The Leader of the Labour Party, Pat Rabbitte TD, has criticised plans to close the Cherry Orchard rail station in Ballyfermot and has urged the Minister for Transport and the Dublin Transport Office (DTO) to review the plan which he said would seriously inconvenience commuters from the Ballyfermot area.
"The Kildare Route project, which involves upgrading the line from Heuston Station, is designed to enhance rail services between the city centre and the suburbs. However, it seems extraordinary that Ballyfermot is going to be the only area to actually lose a station as a result of this development.
"Ballyfermot is one of the biggest suburbs in Dublin. It has high public transport dependency levels and a poor bus service. Already an old platform/station has been ripped out at Sarsfield Road and now it is proposed to close down the station at Cherry Orchard.
"The proposed new station at Park West will not be adequate to meet the needs of people from Ballyfermot who wish to travel by train.
"I am now calling for a review of this decision. If the Cherry Orchard station is closed it is unlikely that an opportunity to re-open it will arise for many years."
Showing posts with label Pat Rabbitte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat Rabbitte. Show all posts
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Public Meeting to Save Tallaght Hospital: Labour
The Dublin South West Labour Party has organised a public meeting to highlight public fears as to the future of children’s healthcare in Tallaght Hospital. The meeting will take place: 8pm, Monday March 26 Plaza Hotel, Tallaght.
Labour Leader Pat Rabbitte TD said: “For as long as the Government decision of last summer stands, the only future facing Tallaght Children’s Hospital is ‘death by a thousand cuts,’ to quote Prof Ian Graham, Vice Chairman of Tallaght Hospital.
“When in the Dail on February 27 I asked the Taoiseach if there had been any change in the Government’s decision to relocate Crumlin and Tallaght to the Mater site, he replied: ‘The Deputy asked me whether there is a change in the position and I said there is not’.
“No amount of spinning can hide the formal Government decision.
“As the Government scrambles for a face-saving formula to get them past the General Election, the Taoiseach told me in the Dail that ‘there has been no review of the decision of last summer’. This means that the Government is proceeding to build the new hospital on the site of the Mater. This decision involves the relocation of both Tallaght and Crumlin to the North inner city.
“As a result, Tallaght will be left with a casualty station, or Urgent Care Centre, but no beds. It will be little more than a glorified clinic. This centre will care for children only in limited cases and where the length of the stay is less than 24 hours. It will be staffed by consultants and other staff rotating out from the National Children’s Hospital. However consultants say this is unworkable.
“Tallaght will lose its specialised staff and parents will be asked to travel in today’s congested traffic to the northside.
“It is dishonest of Fianna Fail to pretend that the Mater decision can be implemented and that everything remains more or less the same. We need honest answers Government instead of cynical misrepresentation of their own decision. We then need a commonsense solution in the interests of local families.
“This meeting will provide people with an opportunity to express their concerns over the future of health services for their children.”
Labour Leader Pat Rabbitte TD said: “For as long as the Government decision of last summer stands, the only future facing Tallaght Children’s Hospital is ‘death by a thousand cuts,’ to quote Prof Ian Graham, Vice Chairman of Tallaght Hospital.
“When in the Dail on February 27 I asked the Taoiseach if there had been any change in the Government’s decision to relocate Crumlin and Tallaght to the Mater site, he replied: ‘The Deputy asked me whether there is a change in the position and I said there is not’.
“No amount of spinning can hide the formal Government decision.
“As the Government scrambles for a face-saving formula to get them past the General Election, the Taoiseach told me in the Dail that ‘there has been no review of the decision of last summer’. This means that the Government is proceeding to build the new hospital on the site of the Mater. This decision involves the relocation of both Tallaght and Crumlin to the North inner city.
“As a result, Tallaght will be left with a casualty station, or Urgent Care Centre, but no beds. It will be little more than a glorified clinic. This centre will care for children only in limited cases and where the length of the stay is less than 24 hours. It will be staffed by consultants and other staff rotating out from the National Children’s Hospital. However consultants say this is unworkable.
“Tallaght will lose its specialised staff and parents will be asked to travel in today’s congested traffic to the northside.
“It is dishonest of Fianna Fail to pretend that the Mater decision can be implemented and that everything remains more or less the same. We need honest answers Government instead of cynical misrepresentation of their own decision. We then need a commonsense solution in the interests of local families.
“This meeting will provide people with an opportunity to express their concerns over the future of health services for their children.”
Friday, January 05, 2007
South Dublin County Council given least money: Labour
According to Labour Party leader, Pat Rabbitte, T.D., South Dublin County Council is allocated the least amount of money per head of population by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
According to the statement, issued on 2nd January by Mr. Rabbitte:
"Minister Roche recently announced the distribution of €868m from the Local Govt Fund to County Councils for 2007, but when you look at the spending per head of population South Dublin County Council comes bottom of the list.
"The average spend per head of population across the country is €205. However, the figure for South Dublin County Council, is just over half that at €106. Leitrim on the other hand, quite rightly, gets €536 per person.
"If any county is in need of greater investment, it is a county like South Dublin where growth rates have been so astronomical. Is it any wonder that there is such a scarcity of resources in areas like planning and enforcement; the provision of social and affordable housing; the provision of playgrounds; and the delivery of roads.
"I have long suspected South Dublin County Council has been getting the rough end the stick from Dick Roche’s Department. These figures are a clear indication that my suspicion was right. South Dublin County Council is simply not getting the money that it needs."
Figures released in the statement show the following allocations for 2007 [Click on image to enlarge]:
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According to the statement, issued on 2nd January by Mr. Rabbitte:
"Minister Roche recently announced the distribution of €868m from the Local Govt Fund to County Councils for 2007, but when you look at the spending per head of population South Dublin County Council comes bottom of the list.
"The average spend per head of population across the country is €205. However, the figure for South Dublin County Council, is just over half that at €106. Leitrim on the other hand, quite rightly, gets €536 per person.
"If any county is in need of greater investment, it is a county like South Dublin where growth rates have been so astronomical. Is it any wonder that there is such a scarcity of resources in areas like planning and enforcement; the provision of social and affordable housing; the provision of playgrounds; and the delivery of roads.
"I have long suspected South Dublin County Council has been getting the rough end the stick from Dick Roche’s Department. These figures are a clear indication that my suspicion was right. South Dublin County Council is simply not getting the money that it needs."
Figures released in the statement show the following allocations for 2007 [Click on image to enlarge]:
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Friday, December 29, 2006
Call for legal recognition of same sex unions
LEGAL RECOGNITION OF SAME SEX UNIONS MUST BE PRIORITY FOR 2007 - LABOUR PARTY STATEMENT
The Leader of the Labour Party, Pat Rabbitte TD, has said that the issue of legal recognition of and proper protection for couples in same sex relationships must be a priority for the Oireachtas in 2007.
“I am confident that the our society has matured and attitudes changed sufficiently to the point where the majority of our people would have no problem with legislation that would provide same-sex couples with the same basic rights and duties that are available to married couples.
“Shortly before Christmas, my colleague Brendan Howlin TD, published, on behalf of the Labour Party, a private members bill that would create a status relationship equivalent to marriage for the benefit of people who are of the same sex and who, under the current constitutional understanding of marriage, cannot marry each other. The Bill provides that, in most respects, the rules of law applying to marriage would also apply to civil unions.
“If passed, this Bill would have an immediate, significant and practical impact on the everyday lives of gay and lesbian couples. Those who choose to enter into a civil union would enjoy vital legal rights which married couples take for granted, in areas such as inheritance and taxation. The Bill would bring to end many of the routine forms of institutionalised discrimination that exist in our society and which impinge on in a very real way on people’s lives."
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The Leader of the Labour Party, Pat Rabbitte TD, has said that the issue of legal recognition of and proper protection for couples in same sex relationships must be a priority for the Oireachtas in 2007.
“I am confident that the our society has matured and attitudes changed sufficiently to the point where the majority of our people would have no problem with legislation that would provide same-sex couples with the same basic rights and duties that are available to married couples.
“Shortly before Christmas, my colleague Brendan Howlin TD, published, on behalf of the Labour Party, a private members bill that would create a status relationship equivalent to marriage for the benefit of people who are of the same sex and who, under the current constitutional understanding of marriage, cannot marry each other. The Bill provides that, in most respects, the rules of law applying to marriage would also apply to civil unions.
“If passed, this Bill would have an immediate, significant and practical impact on the everyday lives of gay and lesbian couples. Those who choose to enter into a civil union would enjoy vital legal rights which married couples take for granted, in areas such as inheritance and taxation. The Bill would bring to end many of the routine forms of institutionalised discrimination that exist in our society and which impinge on in a very real way on people’s lives."
[Read rest of statement]
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Saturday, November 25, 2006
"Proud to Live in Tallaght" Workbook Launched
Pat Rabbitte, T.D. launched the "Proud to Live in Tallaght" activity workbook for schoolchildren in Tallaght on Monday 13th November in the Dublin West Education Centre. The workbook, designed by local teacher Robert O'Leary, is dubbed "An activity book for children in Tallaght schools" and is accompanied by a Website, tallaght4kids, which was sponsored by the DWEC and Tallaght Partnership.
In the Foreword, Gerard McHugh, Director of the DWEC says: "The purpose of our activity book is to demonstrate why we are proud of Tallaght, to help us to become aware of its reality and its potential and to renew the ambition of a new generation of inhabitants in Tallaght, in this era encompassing citizens who have come from all over the globe. The activity book does not attempt to present all there is to know about Tallaght, rather it provides us with enough information about interesting aspects of Tallaght's past and present that we want to embark on a discovery to find out more and more of that past and present. Furthermore it encourages us to discuss Tallaght, to reflect on it, to explore, to investigate and to discover. Ultimately this activity book envisages a new generation of Tallaght's young people demonstrating their pride in their own place by wishing to emulate the positive achievements of the past and present and by creating their own new history which will inspire generations to come. This activity book, rather than being the end of one phase, is the beginning of exciting, positive and interesting further phases in reflecting about Tallaght's potential and assisting in the realisation of that very positive potential."
The book has been distributed to all Senior Primary Schools in the Tallaght area.
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