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Press Release: Dún Laoghaire 18 September 2005

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Campaigners at the Dun Laoghaire Baths Rally pictured outside the closed Baths	Green Party Cllr. Ciarán Fallon, Ciarán Cuffe TD, Cllr.'s Kealin Ireland and Nessa Childers at the Baths Rally

Ciarán's Addresses Dún Laoghaire Baths Rally

Dún Laoghaire Baths Speech, 18 September 2005

Today is about the power of the people.

Today is about the future of our town.

Today is about proper planning.

Today is about defeating the over-scaled, disliked plans for a monstrous over-the- top building on our seafront.

Friends. We can’t stand still. Nobody wants the Dún Laoghaire Baths to sit neglected and derelict forever. I believe a modest proposal that would be in keeping with the character and spirit of the town would be appropriate.

Dún Laoghaire is not Bilbao. We don’t need an enormous waterfront building that would dominate the coast, that would block the views, that would create exclusive apartments for the chosen few, and that might well be gated and locked up at night-time to keep out undesirables.

What we do want is amenities for our children.

What we do want is decent swimming pool within walking distance of where we live. What we do want is maybe a gym and a coffee shop.

We don’t want eight to 10 stories of private apartments blocking our view.

We don’t want more super-pubs and shopping opportunities.

We don’t want 7 acres of land reclaimed from the sea.

We don’t want 300 underground car-parking spaces.

We want a living vibrant waterfront with amenities for our kids.

Friends, there is some good news. Derek Brady, the County Manager who spearheaded this proposal has announced his departure from Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. In addition some of the politicians who welcomed the plans initially have performed u-turns.

This plan comes up for discussion again at the October County Council Meeting. Hopefully they’ll meet in Dun Laoghaire instead of Sandyford.

Myself and my Green Party colleagues believe that you should be given a say in the future of the Baths. We want different options, ranging from tidying up the site to a modest proposal, to the Council’s plans to be looked at and costed independently. Our councillors including Kealin, Tom and Nessa are working hard on this. Our postcards and newsletters have alerted you to the Council’s plans.

Together we can win.

Friends, lobby your councillors and TD’s. Tell them what you want and we’ll win this one together. We want and we demand quality, not quantity.

Thank you.

Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060 or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email Ciaran CiaranCuffe.com, or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.