Cold war between DCC and Minister Browne heats up

Dublin City Council’s stand-off with Minister for Housing James Browne has escalated.

The last few meetings of Dublin City Council have seen a rarity: Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, independent and People Before Profit councillors agreeing that Minister Browne is undermining decisions made by Dublin City Council.

At Monday’s (July 7) meeting of Dublin City Council, an emergency motion proposed by Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty and Green councillor Claire Byrne called on Dublin City Council to pass a motion which criticised Minister Browne’s plans to drive down minimum standards for apartments.

The crux of Moriarty and Byrne’s motion concerned government plans to strip a requirement which requires 5% of developments in Strategic Development and Regeneration Areas or areas over 10,000 square metres to be designated for community or cultural spaces.

Byrne expressed concern that, should the measures go ahead, it would set a precedent. 

Byrne told the meeting, “for the Minister to suggest this is what causing the housing crisis is just galling.”

“This government is deflecting from their own failures on housing and scapegoating the creative community,” the Green councillor said.

 “We now have a government that is punishing artists in order to build tinier, darker, studio apartments because developers are telling them that it’s cheaper; this is exactly the kind of grubby politics that has led to the housing crisis,” and called Browne’s plan “a vicious attack on local government.”

“To have a Minister rush out a policy is simply crushing; what is the point of councillors and what is the point of local government?”

Moriarty said, “this motion was supported right across the political spectrum – with only Fianna Fáil refusing to support.”

“Dublin City Council is united in its concern and dismay at this government. These changes strike at the heart of local democracy and sustainable community planning.

The Labour councillor noted that the government announced the establishment of a local democracy taskforce last month with the aim of restoring confidence in local government, but decisions like these are instances of the government “speaking out of both sides of their mouth.”

Fine Gael councillor Colm O’Rourke said councillors are not being told about the plans through a document or a memo, they are finding out the same way as everyone else; through the media.

“We need clarity on this, and not being told through the media. We don’t make city planning policy through newspaper leaks,” he said.

The Cabra-Glasnevin councillor called on Ministers Browne and Cummins to engage with Dublin City Council on important topics like this, instead of going on solo runs.

He said that the Fianna Fáil-run Department of Housing can’t keep bypassing Dublin City Council or indeed, any other local authority.

Fellow Cabra-Glasnevin councillor Cat O’Driscoll was more forthright in her question – “what is the Minister at?”

The Social Democrats councillor said the move was “a direct attack” on Dublin City Council.

“As a city council, we put a lot of time into our development plan, and once again it’s being written over by a Minister who seems to have no respect for the time and effort that we put in as a local authority.”

O’Driscoll said, “right now, it just feels like an overreach by a Minister who is continuing a failed approach to housing.”

Sinn Féin councillor Micheál Mac Donncha said, “if this goes ahead as reported, this is the government and the minister riding roughshod once again over our development plan and the councillors and the team which is at the very forefront of the housing crisis.”

The Donaghmede councillor said the media reports demonstrate the “contempt” that central government appears to have for local authorities.

“If the government genuinely thinks this sort of measure is going to increase supply – it isn’t. These interests (corporations) don’t want to increase supply.”

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin weighed into the debate this week, saying this latest government plan is a clear sign that the government “has been completely captured by the large institutional investor sector.”

Ó Broin doubted government claims that this new plan would reduce building costs, noting a similar claim was made during Eoghan Murphy’s stint as Minister for Housing.

During Murphy’s time as Minister, he proposed building more studio-style apartments and for greater investor fund involvement in the Irish housing market.

Ó Broin remarked that Murphy’s policies were “such a disaster” that his predecessor, Darragh O’Brien, reversed them.

The motion passed, but Fianna Fáil councillors pointedly abstained from the motion, marking a change in Fianna Fáil strategy.

In May and June meetings of Dublin City Council, Fianna Fáil councillors voted on motions brought forward by opposition parties, which criticised Minister Browne and his attitude towards Dublin City Council; on this vote, Fianna Fáil’s councillors abstained.

The message from HQ appears to be clear – “stop going against our government ministers.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Racheal Batten was sent out to carry water for her party at this week’s council meeting, saying it was “unfortunate” this debate was being had off the back of a leaked media report.

“We’re having a discussion on something we are not clear on; I want to put some sort of caveat in relation to something we don’t have the full facts on.”

“We do need to move to a more vibrant, European-style city,” she said.

“There’s a lot to be worked in terms of how to make apartments more liveable,” the Artane-Whitehall councillor said.

“I don’t accept the narrative that we are moving into tiny boxes; we have to make sure that the facilities are being built for living.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre Heney expressed annoyance at newly-elected Lord Mayor Ray McAdam for allowing the motion to be heard as an emergency motion.

The Clontarf councillor, clearly frustrated with McAdam at the end of the meeting, said, “I hope this isn’t what you’re going to be doing as a chair, putting your name to motions based on stuff that you hear.”

McAdam retorted, “don’t accuse me.”

Heney fired back, “your name is on the motion – I just hope that emergency motions, signed by you, based on media reports, isn’t what we have to look forward to.”

Last week, this publication went deep into the dynamics between the opposition parties failing to come to a consensus in running Dublin City Council, backing up every joke you ever heard about the left not being able to work together.

When the first full meeting of Mayor McAdam’s tenure as mayor ends with him accusing a Fianna Fáil councillor of “attacking” him, it makes it quite evident there are tensions within Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael at not just a national level, but at a local level too.

Psychodrama isn’t just limited to opposition parties, it seems that there’s plenty to go around with government parties, too.