Community. Community. Community. Yes I just wrote the same word three times. When considering this question, I believe we must also take into account how to make new housing sustainable for the community. Because of its proximity to the city centre, South West Inner City Dublin is an attractive spot to developers to build massive apartment blocks and developments to serve the transient population. Dublin 8 is over-developed in terms of student and short-term rental developments. 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.

New developments need to work for the community in Dublin 8 first and foremost. We need to prioritise housing for families and people who are living and working in Dublin 8- 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 in Dublin 8, 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 in Dublin 8 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)
• See question 4 below re: incentivising the use of vacant properties and Aontú policy on derelict houses

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 of Dublin 8, 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.

Our environment has a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves and our community. At a very basic level, more bins are needed in certain parts of South West Inner City Dublin- for example, currently there is only one bin on Meath Street. 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 when their dog poos. 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 in Dublin 8 so that people who don’t clean up their dog’s mess are held to account.

A problem that is particular to Dublin 8 is the issue of horse manure on the streets due to the horse-and-traps that are used commercially to transport tourists from the Guinness Storehouse for tours around Dublin 8. In particular, streets in Pimlico and around Meath Street are affected by horse manure on the streets.

If elected, I would encourage these horse and cart operators to use dung catchers and seek a solution that works for them as well as the community. For example, horse dung makes great fertiliser- perhaps the horse-and-cart operators could be encouraged to work with a local gardening initiative in the community. Furthermore, I would liaise with Gardaí to initiate more regular inspections of these horse-and-carts to ensure dung catchers are being utilised.

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.

Standards in playgrounds and similar facilities need to be maintained so that they are clean and safe for children to use. This is currently not the case- many parents are unhappy with the state of playgrounds in Dublin 8. 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.

There needs to be tougher regulations on Airbnb operators in the city– these short term lettings generate high volumes of rubbish and residents of Dublin 8 have complained bins are often left overflowing on the streets for days.

Vacancy and dereliction are a blight on this area that has so much history, so much character and so much potential to be the jewel in Dublin’s crown. 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. Anti-social behaviour on derelict properties is a common problem in Dublin 8.

Based on feedback I have gotten from residents and business owners in the Dublin 8 community, 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.

Safety issues need to be tackled at a community level also and can be supported by Dublin City Council. The lack of green spaces and recreational facilities is a contributing factor for young people in the area, particularly young males, turning to crime and drugs. The people of the Liberties have been waiting 12 years for green spaces at sites on Marrowbone Lane and St Teresa’s Gardens. We are still waiting for Donore Community Centre to reopen- it has been closed for 3 years since the fire that forced it to close. This is a glacial rate of progress.

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 Dublin 8, such as the Solas Project, but we need more facilities to support this work. We also need more community Gardaí to engage with young people in the area.

We have fantastic Community Gardaí in the area but they seem to be moved on and posted to other areas far too quickly. New relationships then need to be formed with their replacements. A core part of community development is consistency and we need to ensure continuity in this process.

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 landlords are keeping buildings adequately secure.

Many people don’t feel safe walking the streets of Dublin 8. The sense of threat is exacerbated by lack of street lighting in certain areas and slow engagement of Dublin City Council to replace broken lights. This is a simple matter: we need sufficient lighting on the streets of Dublin 8 and the lighting needs to be maintained.

The South West Inner City Community Safety Forum does excellent work in organising safety meetings for the people of Dublin 8 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 and long may they continue. I encourage residents to set up community action groups based on their building/street and to represent them at these safety meetings.

These groups could also lobby local TDs, report concerns to Dublin City Council, as well as gain publicity for their concerns through the local media

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.

The maintenance of streets and footpaths is essential for safety for all of us. Certain areas, such as Thomas Street, are very busy and have heavy footfall. These need to be deemed ‘Grade A’ as regards street-cleaning by Dublin City Council. 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.

Residents of Dublin 8 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.

Dublin 8 is a vibrant and welcoming community with a plethora of spaces for people of every creed and culture and I am pleased to report that so far nobody has brought any concerns to me on a rise in hatred. However, we must always be mindful of hostile attitudes towards anyone in our community and attitudes that denigrate people because of their sexual orientation/ethnicity should be challenged. Obviously, arson is illegal and anyone committing this crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I also 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 whether or not supports and infrastructure in their area can cope with additional demand that the government has placed there.

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.