safety Audit’ to be carried out to identify parts of our public spaces that can be made safer. This can be done with better lighting, fewer narrow passageways, and passive surveillance.

Dublin also simply needs to be a nicer place to live, work, do business and visit - particularly in the core city centre. Reducing traffic, widening footpaths, pedestrianising areas, bringing in more nature and activity to the city, improving nightlife, expanding the network of 24 hour buses - these are practical acts of civic pride that will build a nicer, safer city.

We also can’t ignore that much of the safety problems in our city are rooted in addiction. Dublin still has a crushing heroin epidemic, along with a growing crack problem. I have worked closely with local drug and alcohol services, including sitting on Ballymun Drug and Alcohol Task Force, and I will continue to advocate hard for greater resources to be allocated to combat the scourge of drug addiction and dealing that has caused such damage to our young people and our neighbourhoods.

This city must be safe for all our residents. In the last few years, I have been shocked and dismayed with the rise in xenophobic, racist and hate-filled politics. It is really not good enough that so many people feel unsafe, and most particularly people who have come to Dublin from other countries and the LGBTQ+ community. I’ll expand on this in my answers to the last question in this article.

Communities deserve to feel safe and protected. But too many people in our capital city feel unsafe. Sinn Féin have outlined our proposals to invest in the Gardaí, so we can have more Gardaí on our streets protecting communities. We would introduce a public transport policing unit to ensure people can feel safe while using public transport.

We would get to grips with the recruitment and retention crisis in the Gardaí to end the huge numbers resigning. We also need to increase and support the Gardaí in working closer with communities. We need to increase funding for community policing as many communities have been abandoned to drug dealers and organised crime gangs.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

To ensure our city's safety, we need to take a comprehensive approach. Increasing the number of Garda patrols is critical for addressing systemic issues that contribute to crime, such as a lack of services and support for vulnerable communities. Furthermore, investing in recreational facilities and after-school activities for youth provides positive outlets and opportunities for personal growth.

Communities deserve to feel safe and protected. But too many people in our capital city feel unsafe. Sinn Féin have outlined our proposals to invest in the Gardaí, so we can have more Gardaí on our streets protecting communities. We would introduce a public transport policing unit to ensure people can feel safe while using public transport.

We would get to grips with the recruitment and retention crisis in the Gardaí to end the huge numbers resigning. We also need to increase and support the Gardaí in working closer with communities. We need to increase funding for community policing as many communities have been abandoned to drug dealers and organised crime gangs.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

One of the main complaints that I hear when I go door to door, especially from elderly people, is the lack of street lighting. Adequate street lighting is crucial for elderly people, women and people with disabilities.

We need more community guards. Policing concerns are a constant issue raised on the doors, and Ballymun-Finglas has never has never had enough guards. Gardai do trojan work but we need more of them, and they need more resources.

Increased investment in local sports clubs like football and basketball is somewhere beyond crucial in my opinion. Sports is essential for several reasons - mental health, physical health, community, friendship, but it is also crucial for providing an outlet for young people to get out of the house, into fresh air and keep them occupied. We need more facilities, from football astros to basketball courts.

Outreach work needs to be supported too, so no child or teenager falls through the cracks. Of course, this is easier said than done, but it needs to be considered.

It is too easy and simplistic to say more police on the beat, while this is certainly a part of an overall solution it is not the be-all and end-all of it. Shared/community space is important, whether in the city ctr or the suburbs. The refurbished “Diamond” area of Gardiner Street is a perfect example. Projects like this need to be replicated in most areas. 

Based on feedback I have gotten from residents and business owners locally, feeling safe is their number one concern. The fact is, many people don’t feel safe in our community. Crime, open drug-use, vandalism, break-ins and anti-social behaviour have all increased. This needs to be tackled at several levels. Firstly, we need massive investment in the area- we need more Gardaí and more Garda visibility to deter crime and anti-social behaviour, and to enable Gardaí to respond to incidents promptly.

We also need to maximise the use of the Garda Reserve as an aide to the force. There are a lot of men and women who would be delighted to assist na gardaí in an official capacity.

A serious public safety issue that has plagued Ballymun, Finglas and other areas for years are the use of scrambler bikes on public roads without care for safety either for the public or themselves. Frequently these bikes are driven at speed by young men in balaclavas without helmets and without concern for traffic safety.

Our legislators have been deficient in supporting na gardaí in this area and they need to be provided with the resources to end this scourge.

Having said this I believe that we should follow the lead of other parts of the city and provide public fields for young people to safely ride their bikes.

Our young people deserve better and it would have a positive effect on the community as programmes and recreational facilities would provide some much needed engagement and act as an alternative to drug-taking and crime.

We have some fantastic campaigners and organisations that work with young people in locally, but we need more facilities to support this work. We also need more community gardaí to engage with young people in the area.

Residents of apartment buildings have contacted me to say that their children don’t feel safe in their own homes as non-residents are gaining access to the apartment common areas, selling/taking drugs and engaging in anti-social, intimidating behaviour. Dublin City Council needs to ensure that they and other landlords are keeping buildings adequately secure.

The Ballymun and Finglas Safety Forums do excellent work in organising safety meetings for the local people where they can speak directly to representatives of Dublin City Council and to community Gardaí. These meetings are very helpful to people in the community but need to meet more often and have structured approaches to deliver on resolving problems.

• Increase street lighting in residential areas and parks. • Invest in and support “assertive” outreach work with young people, so that youth workers reach young people not currently using or engaged with traditional youth services. • Increase council funding for traditional youth services to bring funding back to pre-austerity levels and expand from there. • Increase council investment into clubs and sports. Subsidise gym membership for young people, attach more training opportunities to existing sport and leisure facilities to allow young people to earn money in the growing fitness industry and elsewhere. • Support the construction of a “scrambler” and dirt-bike track for the north suburbs, following the model of the Clondalkin Equine Centre. The space should have youth workers attached to promote responsible bike use and could provide education and training to young people in bike/auto mechanics, engineering and motorsport. • Introduce adult drop-in social centres that offer a range of activities and facilities including showers. Integrate with homeless services, addiction support workers and other services. • Support the establishment of more supervised drug consumption facilities practicing harm reduction and integrating addiction support services. This would get drug use of city streets and into a safe environment where supports would be available to drug users.

Road safety and accessible transport are at the heart of ensuring people can live, work, and play safely in their communities. Last year, 2023, saw the highest number of deaths on our roads in almost a decade. In terms of public transport, Dublin ranked worst out of 30 European Cities in 2023. It’s time for change. We recognise that many children cannot safely access school without relying on a lift from parents. This can be a burden to parents, but it also reduces young people’s independence. In government we would increase funding to make getting to school safe. Ensuring more active travel, such as cycling and walking, will be a key way to tackle the climate crisis. To ensure this is realistic, people must feel confident that they can do so safely.

We support auditing all footpaths and putting in place a programme of footpath restoration so everyone can walk and move around their local area confidently. We must also take our elderly into consideration as a lot of the new bus routes want people to swap buses mid route and this might not work for them. While out canvassing this issue has come up a lot. In our area a major issue is that we have no direct bus to the airport to help workers and people using the airport, this is a service which is needed, and if elected we will work to see that it is done. Improving public transport across Dublin is an essential element in making the city a vibrant living community. There are many models of similar cities that have public transport systems that meet the needs of their communities. What we need is the political commitment to do it.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Build the Metro and Luas extension, which will encourage fewer people to use their cars in the city. There are elements of the city Busconnects programme such as the high-frequency spines and connections to the airport that are to be welcomed, however, the loss of a localised service in many areas will have a negative impact, particularly for older people.

We have a significant challenge facing us to fundamentally change how we get around our city. I’m proud that the Green Party in Government have made public transport a priority and funded major projects everywhere, while cutting fares by 20% for adults and 60% for young people. Public transport use grew by 25% last year alone, which shows the value of investment.

As Councillors, we don’t control this directly, but what we do have some say over is the allocation of road space. We need to dedicate more road space to bus lanes - it isn’t right that a bus with 60 people is stuck in traffic behind a car with just one person. I hope that the people of Dublin elect Councillors who will stand up to extreme pressure from the motoring lobby. We need to work productively with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and other bodies who are leading on the delivery to ensure the projects are of maximum benefit to the community. Where there are issues, I will work closely with communities to highlight local concerns and push for improvements in safety for people walking and cycling, for greening our open areas and traffic calming.

We need to see public transport improvements delivered quickly so that we can benefit from more frequent, reliable services. Building on successful campaigning, I will continue to work to improve ‘Bus Connects’, advocating for ‘more buses, more often’ on some critical routes for my constituency, including Route 19 which will replace the existing 11 bus, and for better routes that serve older people and wheelchair users.

I would strongly support the Council using cameras to detect red light breakers and illegal bus lane users, to make public transport flow more smoothly. This will work best with improved provision of disabled parking spaces and commercial loading bays.

Improved accessibility of our buses and trains is also key, so that public transport can be an option for everyone, especially older people, people with disabilities, and those travelling with children in buggies. It is particularly important to have winter maintenance plans in place so that we can prioritise the movement of public transport during extreme weather events rather than focusing on the movement of private cars.

Road safety and accessible transport are at the heart of ensuring people can live, work, and play safely in their communities. Last year, 2023, saw the highest number of deaths on our roads in almost a decade. In terms of public transport, Dublin ranked worst out of 30 European Cities in 2023. It’s time for change.

We recognise that many children cannot safely access school without relying on a lift from parents. This can be a burden to parents, but it also reduces young people’s independence. In government we would increase funding to make getting to school safe. Ensuring more active travel, such as cycling and walking, will be a key way to tackle the climate crisis. To ensure this is realistic, people must feel confident that they can do so safely.

We support auditing all footpaths and putting in place a programme of footpath restoration so everyone can walk and move around their local area confidently. We must also take our elderly into consideration as a lot of the new bus routes want people to swap buses mid route and this might not work for them.

While out canvassing this issue has come up a lot. In our area a major issue is that we have no direct bus to the airport to help workers and people using the airport, this is a service which is needed, and if elected we will work to see that it is done. Improving public transport across Dublin is an essential element in making the city a vibrant living community. There are many models of similar cities that have public transport systems that meet the needs of their communities. What we need is the political commitment to do it.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Improving public transit infrastructure is critical to the city's efficiency and accessibility. Expedited building of systems such as FingLUAS and Metrolink is critical. Furthermore, speeding the adoption of BusConnects while addressing community concerns is key. Increasing night bus service in densely populated regions and allowing bicycles on busses and LUAS during off-peak hours should be investigated to encourage active commuting.

Road safety and accessible transport are at the heart of ensuring people can live, work, and play safely in their communities. Last year, 2023, saw the highest number of deaths on our roads in almost a decade. In terms of public transport, Dublin ranked worst out of 30 European Cities in 2023. It’s time for change.

We recognise that many children cannot safely access school without relying on a lift from parents. This can be a burden to parents, but it also reduces young people’s independence. In government we would increase funding to make getting to school safe. Ensuring more active travel, such as cycling and walking, will be a key way to tackle the climate crisis. To ensure this is realistic, people must feel confident that they can do so safely.

We support auditing all footpaths and putting in place a programme of footpath restoration so everyone can walk and move around their local area confidently. We must also take our elderly into consideration as a lot of the new bus routes want people to swap buses mid route and this might not work for them.

While out canvassing this issue has come up a lot. In our area a major issue is that we have no direct bus to the airport to help workers and people using the airport, this is a service which is needed, and if elected we will work to see that it is done. Improving public transport across Dublin is an essential element in making the city a vibrant living community. There are many models of similar cities that have public transport systems that meet the needs of their communities. What we need is the political commitment to do it.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Metrolink needs to start and we need to deliver it quickly. It should be able to take pressure off other services and will lead to a more efficient service.

We also need to invest so that more bus stops have good lighting, shelter spaces and real time information, which should make many feel safer about taking the bus at night.

We need to advocate for more buses actually arriving on time too.

We must also constantly monitor bus routes as Bus Connects iis rolled out to ensure all communities have a reasonable, quality service that we deserve.

Make public transport free or a nominal cost would be a good place to start. Also, a permanent dedicated transport police in DART, LUAS and METRO LINK would go a long way in avoiding a lot of issues on these forms of public transport. Likewise, a system of policing buses needs to be adopted. The public need to be involved in proposed changes to bus routes or stop changes. Little thought is ever given to those with disabilities, whether hidden or visible, to such changes. Those with sensory issues often react adversely when a bus stop or route is changed. 

The Bus Connects projects has disappointed large sections of the community by replacing tried and tested bus routes with alternatives that will frequently be full before they arrive. I understand that some of these changes are postponed but this is not enough. If public transport is to work the public need to be kept informed and on board. Where entire communities universally reject changes there is something seriously wrong.

It is essential that we can all move freely and easily around the city and this is particularly true of the elderly and infirm. The National Transport Authority should engage consistently with commuters, especially those who are heavily reliant on public transport to take part in their community. Feedback and complaints from residents need to be responded to and acted upon.

For example, if there are delays in the Bus Connects Network Redesign then robust interim arrangements need to be made for the residents affected. Reliable real-time tracking of buses would also improve commuter experience in the city, as well as more public transport available at rush hour times.

Public transport should be made free and frequent in Dublin City, with increased capacity and investment by the state. DCC can advocate for this.

This question is linked to many of the previous ones. We need a city that is accessible to all our people, that they feel safe in and which is clean. Many of the cycling initiatives have in the past pitted cyclists against motorists in some sort of competition. That is not how it should be. The city needs to be safe for cyclists and walkers, but also accessible to those who need to use a car. Clearly marked cycle lanes, walkways, and driving lanes are necessary. Facilities such as park and ride, supported by clean, safe, efficient public transport are needed. We need to reimagine the city, and we in Sinn Fein want to work with others to achieve it.

Our parks services do a great job in maintain our parks and other green areas. They need our support and again working with communities develop areas that we can all be proud of.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

I regularly cycle into the city centre and I feel relatively safe, I would support more cycle lanes if they don’t have a huge impact on traffic such as Griffith Avenue, which has had a dramatic negative impact on traffic in the area. Hopefully with improvements to public transport people will have a variety of methods to go into the city centre.

I will prioritise investing in making roads safer with lower speed limits, building on the move to 30km/h zones as a default speed in most residential areas, to protect motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and reduce crashes. I will also push for infrastructural improvements to tackle speeding and ensure that roads are designed to prioritise road safety, particularly that of children and other vulnerable road users. In my experience working with local communities, the best solutions are found when the opinions of local residents are combined with the expertise of road engineers for specific local areas. Having successfully advocated for the introduction of ‘chicane’ systems for traffic management locally, I look forward to this pilot programme being rolled out and, hopefully, being repeated in other residential areas.

Segregated bike lanes will increase cyclist safety and lower the number of accidents on the road. This should be done as part of a network, not just small bits of unconnected lanes, and be safe enough for everyone from young children to pensioners to be able to use with confidence. These cycle lanes should be segregated by a small kerb at the very least – not just a white line. That’s especially important near schools. This work will be politically difficult - it will need the backing of dedicated councillors who strongly believe in the cycling and walking agenda.

I will support “bike parks”, converting a small area in a car park for free, secure bike parking, particularly near transport hubs, as well as “Bike Bunkers” and look forward to supporting residents in getting them installed on their streets over the next few years.

We also need zebra crossings at minor junctions, to provide for pedestrian priority, alongside safer crossing points. I am delighted to have initiated, alongside my Green colleagues on the Zebra Crossing Working Group, a roll out of Zebra Crossings. We’ve worked to secure a reduction in the cost of installing such crossings so that they can be used much more. That, combined with improved and widened footpaths would really improve things for pedestrians - particularly those who need extra time or space. We need to ensure that temporary works do not cut off access to cycleways and footpaths. I will also push for lighting that is “human scale”, directed at footpaths instead of towards carriageways as they often do, leaving our paths in near darkness. Benches are also key to ensure that people who are walking can get a rest.

Many of the lights in our junctions at busy periods heavily prioritise cars - at the expense of people walking. You will see many pedestrians forced to wait for car traffic to pass, which inexplicably enjoys more time. I want junction timing that prioritises disabled people, pedestrians, bikes, public transport - in that order.

I will also champion the introduction of annual car-free days in specific areas, to enable local markets and festivals, supporting communities that want car-free neighbourhoods.

This question is linked to many of the previous ones. We need a city that is accessible to all our people, that they feel safe in and which is clean. Many of the cycling initiatives have in the past pitted cyclists against motorists in some sort of competition. That is not how it should be. The city needs to be safe for cyclists and walkers, but also accessible to those who need to use a car. Clearly marked cycle lanes, walkways, and driving lanes are necessary. Facilities such as park and ride, supported by clean, safe, efficient public transport are needed. We need to reimagine the city, and we in Sinn Fein want to work with others to achieve it.

Our parks services do a great job in maintain our parks and other green areas. They need our support and again working with communities develop areas that we can all be proud of.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Improving pedestrian and bike infrastructure is critical to promote alternate modes of transportation. The city is widening walkways, creating greenways, and building active travel routes to prioritise pedestrian and cyclist safety and convenience. Furthermore, establishing more bicycle parking spaces in high-traffic locations promotes sustainable commuting habits and is an objective of mine.

This question is linked to many of the previous ones. We need a city that is accessible to all our people, that they feel safe in and which is clean. Many of the cycling initiatives have in the past pitted cyclists against motorists in some sort of competition. That is not how it should be.

The city needs to be safe for cyclists and walkers, but also accessible to those who need to use a car. Clearly marked cycle lanes, walkways, and driving lanes are necessary. Facilities such as park and ride, supported by clean, safe, efficient public transport are needed. We need to reimagine the city, and we in Sinn Fein want to work with others to achieve it.

Our parks services do a great job in maintain our parks and other green areas. They need our support and again working with communities develop areas that we can all be proud of.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

There is a need for balance here. Cyclists need to be encouraged to cycle; but that requires more work. There are some cycle lanes that are so dirty and filled with muck and rubbish that it is dangerous to cycle in, so this needs to be improved.

There needs to be huge work done in terms of fixing broken footpaths. Broken footpaths present huge accessibility problems especially in terms of elderly people and people with buggies. 

Policing is obviously an issue and dealt with in some way earlier. Education in road etiquette for all who use the roads is necessary, whether it be motorists or cyclists.

For those on foot, less clutter on the pathways is necessary, many paths have a maze of lamp posts, bins, bollards and other obstacles strewn around making it an ordeal for many to safely circumnavigate the streets safely, this goes double for many with disabilities. 

Proper consultation is vital. There have been huge complaints from pedestrians, cyclists and motorists about the bus lanes on Griffith Avenue, Mobhi Road and Griffith Avenue extension. The public need to be adequately informed about proposals before they are carried out and given an opportunity to respond.

The maintenance of streets and footpaths is essential for safety for all of us.

Clear signage and traffic signals for motorists is important. Pedestrian crossings need to be highly visible and the zebra-crossing paint maintained. Citizen Hub on the Dublin City Council website is a facility whereby requests can be made, information accessed and reports/complaints issued.

Local residents have complained of the lack of engagement from Dublin City Council when contacted through the Citizen Hubs. If elected I would pursue a policy of prompt acknowledgement and response to issues raised through the Citizen Hub, especially in the maintenance of roads and footpaths.

Work should continue on pedestrianisation of parts of Dublin City Centre but alongside this, alternatives to private car travel must be made more reliable. This will require state investment.

Green spaces and biodiversity promotion in our city should be a major focus for the council’s public domain strategy. More green spaces in the grey city and suburbs. More initiatives to involve community in the creation of new biodiverse spaces. An end to environmentally destructive practices like the use of pesticides and herbicides.

I welcome the proposed redevelopment of Finglas Village and the prioritisation of pedestrians and cyclists in urban villages like Finglas.

Support the expansion of protected cycle lanes.

Support DCC cycle safety campaigns in schools across Dublin City.

We in Sinn Fein want to have a fair, equal, and diverse society. All sections of our communities must be able to feel safe and included. Arson is a crime in any context and anyone found guilty of arson should face the full rigours of the law.

In terms of the far right, the main problem is misinformation. By feeding misinformation to people who have legitimate concerns they try to divide our communities. We can’t allow that to happen. We need to be honest that our immigration system currently isn’t working, but any anger should not be directed towards those vulnerable people fleeing oppression. It should be directed at the government which has failed to handle the issue properly.

Ireland does not, and should not, have open borders. We have a rules based system where people who need protection can apply for it. It has been badly managed, and under resourced, for years. Decisions in cases are taking too long. If an application is refused, there is little or no follow up. There is a crisis in accommodation, which feeds into the general housing crisis, and decisions are being made without any consultation with communities affected. In such a situation is it any wonder that far right agitators are sowing dissent and hate.

We need to supply the resources so that the rules can be applied fairly, and transparently. The big tech companies also have a role to play in this as blatant lies are allowed to be put up online. It is legitimate to have concerns and to be able to express those concerns, but we need to have an open and honest debate, and put in place the policies and procedures to deliver for those who need our help and for our communities.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

I think a zero-tolerance approach is needed here, particularly arson attacks and attacks on individuals. The government must also explain our immigration policy better and state how important immigration is to our economy and workforce as there is a lot of misinformation out there. Social media companies must also be held to account as they allow misinformation to spread and remain in circulation without repercussions.

I passionately believe in the need for all political representatives to take a stand to make Dublin a more welcoming city for ALL, not least our LGBTQ+ community and people who come to our city from other countries. Working with local people, we can reverse this nasty hate-driven trend, bringing out the best in our city.

As Lord Mayor I led efforts among many communities in standing up against thuggish behaviour against asylum seekers throughout Dublin. After some ‘protests’ against migrants in my native Ballymun, I brought together community organisations and public representatives in taking a public leadership stance against the hate-filled and divisive rhetoric. I brought the ‘For All’ groups from throughout Dublin together in the Mansion House, including the newly-formed ‘Ballymun For All’ group, and worked closely with them to grow the movement. 

Having successfully campaigned for greater funding for these efforts, I will continue to focus on making Dublin a more welcoming, inclusive and kind city, given the significant challenges we face as a city and as a country in these difficult times. I welcome the work of LGBTQ+ organisations that have identified specific actions that need to be taken to ensure that they are also protected, and I will work with them so all people from this community can go about their lives without the unwelcome and nasty abuse and attacks that they sometimes encounter.

As Councillors, our formal powers over these areas are limited, but we can use the platform we have to speak up and be counted. Across Europe, we have seen attempts to combat the rise of the far-right and anti-immigrant hate by adopting a more moderate version of their positions – this has inevitably failed and only fed their false and divisive narratives. Rather than adopting the same failed approaches, we need to tackle the issues leading to fears, division and subsequent hatred.

Politicians should not indulge these kinds of disconcerting politics, but rather stand clearly against them. We need greater cooperation and support between Councils and civil society groups working with minorities. I will campaign for extra resourcing in areas with large numbers of Ukrainians and International Protection applicants. I will ensure that the Council has a local migrant integration strategy, including the use of our council buildings to celebrate our diversity, including World Refugee Day.

We also need to address the structural inequalities of our communities, which are an injustice in themselves, but also a breeding ground for discontent. This means improving housing, supporting young people, access to justice for individuals and communities, enhanced school supports, and wraparound supports for everyone impacted by homelessness.

We in Sinn Fein want to have a fair, equal, and diverse society. All sections of our communities must be able to feel safe and included. Arson is a crime in any context and anyone found guilty of arson should face the full rigours of the law.

In terms of the far right, the main problem is misinformation. By feeding misinformation to people who have legitimate concerns they try to divide our communities. We can’t allow that to happen. We need to be honest that our immigration system currently isn’t working, but any anger should not be directed towards those vulnerable people fleeing oppression. It should be directed at the government which has failed to handle the issue properly.

Ireland does not, and should not, have open borders. We have a rules based system where people who need protection can apply for it. It has been badly managed, and under resourced, for years. Decisions in cases are taking too long. If an application is refused, there is little or no follow up. There is a crisis in accommodation, which feeds into the general housing crisis, and decisions are being made without any consultation with communities affected. In such a situation is it any wonder that far right agitators are sowing dissent and hate.

We need to supply the resources so that the rules can be applied fairly, and transparently. The big tech companies also have a role to play in this as blatant lies are allowed to be put up online. It is legitimate to have concerns and to be able to express those concerns, but we need to have an open and honest debate, and put in place the policies and procedures to deliver for those who need our help and for our communities.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

Combating the rise of far-right beliefs and hate crimes needs a collaborative effort between the community and local government. Active engagement with communities to address concerns and communicate progress is critical. Effective techniques include promoting multicultural events and cultivating a sense of community unity and inclusion.

Furthermore, addressing underlying concerns such as housing insecurity will help reduce social tensions and improve cohesion. My personal campaign will be a monument to these ideas of inclusion and acceptance, being an immigrant myself who was welcomed with open arms to this country more than 25 years ago.

We in Sinn Fein want to have a fair, equal, and diverse society. All sections of our communities must be able to feel safe and included. Arson is a crime in any context and anyone found guilty of arson should face the full rigours of the law.

In terms of the far right, the main problem is misinformation. By feeding misinformation to people who have legitimate concerns they try to divide our communities. We can’t allow that to happen. We need to be honest that our immigration system currently isn’t working, but any anger should not be directed towards those vulnerable people fleeing oppression. It should be directed at the government which has failed to handle the issue properly.

Ireland does not, and should not, have open borders. We have a rules based system where people who need protection can apply for it. It has been badly managed, and under resourced, for years. Decisions in cases are taking too long. If an application is refused, there is little or no follow up. There is a crisis in accommodation, which feeds into the general housing crisis, and decisions are being made without any consultation with communities affected. In such a situation is it any wonder that far right agitators are sowing dissent and hate.

We need to supply the resources so that the rules can be applied fairly, and transparently. The big tech companies also have a role to play in this as blatant lies are allowed to be put up online. It is legitimate to have concerns and to be able to express those concerns, but we need to have an open and honest debate, and put in place the policies and procedures to deliver for those who need our help and for our communities.

Note: Ballymun/Finglas LEA Sinn Féin candidates Anthony Connaghan, Mick Dowling and Leslie Kane submitted all their answers jointly.

The rise of the far right is possibly one of the most concerning political trends in the last few years and is part of the reason that I have become increasingly active in politics.

We need to be able to showcase the strengths and advantages of people coming to Ireland and enable people to use their skills here. Systems like direct provision help no one, and we need a system where it is easy for people who come here can get a job and showcase their skills.

The state is well aware of many of the instigators and agitators behind a lot of the hate crimes that are directed against asylum seekers and the accommodations that are ear-marked for them. If these agitators and instigators were surveilled in the same way gangland criminals or Republicans were/are I feel their ability to ply their right-wing agenda would greatly diminish. These same cohort or individuals also push the “traditional family value” and view LGBTQ+ as an abomination., 

Politics are changing in this country and we need to respect this. If we disagree with a viewpoint we need to engage and argue with the person rather than label him/her.

I think we need to be careful with the term “far-right” and apply it correctly and with great caution when discussing immigration issues.

There is a danger that people are termed “far right” simply for raising concerns about large numbers of non-citizens moving into the area.

This is obviously a failure of government planning and certainly a lack of consultation with the community that has only succeeded in damaging trust and goodwill between the community and the decision-makers.

Concerned people should be free to criticise government policies that affect our communities without fear of being labelled.

As a People Before Profit rep and committed anti-racist I have played an active role in Ballymun for All, Finglas for All and Dublin NW Communities against racism. I would continue my work with these grassroots alliances but I would also advocate for the council to play a more active role in challenging misinformation and lies spread by far-right agitators.

The growth of hate movements is in part attributable to state and council failure – on housing, the provision of essential services and to the deepening of inequality. This can not be papered-over or ignored. In anti-racist and anti-fascist work it is critically important to have this clarity. There can be no ambiguity, or united front with government parties who have created the conditions for this problem to grow.

More locally, I have seen first hand the power of local community in countering the far-right – in Ballymun, youth workers and community organisations played a pivotal role in countering misinformation and pulling people away from those attempting to sow division in our community. I have also seen the power of positive community building work centring inclusion – the Ballymun Running Club, the Ballymun Tidy Towns group involving local asylum seekers and the efforts of local schools to foster inclusion and diversity. I believe the council could do a lot more to promote inclusion through funding cultural events and initiatives in the community.

DCC should also provide stronger support for its staff members facing abuse by the far-right, be it in public libraries, civic offices or elsewhere.