Official website of Trevor Sargent, Green Party
Thursday, 24 February, 2011 – day before the election
On the final day of the campaign for election 2011, Trevor Sargent and his Green team undertake a lighting tour of the constituency. The tour concludes with a stop at the site of the future maritime museum in Balbriggan, where Trevor took the opportunity to say thanks to his team. It’s been a hectic three weeks but spirits are high.
Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 February, 2011
Busy weekend, so busy I got no blog done on Saturday. Beautiful weather to canvass Saturday however, up and down the hill at Seapark, Biscayne and Robswall and later The Strand, Hanlon’s Lane etc around Malahide. Spectacular views of Lambay. Must try and get out there to canvass sometime! Was delighted to have Greens from South Down, Dublin North West and Dublin North East join the canvas and afterwards head back to Oscar Taylor’s on the Coast Road for a light lunch. Then back to office in Swords to write back to the enquirers on the doorsteps.
Once 6pm came, out again to meet rural constituents in Oldtown and in Garristown. Expected a frosty reception after the legislation to take the terror and the risk of a serious road accident out of stag hunting. Glad to say however, many people were very warm-hearted and supportive. There were exceptions however!
We were back to Oldtown, Garristown and Ballymadun on Sunday morning too. Met many people I have known for decades through farming, drama, sport, natural history or Irish language and music circles. Thanks to Fiona and Stiofán for the welcome cuppa in the middle of all the running around.
The atrocious condition of many roads after the severe winter weather has caused potholes to join together. Not surprisingly, I hit one such stretch and suffered a puncture. We’ll have to find the money to fix these roads from somewhere, they are lethal.
Former Minister for Energy, Eamon Ryan and former Minister for Food, Trevor Sargent at the launch of the Green Party's "oil Free by 2030" campaign
Sunday afternoon was spent in Dublin advocating how Ireland can ‘live well without the oil-well’ by 2030 AD. Sweden began this strategy in 2006 and has 2020 as the year for Sweden to be oil free. Sweden set up a Commission chaired by the Prime Minister and involving the likes of Volvo to plan and set targets to stop using fossil oils. As for Sweden, the benefits are important.
An oil-free future means : 1. Reduce climate change impact, 2. Secure energy supply, 3. Lead other nations in developing sustainable technology, 4. Strengthen international competitiveness, 5. Develop forests, field, wind and water to make the equivalent of ‘Irish oil wells’ for home use as well as for export.
Makes one wonder why no other party has the pragmatic vision to make the oil-free objective a central part of the nation’s recovery and future prosperity. Wake up folks, this society is sleep-walking to the edge of energy supply as we have known it. We must stop wasting, grow our indigenous energy sources and set our children on a Greener road to prosperity. Already the Green Party has doubled the amount of wind power in the grid to 15%, but our work is a bit like Noah building the ark. Time is running out. Vote Green and do your positive bit to float the economy and save the precious things in life from being lost.
Friday, 11 February, 2011
From the canvassing trail in Malahide, Trevor Sargent gives us an assement of the campaign to date as we near the half-way point.
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.
4 February 2011
Great start to the day meeting Rang a Sé in St. Oliver Plunkett’s National School, Malahide. This very ecologically aware school of over 900 pupils is on its fifth Green Flag. Pupils were clued in to climate change impacts, ways to have a good quality of life while using less fossil fuels. They understood locking up carbon, the importance of local horticulture in reducing the carbon footprint of food, and how organic growing methods are less carbon intensive. They exhibited innovative cycle helmet designs. Over 70 pupils had cycled to school, even on this wet and windy day. Both boys and girls took part in a very creative fashion parade displaying great ingenuity in adapting post consumer materials to be modern and fashionable. At times like this there seems to be very good arguments to reduce the voting age substantially!
There was a good reception in Lusk too. When people consider who was bringing solutions to the table in Government, then the positive impact of Green Party Ministers becomes clearer. A number of former construction workers appreciated the Green incentives for grant aiding renewable energy installations and the energy saving grants for insulation etc. Likewise the Bike to Work scheme is seen as good value and a good incentive which benefits the economy and local quality of life.
By the time we got to Kelly’s Bay in Skerries, the wind and rain were tempestuous. That at least elicited some sympathy for the dedicated high visibility vested canvassers like Diarmuid, Brian and George, but made note taking nigh impossible. Nonetheless the need for a Green Economy to be created out of this difficult transition period was clear to many householders. One thing is for sure, had we been able to harness the powerful storm force winds buffeting us this evening, the €6 billion annual import bill for oil, gas and coal, would have been knocked back massively to a more affordable level.
3 February 2011
Most people agree our political system is not fit for purpose. The current personality driven elections are more likely to give us a healthy crop of Jackie Healy Rae type independents than a courageous visionary capable Government acting for the common good. A NUMBER ONE vote for the GREEN PARTY is a vote to replace this outdated system, a legacy of British rule, with a reduced Dáil of 120, half elected directly and half elected from a list of experts drawn up to reflect the policy platforms of the political parties contesting the election, in accordance with the percentage of support won by the respective party.
Likewise, the economic system is a legacy of an industrial revolution and consumer society which has just imploded leaving households and countries mired in debt. We must reflect to appreciate this is not an economy which should be re-created. We need a new fit-for-purpose economy which protects the ecological systems and community infrastructure on which all life on Earth depends.
What have we left behind, only a crisis caused in part by many of us spending money we did not have, on things we did not really need, to make impressions which will not last, on people we do not really know? We must, to keep afloat as a globally open economy, pay our bills over time, but let us take hope that the new economy espoused by the Green Party is designed to meet the need for resources, the need for family space and nurturing, the need for shared spaces and community development. A fit-for-purpose economy is a Green Economy. Already in Government,we can see it was Green initiatives which were creating the sustainable jobs and making Ireland more efficient and cost effective, and household bills more affordable. I’m thinking energy insulation grants, upgrading the grid to encourage renewable energy developments. Planning Act legislation which cuts down on transport costs and investment by PPP in the likes of Metro North and electric car initiatives which free us from the shackles of ever most scarce oil dependency.
This is a reflection of some of the conversations I was having in Balbriggan, Malahide and Swords canvassing today and at our campaign launch in Dublin – when I was not painting over unsightly graffiti as the picture shows.
30 January 2011
Malahide constituents had mentioned how they would support a market of local producers, but were not impressed by stallholders coming from far away. I was delighted therefore, to be asked if I would open a local market set up by local entrepreneurs just starting out to produce attractive food and non food items for sale.
Meeting stallholders at the Malahide Market
This new Market is on every Sunday from 10am – 5pm in St Sylvester’s GAA Club on Church Road and caters for all age groups. Wonderful crafts were on display, as well as tasty samples of dishes which can be delivered or purchased there and then. Locally curry sauces were for sale and to sample, suitable for coeliacs and these would complement locally grown veg and meat. Being a cosmopolitan community, the local stallholders in some cases had moved to Malahide from countries like Canada and Italy, giving the whole event an exotic athmosphere .
Unlike other markets, this one is all indoors which may help to explain why there was such a good crowd to support these fledgling local businesses. Congratulations to Joyce, Barry and all involved in this positive venture and I hope it continues to grow and develop in ways which create employment and contribute to the overall businesses in the area. Next step is to get a few local farmers involved.
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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Checking in to see how constituents are getting on is more important now than ever. Every weekend myself and a few other Green community activists call in to some area of Dublin North. Next Saturday, we will be asking the residents of Lusk what their views and suggestions are in relation to the traffic plan for the village.
Last Saturday was taken up with a visit to Biscayne in Malahide. Many diverse discussions took place. The topics covered ranged from the efforts needed to keep shores clear to prevent flooding, to the need to protect whistleblowers. The implications of Malahide Castle passing from Dublin Tourism management to Fingal County Council and how employees there will fare was discussed also. Progress on the Broadmeadow cycle and walking route to Donabate peninsula was welcome good news. As expected, the budget and bondholders featured in many conversations too. All of these matters have been followed up mainly through emails and letters to the respective departments and authorities.
Thanks to Ann, Peter, Stiofán and Brian for helping out. It was good to catch up with the issues being raised over a cup of tea in the Grand Hotel afterwards.
21 October 2010
Yesterday Mr. Mark Hely Hutchinson and Mr. Eamon Porter of the Malahide Shuttle Bus Project Group came before the Oireachtas Transport Committee to ask for help in delivering a shuttle bus service to help rail passengers to get to and from Malahide train station without needing to drive or be driven in private cars.
Trevor Sargent TD, a regular user of public transport, who is a member of the Transport Committee said: “The survey of rail passengers living in the Malahide area is revealing. Only 7% of rail commuters use existing bus services to get to the station. This leaves 93% of Malahide rail users for whom Dublin Bus does not provide an adequate service. I reject the Department of Transport line that current services are adequate. A local shuttle service which is punctual, dependable and affordable is needed as an alternative to car use. I propose the Department of Transport be invited before the Committee to pursue this matter.”
The Committee undertook to endorse this proposal as a matter of urgency.
Click to visit Malahide Shuttle Bus website
Click to visit the Transport Committee's website
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