KEY FOCUS
There are four main areas where I’d like to work for change and improvements for our area:
- Real local democracy
- Imaginative, sustainable local planning
- Good community services to meet our changing needs
- Fair and transparent use of our taxes
REAL LOCAL DEMOCRACY
Real local democracy means that local residents and groups have a meaningful say in what happens in their area and make the important choices about their community. There must be a new commitment to citizen participation at local level. In the digital age, good communication and easy access to information is a right.
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Change We Need:
- Regular, accessible information about the work of the Council for all local residents
- Smart and active use of social media for information, participation and debate on local issues
- Consultation and engagement with children and young people, families, older people, marginalised groups, the business community
- A concise annual report on what has been achieved by the Council and how the local budget was used
- A clear complaints procedures
- Easier access to Council staff, from holding town meetings to answering questions online
- Real public consultation on big planning decisions for the area
IMAGINATIVE, SUSTAINABLE LOCAL PLANNING
Safe, attractive neighbourhoods and vibrant, inclusive communities are at the heart of local life. Local services work best when they are designed around communities, where people can identify their particular concerns and help to plan for improvements. We need imaginative community planning with the people that live in our area – for example, young people should be involved in creating the public spaces and services that they need. Let’s focus on what’s important to us – from our local environment, to cultural and social amenities, to supporting local businesses.
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Change We Need:
- Neighbourhood improvement plans for each area that are developed in partnership with people living locally and local groups
- Community facilities and cultural activities for every group – for children, young people, older people and families, women, people with disabilities
- Age-friendly neighbourhoods (both young and old)
- Access and mobility planning for wheelchair users and people with mobility problems
- More allotments and community gardens
- Play spaces close to families
- Active strategies to encourage people to take care of our neighbourhood – to ensure that laws against dog fouling, littering, graffiti and vandalism are respected and effective
- Flood planning for local areas
- A programme of footpath upgrade and maintenance
GOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES TO MEET CHANGING NEEDS
Council services should respond to the range of local needs by designing services in partnership with the community.
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Change We Need:
- Profiling community needs to inform the planning of services
- Further education and training opportunities targeted to local need
- Plans to support unemployed young people to find and create local opportunities for employment, training or entrepreneurship
- Support services to ensure that all groups can be part of local community life
- Business supports to invigorate job creation in the local area
- A social housing and sheltered housing plan to address the need for affordable options
- A sufficient budget for home-improvement grants to enable people to live independently
FAIR AND TRANSPARENT USE OF OUR TAXES
Change We Need:
- Fair distribution of Council resources across the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council area
- A proportion of the Council’s annual budget to be set aside each year for projects decided on by residents in each Council area, in line with their priorities, and establishing a system to make that happen
- A clear strategy through which the Council will use its powers to vary or amend the level of the Local Property Tax as needed.