Residents protest in Ballymun
dublin |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report 
Tuesday September 28, 2004 21:10
by Caitriona
'BRL are liars!'
Angry residents take to the streets in Ballymun...
A small group of angry residents gathered on the main Ballymun Road outside the Civic Centre today to protest atgainst BRL (Ballymun Regeneration Limited) and their treatment of a local family. A house was promised to the family whose daughter is wheelchair bound, and are currently living on the third floor of the flats in Balcurris. Plans have changed and now the family are looking at a three to four year wait for suitable accommodation, despite numerous promises and reassurances from BRL.
The mother of the young girl was at the centre of the protest and there seemed to be a huge amount of support from motorists and passerbys as she shouted 'BRL are liars' and waved a cardboard placard calling for disability rights for children.
Ballymun Regeneration Limited is the company responsible for all of the work being carried out in Ballymun and the feeling on the ground is that business interests are taking precedence over the concerns and needs of the people of Ballymun. The residents plan to continue protesting every day for the rest of the week...
Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5When you add to that the fact that Minister Coughlan has issued a directive that rent supplement is not to be paid in the Ballymun Regeneration Area, in order to avoid the wrong social mix it brings to mind Damo Dempsey line ".....to make way for all the yuppies".
City planning out in Ballymun is beginning to look more like some form of "social cleansing".
Ballymun has become the only part of the state where rent supplement will not be granted.
Minister Coughlin has ordered the Northern Area Health Board (NAHB) that
"payment of the rent supplement in the Ballymun Regeneration Area does not
conflict with the housing strategy for that area".
Ms. Coughlin claims she is making the order following
requests
from Housing Minister, Mr. N. Ahern
and the North West Area Committee of Dublin City Council.
Why?
Mr. N. Ahern said the order was
"to ensure the regeneration of Ballymun worked" and that a social mix was achieved.
Why?
Up to 2 billion of public and
private money
was being invested in the regeneration, he said.
This has been happening for some time.
I would ask anyone to point out a single area of Dublin city that has been "regenerated" and where after five years anyone on a salary similar to the original occupants could afford to live there.
Smithfield, Temple Bar, in fact, the entire city centre looks like going this way over the next few decades and the children of families that have lived there for generations can, as far as the government is concerned, make do with a 2-bed semi in Clonee and a three hour commute to work / family.
Seeing the government seem incapable of including a decent level of what even they consider "affordable" housing, I'd rather the city be left in its pre-regenerated state or with nominal improvements where needed, than become a playground for the very rich.
Also, people working in Dublin, in many cases in the same trades or similar that could afford their parents a house in the area in which they have grown up, are now either renting (at the mercy of investors) or living in commuter towns.
This amounts to nothing more than the sale of Dublin city centre to the super-rich and those on high salaries.
I would also suggest that developers found to have amassed large quantities of land in Dublin through corrupt methods should be subject to having at least a portion of these lands brought into public hands (although having said that, the current govt, would most likely sell it off again to equally contemptable persons to build penthouses and the like)*
*and for the record, 250-300 thousand euro for a one bedroom apartment does not constitute affordable.
has been demolished.
New streets have been given names such as
Marewood Grove, Orchard Park, Barnewell Drive.
So who is Barnewell?
The BRL chief executive!?
For those (dis)affected and angry on the street
The Board of Directors of BRL meets indoors on the first Wednesday of each month.
Readers of this tread may be interested in visiting http://newballymun.com - This is an interactive, content rich portal website dedicated to bringing the latest news and photos from Ballymun during its current demolition and regeneration.
Also, you will find pre-regeneration and historical photos and information on the area. This is the largest Ballymun photo repository on the web.
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