Speaking in Leinster House on Wednesday Deputy Ellis raised the need for a primary school and new community hall and other facilities in the Meakstown Area.

The Dublin North West TD said “In the last decade there has been a big increase in population without community resources and no schools to cater for the population.  The area around Charlestown, Melville, Hampton Woods, Creston, Lanesboro, Seagrove and Mayeston has grown enormously and will be further extended in the coming years. Community facilities need to be prioritised, which can be funded from several sources, for example, the rates from Charlestown Shopping Centre and local development levies.”

The Sinn Féin TD told the Minister “that he must instruct Fingal Co. Co. and the Dept. of the Environment to ensure that facilities are put in place and proper planning must be adhered too and that the current situation is not good enough. “

Deputy Ellis finished by saying that “  I will keep pressure on the Dept. of the Environment and Fingal Co Co to prioritise the Meakstown area for proper infrastructure as is required for a community of this size. “

Speaking in Leinster House, Sinn Féin Dublin North West TD Dessie Ellis hoped that a more sensible approach will be taken by Tesco, and not the confrontational one which was previously taken, which triggered almost two weeks of protest by workers.

Deputy Ellis said:

“The support shown by the public who by and large didn’t pass the pickets and supported the workers over the strike is encouraging. The resolve of the workers who I meet at Clearwater and Drumcondra is one to be applauded, as is the support given by the public and business community.

“However, I told the Government that they have failed to stand up for the workers’ rights and allowed a profitable company like Tesco to attempt to tear up hard fought agreements and contacts. This inaction by the Government is only facilitating a race to the bottom. Tesco misjudged the resolve of workers and support from the public. I don’t accept that the Government has no opinion on this issue.

“It’s time the Government should stand up for people and say this race to the bottom is wrong and the Government shouldn’t facilitate big multinational companies who are driving down wages and tearing up contacts.”

Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis asked Minister Ross the implications for insurance on off road vehicles arising from the Vnuk v Triglav ruling.  The ECJ interpreted the directive to mean that any motor vehicle, whether on private or public land, must be covered by third party insurance.

The Dublin North West TD said:

“Mr Vnuk who brought an action for compensation for injury in his native Slovenia as a result of an accident.  Mr Vnuk lost his claim for compensation in the domestic courts on the basis that the vehicles were only insured when in public place but appealed his claim to the ECJ. Like Ireland, the Slovenian equivalent of our road traffic legislation required vehicles to be insured when they were on the road or other public place – but not necessarily when they were on private land. this might have serious implications on off road vehicles.

“I have raised the issue of the misuse of all-terrain vehicles numerous times in the Dáil and the government and Senior Gardaí have always responded that this is already covered by legislation. Hence, I introduced a Bill called the Misuse of Vehicles in Public Spaces in 2012; this Bill was opposed by the Fine Gael Minister at the time, who, on advice, deemed it unnecessary. This contradicted the advice I was receiving from local safety forums from Gardaí and other relevant bodies which were indicating there is an anomaly in the current legislation.  Now, the current Minister needs to explain how the ECJ directive will affect both the definition of public space and the need to insure all motor vehicles on public and private land.”

Sinn Féin spokesperson on urban regeneration Deputy Ellis has welcomed aspects of Kieran Mulvey’s outline plan for the social and economic regeneration of the north inner city.
“The plan announced last night has positive aspects but it doesn’t deal with the wider and longer term issues in the area. This is the consequence of not engaging fully with the local community. Successful urban regeneration has to understand the social, environmental, cultural, educational, safety, business  and structural needs of the area. This report focuses on the short term and finding the solution to immediate crisis, but unless a holistic long term approach is forthcoming the regeneration will problematic. ”
Deputy Ellis continued ” the actions outlined in the plan will have a positive effect on the area in the short term where the limited funding outlined will allow, but no thought is given to what the north inner city will develop into over the next number of years , such as how the effects of gentrification will effect it. However, the initial step taken by the Government is welcome in so far as that they are engaging with a community that they have ignored for years.”

Speaking today under promised legislation Deputy Ellis asked the Taoiseach if he had any concerns for the existing industrial relations framework due to Tesco’s stance which led to the present strike.
The Dublin North West TD said ” Workers rights are under attack and attempts are being made to undermine existing agreements and conditions. This strike by Tesco workers is about stopping that company attempts to break the Union. If we allow this all that is left is a race to the bottom.

Deputy Ellis continued ” I asked the Taoiseach to support the workers and if he agreed that others should stick by their own agreements. The Taoiseach replied that he did support workers but he could not interfere in this matter. Which is very unfortunate.
Sinn Féin fully support the Tesco workers in their defence of their working conditions. Many of my constituents work for Tesco and the way in which it has tried to force in new contracts on its employees does not belong in modern Ireland. and the Taoiseach should acknowledge this.”

Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis in supporting the anti-eviction private members bill put forward by AAA and People Before Profit in December said:

“We have a serious situation where people are being evicted despite being up-to-date with the rent and being good tenants. A good proportion of these are being evicted as their landlords are selling the property usually to banks or vulture funds. The Government’s ‘Tyrrelstown agreement’ legislates for people with a large number of properties and rightly forces them to pass on those properties on their portfolios with tenants in place. Where is the Tyrrelstown agreement for property portfolios with a smaller number of properties? It’s not there and smaller property portfolios can evict many tenants as they think they can get more money for vacant properties.

“This PMB will address that issue and remove the sale of property as grounds for serving a notice to quit. This is an important point: it is our job as legislators to legislate and for many renters, this is a serious concern which the government cannot ignore any longer. While we support the majority of points in this PMB, there are elements of it which we have difficulty with but on balance this is a good Bill and we will support it.”

Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis has welcomed reports in the media this morning suggest that “Environment Minister Denis Naughten is expected to inform Cabinet today that the proposed scheme for pay-by-weight bin charges is inflexible, and more options need to be looked at”.

Deputy Ellis welcomed this change of heart on behalf of the Government, saying:

“I have been dealing with the confusion and the fear that the pay-by-weight bin charges have raised in households since last summer. The nature of the waste charges structure meant that some customers have to pay twice in one calendar year for a yearly contract and certain companies such as Greyhound led Minister Simon Coveney and their customers on a merry dance in relation to their price plans.

“The issue here is not the pay by weight, but the increase in standing charges that effectively places the majority of working people in a position that they are unable to afford a bin service. Last June, I said that only by annulling the new legislation, which has forced price hikes on waste collection, can fairer systems be established and put into place. It is good to see Minister Naughten heeding that advice. Now to really solve any further issues that will arise around waste management charges, the Minister needs to put waste management back into the hands of the Local Authorities.”

Speaking on Sinn Féin’s Secure Rent Bill, Sinn Féin Deputy Dessie Ellis spoke about how many families and people were under pressure and on the verge of homelessness due to the lack of affordable rent and security of tenure.

The Dublin North West TD said:

“I have couples and  families coming into my office in Dublin North West that are working, that are in good jobs and they cannot afford to keep up with rent increases at the moment they are paying up to 60% of their disposable income on rent and are now in danger of becoming homeless.

“These families are in need of immediate action, not rhetoric from Government. This Bill will do three things for renters. It will provide for rent certainty. It also provides both tenants and landlords with the option of securing longer term leases, providing greater certainty for both parties. Finally, it will remove sale of property as grounds for a landlord to terminate a lease.

“It is unacceptable that the Government and their partners in Fianna Fáil would vote down these proposals that would mean so much to families struggling in the face of these rents.”

A DUBLIN North West TD is calling for action to prevent further closures of theatres in Cappagh Hospital that were shut down recently because there was no replacement hips and knees for procedures.

Deputy Dessie Ellis (SF) said it was disgrace that four of the hospital’s six theatres were out of action at a time when over 250 people were waiting a year or more for surgery.

http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/northsidewest/articles/2016/10/27/4128863-anger-over-cappagh-hospital-theatre-closures/

THE communities of Dublin North united earlier this month for a 50km cycle as part of the Cycle Against Suicide SpinOff series.

http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/northsidewest/articles/2016/10/26/4128840-northside-unites-for-cycle-against-suicide/