ISN local election candidate John O'Neill urges Council to come clean about Ballymun flats

dublin | politics / elections | press release Monday May 25, 2009 11:27 by Irish Socialist Network

The shabby treatment of people living in the Ballymun flats shows what's wrong with town planning and local government in Ireland.

Finglas / Ballymun local election candidate John O’Neill demanded action by Dublin City Council to resolve the status of flat dwellers in Ballymun.

“For too long, people living in the Ballymun flats have been left in limbo by the Council,” said O’Neill. “A commitment was made several years ago to demolish the flats and re-house all residents. Now there are clear signs that the council intends to break that promise. This matter has to be resolved once and for all. I am demanding that DCC tell people the schedule for the demolition of the remaining flats and when they will be housed.”

O’Neill said that he had received information that raised doubts about Dublin City Council’s intentions.

“A source within DCC has informed me that the council are considering installing boilers in 3 blocks of Sillogue, 2 blocks of Balbutcher, 1 in Plunkett Tower, 1 in Coultry and 3 in Shangan,” said O’Neill. “This suggests that the Council intends to shelve indefinitely the housing of people still living in the flats despite their promises. This would be totally unacceptable, the new shopping centre is going ahead but it looks like the people living in Ballymun are bottom of the Council’s priority list. My contact said that the boilers are to be sourced from a private firm at a significant cost to the Council despite the current existence of a perfectly adequate centralised heating system.”

The experience of Ballymun residents shows the need for a new, democratic system of town planning, said O’Neill.

“This is what happens when working-class people have no say over the decisions that are made by the Council,” the Socialist candidate said. “Planning decisions are made over people’s heads: the system is often corrupt and never accountable to the communities that will be affected. We need a clean break with this failed model of planning – it’s time for real democracy in local government.”

John O’Neill is running in the local elections as the candidate of the Irish Socialist Network

You can contact John at 087 6367175 or votejohnoneill@yahoo.ie