“Council plan must tackle housing and climate crises”

South Dublin County Council commenced a review of the South Dublin County Development Plan 2016-2022 at the end of July.

That eight week consultation process ends at midnight tonight meaning local residents only have a few hours left if they want to have their say on how their county and neighbourhood develops into the future.

The County Development Plan is one of the most important documents for a local authority, and impacts on how the county deals with climate change, how people move around, where people live and work and the quality of their lives.

Over 50 submissions were received by South Dublin County Council as part of the consultation process on the County Development Plan for 2022 to 2028, including a submission from local Dublin South West TD Paul Murphy.

Paul Murphy TD has been an advocate for what he calls a “Green New Deal with socialist policies” which would seek to address the climate crisis while also raising people’s living standards.

In his submission he argued the council’s plan should similarly seek to tackle the housing and climate crises together.

His submission argues that “With almost 10,000 people on the housing lists in South Dublin County Council, the housing crisis in SDCC, as in many parts of the country, is an urgent one”. He proposes building a large amount of quality public housing to a “zero-carbon” standard.

On existing housing, he proposes the council should invest in a rapid retrofit programme of all council housing to improve its heat efficiency, tackling climate change and fuel poverty together.

In a similar vein he emphasises the need for improved public transport infrastructure, especially for areas where “large-scale development, combined with inadequate public transport results in daily gridlock”.

He calls for investment in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and supports in particular proposals for greenways and separated cycle tracks.

Speaking to the Southside People, Paul Murphy TD said:

“This development plan will set the Council’s agenda for the years to come.

“They can no longer sit and watch as the housing crisis, traffic problems and climate chaos gets worse. Instead, the council must lead the way by investing in public housing, transport and taking on big business polluters.

“That’s what a Green New Deal with socialist policies is all about, it’s about tackling climate change and improving people’s living standards and public services together.

“That’s what the council should be doing in this development plan.”

For information and to make a submission online, please visit https://www.sdcc.ie/en/devplan2022/