We need to get serious about land hoarding in this country & that means taxing land owners for leaving land idle and removing their planning permission if they do not use it.  We have more than enough zoned land and existing planning permissions to get us out of this housing crisis.  

I live next door to a derelict site that has been zoned with planning permission for a couple of thousand homes right beside a dart station.  It has been left derelict for almost two decades now, the land owners have consistently flipped the land and each owner keeps ignoring the planning they already have and trying to get permission for even higher density.

On the other side of me lays a site with planning permission for a hotel and retirement home, again this site has sat idle for 15 years. Imagine if we actually built a hotel and retirement home. People are crying out for step-down facilities within their communities but there are none, and long-term rentals have been turned into short-term lets because we have no hotels, it’s a crazy situation.

Landowners hoard the land to increase the value of the land and then they sell it on again, they have no intention of building badly needed homes. This should not be tolerated and hitting land hoarders in the pocket is the only way the council can resolve it.   We also need to seriously ramp up & support apprenticeships and trades so that we have adequate numbers of qualified builders,

It's very simple, you build homes and you build communities alongside them, which needs to be built into the planning permission. We all need the same things, shops, creches, schools, community centres, medical centres, retirement homes, playgrounds, pitches, and public transport. I am dealing with people in communities and indeed I am living with bad planning in my own estate, all fighting for the same basic things. 

We have built brand new schools with no footpaths to get to them. We have built train stations with no access and whole housing estates with no footpaths to get to any amenities. These are not legacy issues of bad planning, this is happening right now in Fingal & it's completely unacceptable. If we cannot provide footpaths, what hope have we got of providing all of the other amenities we need to thrive? 

Planning permission should only be given to build homes where these amenities exist or where they are being provided in parallel with the home building.  Imagine the work our communities could be doing together, creating better places to live, rather than using up their energy fighting for very basic amenities.

I grew up where I did because my dad worked for Aer Lingus,  I know first-hand the opportunities and the prosperity that Dublin airport brought to my family and North Dublin.  We are an island nation and the airport is hugely important to our lives and economy – it connects us to the rest of the world.  However, DAA has been a very bad neighbour in recent years.  

You and I have to abide by planning laws and so should a state institution such as the DAA. They have flouted their planning permission and must be brought to task by the central government. The level of & frequency of the noise suffered by people directly under the flight path is completely unacceptable, getting a decent night's sleep is not too much to ask and is vital for your health and well-being. 

We are in the middle of a climate crisis and the role the airport plays not just in the movement of people but of goods must be central to meeting our climate targets.

Everything, but I would start with footpaths,  I mentioned before that in lots of parts of my area footpaths to schools, shops, and train stations do not exist at all.  Therefore people rightly assess that the safest thing to do is to take their car.  Where there are footpaths, many are in a bad state of repair and are trip hazards, especially for older people.  Frequently the footpaths are used for cars to park on so that seriously requires enforcement by the Gardaí.  

Bus frequency & reliability need to be improved, I’ve often waited 30 minutes for a bus and they regularly just don’t turn up at all.  I’ve recently had some success with the NTA who are now starting to put actual bus shelters at my request in my area.  Bad enough you have to wait for a bus that won't turn up but you shouldn’t have to stand, in the wind and the rain. The least we could do is provide a bit of comfort. 

Dart stations, I could talk all day about, I live beside one that I cannot use – it has had no safe access for 14 years, after a 4-year campaign where I have had meetings with Fingal, The Developer and Irish Rail I am finally in discussions with the NTA for a resolution. I live in an area that is surrounded by Dart stations but most require you to go through a dark park, dark lane, or dark tunnel – often with groups of people hanging around. Irish Rail has to up their game on lighting & safety & access for people with disabilities and buggies. Lifts must be maintained, cleaned and in working order. We also desperately need an additional line from the city centre, obviously, we need to increase capacity for the northern line but in no way should this be at the expense of the Howth line. 

With so much high-density building along the Malahide Road a Luas line would also have been of huge benefit to the area which has become one giant carpark. A rail or tram link connecting us to the airport would also transform the area and remove a huge amount of traffic.

Speeding is a big problem, cars parked on footpaths and cycle lanes also make it difficult to get around.  People with buggies and wheelchairs frequently have to go on to busy roads to avoid hazards. As I mentioned, a lot of our footpaths are in a bad state of repair, are very narrow or non-existent – all of this needs to be improved. 

Cycle lanes are definitely improving but we need to rapidly roll them out, we need to expedite delivery. Bike lanes where they do exist in Dublin are not great,  in the Netherlands you are completely separated from the traffic and you can ride two abreast, chatting to a friend beside you– it is such a nice social experience. Kids have so much freedom there, it helps foster independence when you can get places by yourself or with friends & give stressed-out parents a break from being a permanent taxi too! I know people say we don’t have the weather but I have lived and worked in Amsterdam, it rains a lot there too, a decent raincoat and good boot rooms in businesses really help!

I fully support reducing speed limits to 30 in our towns and villages, we need more traffic calming including speed ramps & we also need serious enforcement of the law by the guards. After years of campaigning we are finally returning to zebra crossings that require just black and white paint. Up until a recent change in the law a zebra crossing had to have flashing orange lights which made the cost of €36,000 which was prohibitive for county councils. This change in the law is really good news. The easier, safer and more pleasant it is to walk and cycle, the more of us will do it. This is good news for drivers to as there will be less traffic.

I am passionate about the environment, we are so lucky in my area to have so many wonderful natural resources. I was honoured to be selected by my fellow councillors to be the biodiversity representative for Howth/Malahide. I was instrumental in ensuring that Fingal was adequately funded to meet its 100 actions in its Biodiversity Action Plan. I have set up and run several tree-planting initiatives, planting more than 10,000 trees in the last five years. 

Baldoyle and Malahide Estuaries are important European sites but they are under threat from pollution. I have set up Europe’s first-ever Seagrass Restoration Project in Baldoyle Bay, Seagrass is even more effective at carbon capture and storage than trees are. Our coastline is not just an incredibly beautiful playground for us, our dunes, beaches and golf courses in Portmarnock and Sutton are also working hard to protect us from the worst effects of potential sea rise and flooding. They work hard to protect us so we must work hard to protect them. 

I am also a committee member of the Howth SAAO, our mission is to safeguard Howth Head, its built and natural heritage & biodiversity.  I get to work with amazing community groups doing incredible work in Howth/Malahide, these wonderful people inspire & motivate me.  I am so lucky to be a county councillor in this area.

I am Chair of Fingal’s Special Policy Committee for Sport and Community. One of the first things I did was commission an audit on the sports facilities in Fingal. I feel very strongly that our taxes should be spent fairly and that facilities are provided based on need. 

A community must never suffer under-investment just because they do not have a minister in their area & likewise, a community shouldn’t feel they have to re-elect someone they don’t believe in just because they fear their community may suffer without a minister.  

So for me, demographics in the area should be the main consideration, if you have a certain number of people of a certain age then suitable sports facilities should be provided.  We have health issues like obesity and anxiety that have all been proven to be helped by opportunities for exercise.  Money invested in sports and parks actually reduces the bill for health services.

I am delighted to have played such an integral role in finally delivering a € 10 million investment in sports and a regional park in the very heart of my local area.  It has taken a lot of hard work to get here.