Official website of Trevor Sargent, Green Party
Monday, 7 February 2011
This evening Trevor Sargent and the Green team visited voters in Ard Na Mara, Millview, Talbot and neighbouring areas of Malahide. Before heading off to TV3 to join Vincent Browne and the panel for a discussion on political funding, Trevor took the opportunity to tell us of some of his recent canvassing experiences.
5 February 2011
Cllr Cadogan Enright and his team from Co Down and Co Antrim turned up this morning for another Swords canvass and joined in with the local Green volunteers to meet the large number of people living in Holywell. Since the last General Election, the new Holywell Educate Together National School has been opened. I recall having the honour of planting an apple tree at the entrance to mark the Oscailt Oifigiúil.The apple variety was a Katie if I remember rightly, a delicious dessert apple originally bred in Sweden.
Sweden is one advanced country with a Government strategy published to end their reliance on fossil fuels by 2020. Such big picture planning did appeal to some folk in Holywell, but for others it was the here and now which we discussed, e.g. housing, starting a business, loss of income. Improvements in broadband availability were acknowledged but we realise we were starting from a low base. For most people the fact that I am locally available and active with a full time office open 6 days a week in Rivermall off Main Street, Swords, was more influential than any policy discussion. The exception to this being the appreciation expressed to Green Ministers in Government (including myself!) who had strongly and unanimously backed the roll out of Metro North.
At the invitation of Area Organiser, Ken Duffy, the all island canvassers then took a well earned break to watch the all island Irish rugby team play Italy, courtesy of The Slaughtered Lamb in Swords. This pub serves good food, by the way.
Wee interview with The Irish Times back at the office in Swords and caught up on some paperwork. Then out in the rain again to meet the people of Lusk. Must put in a call to the Council on Monday morning to have two broken street lights fixed at the Quickpenny Road end of The Green in Lusk. Always wondered how that road got its name, maybe I’ll find out tomorrow when I am back in Lusk, before moving on to Loughshinny.
1 February 2011
The voluntary poster teams in the Fingal Greens (since the Dáil was dissolved), are working hard in each town and in the rural areas to ask my constituents to consider putting a BIG NUMBER ONE beside SARGENT on the ballot paper on ELECTION DAY, 25th February. They tell me other parties are paying professional postering teams to hang posters. Our campaign of necessity has to be more frugal.
Apparently I’m told I was scowling on television behind John Gormley TD in the Dáil when he was speaking for the Green Party / An Comhaontas Glas. Mind you it was a serious matter! The financial world was indeed caught out by the collapse of the banking system. Apart from the Green Party I see no evidence of any party setting out to avoid the next expected collapse. With this as a priority, the Green Party has a clear strategy to wean Ireland off imported oil dependency. Irish people are now painfully aware we have to pay dearly for cash we need to pay wages, social welfare and for services. Who knows the day when we will be offered the remaining stocks of oil at an unaffordable price becouse demand will have outstripped supply?
Fine Gael and Labour think Ireland can negotiate a cheaper deal on the EU/IMF loans. I wish they were right but the indications from other member states and from Brussels are distinctly cool. When the Arab oil and Russian gas price are set at a level we consider too high, will they make a special case for Ireland? To paraphrase Tribunal language, ‘will they &*!@’.
Mr Gilmore told the Dáil he wanted people to vote for change. Fair enough but the main opposition parties are fixated with the current fiscal crisis and no other pending crisis it seems. But we also need to be fixated with the same passion on the energy and related food crises which are coming down the tracks as sure as night follows day. The big difference is the Eurozone could print more money (if it wanted to), but the amount of energy use we take for granted is almost entirely a legacy of 90 million years of collected solar power from ancient times when the earth was much hotter.
It is no consolation now to say the Green Party warned the Celtic Tiger Governments that the property bubble would burst and talk of a soft landing was rubbish. Unless there is strong Green representation in the next Dáil, it is likely the next crisis will take our political system by surprise too, only next time the painful lesson will be ‘Nature does not do negotiation’.
31 January 2011
The old chestnut of taxi and hackney owners being forced to give up using their vehicle once it is over 9 years old, was raised by a hard pressed hackney driver again today. My friend had a perfectly well maintained ‘zero zero’ registered saloon hackney car in the driveway. However under the Regulator’s rules, my friend is required to buy a younger car if he wants to continue being a hackney driver.
This is the most absurd and potentially wasteful stricture and militates against the careful and conscientious hackney or taxi man or woman. A Green minded regulator would encourage good levels of car maintainance in spite of vehicle age. I am aware that many well kept cars run very well beyond the 10 year cut off point. I have told the Taxi Regulator this already in the past on a number of occasions and again I have written asking for a meeting with the Regulator following my conversation with this badly affected hackney driver today.
My friend has been a hackney driver for 23 years and has a perfect driving record. He is being squeezed out also by the entry of many new hackneys bought with redundancy money by newly unemployed people who think hackney driving is a reasonable earner. Sadly this has flooded the market and my friend would be lucky to take in €300 gross in a week. This means working 7 days a week out early and back late, or more often than not waiting around for the rare jobs coming his way now.
Meanwhile the Regulator has increased the 5 year license fee from €3 to €250. The banks are refusing to release funding to buy a younger vehicle and at 56 years of age, my friend is not sure how else he can earn a living. Again I appeal to Ms Catherine Doyle, the Taxi Regulator to hear these cries of desperation, to heed the calls for a Greener and fairer approach to licencing well maintained older vehicles, and act quickly to restore confidence of the industry in her office. I await the Regulator’s reply and I look forward to discussing these matters with her as soon as possible.
4 January 2011
“Another Fingal Greens objective realized”, says local TD Trevor Sargent, commenting on news from Iarnród Éireann. According to Barry Kenny, Corporate Communications Manager at Iarnród Éireann:
“For the first time cyclists are now able to take bikes onboard DARTs and Commuter trains at off-peak periods. Bikes will be carried free of charge on DART and Commuter services between 10.00hrs and 15.30hrs, and after 19.00hrs, Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday (excluding times of major fixtures / concerts and similar events at Aviva / Croke Park etc).
Iarnród Éireann is delighted to be providing these additional services for cyclists and we hope that it promotes even more use of our services by cyclists. It will be a great opportunity for example for families at weekends to take their bicycles on our services, and visit areas that it would not have been practical to visit previously. As well as supporting national policy on developing cycling, it is also very much a business opportunity for Iarnród Éireann, with the numbers of people cycling on the rise.
Iarnród Éireann has also undertaken an audit of bicycle parking facilities at its 142 stations around the country. This will allow improvements in facilities to be targeted at areas under-served at present, and improve the accessibility of stations for cyclists, and further encourage the development of cycling.”
In welcoming the positive response by Iarnród Éireann to his calls for greater integration of bike and rail services, local TD and cyclist Sargent said “This development is a bonus to visitors to north County Dublin. Allowing cyclists take bikes on off-peak trains brings us into line with many European countries and will open up more possibilities for leisure cyclists as well as commuters working outside the traditional peak hours. I for one will be using the train more with my bike and leaving the car at home, reducing traffic congestion and pollution.”
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14 December 2010
Following representations from constituents and particulary people working in the tourism business, Dublin North T.D. Trevor Sargent has drawn the attention of the Minister for Tourism, Culture & Sport and Fingal County Council to the problems created by unsightly graffiti, especially along routes through Fingal and from Dublin Airport into Dublin city centre.
Speaking about the issue Deputy Sargent said ‘The initial impression created when visitors arrive at Dublin Airport tends to colour the overall impression they have of Ireland. I have asked Fingal County Council and the Minister for Tourism & Sport to ensure that in the interests of the importance of business created by tourism, that a strategy to keep the sensitive main routes clear of graffiti be reviewed and improved’.
Deputy Sargent also welcomed the €1Million in grant funding provided by Minister John Gormley to local authorities in 2010 to help in the fight against graffiti and litter at local level.
Just taking a few minutes from the Dail debate on the country’s Macro Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The more I listen, the more convinced I am that the only realistic option is the implementation of Green Party / An Comhaontas Glas policies in the quickest time possible. Enda Kenny tells us he will provide ‘a new start and open the books’. Eamon Gilmore plays the ‘FF too long in Government ‘ line and a few ideas to cut out waste from public expenditure.
Only the Green Party seems to see the whole picture. International confidence in the capitalist system and in the old Left / Right Governments is low because the basis for that consumption-based economic system which Kenny, Gilmore and even Brian Cowen take for granted, is collapsing before our very eyes. The inconvenient truths cannot be glossed over by an election to put Kenny and Gilmore in charge. Neither opposition party has mentioned in this debate that handy (much cheaper than labour) oil is no longer plentiful. Also printed money is no longer backed up to any extent with anything valuable and tradable like gold. Therefore the international markets are unlikely to swallow ‘a new start’, until a more resilient society which largely moves beyond oil dependency and which creates sound sustainable communities is in the process of taking shape.
Green politics takes the blinkers off the old Left / Right outlooks. Greens naturally question the equating of trade with wealth creation. Greens question the equating of wealth creation with accumulating paper money. Greens question the presumption that equates the ownership of money (and other stuff) with general well-being. The spawning and nurturing of healthy communities is to me a core objective of Green politics. For a community to be healthy in the long term, it must be resilient to changes near and far which are beyond local influence or control.
I’ve just returned from a weekend visit to Salone del Gusto and Terré Madre, the International Slow Food Festival, held every 2 years in Turin, Italy, where our own Bord Bia hosted a very talented and tasty artisan producers’ stand from Ireland. I returned an optimistic Irishman having seen what Irish producers are capable of doing. For example our climate, soil and traditions suit us to outdoor rearing of cattle. In Italy it is rare to see cattle out of doors, they live their lives indoors a bit like battery hens. If we put more effort, pride and encouragement into adding value to the raw materials we sometimes take for granted, our €8 billion food sector could be earning €80 billion I estimate.
However, the Italians take more interest in community, healthy food, staying healthy and not drinking too much. Even to get a cold in Italy is a tragic turn of events. Coats are buttoned up, scarves, hats and gloves are donned to get about by foot, bike, tram or bus, if even a breeze gets up outdoors. A sniffle brings talk of the cause, most likely ‘colpa d’aria’ (a belt of air). The Italians can learn from us but in the focus on staying healthy, the Italians have much to teach us. Ironically the more sickness in society, the greater the number of jobs created in ‘healthcare’. I’d like to hear more about the practice in India where a doctor is paid in respect of the health of his or her community and LOSES a portion of salary according to the number of his ‘patients’ who get sick. We need incentives in every way to maintain good health and well-being.
Earlier, I had a discussion with Senator Niall O Brolacháin, the Green Party Spokesperson on Health, about what needs to be done to stop this oil dependent, consumption based economic system from collapsing. Climate change cannot be ignored. The former supplies of fossil fuel (even if desirable) cannot be cheaply replaced. This gave rise to the debate which is to me at the heart of what brought me in to politics. Have we any option but to accept the old (or not so old) age of oil is on its last legs? Rather than trying to pretend it will come back Lazarus-like, is it not our exciting duty to set about creating the safety net society which will be resilient enough to nurture a civilized quality of life, as we wean ourselves off the ‘societal energy drug’ we call ‘black gold’.
We have little choice but to cut back on unaffordable Government expenditure as those lending to us €2 out of every €5 we spend on schools, hospitals, Gardaí etc have a financial ultimatum on the table. However, they also expect us to not advocate a variation on ‘business as usual’. The Green Party needs support to create the resilient communities and supportive Government which finally gives us the freedom for which the leaders of 1916 thought they were fighting.
Green Party TD Trevor Sargent has welcomed a funding boost for local recycling facilities, announced by Environment Minister John Gormley today. Overall, €12 million is being made available to cover the cost of operating bring banks and civic amenity facilities, an increase of €400,000 on funding announced last year.
Deputy Sargent said: “Fingal County Council will receive €396,717 to help cover the costs of operating our bring centres. The funding is provided from the Environment Fund, where the plastic bag levy and landfill levies are paid into.”
He said Ireland has undergone an overhaul in its attitude to waste. “We have fundamentally changed our attitude to waste. We have not only accepted that a throwaway society is an unsustainable society but, because of the change in our attitude to waste, we have become a recycling society.”
Funding allocations were based on a combination of weighted tonnage and net operating costs with particular emphasis being given to the higher costs of dealing with certain waste streams such as hazardous waste and plastics. €1 million of the funding has been set aside to support civic amenity sites which remain open to the public at weekends.
Sargent said recyclates have the potential to create hundreds of long-term jobs. “Recyclates are a lucrative resource that has the potential to create hundreds of long-term and local jobs throughout Ireland. Hundreds of people in Ireland are already making money, remaking waste into new products that people want to buy. Even in this difficult economic climate it is crucial that we manage our waste in the most environmentally friendly way possible.”
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23 September 2010
The Green Party has said that forest plantings were 25% above 2009 levels and that work was well underway in Government to deliver on the forestry commitments contained in the 2009 Renewed Programme For Government.
“By establishing a 10,000 ha planting target in the Renewed Programme for Government and ensuring this target was acknowledged in the 2010 Budget, the Green Party raised the prominence of the forestry industry and its potential to a new level,” Green Party Agriculture Spokesperson Trevor Sargent TD said.
Speaking from the National Ploughing Championships in Athy, Deputy Sargent added: “Although we are some months away from establishing how many trees were planted this year, I understand that forest plantings rates are running well ahead of last year. It is likely that 8,000 ha will be planted and this would represent a 25% increase on 2009 and commensurate with the PFG commitment for 2010. In addition the policy reviews in the Renewed Programme For Government are well advanced and the outcome of that work will soon emerge.
“The Green Party has for many years been an advocate of prioritising forestry both for the potential sustainable employment it provides and the huge environmental benefits that it delivers. We will continue to work in government and with the forestry industry to fully exploit this potential and it’s central role in fighting climate change.
Dismissing opposition criticisms as “shallow and political point scoring”, Deputy Sargent said: “I was amused to hear Fine Gael begin to talk about the potential of forestry this week and the importance of action to tackle climate change. I welcome their newfound interest in the forestry industry. It’s a pity that they didn’t wake up to this potential years ago. From a party that opposed the carbon levy, Planning Bill, PSO levy, and many other important policies aimed at tackling climate change, their declarations on this issue are less than convincing.
“We recognise that the budgetary situation is challenging but the Green Party remains committed to achieving and building on the Programme for Government targets. We will pursue all avenues and other fiscal measures to deliver on this important commitment,” he concluded.
Programme For Government forestry commitments:
14 September 2010
Green Party representative for Dublin North, Trevor Sargent T.D., has welcomed a new funding announcement for businesses today to help save on energy costs. Energy Minister Eamon Ryan is providing €9 million to help fund 45 projects, in both public and private sectors, under the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Fund.
Commenting, Deputy Sargent said: “In these straightened times, no one can afford to pay for unused energy. Increased energy efficiency is the one sure way to secure enduring reductions in energy use and energy expenditure. €70 million will be saved over the lifetime of these investments and 50,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided as a result.”
The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Fund was launched in May of this year and was oversubscribed by August. Support was granted for upgrades to buildings, services and facilities. Some of the projects funded include advanced driver training towards energy efficiency for Bus Eireann, refrigeration system upgrades for Diageo and specific technology upgrades for Tesco.
“For every euro granted by the Government under this scheme, €10 in savings is delivered. This benefits business’ bottom line and makes us more competitive. It is yet another example of the green economy in action, where we create and maintain the jobs of the future while helping to fight climate change.”
The Energy Efficiency Retrofit Fund is being managed and coordinated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
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