Webcast of November Council Meeting

The webcast of last night's Council meeting is online: http://www.dlrcoco.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=32527&t=0&m=wm&l=en_GB

It includes my speech strongly in favour of the Moran Park Library development (at 2 hrs 13 mins on the tape), which was approved by a majority of Councillors.

Opening of Exhibition of Paintings by Louise Newman

On Friday night I opened the new exhibition of work by my constituent, Louise Newman, at the Signal Arts Centre, Albert Avenue in Bray. Louise's paintings are mainly on aluminium and the exhibition, entitled "The Water Line", combines images of water, air, reflection and urban landscape. Pictures show Louise explaining the diptych in her exhibition to me (photo credit: Molly Newman) and also Louise, Molly and me after the exhibition had been launched. More information at www.louisenewman.net

Humphreys slams proposal for new road through Cornelscourt

STATEMENT BY CLLR RICHARD HUMPHREYS

Leas Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

Labour Party Councillor for Stillorgan

Monday, 26 October 2009

Humphreys slams proposal for new road through Cornelscourt

Cllr Richard Humphreys, the Leas Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Labour Party Councillor for the Stillorgan Ward, has strongly opposed the proposal to construct a Link Road joining Cornelscourt Hill to the N11.

“I have submitted a motion to the special Council meeting on the Draft County Development Plan, on Wednesday 4th November, to delete this new link road from the Plan” Humphreys said.

“I have consulted closely with residents who are very much opposed to this proposal. It will involve the demolition of a number of the Cornelscourt Cottages which are an integral part of the village. Furthermore Cornelscourt village is indicated as an area of archaeological interest and has residential and neighbourhood centre zoning, which would conflict with the proposed link road.”

“The proposal has a wider implication throughout Foxrock as it would turn Cornelscourt Hill Road and Claremont Road into a through route for heavy traffic including commercial traffic. At present these roads are residential and are totally unsuited for an increase in traffic. The residential communities accessed from these roads cover up to 1,000 homes. Furthermore the steep gradient on Cornelscourt Hill Rd makes it totally unsuitable to be a link road to the N11.”

“I will vigorously pursue my motion to delete this new road from the Draft County Development Plan and I am hopeful that my colleagues on the Council from all parties will support my motion.” Humphreys said.

Ends

Draft Development Plan

The Draft Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2010-2016 comes before the Council for consideration at a special meeting on 4th November 2009. I have been consulting closely with my constituents in the run up to the consideration of the Draft Plan. If any constituent has any comments on the Draft Plan please feel free to get in touch with me at richard.humphreys@votelabour.ie

Social Inclusion Week

As Leas Cathaoirleach I opened the Social Inclusion Week Concert last night in the Pavilion Theatre. The show was organised as part of DLR's week of events to celebrate a more inclusive society co-ordinated by the DLR Social Inclusion Unit. Acts included the Central Girls, a film entitled Local Voices, Cois Cairn, Raging Hormones, DanceTeen and the Discovery Gospel Choir. In my welcoming speech I recalled my own 5 years working on equality legislation in the 1990s and suggested that the struggle to introduce that legislation and to bring about a more inclusive society demonstrates the importance of both politics and law in effecting social change.

"Creation"

To mark the 150th anniversary of its publication, I read "On the Origin of Species" this year, and in the same spirit I went to see "Creation" on Saturday night in Dundrum - a film based on the work of one of the greatest members of our human species, Charles Darwin. The film gets across the extraordinary pressures that Darwin laboured under - ill-health, uncertainty, the religious sensibilities of his wife Emma Wedgwood and of his era, the untimely death of his beloved daughter Anne and of other children, pressures of work, the relentless flow of incoming correspondence and the emergence of a "rival" in the form of Wallace. Yet despite those pressures he produced not only one of the greatest works in the history of our species but much else besides. He could be viewed as exeplifying Prof Frankl's comment that "what man needs is not a tensionless state". The film did take some artistic licence in terms of overplaying Darwin's ill-health - it's hard to see how he would have produced so much work if he was quite as bad as depicted - and it fictionalised temporary tensions in his marriage to his first cousin Emma Wedgwood - by all accounts theirs was a happy relationship. But with those caveats in mind it is a film worth seeing.

Canvassing for a Yes Vote with Alex White

Enjoyable morning in Stillorgan Shopping Centre this morning canvassing for a Yes Vote in next Friday's Lisbon referendum, with Senator Alex White, Leader of the Labour Group in Seanad Eireann, and Councillor Lettie McCarthy, Labour Party Councillor for Sandyford-Glencullen. Picture shows me with Senator White (photo credit: Neal Lamb).

Meanwhile the latest Irish Times poll puts support for the Labour Party at its highest ever level, 25%. Eamon Gilmore remains the most popular Party Leader.

The Council is now fully back in business after the break in meetings for August, and I will spend quite some time next week in briefing sessions relating to the current draft development plan for the Council. I will post more on that in weeks ahead.

Opening of Benildus Avenue

On Wednesday attended the official opening of Benildus Avenue, the new link road from Sandyford to the Drummartin Link Road. Picture shows me in St Benildus College playing fields at the end of the new underpass, together with my Ward colleagues Cllrs Horkan and O'Keefe.

Canvassing for Lisbon

Had a good night canvassing in Cabinteely last night for a Yes vote for Lisbon. Last night everyone who expressed a preference to me was voting Yes next week. The Government are clearly a liability in terms of the Yes side but it is good to see a strong campaign by the Labour Party and others on this issue. Picture shows me with my campaign manager Neal Lamb (photo courtesy of Eunan McKinney)

National Association of Labour Councillors/ Executive Board/ Central Council

Attended my first meeting of the National Association of Labour Councillors today at the Mansion House. Picture shows me with Cllrs Kevin Humphreys, Andrew Montague and Maria Parodi, with Cllrs Cian O'Callaghan and Stephen Fitzpatrick in the background. The meeing was followed by a meeting of the Executive Board of the Party, of which I am a member, and the inaugural meeting of the new Central Council of the Party. That inaugural meeting heard addresses from the Party Leader Eamon Gilmore TD and Deputy Leader Joan Burton TD, and discussed a range of crucial forthcoming issues, particularly the Lisbon Treaty referendum and the NAMA Bill. (Photo courtesy of James Wrynn)